Photo printers

You can print photos directly from your camera to a small photo printer using a special type of USB cable, as long as it is 'PictBridge enabled'. In our digital cameras report, we advised against buying a photo printer for home use unless you will use it frequently; otherwise it's just another gadget that will eventually end up in landfill.

Using a digital photo printer costs around the same as taking your camera into a high street photoshop (around 27p per print), although online services appear to be cheaper (starting from around 10p per print). However, you might like to consider the environmental impact of buying printer cartridges � around 700 million were thrown away worldwide in 2003.(1) These parts are all non-biodegradable and are likely to take more than 1,000 years to decompose. You can cut your environmental impact by purchasing remanufactured cartridges and recycling old ones. The Green Stationery Company (www.greenstat.co.uk/01225 480 556) and Environmental Business Products (www.inkagain.co.uk/0800 435 576) are just two of many companies which sell a range of remanufactured cartridges. Environmental Business Products also accepts old ones.

There is no recycled photo-quality paper available in the UK. The next best environmental option is chlorine-free paper, again available from the Green Stationery Company.

References 1 www.inkagain.co.uk, 15/3/07