Instant gratification is hard to come by in family history. Not so with Epson's Picture-Mate <www.mypicturemate.com> photo printer. This cute, portable "personal photo lab" promises digital photographers convenience and long-lasting prints. We think it delivers.

The $199 PictureMate works with $29 Print Packs, each containing a cartridge and enough 4×6-inch photo paper for 100 prints. That's 29 cents per print — about what you'd pay to drop off film at a traditional photo lab. Technophobes can just plug PictureMate into any outlet, insert a memory card and pick Print All. Technophiles can hook up Picture-Mate via USB cable to print from a camera, computer files (requires installing the included PictureMate software) or external hard drive. PictureMate even works with Bluetooth-enabled cell-phone cameras and personal digital assistants (PDAs).