Printer

[Tyson L. Sparks]

How much would a good printer (photo) cost, one that prints good quality images. What kind should I buy.

[mjs1973]

I don't have any specific recomendations for you other than to get one with separate ink cartridges. I have heard great things about Epson, and Canon printers.

I looked into getting a photo printer a few years ago. When it was all said and done, I decided it wasn't worth it. To do it right, calibrate everything, archival paper & ink, keeping the heads clean, etc... it just didn't seem economical. I'm sure the prices have come down now, but I'm still not going to deal with it. It's too easy and inexpensive to order prints online. Just my thought on it.

[WesternGuy]

Tyson, I would second what mjs1973 said about getting one with separate cartridges. For good colour, you will probably need one that has at least 8 cartridges. Some of the more recent models have as many as 12 cartridges. Canon, Epspn, HP all make good printers. The other question that you will need to answer is how big the prints are that you want to make. I have a Canon i9900 which will print up to 13" x 19". I print mostly 8"x 10" for framing. The bigger the prints you want to make, the more $$ it will take. HTH.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

[KenB]

I've used both Epson and Canon. I have an older Canon i900d right now and I love the thing. It's a 6 ink unit and the ink runs around $11/cartridge. I've never had a single complaint about the quality of the prints and usually hear remarks about how good the prints look. My next printer purchase will most likely be one of the "large format" Canons.


That said, I'm more impressed with the quality of the stuff I get back from Shutterfly. I'm pretty much relegating the inkjet to proof sheet duty.

[freygr]

I've used both Epson and Canon. clip..

I have to agree it's Epson or Canon. But most graphic artists use Epson. I have a Epson R-2400 it's is a larger format printer but the price tag is $$$. Before I had the Epson C-80 series (80, 84) and it did not print on glossy photo paper very good, but I like to print my photos on mat paper. I have had many problems printing on glossy paper, color shift! Printed on cheap paper I had the print come out blue on white not black on white. Then with Kodak paper it was way too warm(red shift).

Pay attention to the ink. I use Epson because the printers I purchase use pigmented inks, which means the photo doesn't fade. I have a print that sat in a southern looking window, the mat is all faded but the print isn't.

[Grandpaw]

I don't have any specific recomendations for you other than to get one with separate ink cartridges. I have heard great things about Epson, and Canon printers.

I looked into getting a photo printer a few years ago. When it was all said and done, I decided it wasn't worth it. To do it right, calibrate everything, archival paper & ink, keeping the heads clean, etc... it just didn't seem economical. I'm sure the prices have come down now, but I'm still not going to deal with it. It's too easy and inexpensive to order prints online. Just my thought on it.

Each of us have different needs but getting pictures done on line compared to the price of ink and supplies just seems to work for me also.

I don't know if it works this way everywhere but at out local Office Depot if you buy the warranty at time of purchase then anytime during the warranty period, even the last day ours will let you upgrade to a new printer and apply the full purchase price of your current printer towards the new one. It can be anytime during the warranty coverage as long as you bring in the receipt with your printer, Jeff

[another view]

I don't own a printer either. I had an inexpensive (<$100) Epson and it did a nice job right out of the box, but that didn't last long. I ended up using more ink on cleaning cycles than to actually make prints. Finally one would come out right, and the one right after it would be horrible. Off it went...

I use mpix.com as well as local mini-labs. Pricewise it's hard to compete with that and it's also very convenient when they offer web uploading. I just had a bunch of 4x6's made at Walgreens for .15 each - they were surprisingly good.

[fx101]

Just get them printed online. Find the place that prints at the highest DPI and has good photo paper, and send em.