Your thoughts on Printers please....

[E.T.]

I'd like to hear your experiences & suggestions re: printers.

I also have a few specific questions on the subject:

[1] My current printer is an HP Deskjet 832C [4 yrs old].
This has been a good all around printer, but lacks the ability to reproduce color faithfully [photos] Am I being unreasonable expecting this printer to color match ?
[bright reds are often printed muddy, hues of blue run untrue etc].

[2] I hear there are printers that have individual color cartidges [Lexmark or Epson maybe].
Are these a gimmick, or should they be considered for photo printing?

[3] Im running out of desk space & find the "combo" printer/scanners attractive.
Has anyone found success/satisfaction with these units re: photo printing?
If so, brand/model suggestions??

[4] Lastly [for now ], can anyone suggest a printer for under $300 that would be an improvement over my HP 832C, or do I have to spend big to get brilliant accurate color photos?

Thanks for your thoughts.

E.T.

[Sean Dempsey]

All I have is the Epson 2200, so that's all I can comment on.

This printer uses 7 inks (with switchable blacks). They are not a gimmick, they are essential

It prints photoquality or better. The different inks and papers make for production results that are sellable.

If you want serious, 100% legitimate prints, the Epson 2200 is the way to go. As long as you aren't enlarging your photos too much, the prints off this are immaculate. IMO, an 8x10 from my printer beats an 8x10 photo....

[Peter_AUS]

The new Epson Rxxx series of printers look very good. I got Epson to send me some image from their new PictureMate Printer and they are very good prints, although were mostly of grass with a person sitting on the grass. I would have liked something with more colours in it.

The new R series printers seem to be getting very good reviews, I am sure if you contacted Epson and asked for sample prints of some of their printers certainly in your price range, they would send them to you.

One printer to look at is the R800 printer, it has I think 8 individual ink cartridges, has one clear substance cartridge that apparently fills in the little gaps that are left by other printers (not sure of the technicallities here), and gives a full gloss look to the image. Again only when using the right Epson Paper of course. I think it does rolled paper as well, so you can make panoramics as well, but not totally sure about that, they have only just been released here in Australia.

[E.T.]

Thanks Sean & Peter.

I'll start researching the Epson 2200 & the R800 printers.

E.T.

PS: Ive always used Kodak & HP Premium paper for my photos.....can paper quality/brand effect color accuracy by chance?

[Sean Dempsey]

The Epson 2200 really needs Epson Premium Paper to work right... something about it being a pigment printer, not ink?

I don't know the technicalities, but I know that when I used HP paper, the ink wouldn't stick and left roller marks on the page and was a 100% complete disaster.

never once had a problem with Epson paper though.

[E.T.]

Dear ET: Please do yourself a favor and don't buy an "all-in-one" machine. When one part of the machine breaks down the whole thing has to go in for repair.
Best to You,
Penny

Thanks Penny for responding to this issue. I was hoping thee would be a quality scanner/printer combo, but have yet to find one. For now, Im focused on printer only.

E.T.

PS: Love your sig, I seem to be living by it, lol. ;)

[E.T.]

Ive done some brief research on the 2 Epsons suggested to me, the R800 seems like a good upgrade for me now [the $300 difference in price between the R800 & 2200 has its effect also].

Now on to some brick 'n mortar test drives of printers...

[back_packn]

Dear ET:
I have both the Epson 2200 and the Epson R800. I did my research and these were the best printers money could buy.

Penny,

I would be interested in hearing your comparison of the two printers.

- Aaron

[E.T.]

.........QUESTIONS: [1] Can ink level for Epson cartridges be monitored visually, OR is it done via software notice?

[2] Does the Epson R800 & 2200 use the Ultrchrome ink cartridges, & if so, is that one element that makes them superior to lesser Epson printers as far as photo printing goes?

[3] Besides resoultion, what other specs should I be looking for in a value based photo printer?

[Elysian]

What I would like to know is which printer is the cheapest to print with. There are a lot of good printers that offer decent quality, but it's always the price of the cartridges that bothers me.For the price of three Epson 880 black cartridges I can buy a 80GB hard drive!

[E.T.]

What I would like to know is which printer is the cheapest to print with. There are a lot of good printers that offer decent quality, but it's always the price of the cartridges that bothers me.

I think printer manufactures make thier profit on the sale of ink cartridges, not on the printer itself. [kinda like cell phones ]

I dont think there is any getting around the expense of ink cartridges, aside from refilling used ones