Thoughts on Printers?

[Sean McMullen]

This probably isn't a very exciting subject but our printer broke which was a Lexmark 5200 all in one that came with the computer. Now we're looking for a new printer but I want to get one that has good photo printing abilities and is also affordable. I thought somebody here might have experience and/or sugestions. Thanks for the help.

 

[KMcCallister]

Originally posted by Sean McMullen
This probably isn't a very exciting subject but our printer broke which was a Lexmark 5200 all in one that came with the computer. Now we're looking for a new printer but I want to get one that has good photo printing abilities and is also affordable. I thought somebody here might have experience and/or sugestions. Thanks for the help.

I would stay away from Epson ink jet color printers. The cost to change color cartridges (whether you print in color or not) drives me crazy.

I am considering buying a laserjet printer to replace my expensive Epson whore. There is a cost advantage in "cost per page", especially if you go with a black toner only model if you don't use color. However, up front cost is higher for the hardware. Something you might want to consider.

 

[John Diel]

Epson makes about the best photo printers. Especially in large format (13X19). However, they are infernally slow in printing and fairly expensive.

I have a Canon S9000 large format printer and It produces very good results and does it quickly too. It takes about 6 minutes to print a 13X19 photograph.

They have a new model out that uses 8 inks. The nice thing about it is that the inks are seperate and you only replace that which gets used. They run about $12 per ink cartridge.

I believe the Epson runs seperate cartridges as well, but I couldn't tell you the price.

Longevity: The pigment based inks for the Epson are rated to last something like 60 years under the correct conditions. The Canon rates about 25 to 30 depending on the paper used.

Real World: I have a few photos under UV glass in our living room that have not faded one bit in 5 years. I know this as I printed up another copy and compared them. I also know that a print done on the cheap paper under no glass faded out in less than a year, where right beside it, on good paper and under regular glass, another photo hasn't faded.

That's 2 options in the "good" to "great" class. Hope that helps!

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

I would stay away from Epson ink jet color printers. The cost to change color cartridges (whether you print in color or not) drives me crazy.

My Epson Stylus 825 sure seems to suck down the ink and you are right about cartridge costs. I was paying $21 or $28(I forget which it was, probably $21) for just the black cartridge uptown at our bookstore. I then found http://www.supermediastore.com and well, you can see the difference for yourself. I think it is around $3 for the same cartridge(but of course it is "generic"). I don't mind the printer at all since buying my cartridges from that place.

They have good prices on DVDs as well.

 

[William Coyle]

I myself would have to go with the Epson printer..I dont know your price range but I have the Epson 1800 which is a jaw dropping printer when it comes to small photos all the way up to the largest print size 13X19.

The ink is a little more if purchased in a local store but there are places on line and on ebay that sell at a much lower price.

The main benfit to the printer is the fade resistances to light and I think even somewhat water resistance(In case it falls in the pool..LOL).

I myself feel that if I print a photo I want to do it once and not in another 5 years because of cheap inks and bad printer.

Feel free to read online what the best printers are and I bet Epson is right up there.

Good Luck..

 

[Bill Hamilton]

The best printers I would recommend because of their longevity and pure quality is an HP. They are known as the best photo quality printer but with any printer, stay away from the cheap versions.
Yes, Epson is another brand that has a loyal following because of the same reasons (quality and longevity).
You really can't go wrong with either brand.

 

[Bobby Lang]

Personally, I would look at the HP 8250 which has the 6 individual ink system. That way if you run out of cyan ink for example, you can replace only cyan not cyan, magenta, and yellow like on a typical HP printer. Furthermore, you can also purchase a multi pack that has all 6 inks + 150 sheets of 4" x 6" photo paper for like $35. Also, from what I've read if you use the HP advanced paper the printer will print 4" x 6" photos in like 15-30 seconds. You can print 8.5" x 11" in less than 60 seconds usually.

Another option would be the Canon ip6600d which has an incredible 9600 x 2400 dpi. Although you can purchase a multi pack with the individual cartilages from what I've seen it isn't as good of a deal as the HP. Speeds are still descent as well on the Canon printer.

 

[Chris Carlson]

As far as price goes, Dell seems to be the best. The printers they have are OK but nothin too special.

I'll agree with everyone else. If you're going for quality, I'd go with HP. I've had a DeskJet 932c running without problems for nearly 5 years. They have some very nice photo printers.

 

[John Diel]

Well, I think I'm going to have to speak up here on the HP printers. On the side by side testing I was able to do on the three biggies (HP, Canon, Epson), the HP lost out. It's quality just wasn't up to the level of Canon or Epson.

I really believe the Epson is probably the best of inkjet printers in terms of quality and longevity, especially on the new inks they now use. It's a very close second with the Canon right behind.

I went with Canon for economy and speed over the quality. I have a friend who has an Epson and I really need a good print, then I'll go to him and let him print it out or outsource it to a professional lab.

I'll qualify my statement with this caveat. This was side by side testing that I did both in store and with friends who have the various printers. The same file was used, and it was a picture of a flower and a printer test target. I also tested out the printers on various papers at the same time.

Epson works best with the Epson papers. Canon works best with Canon paper, but Ilford also works out the same if not better on the semi-matt and matt paper.

I've done a few softball and soccer games where I shot the kids playing and then printed on site via laptop. On an 8X10 print, waiting 5 minutes for it to print simply wasn't acceptable. The 2 minutes it took for the Canon to print the same photo and at a very reasonable quality, just made the sale.

The HP's I tested against may heve been low end models, but I know I tested at least one that was capable of 11X17 printing. There was just too much dithering, pixelating and the dot spread wasn't what it should be. Not when compared against the other two companies.

That's only my word though. Get a decent photo of something that covers a good spread of sharpness, shadow and highlight. Overlay a barcode or down load a printer test target someplace and over lay that in a corner. Put it on a USB memory device and take it to the store and ask them to print it. If the store you're going to is worth their salt, they will have a demo set up and have no problem at all in printing your file. Compare under the same light and look for the crispness in the edges, softness where it needs to be, Look for banding where the print head travel back and forth across the page. Look at the shadow detail, then get right nown to the nitty gritty and look for the dots. You don't need a lupe for this, just plain old Mark I eyeball.

Take a look at each of the photos at about 4 or 6 feet away. This would be "normal viewing" distance.

You will note right away what looks better and what doesn't. Consider prices. Not only the printer, but the inks, and paper as well. Consider the amount of time it takes to print the picture.

Think about what YOU will be using the prints for. Are these personal where the quality really doesn't matter and you simply want something to show your friends? Will the print be entered in a contest? Is this something you might hang on your wall? What about sending copy off to magazines, etc.?

There's a lot that goes into shoosing a printer if your really discerning. If it's something that the kids will be printing their homework on, you'll be printing the occasional storm shot to impress your buddies, then go with the best bang for the buck.

If your looking at professional level print quality that will stand up to scrutiny, then spend a bit more and go with the heavy hitters.

 

[Sean McMullen]

Wow John! Thanks for the information, that is exactly what I needed to know and more. I actually can't wait to go out and shop for a printer now. I might PM you John just to make sure I do the printer sample stuff right but that probably won't be till after the convention some time. Thanks again and also to everyone else for the advice, see you in Denver!

 

[John Diel]

Well, it isn't hard at all. Go to drycreekhpoto.com and download their Windows printer targets. Use those and a photo of your liking as your tests. Then simply gather the prints and view them side by side and choose what you think is best.

Who knows? You might even choose the HP. It's all really dependant on what you perceive as good to your standards.

Depending on how involved you want to get, you can get into the ICC profiling for constistancy and true monitor to printer calibration.

 

[John Erwin]

One piece of advice on ink-jet printers: Use them regularly. The ink-cartrdiges will dry out prematurly when there's little action. To complicate things, some manufacturers (like Epson) use a separate print head that stays with the printer when you change cartridges. These can clog-up and are difficult to clean properly. Best to print as often as practical and keep the ink flowing.