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.
