Should I get a colour printer?

[Claire]

Hi,
We have a laser printer at home and we just print out text on it. So far I've had my digital prints printed out by the local photostore. Never felt a need for a printer as I don't print often. Not long ago I tried an HP colour printer at school and was impressed by the result.

Now, should I get a printer or not? I'm not aiming to get anything too expensive, don't feel a need to spend megabucks on a printer. It's just for fun to be able to see if they turn out the way I want them, easier feedback for editing, putting up on the walls and such. If I really want something for a special occasion I'll have the photostore print it.

What would you guys recommend me? I saw the Epson Stylus Photo R200 for $169 (1350 SEK). and the HP Photosmart 7660 for $199 (1595 SEK).

[bctrout]

Sounds to me like you'd really enjoy having a photo printer. I have an Epson Photo 890, and it makes excellent prints. It'll only print up to 8 1/2 x 11, so eventually I'd like to get a wide format printer so I can make larger prints. From what I've seen on various photo forums, Canon and Epson seem to be the most popular brands. You can see some printer reviews at www.steves-digicams.com I'm sure whichever printer you end up getting, you'll get a lot of enjoyment out of it.

[CyberDyneSystems]

I have a laser for B&W and a Canon for color.. it is a great combo :)

Check out the reasonably priced yet astonishing prints of the i960 (Canon) It is an amazing printer.

[dn7elson]

I have a laser for B&W and a Canon for color.. it is a great combo :)

I have the same setup, with the addition of an autoduplexing HP inkjet (970c that I had before getting the Canon S900). The autoduplexing is fabulous for printing booklets, 2 pages per sheet, double sided (net 4 pages per sheet). I use this a lot to print sections of the "virtual manuals" that now come via PDF files on the installation CD/DVD.

Nothing beats the speed and cost effectiveness of the laser and frankly, text sharpness of the laser for text. Grayscale is not bad either.

So, basically I have individual text (laser), autoduplexing (HP) and photo printers and can choose between them as needed. USB has been a big help in making the connectivity happen :D .