Printer question

[KartGirlsMom]

Sorry if this has been done before, I couldn't find a thread like it.

Do you use your photo printers for printing text? I have a small business and need a printer that does a good job on text. My current printer does not do a very good job printing photos, but has nice crisp text. Is there such a thing as a printer that does a good job on text and photos? Or do I need two separate printers? I hate to do that as my desk is so crowded already :)

Thanks.

[Steven M. Anthony]

I have an Epson c84 that does a great job on text and a very good job on photos--not as good as my 2200 does, but MUCH better than my old Stylus 600. I think the C84 was about $99. The only downside to using it in my small business is that it prints photos so well, I get distracted from working... :)

[stoneylonesome]

Ive been using Canon printers for as long as I can remember. Right now I using the Canon i960. I find them to be very very good for both photo's and text. One of the best features of most of the Canon line is the individual ink tanks. You save a lot of money this way. You only have to replace the tank that runs out.
I've heard some great things about the new Canon Pixma line

http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=ProductCatIndexAct&fcategoryid=103

Hope this helps

[kb244]

Well the C84 ( and now C86 ) uses durabrite ink which is meant for text and graphics on plain and matte paper, they can print photos but not nearly as vibrant as a canon for the same price. Canon of th esame league such as i860 ( and now iP4000 ), uses same 4 colors like the C84/C86, except has an extra black for photos, all 4 BCI-6 inks are dye based so are great for photo vibrancy, the BCI-3e Black tank is meant for text only and garantees the laser quality sharpness for text. But that being said, I'm using a Canon i860 at home for both photos and text.

[Feihung08]

Hi, I'm by no means an expert or anything, but I did a little research and waited for it to go on sale, and now own a Canon IP5000! It's working very well for me after owning it for two weeks and couldn't be happier with my text output. I have no devine wisdom behind it to give you but here's a link to a review. Scroll down for the 'text' info.

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/printers/Pixma%205000/page-5.htm

[kb244]

The iP5000 is I think the first 1 picaliter droplet printer with a resolution nearly double it's smaller counterpart ( the iP4000 ), covering 9600x2400 DPI, however I have done printouts from both, picture quality wise, is very hard to see a difference between the iP4000 and iP5000, so someone like myself wouldnt have a problem saving 50$ and going with the cheaper one. But I guess it all depends on the person seeing the image.

[Avalonthas]

Your printer and ink isnt the only thing. You gotta have some quality paper to make crisp text too. The brighter the paper, the better the text will look, and also you want good quality inkjet or laser paper depending on ur printer. You dont use copy paper (cheapest paper) on an inkjet printer because, usually they are recycled and therefore not as bright, and also they are made from lots of tiny pieces of paper, and much more porus, so they absorb ink much more and therefore it can look splotchy. (Like when u dab a sharpie on recycled note paper or something).

Then theres the printer of course. Higher resolution = better text. (remember for many printers especially inkjets that if they are 4800x2400 or whatever, that usually refers to color images, whereas text prints are usually done in 1200x1200. Depends on printer of course.

Why dont u invest in a laser printer for ur business, you can get them relativly cheap these days (200 bucks for a low end one, 600 for a descent one, and 650-2000 for a good one), and then use a seperate personal printer for ur images.

Then of course for ink, u can get bright and vibrant inks, and pigmented, etc etc, many diff types to improve quality even more. But generally a stock laser printer does the bets crisp text without purchasing the bets paper and ink. Will save money in long term.