Which Printer

[dewmuw]

Hope I'm not opening the floodgates - but I'm looking to buy a printer. Anyone tested a few and got any tips?

[Ken Fong]

What are your criteria? (Longevity, Output Range, speed, size format, cost, etc.)

I bought an Epson 820 for small jobs and recently purchased the Epson 2200 for larger works. They both go through ink like drinking water!

[dewmuw]

Ken Fong wrote:
What are your criteria? (Longevity, Output Range, speed, size format, cost, etc.)



Yes - all of those things! :o)

I want to be able to create high quality prints - that is the main issue for me.

[MacGordon]

I love my Epson Stylus 1280 which produces beautiful detailed photos.
It's about a year old now, no problems, but I'm sure there are newer models out on the market now that produce even better results.

Good luck in your decision. :)

______
Dr. Mac

[Ken Fong]

You will probably end up deciding between an inkjet or a die-sublimation printer. Both have their pros and cons. I personally like Epson inkjets because of resolution and longevity, but Canons seem to be popular also. The previously mentioned Epson 1280 is a good workhorse. My suggestion is to go down to a high-end photography store...look at the demos and ask questions. Otherwise, you will eventually get some good advice from this forum.

[dewmuw]

Dr Mac & Ken

Thanks for the tips.

Any other advice out there?

[Longwatcher]

I will speak up for the Canon S9000 printer.
Outstanding quality, very fast. I like it.

However, strangely Epson Paper seems to be the best for the Canon S9000 with Canon Inks. Go figure.

(see paper test thread I did on this forum - tested various paper versus Canon Ink - still undergoing sunlight test, )

[CEVisker]

dewmuw wrote:
.......... but I'm looking to buy a printer. ........?


I am selling my Canon S900 that has over 2 years remaining on the Best Buy warranty. I also just received a new print head from Canon. E-mail me if you're interested.

[ruby]

I used to have an epson but after having to throw away 2 of them because of clogging problems I swore never again. I bought a 160 dollar canon i850 and have been thrilled with the quaility. The borderless images are great. The ink is much cheaper. I have printed out at leat 65 6x4 and 10 8 x 10 with only finally getting a low ink warning on 1 color. The inks are seperate so you save mondy there too. The color matching is not perfect but its really close. Maybe I am not setting it up right???? If anyone has an idea on how to get a perfect match please let me know. All in all I do recomend it.

[DavidValdez]

Hello dewmuw,

I have a Epson 1280 and love it!!! So does my customers and clients. I also upgraded it to print pigment inks for fine printing. It has the Continuous Inking System. So it like a 2200 Epson but better and I know when I running low on ink. Just look the little clear bottles on the side. It is worth the investment. I am getting ready to buy a second 1280, this one will only printing B/W. You can find out more at www.inkjetmall.com

Check it out. I think you will know more what you want to buy after you go to this site.

Cheers,
David

dewmuw wrote:
Hope I'm not opening the floodgates - but I'm looking to buy a printer. Anyone tested a few and got any tips?

[Fried]

I had two Epsons die on me with clogged print heads.
And that with original ink only! No more Epson for me.
If happy with the HP 5550. Same qualitity as the 7350 Photosmart, but I got the HP for 90.-€.
Pros: Best qualitity I've seen, better than Canons or Epsons. Very tolerant to different glossy papers.
Cons: Slow, Ink is very expensive.

[Amazer]

ruby wrote: The color matching is not perfect but its really close. Maybe I am not setting it up right???? If anyone has an idea on how to get a perfect match please let me know. All in all I do recomend it.

To Ruby

Ruby,

I have had an i850 for a week and am also having some trouble matching what I see on the screen to what I see in print.

Now, given the inherent differences in the two media, I know we cannot expect a perfect match....but I still think it could be better. The prints come out slightly "muddy."

Have you discovered any "tricks" since your post?

Personally, I am struggling with Qimage at the moment, but I am finding the whole business of color matching a bit daunting. For example, did you know there was such a thing as "double profiling" which should be obviously avoided.

I shoot RAW and convert to TIF with BB. I sharpen conservatively with USM in PE then open the file in Qimage and print from there after fiddling with the options. I am never absolutely sure that I am using the correct settings. Frustrating isn't it?

But after all, learning is part of the fun in this game :)

Will post back if I discover something good!

Ian

[Amazer]

To all those who are having trouble with matching monitor and printer output:

Just found this very helpful link:

http://www.ddisoftware.com/qimage/qimagehlp/icc.htm


Hope it helps.

Cheers,

Ian

[TimNYC24]

Here is another vote for the Canon S9000. Awesome color right out of the box. I haven't tried the Epson paper as of yet. The Kodak Ultima paper was a dismal failure, so I have stayed with the Canon papers and getting fantastic results.
$450 with the usb cable and you have photo-lab quality sitting on your desk top.

[tommy_t]

I get to try out alot of printers, working in electronics reatail, and I've seen many printers print on many papers. My favourite printers, at the moment, are i950 (if you wanna do mainly photos), and i550 (if you're looking for a good all-around priner). Now I don't get to use or sell the top end ink-jet photo printers so please don't give me heat on that :) .

As far as papers, I'm a big fan of the Canon Photo Paper Pro. I've been using it for years now with excellent results, even on my old HP 895cxi.

[g3-4me]

Some good places to read reviews:

www.cnet.com
www.anandtech.com
www.pcworld.com

I'm about to buy a printer and I think the Canon i950 is the way to go. On the top of the charts for photo image quality and has a lower cost of ink compared to other manufacturers.

Here's a some good info on the i950 (under $250):

http://computers.cnet.com/hardware/0-2375165-404-20854718.html?

http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,110098,00.asp

It's not that good for printing text, but if you need a "photo printer" this is a good opton.

The Canon S9000 is supposed to be very good as well ($500):

http://www.techtv.com/freshgear/products/story/0,23008,3373429,00.html

[RedM]

I'm very happy with my new Canon I 850!
I have no problem with color matching.
Do you put the "color adjstment" on "auto"? I do.
You can adjust it mannualy if you need to, ut I don't see any reason why you should.
Is the "Print Quality" "custom" set on "diffusion"?
The default isn't and this compromises the quality.
Make sure it's on "diffusion".

[msvirick]

Look at Canon i950, too.
One must alsoconsider long term ink costs.
i950 ink tanks , 6 in number are unlikely to empty all at one time, this makes owing the printer easy on the cash flow.

[dewmuw]

Well I finally went for an Epson 1290S. Anyone got one of these and any suggestions for the best paper?

[ozymick]

Hi

Found this site on the Epson

http://www.normankoren.com/printers.html#Epson_2200

hope it is helpful

Michael

[phidong]

http://www.slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?threadid=2000#1

Staples has the HP Photosmart 7350 on sale for $80 if you go pick it up in-store. This printer has gotten really good reviews. Its a bit slow, but people have said it has excellent quality.

Heres a review by Steves-Digicams:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2002_reviews/hp7350.html