Printer recommendations needed ASAP..

hey guys,

now that my daughter is finally home with us, i would like to go ahead and buy a good photo printer so i can print my images of her. i know the basics but i would really like some advice on which printer i should buy. my budget is around $400 and i have no problem buying used. i would like to have the ability to print big (not poster big but big enough to hang on a wall in a nice frame like 13x19 or even a bit bigger). i would like something with good quality and good reliability and also something that will not go through tons of ink all the time.

pretty much i am looking for any advice that you guys can give me

thanks

Snir

I ordered the Canon iP4500 today. I looked at a lot and it seemed to be the best bargin. It has the same print head as the Pro9000 but 1/4 the price. It may be a bit slower but the print quality should be the same. On special at newegg for 99 shipped.

iP4500 info from the canon site

Why do you want to print at home instead of using a lab? In my experience using a lab is simpler, less frustrating, less time consuming, and cheaper. The only reason to print your own is if you need your images really quickly. I have a Canon multifunction MP960, which prints about the same as my older ip5000 (now given away). The few times i've tried to print images i've had a bit of hassle so i gave up and use my pro lab, or a local lab for quick stuff. Images turn up the next day by courier.

Spend a few extra bucks and get an Epson R1900. Its the latest/greatest from Epson. I have one, and its awesome. Easy to use, and the images are mind-blowing.

Regarding the question: Why do you want to print at home instead of using a lab? I would ask why use a lab when you can print at home? I'm a busy person and would rather not use my free time running back and forth to a photo lab or Costco/Walmart and stand in line with the rest of the schlubs. With your own printer, you can print whenever you want, and can experiment very easily.

yes, get the Epson R1900

tim wrote in post #5615102
Why do you want to print at home instead of using a lab? In my experience using a lab is simpler, less frustrating, less time consuming, and cheaper. The only reason to print your own is if you need your images really quickly. I have a Canon multifunction MP960, which prints about the same as my older ip5000 (now given away). The few times i've tried to print images i've had a bit of hassle so i gave up and use my pro lab, or a local lab for quick stuff. Images turn up the next day by courier.

hey Tim, that is a good question which did think about. the reason i want a printer at home is to be able to print on demand and also so i can have full control over the print. i am still going to keep using my lab for the really big prints but for the most part, i think that i will like having the option to print whatever and whenever i want...

tgara wrote in post #5615416
Regarding the question: Why do you want to print at home instead of using a lab? I would ask why use a lab when you can print at home? I'm a busy person and would rather not use my free time running back and forth to a photo lab or Costco/Walmart and stand in line with the rest of the schlubs. With your own printer, you can print whenever you want, and can experiment very easily.

blonde wrote in post #5615597
hey Tim, that is a good question which did think about. the reason i want a printer at home is to be able to print on demand and also so i can have full control over the print. i am still going to keep using my lab for the really big prints but for the most part, i think that i will like having the option to print whatever and whenever i want...

Both are legitimate choices. I print using a lab for a few reasons:
- It's a known archival process (I photograph weddings, the prints need to be good for decades). I don't trust ink sprayed on the surface of paper, I trust the photographic process that's been evolving for decades.
- It saves me time - I prepare the file and send it away, it turns up by courier a day or two later. Printing at home you have to have a calibrated printer, there's a bunch of trial and error to get things right initially, and I have issues getting things to print without borders.
- Color accuracy - when I don't have time to do it myself I have the lab do color correction. This can save me hours of boring work.
- It's cheaper.
- I get quite a few orders for large prints, they'd have to go to the lab anyway.
- Time. I know I said it already, but my time is too valuable to mess with printing at home.
- Space - I don't have space for a large printer, or the supplies they use.

To balance things up the reasons I might want a printer at home are:
- Occasionally I want a print right now, that would be handy. I think it's happened twice in the past year. Generally not an issue as my ordering system says "prints will arrive in approximately 28 days, unless you pay the rush order fee".
- Printing canvases for customers without an order to show them what they could have can be quite profitable if you have your own printing facilities. If you have to outsource it it's a fair bit more expensive.
- Pro inkjet prints have a slightly larger gamut than lab prints.

I got the printer for 1 offs, and quick copies for friends and family. And for handing to models who ask for a print of their favorite shot. By no means am I doing mass production on a printer. I just wanted something that can do up to 8x10. I already have a dye sub printer for small prints. But wanted something bigger.

I would personally go for the Epson 1900 for that kind of thing, if you want pro range, otherwise a Canon or Epson consumer level printer. They all do a good job. A report I read recently suggested that the cost of the consumables is far more important over the life of the printer than the initial outlay, so keep that in mind. A local consumer magazine did some tests and said in gnereal the cheaper the printer, the more expensive the ink is.

The Epson is good. But for what I want, it is not worth the price. I'm not going to spend $500 for 10 prints a month on a busy month. The canon was $99 to the door. And the best I could tell the ink is pretty cheep per page.

I think you'll find ink is one of the most expensive things on the planet, and the cheaper the printer the more expensive the ink is.

Ink is allways expensive. But I can get a lot with the extra $400 I save.

No doubt, printing is expensive. It is also a new skill that is as complex as photography. You must be willing to have a calibrated monitor and decent printer profiles. In other words; you have to enjoy the work that goes into getting a great print as much as you enjoy photography. Both Canon and Epson make excellent low priced printers. My backup for printer 13x19 and smaller is a Canon i9900 which make beautiful prints. But try to get a good one to startwith in the $300.00-$500.00 range and you will be happier with the results.

Az2Africa wrote in post #5617206
No doubt, printing is expensive. It is also a new skill that is as complex as photography. You must be willing to have a calibrated monitor and decent printer profiles. In other words; you have to enjoy the work that goes into getting a great print as much as you enjoy photography. Both Canon and Epson make excellent low priced printers. My backup for printer 13x19 and smaller is a Canon i9900 which make beautiful prints. But try to get a good one to startwith in the $300.00-$500.00 range and you will be happier with the results.

I couldn't have said it better myself! Some here may not have seen this quote:
"There is scarcely anything in the world that cannot be made a little cheaper, and sold for a a lower price. The person who buys on price alone is this manufacturer's lawful prey." – John Ruskin [Modified]

Starting off by designating a price that you are willing to pay and no more is a good way to fall into this trap. I believe that anyone who wants to make prints from one of these fine cameras would do well to buy a good printer such as an Epson R1900 or the Canon equivalent, no matter how many prints they make. Just my unsolicited opinion.

Don't get me wrong I agree. But again, I cant justify $500 to make 3 prints a month. If they were prints to be sold... that would be another story. Id love to come home with the 7880. But $3000 for a few 8X10 is a bit overkill. And the quality disparity between the R1900 level of print and what I got is tiny compaired to the price difference.