Printer advice -- digital photography

[large_diver]

Looking for a printer to start using with our new c5050 --

Parameters --

- Trying to keep price under $300
- Most printing will be 4 x 6 up to 8 x 10
- Using photostop elements
- Not sure if being able to hook camera directly to printer is all that important to me...more of a nice to have
- Would be nice if you can still print standard black & white Word/Excel documents using this printer (not high volume)

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

-Chris

 

[R_Deluca]

I use the Epson 925. Great quality printer. It even allows you to plug any type of memory card from your digital camera into the printer directly. I print a lot of 8 x 10's and find that the printer is very good on ink! Runs about $150 USD.

Safe Diving!

 

[plsdiver4377]

to the HP Photosmart 7960 from my HP Photosmart 1100 which is itself a great printer for digital pictures. The HP7960 is available on the HP website or in some stores for $299.00. I believe that the HP is comparable in features as well as Dpi to Epson but I wont swear to it.

This is the link to HP site.

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/ho/WF06b/18972-236251-64340-15100-f12-305382-305384-305385.html

 

[SimonJ]

IMHO the Epson Photo range is your best best. They are 6 rather than the normal 4 colour printers and the results are stunning. The range includes those that have slots for memory cards (so you can print without the PC), some have small screens and some can print directly on to CD/DVDs as well.

Personally I have the basic Photo810, which for my needs it just great. I always print from Photoshop on the PC, and have been amazed by the results even up to full A4/Letter.

Hope this helps,
Simon

 

[Dee]

My next printer will most likely be an Epson. I like the results I've seen and I definately want the seperate ink cartridges. The last time I had to buy ink for my HP712, I had to throw away alot of some of the colors.

But I'm in no hurry because I've been burning my photos to a CD and taking them to either Wal-Mart or Walgreens for printing. I'm completely satisfied with the prints, 4x6 to 8x10's, and it's way cheaper than printing them myself.

 

[emeyer36]

You might want to look at the Canons like the i950 or some of their other Photo printer. The main thing I like about them is that many of them have separate ink tanks, so when you run out of one color, as often happens, you just replace that tank (you don't waste 2 or 3 other colors). The i950 is also a 6 tank printer, so you have the special Photo colors.

 

[s.wright]

I bought an Epson 825 a few months ago, which was recommended by the salesperson. This is one of the worst printers that I have ever used. The ink cartridges were a pain to install, the quality of the pictures were horrible and I had to use Epson photo paper. I ended up giving the printer to my six-year-old and buying a new HP 7960. I cannot tell the difference between the pictures that I have printed with the 7960 and the ones professionally printed.

 

[Gilligan]

I'll second Dee's opinion. I rarely get prints but I took a CD ROM to Costco and had some 4 X 6 prints done for around 18 cents each. The results were outstanding. They were done on the same machine the 35mm film prints are done on. I don't see how any home printer can match the results of that equipment. You can get a lot of prints done by outsourcing them for what you will have to invest in a good printer, ink refills, and photo quality paper.

 

[s.wright]

Gilligan once bubbled...
You can get a lot of prints done by outsourcing them for what you will have to invest in a good printer, ink refills, and photo quality paper.

It is definitely cheaper to outsource your printing. I just paid around $ 120 to replace the cartridges that my HP requires.

 

[okiediver1]

Dee and Gilligan are right! I spent alot of money on my HP a year ago only to find out Wal Mart does an awesome job printing and at a very inexpensive rate. I like them even better than shutterfly--I cant even tell they are not print film pics.