best 4x6" dye sub printer = ?

[Kaido]

looking at the Olympus P-10 and the Canon CP220, don't even know where to start. What's a good sub-$200 4x6" dye sub printer?

 

[IanthePez]

The new Epson (don't remember model number) is probably the best. It's $199, and the refills for 100!! sheets are just $30. It's also a 6 color printer instead of a 3. So that one gets my vote.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: IanthePez
The new Epson (don't remember model number) is probably the best. It's $199, and the refills for 100!! sheets are just $30. It's also a 6 color printer instead of a 3. So that one gets my vote.

Is it a dedicated photo printer? There's a 330 model out, I think it adds a battery pack.

 

[Hardlin]

I think IanthePez was talking about the Epson PhotoMate. It is a dedicated photo printer.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Hardlin
I think IanthePez was talking about the Epson PhotoMate. It is a dedicated photo printer.

yah, that's what I'm talking about, like this one.

 

[batmanuel]

I don't think the Epson is a dye sub, though. I think it is a compact inkjet along the lines of the HP 300 series Photosmarts.

Epson Spec. Page

Myself personally, I prefer the better color reproduction of the new 6 and 8 color inkjets better than the dye subs. Plus the consumables costs are a little bit higher than the inkjets as well.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: Hardlin
I think IanthePez was talking about the Epson PhotoMate. It is a dedicated photo printer.

yah, that's what I'm talking about, like this one.

the canon in the link above ("this") is a dye sub. That's the one I'm looking at.

I checked the Canon 200 and Olympus P-10 out at Staples today. The Canon 200's print samples looked amazing (they said 'actual print samples', but who knows). I think the 220 is the newer model. Hmm...

 

[Erasmus-X]

The Canon dye-subs are a) a lot more expensive to print from, b) use only 3 colors, and c) are less versatile. The Epson PictureMate ($200) uses 6 archival-quality pigment inks and GUARANTEES 100 prints per $30 print pack (they'll refund the difference of what you pay if you don't get all 100 prints). It also does wallet-sized photos, B&W and Sepia filters, reads all major memory card formats, and is compatible with external CD-R and Zip drives.

The photos come out DRY and don't smear or fade. They're also water resistant, just like a dye-sub print. Photos are rated 100 years behind glass and 200 years in a photo album - this is actual data from Wilhelm Imaging Research... Most dye-sub prints last 4-10 years before they start fading.

I have a PictureMate and it wipes the floor with my friend's Canon dye-sub.