looking for a printer to mainly print photos

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martind1

Senior member
Jul 3, 2003
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Ok, the sister is going off to school. She needs a printer and she would mostly like it to print photos from her digital camera.

I have looked at http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,110660,00.asp and been intrigued by the canon: http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,107615,00.asp

But other than that list there, anyone else have any reccommendations? Price could probably go as high as $200, but i'd rather it be lower (of course) more on par wiht $100.

Just sending out feelers, for those that have recently bought printers.
 
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Macro2

Diamond Member
May 20, 2000
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If she wants beautiful photos I recommend the Canon i950. It's a little over $200 at Sams.
For around $100 you can get a i560 at Sams or an i850 refurb at outpost for $89.
If thats too much try an i550 at Staples for $69 but the photos won't be a good as the others.

A i320 is a good printer but not what I consider a photo printer.
 
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LED

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 1999
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Originally posted by: martind1
anyone else got anything to say on this?
Click to expand...

Sure...
If she wants beautiful photos I recommend the Canon i950. It's a little over $200 at Sams.
For around $100 you can get a i560 at Sams or an i850 refurb at outpost for $89.
If thats too much try an i550 at Staples for $69 but the photos won't be a good as the others.

A i320 is a good printer but not what I consider a photo printer.
Click to expand...

 
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martind1

Senior member
Jul 3, 2003
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well I take that there was agreement.


I was mostly wondering if anyone thinks there are any better brands/models
 
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pm

Elite Member Mobile Devices
Jan 25, 2000
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Ditto what Macro said: the i950 is the way to go.
 
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4x4expy

Senior member
Mar 15, 2003
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Is the i950 also fine for document printing? I also want a printer that does excellent photos, but I don't want 2 printers on my desk. I currently have a ~3yr old Deskjet 812c that serves well, and the photo quality is very good, but not what I would call breathtaking.
 
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Viper96720

Diamond Member
Jul 15, 2002
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I got an epson photo printer. Print's out photo prints looks ok to me. I can't tell it came from a printer. I like it since the ink cartridge doesn't cost too much. I can get the color for
around $20 and the black around $25. I use up all the colors so no need to replace the colors individually. The canon ink was about $14 each and you need 6 for all the colors. Black,
magenta, cyan, photo cyan, photo magenta, and yellow.
 
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Macro2

Diamond Member
May 20, 2000
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RE:"The canon ink was about $14 each and you need 6 for all the colors"

You can get genuine Canon BCI-3e or BCI 6 cartridges for around $10-$11. or a set of 4 for about $48 a Costco. Less on e-bay

Better yet you can get generics for as little as $1.45 - $2 on the internet at megatoners.com or monsterInkjets.com
If you want assure better quality, look for ISO certified cartridges.
Canon ink will give you the best results mainly because their Magenta is patented but the other stuff is not bad.

I refill mine for less than $1...(more like .$50) they are easy to fill and you can do it many times.

I also have a continuous feed i850 where I just fill the reservoirs.

If you do any amount of printing you'll be glad you got a Canon once you know the system. The cartridges are clear (BCI-3's and 6's) so you can see how much ink you have and they are individually replaceable and easily refillable. The printheads are tough as nails and don't clog as easy as Epsons and unlike.

Use Canon or Epson photo paper. Never Kodak.

 
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Macro2

Diamond Member
May 20, 2000
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RE:"Is the i950 also fine for document printing?"

It sure does but the i950(6 cartridges) is more of a dedicated photo printer than the i850 and i560 (4 cartridges) which are more all around printers that do great photos too. Either way you'll be stunned by the photo ability of these printers.
If your REALLY into photos and are willing to go over $200 I'd get the i950.
I cannot honestly say it's as fast as a i850 or i560 when printing documents. It will also cost you a bit more to operate because of the 6 cartridges.

I've also found that the quality of the paper has a lot to do with the quality of document printing just as it does for photos.

Mac
 
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tenoc

Golden Member
Jan 23, 2002
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Well, if you really like your sister, there are colour lasers available for $1000 and up, way up.

In your price range, the Canon inkjets are very hard to beat for quality and cost/copy.
 
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martind1

Senior member
Jul 3, 2003
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Originally posted by: Macro2


I refill mine for less than $1...(more like .$50) they are easy to fill and you can do it many times.
Click to expand...

do you refill the cartriges themselves?


if so what do you use?
 
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Macro2

Diamond Member
May 20, 2000
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On top of being the best photo printers the Canons offer cheap alternatives for ink.
HP, Lexmark may sell you a printer cheap but when you pay almost as much for a set of cartridges as you paid for the printer you'll realize what a rip they are. And some of them just come with starter cartridges. Epsons don't offer as good of ink alternatives as Canons either.

When you look at the corporate profit structure of HP you'll see that most of their profits (for the WHOLE company) come from the graphics division, specifically ink cartridges and toners. So if you don't mind paying something like $20,000 for a gallon of ink, buy an HP. Or a Lexmark for that matter.
 
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Macro2

Diamond Member
May 20, 2000
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Canon is a big conglomerate, you can't get a pure play on their printers. Even then, I'm not saying they make a lot of money on them.
The truth is that HP sells over 50% of the inkjets industry wide. They look cool and are marketed well. Besides that people don't know about the cartridge rip off until it's too late or maybe they don't print enough to care.
You and your sister are fortunate enough to read Anandtech.
Other peole will tell you the same as me about ink cartridges. I just happen to have a lot of experience buying generics, refilling etc.
I have first hand experience about how certain inkjet companies can eat you out of house and home.
Canons w/BCI-3 and BCI-6 cartridges are the way to go.
Plenty of reviews if you goggle i950 or i850 or i560 or i550.

As for refill. Your sister may not want to do that...so get her some generics or genuine Canon cartridges. The generics will be a lot less money though.


RE:"do you refill the cartriges themselves?
if so what do you use?"

Basically all you do is pry out the plastic sealing ball, inject ink into the reservoir with a syringe and reseal the hole with a black rubber ball and then shiny silver (aluminum) duct tape over that. You can get a huge roll of the tape are home depot for $7 and is used bacially for double sealing.

There are a bunch of directions on the internet with pictures. Lots of places will sell you a kit. I just buy bulk ink at this point.

 
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martind1

Senior member
Jul 3, 2003
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no. dont get me wrong. i knwo they make tons of $$ from their ink.


I am just askign what you use/do for the refills, since it looks like i am going to go wiht a canon.

thats all
 
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Dewey

Senior member
Mar 17, 2001
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In the world of photo printers, it's either Epson or Canon. I prefer Epson because the prints take longer to fade than Canon. Canons are typically faster printers. Check out www.dpreview.com where all the photo geeks hang out.
 
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nxh

Senior member
Nov 9, 1999
248
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i dont know if its a good idea to refill guenuine ink cartridges with gerneric ink?
i read from pcworld it might damage the circuitry of the printer.
 
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Macro2

Diamond Member
May 20, 2000
4,874
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RE:"I dont know if its a good idea to refill guenuine ink cartridges with gerneric ink?
i read from pcworld it might damage the circuitry of the printer"

I've filled the same Canon cartridge over 100 times. No problem. The printhead is separate from the cartridge so I don't know how it would effect the circuitry. HP is another story. You're lucky to get 3 refills before it starts banding and they are a lot harder to fill.
 
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4x4expy

Senior member
Mar 15, 2003
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Originally posted by: Macro2
On top of being the best photo printers the Canons offer cheap alternatives for ink.
HP, Lexmark may sell you a printer cheap but when you pay almost as much for a set of cartridges as you paid for the printer you'll realize what a rip they are. q]

This is no joke. My aging but still useful HP costs $60 for a pair of cartridges, and there is no way I could sell it for $60.
Click to expand...
 
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