Need a Photo Printer

[cmdrdredd]

Ok I'm looking for a printer to print photos for the family. I need good quality, but don't want to spend a huge amount of cash on something just for family usage.

I have a Nikon D50 DSLR camera (you may remember me asking about cameras before) and they want me to make some prints of things they can keep/send to relatives. So where to start?

I have been leaning toward the sub $100 model(s) from Canon and Epson. Specifically interested in the IP4300 from Canon or the R260 from Epson. Any recommendations of printers in this range? I'm looking for something with 6 color or better since I can replace just whichever color is out when it needs.

A side question, Photo paper. Some people say use the paper the manufacturer of the printer makes. For instance if you have an HP Printer use HP paper, Epson use Epson paper etc. Is this pretty accurate info? Anyone have any specific paper choice suggestions?

Sorry for the vague inquiry, but I'm purchasing soon and have done some research, but have no hands on knowledge of photo printers.

Thanks

 

[Greenman]

Don't get an epson, the ink dries out very fast and plugs the print head. I've had 4 Epson printers, none have lasted a year. The last one was a photo printer and it didn't make it through the second cart.
I've had good luck with Canon.

 

[AznSensation]

Me2Duo for Canon.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Ok cool that takes care of brand, now any specific model recommendations? I like the IP4300 considering it's only $99.99 and has a $30 rebate.

 

[AznSensation]

What's your budget?

I really like all-in-one printer/fax/scanner/copiers

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: AznSensation
What's your budget?

I really like all-in-one printer/fax/scanner/copiers

I do not want all in one, and my budget is basically to keep it as cheap as possible, but for quality I will consider a more expensive model depending on features.

I don't need to plug my SD card in, fax, scan, or anything other than print a photo in good quality.

Did that make sense?

 

[Zepper]

I recently got an iP4300 from Newegg for around $90. shipped. If I had waited and got it from Staples this week (considering sales tax on $100 of $8. here I came out $12. more than buying locally - but I sold my old iP3000 for lots more than I payed for it on eBay, so what the hey). Excellent output, fast, basically an iP5000 (was around $200 when first came out) for under $100. Can't beat that with a stick! It does sound a bit clunkier than the iP3000 but I suppose they had to cut somewhere to get the price down. But then, I don't recall having heard the 5000 or 5200 for comparison. Clone ink tanks are on sale right now from our buddy, Aziz, at SwiftInk.com - see the sticky at the top of the Hot Deals section. You do have to swap the chips from the OEM tanks to the clones (and probably tweek the color a bit for photos), but it sure keeps the consumables costs down. I don't think there is any way to do better for the money. And once you've seen the damped front door glide down, you'll be hooked...

.bh.

 

[Hulk]

Originally posted by: Greenman
Don't get an epson, the ink dries out very fast and plugs the print head. I've had 4 Epson printers, none have lasted a year. The last one was a photo printer and it didn't make it through the second cart.
I've had good luck with Canon.

My experience exactly!

I have an HP inkejet now and it never gives me a problem.

 

[xgsound]

What Zepper said. The Canon line works fine with Kodak paper and http://www.swiftink.com inks. Some say Canon or Red River paper is superior, but Kodak is OK for me. My IP5000 uses thier $4 compatible cartridges, and I understand the newer 4300 works equally well.

The consumables cost would take all the fun out of photo printing at home for me with any other brand.


Jim

 

[Lemon law]

I agree---while the quality of output may be roughly equivalent---OEM cartridges to OEM cartridges--the Canon comes in at half the consumable costs of a HP---and with the ip4300
now having a third party clone market---that slashes cost another 3x or so. And the Canon ip4300 is a reliable printer that should last a long time with no problems. The Epsons would be a choice if they had better reliability and less clogging problems.

I still prefer my existing non-chipped ip4000---but were I in the new printer market---the ip4300 is what I would get. In terms of preferred photopapers---you can get some information
on forums like steves digicams and the nifty stuff forums---but short answer--many use non canon papers with Canon printers.---and at these forums you can also learn to refill your own
cartridges---which in canon printers is very easy---and really slash photoprinting costs.

 

[gerwen]

Tangent question:

Do any of the current inexpensive photo printers compare in quality to the prints you get by taking your memory card in to walmart and getting them to print them for you?

It always seemed like a no-brainer for me, walmart was cheaper by a fair margin, and i got better prints. Convenience of having the printer at home is nice though.

 

[oynaz]

The prints I get from my IP5200 are indistinguishable from an old fashioned picture (from film) from the photo shop. At least without a magnifying glass. Modern photo printers all print very nicely, the difference is speed, reliability and price.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Thanks for the help. I picked up a ip4300 today from staples for $80 and it has a $30 rebate. Can't beat that (they pricematched their website price and the store was $99.99). I also got 1 pack of Canon Photo Pro paper to try. I'm considering trying staples or office depot's generic Photo papers and compare. I understand you can calibrate the color for the paper you use, but I haven't seen anyplace that offers profiles you can download. I'm not looking forward to doing it myself and wasting many sheets not to mention the ink.

Thanks again for any and all your help.

 

[Zepper]

Don't use a whole sheet of paper - you can do 3 or 4 tests on one sheet of 4x6 and lots more on letter size. You just use smaller images and move them around on the paper.

.bh.

 

[cmdrdredd]

yeah I know that, but even still i'm going to go through paper and ink pretty fast.

One thing I noticed is that unless you select Photo paper Pro as the paper type in the print dialog box, you can't select the 1 picoliter droplet size.

Maybe I'll get a small pack of some paper and just try the standard settings and see how they look. It may be good enough for my use just to do that.

 

[Zepper]

You could also try the Kodak base settings: Here's the link to the iP5200 setting which should be close - ip5200 settings.

.bh.

 

[Pingjockey]

I have a ip5000 that works great and does great photos!

 

[cmdrdredd]

I'm current;y sold on Ilford Smooth Gloss paper. Found it at Sam's Club for $23.95 per 100pack. That's super cheap considering the reviews of Ilford papers. I'm printing on this paper with my iP4300 using the Photo Paper Pro selection and setting the quality manually to Fine. It's spectacular.

One problem is the Ink cost, and the fact that I void my warranty by doing the chip swap to an off brand ink. I'll just buy Cannon Ink because I am going to play it safe. For as much as I use this, it's fine