Photo printers

[you2]

I'm in the process of going digital and just started considering printers. I've been following the canon line quite a while though now that hp has switched to single cartridge I would certainly consider them as well as epson.

What I'm unsure is if there is a big difference between the low end printers with 4 colours and the high end with 9 (or is it 11 these days?). I.e, I would be perfectly happy spending $90 on a printer htat is 98% as good as a $3000 printer but I am willling to spend more than $90 if it results in significant improvement to overall quality.

I know that max print size will impact cost but I think I'm happy with 8x10 as a max (though I would go larger if the printer of quality only supported that format).

I also know there are different technology (dye, pigment, sub something or other). I'm not overtly concern about fade if it is gradual (I.,e, I would favor quality over longevity/cost if the image would retain the quality for a year+).
--
Anyways can someone suggest a few models to consider and perhaps mention the trade off.

 

[Zepper]

If the printer is going to be for all purposes including text and photos, you'll have to decide on the trade-off. Canon makes general purpose printers like the iP4500 (or the earlier 4300 or 4200 - but they also are called photo printers, I guess because they do photos too) that have a large pigmented black tank for text as well as dye black for photos to match the other dye based colors.
. The true photo printers with six or more colors only have the dye black, so their text may not look as crisp. As for me, the 4000 series has been excellent. The 6000 series would be the starting place for the more photo oriented printer. Steve's Digicams has always put the Canons at or near the top of the heap and I know I'm nowhere near as critical as he is.
. I've gone to HP recently (the OfficeJet K5400 series) and its photo output is good enough for me (and has looked equally good on several non-HP brands of photo paper) - several adjustments are available for setting the amount of ink delivered and balancing colors. However, it is big and noisy and certainly won't be everyone's cup of tea. Price on them came down a LOT recently making them a good value. So far I've only had one misfeed, which is a lot better than HP used to be, but you do have to understand and follow HP's voluminous instructions re. paper types, etc.
. With Canons, you just riffle the stack, then throw the paper in and it feeds it - a lot less thought and planning involved. Also the K5400s lack a real manual duplexing ability within the driver, so if you plan to do a lot of duplexing of medium to large, non-PDF files (as the Acrobat reader can do the duplexing internally), consider getting the models with the auto-duplexing accy. The one thing you want to be sure of, if you are really into photography, is that the printer uses true black for photos, not composite black which almost always looks greenish-gray to me. (the Canon 3000 series does composite black, for example).

.bh.

 

[Rottie]

I have printed several photos from Canon BJC 6000 (6 ink cartridges) and I put 6000 into retirement and bought Pixma iP4000 (4 ink cartridges) the photos are so GREAT! I never tried other HP or Epson printers you can try test drive with printers at your local store to see which is best for your photo needs.

 

[you2]

If I read this correctly you all are saying that the 4 colour printers (such as mp710 and ip4xxxx) are just as good (in the practical sense) as the dedicated photo printers with 6 to 9 colours. Is that correct ?

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: you2
If I read this correctly you all are saying that the 4 colour printers (such as mp710 and ip4xxxx) are just as good (in the practical sense) as the dedicated photo printers with 6 to 9 colours. Is that correct ?

Technically they have 5 ink carts,black dye,black pigmented(for text),cyan,yellow,magneta.

I'm very happy with my photo prints from my Canon iP4500 printer,very hard to tell the difference.


Nice feature on the Canon's is removable print head,so easy to get replacements.

 

[QueBert]

I have an ip4000, I don't have prints from one of the 6 tank photo printers to compare, but the 4x6 and 8x10's I do on it look phenomenal.

 

[Zepper]

I can't find an MP710, but the MX700 is the same print engine as the iP3000 series - composite black for graphics and photos. The MP530 and 830 use the 4000 series print engine.

.bh.

 

[you2]

I meant the mp610 which I htink has the same engine as the ip4500.

 

[Zepper]

Yup, that looks like it. 5 inks and over 4000 nozzles. But their MFPs never seem to print quite as well as the single-purpose printers. If you really want a 610, there are some good prices on eBay.

.bh.