The Canon Pixma line has about as clean a paper path as you can find in an inkjet printer. The iP4000 is often available for $80-100. after rebate (and is the current Consumer Reports "Best Buy" at the old normal price of ~$150. - I wonder what they'd think of it for under $100.). I've also seen the iP5000 on sale for $99. AR (was regularly priced at $199.).
. They are pretty much the same but the 5000 has theoretically twice the resolution of the 4000. Supposed to look as good as 6-color printing with only 4 colors because of the finer dots. Those are both magnificent printers - fast, quiet and very inexpensive to own for the long haul using 3rd party inks. I like
Swiftink for my ink, I placed an over $100. order with them today - a lot of ink at ~$4. per tank. Friends and I go in together to save the shipping and get additional quantity discounts.
. The paper feed system is pretty much the same in the iP2000 and up except the higher models get more powerful paper and head drive motors.
. I've run 12 mil photo paper thru my iP3000 (FYI: that's a tad thicker than card stock) - that's about the thickest stuff I've had here. There is an advanced setting in the 1.80a version of the Win driver to allow for the thicker papers (and CD/DVDs if you mod it). But you do have to feed them one at a time. Trying to stack them would be like feeding 5 or six sheets of 24# paper at a time from the stack. Possible, but not a good idea. If you need top end photo quality in a 8.5" paper path, then the iP8500 (eight colors adds true green and red) is on sale at the Egg this weekend for under $300. (probably AR) and if you need wide stuff, there's the i9900 (but I'm not sure if it has the thick stock setting as it was a holdover from the pre-Pixma line.
. I recommend last year's (or earlier) models over the new ones that are already out as the ink is cheaper (3rd party is about $4. a tank for the good stuff instead of $14. at staples for the OE tanks - old or new). It'll be a while before they can clone the new ink tanks as they have some contacts on them for more accurate level monitoring.
. IMO, there's nothing that can beat a Canon (unless you need to print on DVD/CDs, but the Pixmas can be modded for it, or if you really need the highest archival quality (fade resistance).
. You really need look no farther - except to go to the "Hot Deals" section here and the price search engines to locate the current best price.
.bh.
Yes, I admit it, I'm a shameless Canon Pixma fan - if only Canon directly supported their printers under Linux/BSD/etc. they would be perfect (well, 9.95 out of 10 as since the Garden of Eden, God or Nature has forbidden perfection to us)... <sigh> .bh.
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