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What is the best photo printer to get?

G

GeminiZi

Member
What is the best photo printer on the market right now? What is the best low end ($100-200$) / mid ($200 - $400) and high ($400+) out there? I'm looking for a new photo printer for home use in the price range of $200-300. What I have in mind are: Epson R300/R300M, Epson RX500, Canon i960/i900D and HP 7960. Are the Epson Stylus 900/960 good?

Thank you in advance.
 
I too think the Canon printers are much better than there competition, at any price range. The Canon paper is the best I have ever used, as well.
 
I think the Canon photo paper stinks. It's too floppy and tends to have "waves and ripples" after it gets a lot of ink. The HP photo paper is very regid and looks like a real photo.

For the money the HP 5500 makes very nice photos (all the new HP printer use the same ink and print at the same res, only speed and extra features make them different prices). I have not tried a canon printer in years, I never liked all the little seperate ink cartriges and the ink heads were a seperate part. Maybe it's cheaper that way, but it's a hassle to monitor the print head and each color.
 
RE:"It's done with so but it's a hassle to monitor the print head and each color.

With a canon, ink levels are measured with software and visually. Unlike the HP that will tell you you need a new cartridge when you have 40% of the ink left.

HP is simply ridiculous when it comes to ink prices.

BTW, Canon has come a long way in the last couple years.
 
WOW a lot of Canon fans here. How are the Epson r300, 300M, and RX500? I heard the photo quality is much better than the Canon i960, is this true? Isn't the dpi resolution higher than the Canon? Please explain? Thanks guys.
 
Canon > Epson > HP

The newer Epsons are SWEET! I especially like that one I saw @ Best Buy that has a tray for printing directly on CD's. but I love my Canon i550. The 550 isn't even a "photo" printer but it prints damn nice, and damn fast photos.

will upgrade to an i860 when I get the money.
 
The Canon 865 has that CD printing tray too. And an extra tray to hold 10x15cm photo paper alongside standard paper.
 
The Epson R300/300M/RX500 are all based on the same print engine, the RX500 just is an all-in-one. From what i have seen, the print output from them is more true to what the origninal photograph was vs the Canon. The Canon seems like it brightens the image, like its on a 'vivid' setting or something.

Both have great output, the Epson has more features ( Memory Card Reader, CD printing) and is cheaper (usually) then the Canon i960, but the Canon is slightly faster, has the different papertray options, and has slightly cheaper ink ($12 each vs $13 each). I would stick with one of those two brands though, as they both use individual ink tanks vs HP/Lexmark tri-color tanks.
 
anyone tested the cd printing option on either printer yet??

I'm wondering how good it looks, and will it work with all printable media? BB @ CC only carry the "Memorex" printable cd/dvd media. But I know online you can get Print Write discs which are supposed to be great media.

I might upgrade to a cd printer if it's not just a gimmick by Epson & Canon. I hate Neeto labels 🙂
 
After not finding much reviews on the Epson printers, I've come down to these 3 choices... Epson R300, R300M, and RX500. I"m trying to find out if the RX500's photo quality exactly the same as the R300/R300M? If so then my final choice would be the RX500. Thanks guys.
 
It should be, they both use the same 6 inks, so the print heads can't be too different to vary the results. The prints have always looked the same to me...

They are all the same printer, just different options...R300 is the base model, R300M has the color screen, RX500 is the all-in-one variation. Hope this helps.
 
Originally posted by: skiersteve
The Canon seems like it brightens the image, like its on a 'vivid' setting or something.

There is a vivid setting on the Canon. I find that it makes bright, outdoor shots look much more realistic, but does little for night or shots with poor lighting.
Click to expand...
 
RE:"After not finding much reviews on the Epson printers, I've come down to these 3 choices... Epson R300, R300M, and RX500"

Beats me how you can to that conclusion but I wish you luck and a fat wallet. And I hope you don't have too many photos to print and don't mind clogged printheads. Maybe you can get in on the Users lawsuit against Epson too.
 
Just got myself the Epson r300 today =) Anybody knows a good site to get the 2.0 USB A/B cable for the printer? Thank you.
 
clogged printheads? He didn't buy a Stylus 🙂 Epson has come along way. And the ink is now mucho cheaper. I don't think that was his best bet for a printer. But, he could have done worse (HP & Lexmark)

I hope he enjoys his new toy.
 
Well I got my Epson R300 for 150, isn't that a great deal? I ordered the usb cables at acortech.com for 2 bucks, sounds like a great deal to me.
rolleye.gif
 
Originally posted by: GeminiZi
Well I got my Epson R300 for 150, isn't that a great deal? I ordered the usb cables at acortech.com for 2 bucks, sounds like a great deal to me.
rolleye.gif
Click to expand...

that is a great deal. The inks run a bit more money but the print quality for Epson's is outstanding. I am partial to Canon but if I needed a printer and saw an R300 for 150 bucks I would have jumped all over it!

lucky deal for you, just checked Ebay and they have 1, it's 165 right now. and bet it'll hit close to 200 before the auction is over.
 
Originally posted by: Macro2
Canon i960/i900D, forget the rest.

Mac
Click to expand...

I did a lot of research before buying a new photo printer, and I decided on the Canon i960. Steve's Digicams did an awesome review. I bought the i960 from newegg for 187 shipped, and set it up the other day. A few minutes ago I printed my first 4x6 borderless picture on the included Canon photo paper pro and I am shocked at the result. The quality is the best I've ever seen from a photo printer, and it rivals that of the photo lab. Hands down the i960 has got to be one of the best photo printers on the market. It was worth every penny that I spent on it.
 
I was planning for a long time that my next printer would be a Canon. I set my sights on the i850, then the i860, then I saw the i865! (ignore references to ink that fades when exposed to the elements, ie air and light)
Direct printing on CD's! DVDs! Must have this feature! How much is it at Newegg? Huh?, not available? Try Best Buy, Circuit City, Mwave, AllStarShop, BananaPC, GameVE, ZipZoomFly...Pricewatch...not available anywhere. Google for it, find it in France, Germany, and Australia. Find newsgroup message stating someone patented printing directly to CD's in USA, and nobody want to pay the fees. Except Epson. Epson has excellent DuraBright inks that stand up to exposure to light and air (and more resistant to water!). Now I have my sights set on a 300R. Some day I'll actually purchase one. Maybe the next time I run out of ink on my HP600C. Maybe. :frown:
 
I think the Canon photo paper stinks. It's too floppy and tends to have "waves and ripples" after it gets a lot of ink
Click to expand...
total b.s.

get a canon printer...i got the wife a canon i860....amazing prints (when you use canon paper...i tried the "pro" and the "plus" paper..both fantastic...prints appeared as if from a photofinisher shop..just spectacular...

the paper is key..
the "pro" paper is pricy..about 26 cents/print
the plus paper is about 16 cents/print.....you can get it "bulk" at Sam's Club, or pretty cheap from Amazon


the canon i860 usually on sale about 140.00

sams
amamzon
newegg - i860 lowest cost
 

I would advise the Epson 2200 with archival 7 color inks this runs about $700 but I'm not sure if a cheaper model will use the archival 7 color ink system
 
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