Need advice/input on high quality photo printer

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Need advice/input on high quality photo printer

April 09, 2006, 10:53:59 PM

I'm tired of fighting the cropping, "auto-enhancing," and other automated features that come with digital prints whether I want these things or not.

I'm getting my own photo printer and I'm willing to pay 500 or 600 bucks for a good one.

So, while I am searching around on my own to learn about the various features and technology choices, I figured I would post here to see what tips and pointers some of you all have. I want this printer to print at least 8x10 and maybe the next size up and I am very buttstuff when it comes to quality.

I also don't want to get raped on refill costs but I'll have to see what's out there first.

So, post your tips and advice on what features to get and also what to watch out for or avoid.

Need advice/input on high quality photo printer

Reply #1 – April 09, 2006, 11:24:35 PM

I have an Epson Stylus Photo 825.
It's a few years old but it still does a great job making prints.
It has a port to put in your photo card so you don't even need to use the computer. I haven't used that feature though.

The quality has been excellent, you just have to go in and set it properly in the printing preferences.
Ink flow is smooth and not spotted like some ink jets.

Ink is about $20-25 for the color replacements
Black is around $30

I don't remember how much the printer cost when it was new but I know they have some updated ones out now.

I'd say any Epson photo printer would do the job.
you can find more info about it here

My best advice for you is to just find some printers you like and read reviews online about them. You can get a pretty good general idea about the quality from the consumer reviews.

*EDIT- been reading the reviews on my printer. Not so good. Funny, I haven't had any problems with it

Need advice/input on high quality photo printer

Reply #2 – April 10, 2006, 05:52:05 PM

the HP printers are pretty good, seen a few ppl with em, if you look close you can tell they are prints, but from a normal distance they look really good. you can get a pretty good photo printer for under 300 bucks. check out http://www.tomshardware.com they have some good reviews from time to time.

see if a place will let you test print, and also check out other review sites online with customer reviews, remember to get a consensus, and not just one users review as they may just have had bad luck.

also remember that the quality of paper you use matters as well.

Need advice/input on high quality photo printer

Reply #3 – April 11, 2006, 01:43:11 PM

epson printers arethe best I have ever had. They break alot easier then a hp though.

Need advice/input on high quality photo printer

Reply #4 – April 11, 2006, 02:02:28 PM

I'm a veteran of many Epson printers (currently a C80 and C84) and can tell you that the print quality is absolutely excellent. The Durabrite inks are second to none. You would be hard pressed to find another brand the consistently prints out like an Epson.

Unfortunately, if you scour the web even slightly, you will find that a lot of Espon models made from 1-3 years ago have had discharge tube failures. They will either clog or come off when you change out the ink cartridges. My C80 is experiencing that...it's been disassembled 3 times now. The discharge tube was connected but clogged, and the print head was also clogged. All I need is a good cleaning kit and it *should* be good to go. So far the C84 has been on my good side, no problems to report. Supposedly, Epson printers are no longer like that...but if it were me, I'd check into it further.

Now with HP's (and some other brands), the ink cartridge is also the print head. That means if it's printing funky, change out the ink cartridge and usually the problem goes away immediately. I like that system but I also have quite a pile of HP ink cartridges that, although full, are "bad" from a printing point of view. Good principle, fair execution in the case of HP. I have heard from people that like Canon printers. No experience with them on my end.

I think a trip to Staples or Office Max might help a lot, Karl. In my experience the office supply places tend to have more helpful staff on hand. You can print out test pages to your heart's desire that way.

Need advice/input on high quality photo printer

Reply #5 – April 11, 2006, 04:13:09 PM

I used to (still have, actually) a Lexmark i3. While not a photo printer, I can tell you a bit about their inks (my father has a Lexmark as well). The cartridges for my i3 are tiny compared to those for my father's Z22. When everything was working properly it printed amazing prints, however, the print heads on the cartridges for the i3 are soooo touchy I barely ever used an entire cartrdige before they went bad (couldn't tell if it was temp or humidity that was doing it, as I changed both to no avail) However, my father's Z22 has none of these problems, so it seems that it varies by model for Lexmark. I'm now running a Konica Minolta magicolor 2400W color laser. For what I do (barely any photos), it is absolutely amazing!

My brother just got a photo printer a while back, so I'll talk to him and see what it is and how he likes it.

Need advice/input on high quality photo printer

Reply #6 – April 11, 2006, 10:44:07 PM

We have a Canon S9000, and it prints very nice quality photos. It'll print up to 12x16 or whatever the size around that dimension is. It's able to do borderless printing, but isn't full-bleed. The ink cartriges can be bought in a pack with all 7 (yeah, it's a lot) colors in it anywhere from 60 to 90 dollars. It uses Black, Magenta, Cyan, Yellow, Photo M, Photo C, and Photo Y ink carts. It prints at a decent speed too for the full size pictures. Hope that helps.