best home printer for photos?
I currently have a low end lexmark which is: ok but only ok. I'd like to do better. I know it used to be a good rule of thumb that if you got a cheap printer, you'd pay more for ink and supplies. Is this still the same rule of thumb? I can spend up to $200-300, I think. Does anybody have any good suggestions? |
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| I have 2 printers. An HP Photosmart 8250 which prints excellent pictures & has options for variable sizes. It has 6 different color ink tanks but you can buy 2 sizes of all of them so ink lasts pretty long. I don't remember the price of the HP as it was several years ago I bought it. Then about a year ago my scanner was doing a lousy job (old) so I ran across a deal for $150.00 on a Canon PIXMA MX 870. This one has only 3 different colors of ink along with 2 sizes of black tanks for a total of 5 tanks. Only 1 size avaiable in each for the corresponding slots. It is a copier, fax,scanner & printer ....... all in 1 & I love it. It is wireless. I have to admit I haven't printed any photos on it but only because my other printer is hooked up to my computer & I KNOW how to use it (been lazy & haven't read the instructions on printing on the newer one). But I make color copies of items at times & I have to admit, they look like the real thing so I would think the photos would look good too. Both have the option of inserting your photo card into the printers themselves or printing off what you have on your computer. |
I have a Canon Pixma 6600D printer (6 tanks) and a Canon scanner, both are a few years old and they both still do a great job. I have printed on computer paper, watercolour paper, canvas, card stock ( anything that will feed through the printer ) and all have come out perfect in fact much better than my HP ever preformed  |
| If you're willing to spend at the top of your budget, I'd recommend the Canon Pixma Pro 9000 Mark II: http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PIXMA-Pro90 ... B002TPVS8W I work in marketing and communications and wind up printing tons of photos for people after programs and events plus I have a need to do other high quality printing for other work that I do. I bought this printer for work a couple of years ago to replace a dying high end Epson and I've never regretted it. The detail on the photos is amazing, it's fast, quiet and very easily switches from paper sizes. (With some of the past printers that I've worked with, the sensitivity was such that if the paper size was even a hair off from the specification, it would refuse the paper-- not so with the Canon). You can print from 3x5 to 11x17 so you have a huge range of sizes to work with. I do a considerable amount of printing and I don't find the ink to run out too quickly, although it has 8 tanks so it's not a cheap replacement when you have to do all of them at once. If you're printing high quality photos from a DSLR, the detail that you'll get from this printer is worth it. If you were just doing the occasional pic from a point and shoot, it might be a bit more than what you're looking for. For me, I'd always rather spend a little more and be able to know that I can do everything that I might ever need to do than spend $100 less and wish I could do a little better. I guess I'm big talking in this case, though, since work paid for this.  |
| Another option is to check out professional photo print shops in your area. Weigh the cost of the printer, ink, paper and the cost of the prints from a photo shop. I am not talking about WalMart or such. Look at the difference in quality of the prints - see if you think it is significant. Another consideration is the lifespan of the prints - though that is getting better. The pro photo shops do offer discounts at times, which helps. If you seriously want to get into photography, you will calibrate your monitor and set the specs for the photo shop printer, so that what you see on your screen is what you get in your print. |
| I used to have a nice HP all in one printer and I really liked it--right up until it died. But it gave me good quality photos during its lifetime, as well as ordinary, day to day copies or printing recipes, documents, that sort of thing. I wasn't in love but I was satisfied. Hubby talked me into replacing it with a very low end epson and while it's fine enough for day to day printing of the occasional document and while it scans well enough, I find it runs out of ink very quickly--with NO warning. It is easy to use and it is wireless, but those are the only pluses, as far as I am concerned. Would not purchase again. I am still a bit undecided about what I will do for a photo printer. I am in the middle of re-arranging my 'office' and computer set up and it will depend on how that looks and what space I have. I like the idea of the Canon for the quality of the prints but it doesn't seem to be all in one, which means I'd need a second printer for run of the mill printing/copying/scanning of documents. Unfortunately, there is no longer any photography shop in my town. I rarely get to go to other towns for errands/shopping because of the hours I work and commute--and the fact that the nearest larger town is 30 miles away. If I wanted to go to one of the print places where you bring a disc or memory card, it would be Walmart or Target. I don't want to do that. I will look at other HP printers to see if there is one I like. I know from my previous experience, that the ink seems to last longer if you get printers that use a lot of different colored inks, purchased separately. It's expensive to start out but maintaining seems to be cheaper. |
| I have a Canon PIXMA 560 series. It does everything but fax. It's not one of the more expensive photo printers, but it does pretty good quality prints. It has 3 color and 2 black ink tanks. I get most of my photos printed for my photo albums. It's way cheaper with ink and paper costs to have that done at Walmart or Walgreens. I do all of my prints through Walmart.com. It's very easy to load your pictures and much more cost effective. I usually do the 1 hour printing and pick them up at the store because I only live a couple miles away. They do offer home delivery for a very reasonable fee. I like doing all of it online since it's much faster than taking the camera card to the store. Cindy |
| If you plan on printing a lot of photos I think you're better off at ordering through an online service - you'll save $$ in the long run. Less frustrations too. As a letterpress artist - I have a love and hate relationship with Epson -- the only reason I keep buying an Epson is because their colors are spot on. Their print quality is also beautiful .... I used to have the pricy 2200 model and it died on me... I end up buying the inexpensive Epson Artisan and the quality of the print is just as good as the 2200. I have not had any problems with it so far *knocks on wood* and I use it a lot - I mean a lot. I'm really picky about colors- especially when it comes to matching the Pantone on the Mac screen- I found the canon colors to be off with a Mac. Maybe it works better with the PC, I dont know, I can never get it right.. So frustrating because I love their products. |
| I think I keep forgetting I can order prints online. Plus: I am a bit of a control freak/addicted to the instant gratification of printing my own. But cheaper/better quality is a good point. Will have to mull it over....... |
london wrote: If you plan on printing a lot of photos I think you're better off at ordering through an online service - you'll save $$ in the long run. Less frustrations too. As a letterpress artist - I have a love and hate relationship with Epson -- the only reason I keep buying an Epson is because their colors are spot on. Their print quality is also beautiful .... I used to have the pricy 2200 model and it died on me... I end up buying the inexpensive Epson Artisan and the quality of the print is just as good as the 2200. I have not had any problems with it so far *knocks on wood* and I use it a lot - I mean a lot. You've also described my relationship with my Epsons. I've only used Epsons for years. I still have one at home that I use but I had had so many fights with my "better" one at work, that I had finally had it and decided to give the Canon a try, mostly out of spite. I was pleasantly surprised because I probably use it even more to print things like invites, stationery, small posters and other stuff on anything from card stock to canvas and the quality is excellent. |
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