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alpinerockfiend
Jun 28, 2004, 10:36 PM
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This has probably been posted somewhere, and if so please direct me to the post. But anyway....
I've been into digital photography and am looking to find a printer of my own. What are some reccomendations? I mainly make 4x6, but would like something with 81/2x11 capabilities also. I want something high quality, though not professional.
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trenchdigger
Jun 28, 2004, 10:45 PM
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Do you have a Wal-Mart nearby? Take your pictures on CD to their Fuji 1-hr digital machines. They're printed on the same machines at the 1 hr photo and the quality is MUCH better than you'll get with any printer at home. Did I mention they cost something like $0.29 per 4x6 and under $3 for an 8x10? That's cheaper than any home printer too when you consider the cost of paper and ink. I highly recommend using "profession" printing rather than purchasing your own.
~Adam~
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jdouble
Jun 28, 2004, 10:55 PM
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Don't do it!
Burn VCD's or DVD's and show your pictures on anyones TV w/DVD player. Prints are expensive, even after owning a good printer, and much smaller than most TV screens. If I need to make them, which is very rare these days, I get them off the net for around 30 cents for a 4 X 6. You probably know how expensive ink and paper are, plus the printer, and after your first digital slide show on a 52 inch plasma screen you might not be satisfied with old fashioned 4 INCH X 6 INCH prints anymore! Just one guys opinion, I hope it helps.
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alpinerockfiend
Jun 29, 2004, 7:00 PM
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Thanks for the info, but I'm looking to purchase a printer anyway and I'd really like to get one with high-quality image printing capabilities.
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alpinerockfiend
Jun 29, 2004, 7:01 PM
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Thanks for the info, but I'm looking to purchase a printer anyway and I'd really like to get one with high-quality image printing capabilities.
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thegreytradster
Jul 1, 2004, 2:54 PM
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Check out a HP 5850 Not to expensive, fast and the results at 8x10 with a 1.5 mp file are almost as good as 35mm. Works wireless, USB2 or Eathernet. Use a glossy inkjet photo paper. Ilford is under $30 per100 at Sams Club.
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hansensv
Jul 1, 2004, 4:05 PM
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You can buy any of the HP photosmart printers on the market. They are excellent. The HP all-in-one's will print photos will print photos fine as well. The newer photosmart printers will now do great black and white prints with the new black and white photo ink.
edit: to say that the quality of prints is the same with the all-in-one printers vs. the photosmart printers, the photosmarts make things more convenient and also have the added feature of black and white prints.
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jerrygarcia
Jul 1, 2004, 4:07 PM
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Ive got a canon I560 I use, fairly cheap and nice color prints on photo paper. Don't spend extra cash getting one of the printers you can hook your camera directly to for printing pics, you will end up storing pics on your hard drive anyways.
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danl
Jul 1, 2004, 4:30 PM
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Epson R200 with Epson inks and Epson premium Semi Gloss.
The printer is probably the best value on the market these days. The resolution is stellar and the epson dither patterns are great as well.
In addition good inks and paper are key
Make sure that your monitor is properly calibrated before printing. It'll help you waste less ink and paper.
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kpalsson
Jul 1, 2004, 11:04 PM
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Re: cost of printing at home.
4x6s I can't beat walmart/walgreends/longs whatever. 25c or so is stellar
but for 8x10s, I'm definitely beating them. After going through a couple of rounds of ink so far, I estimate my costs per 8.5x11 to be ~$1.80 or so. (including ink _and_ paper)
I use a canon i960, and either canon Photo Paper Plus Glossy, (in my opinion, better than the photo paper pro, and cheaper to boot) or Ilford Classic Pearl. I stick with canon inks.
Having a printer at home is great, it's so convenient. Even if you live in the carpark at walmart, it's not as convenient.
However, colour management sucks. You basically need to get a custom printer profile for each paper you'll use. No matter how well profiled the monitor might be, it's meaningless when the printer profile isn't spot on. You simply can't beat frontier or noritsu (the machines at walmart and friends) for reliable colour management.
In summary:
1, buy your own printer, need to profile both monitor and printer
2, print externally, need to profile your monitor.
If you don't do these, you _will_ get frustrated by colours not matching. (they won't match your memory, the screen, or prints done elsewhere)
ah well.
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ryanpfleger
Jul 5, 2004, 5:27 PM
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If you think you're going to get serious about making digital prints, then I would go with one of the Epson printers that use pigmented inks, as opposed to dye based inks. I have the 2200 and its a wonderful printer, though maybe a bit pricey for your needs. They 1280 is also a great printer, and will still do up to 13" wide for significantly less money. The R200 is a dye based printer, but still has good image quality, though the prints are not even close to archival. I have heard good things about Canon's photo printers. HP however is another story. I would seriously steer clear of them for photo printers. I have owned their printers in the past and have also worked in technical support for their Photosmart division. They frequently bring printers with buggy firmware and software to market well before they should. Also in terms of print quality they are a step behind both Epson and Canon. They do make fabulous document printers however.
Ryan
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pico23
Jul 5, 2004, 9:47 PM
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In reply to: Do you have a Wal-Mart nearby? Take your pictures on CD to their Fuji 1-hr digital machines. They're printed on the same machines at the 1 hr photo and the quality is MUCH better than you'll get with any printer at home. Did I mention they cost something like $0.29 per 4x6 and under $3 for an 8x10? That's cheaper than any home printer too when you consider the cost of paper and ink. I highly recommend using "profession" printing rather than purchasing your own. ~Adam~
depending on the printer they are using Walmart can give excellent results. I believe they are around .24 a print and .20 for over 50. Make sure they are using a newer printer like a Fuji Frontier 370 or 390 and your results should be pretty good. One problem though is they use a lustre paper which is excellent for many things such as portraiture but causes a loss in image sharpness. For most uses this loss isn't a problem. Another problem is while Walmart or most other places will reprint you prints a second time if they didn't come out right the first time they are not custom labs and are not going to spend all day getting your photos to look just right.
On the other hand an injet printer is actually capable of a higher resolution (when used with a high end glossy paper). My recommendation is Canon. My i960 is sitting in front of me and I love it. It's produced some great prints for me over the last year and it's gotten great reviews. right now it can be had for about $169 after rebate. my only caveat is it only have 6 ink tanks and not 7 or 8. My only other complaint was that it couldn't afford the next model up which can print larger prints but at twice the cost.
Those epsons that ryan mentions sound appealing but my past experiences with epson are similar to his with HP. The printers never lasted a year but were always a little cheaper and a little more spec'd then the canon or other brand printers. I'll be pretty unlikely to own anything but Canon from now on regardless of epsons (or any other brands) claims.
The last problem with inkjets is that the photos are no where near archival. I've got traditional prints of myself as a kid that still look incredible but I've got faded inkjets from a few years ago. If you keep them behind glass or some other protection they tend to last longer.
So both have advantages in many respects. Cost wise a $.20 4x6 is unbeatable but a $3-5 8x10 can easily be beat. I'm estimating an 8x10 cost me less than $1.00 a print including ink and high end paper.
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puddingstone_wilson
Jul 11, 2004, 1:19 PM
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In reply to: Ive got a canon I560 I use, fairly cheap and nice color prints on photo paper. Don't spend extra cash getting one of the printers you can hook your camera directly to for printing pics, you will end up storing pics on your hard drive anyways.
Althought I haven't used it a ton, I have a I560 too and in my opinion it does an amazing job. I've printed great 8x10" on it. I use shutterfly.com or shutterbug.com sometimes too (I can't remember the name) but the I560 does just as good a job in my opinion.
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