Best photo printer for under $100?

[kyzen]

cNet seems to point towards the Canon Pixma ip2600 as one of the best photo printers, and it comes in at a respectable $50. Amazon user reviews seem to indicate that it churns through ink painfully fast.

I'm looking for something to print great 4x6 and 5x7's with, and still retain decent quality when printing a full sheet photo (8x10). I'm also not looking to spend a lot.

The printer will be used mostly to print mediocre pictures for friends, or to proof images - any real prints I want I'll get through a professional printing service. So there's no point in picking up a really pricey printer.

 

[Twitch22]

Hello Kyzen.

I've been an avid photographer since my HS & college days. Back when film was still king, Epson was the big name is photo printing and scanning. IMHO, they still are. Epsons have remained atop the photo printer world for two big reasons: their inks are simply wonderful and their print heads have such high-resolutions.

If i was looking to get a good, solid printer that will do justice to more than "mediocre pictures" or "proof-sheets", look at the Epson Stylus Photo R280. If you buy it direct from Epson, it's only $55 bucks with free shipping! Yeah, it's a refurbed price, but trust me...straight from Epson, the refurbs are pretty much new. Warranties, box contents, inks, etc. are all the same from the retail versions.

Anyway, the R280 has the ultra-high print resolution (5760 x 1440) and it uses 6 seperate color Claria ink system. Plus, it can print directly on printable CD/DVDs.

If you want something just a bit nicer, look at the Stylus Phot RX-Series. They have built in card readers, a high-bit photo quality scanner and LCD screens so you can view, edit, correct & print pics without your computer. Like the R280, the RXs use the same Claria Hi-Definition ink system with seperate color tanks.

I just bought a refurbished RX680 from them for $84.60 with free shipping. The thing arrived via FedEx ground in three days! For the past month, I've printed about 100 or so photos using all sorts of different photo papers and each one was fantastic! Also the drivers & software for Vista (even the 64-bit flavors) are powerful and stable.

I do think Cannon makes a fine printer (my wife uses a Pixma IP 1800) but for photos, you can't go wrong with Epson. And if shop their Clearence Center, the deals are just too good not to consider! So far, I've bought 2 printers direct from Epson's Clearence Center and I couldn't be happier with the products, service and, especially, their prices!

Just my .02 cents...good luck!

Twitch

 

[Kaido]

I agree, Epson is #1 in my book for consumer photo printers. I have a 4x6" Epson Photo Printer, an R220 (just died), and an R680 (just ordered). The R220 (and my R200 before that) did wonderful prints, and even let you print on printable CD and DVD discs (silver and white). Great pictures - good color and not horribly slow either!

 

[kyzen]

Ok, I'm looking primarily at Epson and Canon printers now (I know HP supposedly makes good printers, but I grew sick of their resource hogging and error prone drivers years ago, and have no inclination to try again).

I've also decided to increase my budget a little bit, looking mostly at the $200 range, but willing to jump up to as high as $300 for the right reasons.

At this point the printers I'm considering are:

Canon Pixma MX850 - $170- ($150 on Black Friday)
Canon Pixma MX700 - $106 - ($100 on Black Friday)
Canon Pixma IP2600 - $50, is #2 on Cnet's top 5 inkjt photo printers list

Epson Artisan 800 - $252 (or $230 on Black Friday)
Epson Artisan 700 - $170
Epson Workforce 600 - $170
Epson Workforce 500 - $100
Epson NX400 - $100 ($70 on Black Friday)
Epson Stylus NX105 - $100 ($30 on Black Friday)

I'm welcome to other model suggestions as well, but those are the ones I've read are either great quality, or great values.

I'm still trying to determine if it would be cheaper to do prints at home - and if I can even approach the quality of professional photo printing sites. Any input there would be greatly appreciated.

I also recall reading that some companies have chips on their ink cartridges that report empty/low ink levels when the ink actually isn't empty - unless I end up using this printer for all my 8.5x11 or lower prints then that means that I'll realistically only make a couple of prints a month - and I don't want to be forced to buy ink when I don't actually need it. Anybody know anything about this?

 

[extra]

Epson and Canon both make great photo printers. But honestly...

Just get an Epson RX595 already (or other printer that has the same basic printhead/same inks).

Then for ink, buy the stuff from swiftink.com during their buy one get one free sale, which gets you 2 FULL SETS OF 6 FOR $35. Then buy the Kirkland Signature brand photo paper at costco for glossy, and/or luster paper at www.theeconozone.com . You are now equipped to make prints for almost nothing! "But, but, the quality, it's going to suck!" I hear you say...And first of all, lets be honest. The prints aren't going to last as long if they are displayed, not like a frontier or noritsu "real" photo will, and nowhere near like a good pigment print will. But who cares? If you're like me maybe like 1-5% of the pictures you print you actually hang up. Most you make to share! "Okay, but extra, what about the quality???" Okay, okay, fine...

I have an rx595 and an epson R1900. Oh, and at my work (the company I work for supports some major retailer's photo labs) I can print for free on our Frontier 340 or various dye-sub photo printers if I feel like it. (gotta run prints through our 340 or chemistry goes to waste! originally we were going to charge a small amount for people to use it, but nooooo, no one brought in prints, so finally we are like begging our employees to bring in their memory cards lol)..

Anyway, I printed out a picture (was trying to upload it, but imageshack is being incredibly slow at the moment...On the rx595, the r1900, fuji frontier 340, and a fuji ask-4000 dye-sub printer (it's a re-branded copal printer). And yes, I turned image intelligence off on the PIC.

I then asked people to pick which one they preferred and asked them which prints they thought came from what.

Of the people who had a preference, it was pretty much a 3 way split between each of the inkjets and the ff340, with a slight edge going to the inkjets. NO ONE preferred the dye-sub print.

But here is the really funny thing: most people thought the rx595 print had come from the frontier 340...lolololol.

So, in conclusion: Go buy epson rx595. Buy the stuff from swiftink and the costco photo paper. Have fun making prints and exploring the different settings. For pictures you LOVE and want to hang up, take them to COSTCO and have them printed or take them to a friend with a pigment based printer like an r1900, r1800, or r2xxx.

 

[kyzen]

Thanks. Unfortunately I'm limited to buying from a select few big box stores - I have a bunch of giftcards I've been sitting on (because I keep buying things online instead ) that I really ought to use. The only RX series that I've seen so far is the RX680.

Anybody know how much better the printers with 4-6 ink cartridges are over the standard tri-color cartridges?

 

[Twitch22]

Originally posted by: kyzen
Ok, I'm looking primarily at Epson and Canon printers now (I know HP supposedly makes good printers, but I grew sick of their resource hogging and error prone drivers years ago, and have no inclination to try again).

I've also decided to increase my budget a little bit, looking mostly at the $200 range, but willing to jump up to as high as $300 for the right reasons.

At this point the printers I'm considering are:

Canon Pixma MX850 - $170- ($150 on Black Friday)
Canon Pixma MX700 - $106 - ($100 on Black Friday)
Canon Pixma IP2600 - $50, is #2 on Cnet's top 5 inkjt photo printers list

Epson Artisan 800 - $252 (or $230 on Black Friday)
Epson Artisan 700 - $170
Epson Workforce 600 - $170
Epson Workforce 500 - $100
Epson NX400 - $100 ($70 on Black Friday)
Epson Stylus NX105 - $100 ($30 on Black Friday)

I'm welcome to other model suggestions as well, but those are the ones I've read are either great quality, or great values.

I'm still trying to determine if it would be cheaper to do prints at home - and if I can even approach the quality of professional photo printing sites. Any input there would be greatly appreciated.

I also recall reading that some companies have chips on their ink cartridges that report empty/low ink levels when the ink actually isn't empty - unless I end up using this printer for all my 8.5x11 or lower prints then that means that I'll realistically only make a couple of prints a month - and I don't want to be forced to buy ink when I don't actually need it. Anybody know anything about this?

Hello Kyzen!

Well, now you're talking! If you're gonna' throw down in the $200 to $300 range, get an Artisan...no questions, no worries, no regrets! I mean, they have EVERYTHING, including Wi-Fi!! Photo-wise, the Artisans are the best Epson offers outside their Professional Line. Their resolutions, color fidelity and shading are really unbelievable. In person, the photo prints produced by the Artisan printers are virtually equal to a color laser or dye-sub printer. Of course, you gotta' use quality paper...like Epson, right?

The Workforce and the NX-series printers won't hold a candle to the photo printing output of an Artisan or RX-series. While they're very capable printers, their focus is on overall versatility and document speed. They're more in-line with a everyday/home office type product. They also don't use the Claria inks that Epson puts in the Artisans and RXs. The Claria inks make such a huge difference, both in print quality and in durability and color stability. Epson does use chip-technology in each of their ink refills to communicate not only ink levels, but printhead/nozzle diagnostics as well.

You mentioned great quality and great value. The Artisans offer both. I know the Pixmas are cheaper right away, but quality-wise, they won't touch an Epson in a real-world, photo-for-photo, side-by-side comparison. And, IMHO, cNet reviews are questionable at best. I mean, really, are any of them professional photographers or even a "pro-sumer" level shooter? Better to read printer reviews from digital photography sites, where real photo pros and serious amatures review products.

Heck, I'm hoping Santa will leave me a Nikon D90 or Pentax K20D under my tree...if he does, I'll be getting an Artisan 800 myself!

Get the Artisan. At the price level you're looking at, I truly believe it's the best photo inkjet around and a really good All-In-One to boot!

Good luck...Happy Turkey Day!

Twitch

 

[Twitch22]

Originally posted by: kyzen
Thanks. Unfortunately I'm limited to buying from a select few big box stores - I have a bunch of giftcards I've been sitting on (because I keep buying things online instead ) that I really ought to use. The only RX series that I've seen so far is the RX680.

Anybody know how much better the printers with 4-6 ink cartridges are over the standard tri-color cartridges?

The RX-680 is the replacement for the RX-595. It'll become harder to find a RX-595 in stores. Epson themselves only have them in the Clearence section of their web-store.

The number of tanks a printer has gives you two distinct advantages. First, it can be cheaper to run the printer since you can replace colors as needed instead of replacing a cartridge that contains many colors. (IOW, if you have one color cartridge that has all three primary colors, even if just the magenta is out, you gotta' replace the whole thing. With an individual magenta tank, you only have to replace that leaving the other colors as is.)

Second, it makes for better photo prints since the colors can be applied more precisely. This results in better resolutions, fidelity and reduced artifacts like banding and over-spray.

Twitch

 

[extra]

The RX-680 is essentially the same *printer* as the rx595. It has other differences and some more features, but the printhead/inks, etc===the same.