Never thought choosing a printer would be so tough.

[coolred]

It seems like each manufacturer has like 10 differant models of standard inkjet printers. I am pretty sure I have narrowed my choices down to a canon or an epson. I just got a new digicam, and want to get rid of my expensive ink munching lexmark Z52. I am trying the best I can to compare the differant models, which is hard because there are so many and for some reason I can't get the compare functions from bestbuy or circuit city to work.

First a question, the printers with 8 colors, I understand that makes for better looking photos, but how much better are they? Those printers tend to be about twice the price of the 5 and 6 color printers which from what I understand many of these can produce photo lab quality prints with only thier 5 and 6 colors. As long as the the medium range of printers can make excellant quality prints, than thats probablly the way I will go.

I Just can't believe all the minute differance in all these printers, and some of them seem kind of on the wrong printer. I mean canon for example, thier top of the like i9900 has 2 picoliter droplets, yet the i5000 at half the price has 1 picoliter droplets. As well the i5000 has a higher max resolution then the i9900. The i9900 does offer large printers, faster prints and 8 colors over the i5000's 5 colors. I just don't understand why its lacking in the other areas.

But anyways, does anyone have the numbers on cost per page for both epson and canon printers. I basically want something that can print decent text, and excellant photos, yet do this as cheaply as possible. I like that some of the epsons can print to CD/DVD's, that would be nice, but I think I would use the dual paper trays and dual side printing of the canons a bit more.

I will continue my reasearch, but any advice or opininions are welcome.

 

[Dewey]

The bottom line is print quality, especially if you are printing pictures. In theory more colors and a smaller drop size are better, but in practice it isn't always that simple. You really need to examine the prints. Canon and Epson make great ink printers for photographs. Printing online at walmart is still cheaper. If you aren't very serious (not a pro), you'll be happy with any good photo printer, IMO. I used to recommend the Epson Photo Stylus 780 when it could be bought for $70 online. I'm an Epson guy, so I can tell you that even the cheapest Epson PHOTO printer is very good. Canons tend to print faster, consider that if it matters to you. Also there is the issue of how long the prints will last. If that matters to you your search will be a little more complicated.
I suggest you check out the printing forum at www.dpreview.com. There is alot of information there.

 

[coolred]

So right now I am considering the Canon i5000. It seems to have several very nice high end qualitys, and witha coupon I think I can get it for like 175.00 at best buy. Is that a good printer?

 

[hausdave]

what is your price range? Are you looking for phot printer or just color output?

 

[Zepper]

The i9900 is from the old "i" series of printers - the new Pixma series are numbered "iP??00. The iP5000 is basically the iP4000 with twice the res. the 5000 is good where detail in your printing is the top criterion. If accurate colors are more important, then the iP6000D might be more like it. The 8500 can do more true-to-life greens and reds than the others - six color printers can only approximate true greens or reds. I have the iP3000 and really like it - still on sale at newegg for under $70. shipped for a couple of hours (sale ends at 5:30pm Pacific Time). steves-digicams.com has reviews on several of the new Pixma models.
. I get a full set of 3rd-party ink tanks for $11.00 shipped (USAinkjet on eBay).
.bh.

:moon:

 

[sunase]

I like the image quality on Epsons, and the price is good, but damn they break and clog all the time (and the last one they got me on was an MFD so even more went down the drain than when a normal printer breaks). I've had 3 Epsons break on me and all that time I also had a single HP trucking along. Apparently HP managed this feat by having new print heads in the ink cartridges.

Anyway I finally replaced the HP a couple months ago because it was like a decade old and got a business one where you can replace heads and cartridges separately. It's too bad Epson doesn't have that because my Epsons were constantly clogging (and I even had a service util that did a more powerful head cleaning than usual, which wasn't enough to save the last one that died).

Anyway, so my anecdotal evidence says avoid Epson at all costs.

 

[coolred]

Well what really are the pros and cons betweent he i6000D and iP5000? As zepper said, the 6000D has the extra photo cyan and photo magenta which produces better colors I suppose. But the 5000 will produce more detail with its smaller 1 picoliter droplets. But it also has the extra black ink tank, which should help with better looking blacks in the photos. I just picked up the 5000, so hopefully it will do what I want.

 

[CraigRT]

I buy printers based on cartridge prices... my Canon had the cheapest cartridges and I haven't regretted buying it that's for sure.

 

[Goi]

I've owned 2 Epsons and 2 Canons, and the Canons have always been better - better prints, faster, cheaper(cost/page), more reliable(doesn't gimme weird print problems) and not as noisy.

Anyway, THG's printer reviews give you cost per page, and the Canons always top the charts in terms of affordability

 

[Budmantom]

The best photo printers are Epsons(I like the 785epx) but the best printers are canons(I have the i450), I pay $3 for my epson ink carts and $1 for the canon. The epson does take a while to learn and you always have to clean the heads.

When I buy another printer it will be a canon ip1500 or 3000.

As Dewey said if you want to print your photo's go to walmart, winkflash or snapfish, the prices are cheaper and you can't beat the quality.



Tom

 

[piroroadkill]

I would personally get a colour laser if I had to purchase a new printer, because damn they are quick and sweet.

 

[robcy]

Try looking into the Epson Photo Stylus 825/925. You can still find these online for less than $100. Great photo printers, and cheap ink. If you want to try non-OEM ink, then really, really cheap ink. I have an 825, and would not trade it for the world, its the main reason I have gone totally digital, and got rid of all my film camaras.

 

[Erasmus-X]

Yes, Epson printers do have annoying clog problems and require a little more maintenance, but I've also experienced the same problems (although to a lesser extent) on Canon models. Epson wins hands-down on overall photo print quality, however. I recently modified my Sylus Photo 1280 (a 13" wide format model) with a Niagara II continuous feed system for three reasons: 1) I never have to buy cartrdiges again (the ink is vacuum-fed through bottles), 2) FAR less clogging problems, and 3) I can use archival quality inks now that are very close equivalents to Epson UltraChrome that are only found on the more expensive models. Couldn't be happier with this setup - the BEST $200 I've spent in a long time. Plus, I print so many photos being a hobbyist that I hardly ever need to run cleaning cycles on the heads.

As far as Epson's current photo lineup is concerned, they start at $100 for the Stylus Photo R200. Spend $100 more and you get essentially the same printer with card readers and PictBridge (R320). Both models are unique in the US market in that they can print labels directly on printable CD/DVDs. Those are both 6-color (CMYKcm) models. Their model up is the R800, and that one uses a 7-color UltraChrome Hi-Gloss ink set (CMYKmKpRB) with a gloss optimizer. No card readers or PictBridge; prints over USB or Firewire connections. $400 retail.

The Canon Pixma 5000 is also a terrific model for about $200. It's a bit cheaper on ink, too. However, this model still produces dye-based prints which won't last as long as a pigment print from the R800. But then again we're talking about a model that costs half as much.

 

[coolred]

Yeah I am not as worried about how long the pictures will last. If they are being given away I will porbablly get them done professionally, but for my I will just always keep the digital as a backup and reprint if needed.


Kinda off my own topic, but now I need to start learning more about photo editing, any good sites to start with?