Color Printer Suggestions?
BoyAngel1127
I would like to purchase a color printer for printing out photographs.
I would like to keep the cost down as much as possible.
I heard that ink can get expensive.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
BA
Karen Wheless
I prefer to use generic cartridges. To me, they are a good compromise
between ease of use and cost. I tried refilling my own and it was not a
good experience, the printer immediately started spitting ink and
smearing (although some people have great results, it probably works
better for some printers than others). But paying the price for regular
cartridges is outrageous. I've never had a problem with generics.
I have printed photographs using generic cartridges, and to me they look
just the same as using the branded cartridges. But I'm not a
professional photographer, so I may not be seeing subtle differences.
The main thing you have to do to get good photograph printing is to use
photo paper, which is fairly expensive (about 50 cents a page, 2 photos
per page more or less). I think most inkjet printers do a decent job
printing photographs, if you want high quality prints you might want to
go for a more expensive model, but the differences between the cheaper
models and the expensive ones are not that dramatic. Most computer
stores will print test pages, which is the best way to compare. You can
also check online for reviews, I think zdnet does printer reviews.
I have an Epson printer and I think it prints photos very well. The
main disadvantage of the Epson is that the print heads are permanent,
some other printers have the print head incorporated into the ink
cartridge and so you get a new one every time you change cartridges.
This means the Epson is more likely to clog, especially if you don't use
the printer very often. I think generics tend to make this problem a
little bit worse if you don't use your printer at least once a week. I
use my printer frequently (usually 10 pages a day or more, usually in
color) so this isn't a problem for me, I'm more concerned with the cost
of ink, and I've never had a problem with clogs. But someone who only
wants to use their printer occasionally might want to pick another
brand.
Another option that some printers have is the option to put in different
types of ink without using up an entire cartridge. Some printers will
allow you to pull out a generic cartridge and put in a premium cartridge
just when you are printing photos. My printer won't do this, I don't
think it's an option in most Epsons, you can only remove the cartridge
when it's empty. Some printers also have the option of replacing one
color at a time, which could be useful.
Check online to see if generic cartridges are available for the printers
you are considering, or if you don't want to go with generics check the
prices for the regular cartridges. (Not all printers have generic
cartridges available, the Epson 777 for example has a computer chip in
the cartridge that prevents the use of cheap generics, very tricky.)
Most printers are very cheap to buy, but you can easily pay for the
printer twice over in just one year buying full price cartridges. I
just spoke to a friend who got a "bargain" printer for $1 but the
cartridges cost $40 each. Not a bargain in my opinion, she is afraid to
print anything because she can't afford to buy cartridges. She asks me
to print things for her instead. I'd rather have cheap cartridges and
feel like I can print whenever and whatever I want without breaking the
bank.
Some sites to check for generic cartridge availability and price:
http://www.simplybargains.com
http://www.megatoners.com
http://www.ink4art.com
http://www.atlascopy.com
Shop around a little bit, sometimes a store will have a great price on
one type of cartridge and terrible prices on others.
Karen
Me
"BoyAngel1127" <boyang...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20020430004912...@mb-fz.aol.com...
This depends on your computer's operating system AND the
level of print quality you want. Not all printers come with drivers
that support all operating systems. You also need to make sure
your printer supports the type of cable connection your computer
has. For example, if you buy a printer with a USB only connection,
but your computer doesn't have a USB port or a slot in which to
put a USB card, then you're SOL.
I like my Epson C80 that I recently purchased. Its good for my needs
and it works on the Mac OS X and Windows 2000 operating systems.
And its USB compatible.
Neil
Assuming you're in the US, go to local library and look at
recommendations in back issues of "Consumer Reports" magazine. Ask a
reference librarian to help you look.
Michael Jarrells
Some people buy ink refill kits to keep costs down. I personally use
laser printers because the toner costs less. I use black and white
too. Color is expensive.
I let Wal-Mart do all of my photos. I haven't done a formal analysis,
but if I printed all of the photos I get developed at Wal-Mart I think
it would be pretty expensive.
Mike Jarrells
rubbishbin
> Some people buy ink refill kits to keep costs down. I personally use
> laser printers because the toner costs less. I use black and white
> too. Color is expensive.
>
> I let Wal-Mart do all of my photos. I haven't done a formal analysis,
> but if I printed all of the photos I get developed at Wal-Mart I think
> it would be pretty expensive.
>
> Mike Jarrells
FWIW, I have an Epson Stylus C80. It does excellent text, moderately-good
photos (it's not a "photo printer" so i didn't expect to be dazzled), and
good "other" color printing. I have heard people gripe that the printer
does not accept 3rd-party inks and the cartriges cannot be refilled.. I
have not tried 3rd party ink or refills yet. I do have to say though, that
I am still using the color ink tanks that came with the printer, and they
are still about 30% full, after printing many, many photos at 2880dpi. The
black ink tends to run out faster, and I really would like to find some way
of getting it (black ink) for less than $30 per cartrige.
Another thing- when I bought the printer it had a $30 mail-in rebate. Epson
sent me the check within 4 weeks. I'm still waiting on rebates for things I
bought months ago from other companies. Way to go, Epson!
--
This email address is a spam dump.
goa...@fractious.net
> FWIW, I have an Epson Stylus C80. It does excellent text, moderately-good
> photos (it's not a "photo printer" so i didn't expect to be dazzled), and
I've got an older Stylus 740 -- great printer - USB, serial, parallel
works well with older and newer computers.
Cartridges aren't cheap, though, and it, too, isn't a "photo"
(6-color) printer - it's got a 3-color color cart, and a good
sized black cartridge.
I've got a newer Photo 870 (also not a recent model) and while
it does fabulous photos - 6 colors really do help - it's got
a dinky black cartridge, and kind of a waste to use for anything
beside photos.
> are still about 30% full, after printing many, many photos at 2880dpi. The
> black ink tends to run out faster, and I really would like to find some way
> of getting it (black ink) for less than $30 per cartrige.
If you're printing a lot of text, there's nothing that'll beat a decent
laser printer for cost per page printed. We've picked up a couple of
used laser printers - at costs of no more than the cost of a toner
cartridge - and done very well with them (several laserwriter II
models) though there was a little of mixing and matching of parts...
--
Ching Tai
I like the Epson photo printer the best. They seem to produce
the best printouts using Epson's photo grade paper and regular
ink. Get the 6 color printers. The cost per page is something
like $1.
rubbishbin
> If you're printing a lot of text, there's nothing that'll beat a decent
> laser printer for cost per page printed. We've picked up a couple of
> used laser printers - at costs of no more than the cost of a toner
> cartridge - and done very well with them (several laserwriter II
> models) though there was a little of mixing and matching of parts...
Based on that, it's almost tempting to buy a laser printer and become a
2-printer household :) My print server could handle that just fine.
Any model recommendations? (i'm using Linux)
Warren Block
> Based on that, it's almost tempting to buy a laser printer and become a
> 2-printer household :) My print server could handle that just fine.
> Any model recommendations? (i'm using Linux)
HP 4, 4+, 4m+, 5, 5+, 5m+. "m" models have PostScript built in. Great
printers, run forever, repairable if they break.
The older III and even II models are still around, but parts may be
more difficult to find for them.
Be careful; your inkjet may dry out if you don't use it for a while.
--
Warren Block * Rapid City, South Dakota * USA
Len
now I print all the junk in the universe. My ink costs $8. and lasts
about 6 months, while the paper costs $18 and that lasted13 months. I
save the nice stuff for the EPSON, which is about the best around.
Dang ink is a buster, but that is for all of them.
Sue Larkin
Wheless <karen....@verizon.net> wrote:
: I have printed photographs using generic cartridges, and to me they look
: just the same as using the branded cartridges. But I'm not a
: professional photographer, so I may not be seeing subtle differences.
: The main thing you have to do to get good photograph printing is to use
: photo paper, which is fairly expensive (about 50 cents a page, 2 photos
: per page more or less). I think most inkjet printers do a decent job
: printing photographs, if you want high quality prints you might want to
: go for a more expensive model, but the differences between the cheaper
: models and the expensive ones are not that dramatic.
I, too, like the generics and use them almost exclusively. However, I
found with my Epson 860, Epson photo paper and generic ink, the photos
begin to fade and change color rapidly...like within 8-9 months.
However, these photos are on a bulletin board altho' not in direct
sunlight. Has anyone else had this experience?
: I have an Epson printer and I think it prints photos very well.
Amazingly well! Ain't modern technology grand?!! <g>
: I'm more concerned with the cost
: of ink, and I've never had a problem with clogs. But someone who only
: wants to use their printer occasionally might want to pick another
: brand.
It was probably dumb luck, but I didn't use my Epson 600 for at least a
year and didn't have any problem with clogging. When I hooked it up
again I needed to clean the print heads only once!
: Another option that some printers have is the option to put in different
: types of ink without using up an entire cartridge. Some printers will
: allow you to pull out a generic cartridge and put in a premium cartridge
: just when you are printing photos.
I'd really love to have this feature. I purchased an Epson 880 and am
thinking of using it, with Epson cartridges only, just for final print
photos, switching to the 860 for everything else.
: Most printers are very cheap to buy, but you can easily pay for the
: printer twice over in just one year buying full price cartridges.
With the lower printer prices now, printers have become "disposable".
All of my Epson printers have come with Epson cartridges. Once those
are empty I switch to generics. As I understand it, generics will void
the printer's warranty. With sale prices at $69. (including approx.
$45. worth of Epson ink) I know I'll get more than $23. worth of use
out of it so I'm really not concerned about the warranty! And to think
what I paid for my first (and only...I still have it!) laser printer in
1990!!!
Aloha...Sue
Karen Wheless
> found with my Epson 860, Epson photo paper and generic ink, the photos
> begin to fade and change color rapidly...like within 8-9 months.
> However, these photos are on a bulletin board altho' not in direct
> sunlight. Has anyone else had this experience?
I've been reading a lot about archiving and acid-free and archival
photography storage lately. There is a question about whether inkjet
ink is "archival". Some brands are, some aren't. But since most
generic cartridges don't even have a brand name on the cartridge,
there's no way to find out - and my guess is "not". That may be an
issue if you're going to use a printer for printing photographs that you
want to keep in the long term.
However, I have a photo that I printed with generic ink on Kodak photo
paper, and it still looks fine after about a year and a half. It's been
displayed in a frame, not in direct sunlight but behind glass. I don't
know whether it will be OK in the long term. But one problem with
generic ink is that there's no way to know which types or brands are
good or bad. If I was going to print photos for the long term, I'd
probably use Epson brand ink, I think it is "archival quality".
> It was probably dumb luck, but I didn't use my Epson 600 for at least a
> year and didn't have any problem with clogging. When I hooked it up
> again I needed to clean the print heads only once!
I think it varies, but I have known more people to have clogging
problems with Epsons than with other printers. All of them left the
printers unused for several months. I don't think it's inevitable, but
it's more common.
Karen
Alpha Male
<goa...@fractious.net> wrote in part:
> I've got an older Stylus 740 -- great printer - USB, serial, parallel
> works well with older and newer computers.
> Cartridges aren't cheap, though, and it, too, isn't a "photo"
> (6-color) printer - it's got a 3-color color cart, and a good
> sized black cartridge.
Is $1.35 cheap enough?? I've not bought from this site yet, it's next on my
list. www.megatoners.com
The name came up a couple times on a board, anandtech.com. Both times the
comments were positive, so, at that cheap price, I'll ty them next.
I can get a pint of Epson-compatible for $22.00, locally. but why bother
refilling if these Megatoners inks turn out ok.
> I've got a newer Photo 870 (also not a recent model) and while
> it does fabulous photos - 6 colors really do help - it's got
> a dinky black cartridge, and kind of a waste to use for anything
> beside photos.
Think it was $8.00 at Megatoners.(black)
> If you're printing a lot of text, there's nothing that'll beat a decent
> laser printer for cost per page printed.
>
That's what I'd like, mainly for the speed. Have you figured the exact cost
per page??
rubbishbin
> I have an impact printer, also called 'dot matrix'. Got it for $5 and
> now I print all the junk in the universe. My ink costs $8. and lasts
> about 6 months, while the paper costs $18 and that lasted13 months. I
> save the nice stuff for the EPSON, which is about the best around.
> Dang ink is a buster, but that is for all of them.
Where on earth do you find the ink for a dot matrix? I haven't seen that
stuff in ages! plenty of the PRINTERS at the thrift store, though.
rubbishbin
> rubbishbin <rubbi...@directvinternet.com> wrote:
>
>> Based on that, it's almost tempting to buy a laser printer and become a
>> 2-printer household :) My print server could handle that just fine.
>> Any model recommendations? (i'm using Linux)
>
> HP 4, 4+, 4m+, 5, 5+, 5m+. "m" models have PostScript built in. Great
> printers, run forever, repairable if they break.
built-in PS would be nice.. The Epson I bought does not, and I have to pay
attention because of that.. Gimp (image program for Linux) defaults to
sending raw postscript to stdout when you print an image.. if you forget
(like I DID) to set it up with the proper printer drivers, it will print
pages and pages of junk. With the proper drivers it works like a charm :)
>
> The older III and even II models are still around, but parts may be
> more difficult to find for them.
>
> Be careful; your inkjet may dry out if you don't use it for a while.
>
That is what happened to my Canon BJC 2000. It dried out so badly that the
head could NOT be cleaned. I just donated it to Goodwill, with a note
saying "needs new print head"
rubbishbin
>
> However, I have a photo that I printed with generic ink on Kodak photo
> paper, and it still looks fine after about a year and a half. It's been
> displayed in a frame, not in direct sunlight but behind glass. I don't
> know whether it will be OK in the long term. But one problem with
> generic ink is that there's no way to know which types or brands are
> good or bad. If I was going to print photos for the long term, I'd
> probably use Epson brand ink, I think it is "archival quality".
>
I have only had my Epson C80 for about 2 months, so I am interested to see
how long my printed photos last. I do have the touched-up and
ready-to-print pictures also burned to CD's, so if the printed ones do
fade, I can re-print them or send them off to a professional printer.
Warren Block
> Where on earth do you find the ink for a dot matrix? I haven't seen that
> stuff in ages! plenty of the PRINTERS at the thrift store, though.
Office Max has (had?) lots of impact printer ribbons last I looked. That
was after I bought a nice little Panasonic KXP-1080 for fifty cents a
few years back. The ribbon was $9.50...
The Real Bev
>
> rubbishbin <rubbi...@directvinternet.com> wrote:
>
> > Where on earth do you find the ink for a dot matrix? I haven't seen that
> > stuff in ages! plenty of the PRINTERS at the thrift store, though.
>
> Office Max has (had?) lots of impact printer ribbons last I looked. That
> was after I bought a nice little Panasonic KXP-1080 for fifty cents a
> few years back. The ribbon was $9.50...
I love pricing structures like that. My mom's KitchenAid mixer was $3, but
the beater set was $12. OTOH, the attachment set for my $3 Husqvarna sewing
machine was only $1.
--
Cheers,
Bev
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The way England treats her prisoners, she doesn't
deserve to have any." --Oscar Wilde
Len
Max. I think OD is cheaper. They are also on the web as well. Got perf
paper and even perf labels. Kinda Cool Keeping Momma in Fruit Jar
labels for the summer. But of course the FIRST label is from the Epson
900.
Len
>Office Max has (had?) lots of impact printer ribbons last I looked. That
>was after I bought a nice little Panasonic KXP-1080 for fifty cents a
>few years back. The ribbon was $9.50...
Oh, and the ribbon price must have gone up as well.
Dave
wrote:
Like others have said, Epson is the way to go. In fact I bought my
wife a digital camera and an Epson 785EPX for Christmas, which isn't
cheap but a fantastic printer for the money, especially compared to HP
or Lexmark. I worked with Lexmark printers for a looooong time
working at IBM, and want nothing to do with them.
But, if you plan to print MANY color photographs, you're talking a
pricey proposition. Better off using a photo shop to do it. Color
inkjets are not good/cheap for large amounts of printing like that.
My wife prints maybe 6-12 photos a day if she's taking a lot of
pictures, but not really more than that, so it's been fine for us.
mpsale
a reservoir for ink..
the print head is part of the printer
so you can buy one of those refil kits and refil your carts for a tenth of
the cost of a new one.
If you buy HP/Lexmark/Compaq/Apollo to name just a few, the print head is
part of the ink cart and
everytime you replace the ink cart, you get a new print head.
you can refil them once or twice, and then the carts die and you have to buy
a new cart.
much more expensive to run.
"rubbishbin" <rubbi...@directvinternet.com> wrote in message
news:3ccee...@nopics.sjc...
Bob Ward
wrote:
>-:if you buy Cannon or Epson printers, the ink cartridge is nothing more than
>-:a reservoir for ink..
>-:the print head is part of the printer
>-:so you can buy one of those refil kits and refil your carts for a tenth of
>-:the cost of a new one.
>-:
>-:If you buy HP/Lexmark/Compaq/Apollo to name just a few, the print head is
>-:part of the ink cart and
>-:everytime you replace the ink cart, you get a new print head.
>-:you can refil them once or twice, and then the carts die and you have to buy
>-:a new cart.
>-:
>-:much more expensive to run.
On the other hand, if you put inferior ink into a Canon or Epson
printer, you can do some serious damage to the fixed print heads if it
clogs - if you refill an HP and it clogs, you can toss the cartridge
instead of the printer.
--
This space left intentionally blank
cozyhome
ink that washes right off the paper just like chalk off your fingertips.
True, we are not going to wash our pictures, but one kid or relative who
spills their drink is all it takes to ruin your fotos. When I buy
another, I'll get one that has more permanent ink.
mpsale
colours and one bottle of black)
that I bought from the local electronics clearance place, in 3 different
printers with NO problems.
I bought 2 Cannon BJC600 colour printers for $5 ea at yard sales and they
work fine refilled.
I bought an Epson Stylus 500 colour printer for $5 at a yard sale and it
works fine refilled.
(all 3 have been refilled a few times already)
and in all honesty, if those $5 printers died tomorrow, I certainly can't
complain...I sure got my
five bucks worth out of them.
BTW usually a syringe full of hot water will unclog a printhead just fine!
Yard sale season started a couple of weeks ago in the Toronto area and I'm
watching for
newer model Cannon and or Epson Inkjets in the $5-$10 range to upgrade to.
I do the same with lasers...I bought an OKI 400e for $13 at a yard sale last
year that was out
of toner...it printed a self test page OK before I bought it and I took the
risk that all it needed was toner.
I got a remanufactured toner cart for $22 Cdn and have a working laser
printer for
a total investment of $35 (with a full toner cart)
My theory is if I get a couple of inkjet cartridges worth of use out of a
yard sale find...
I have broken even...and anything after that is pure SAVINGS!
"Bob Ward" <bob....@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:oanrduohm85b6nkm1...@4ax.com...
Warren Block
Maybe they use water-based ink to avoid problems with solvents and VOCs.
What I don't understand is that any dampness at all will damage a
printed image, but get that ink on your hands, and nothing will wash it
off. 8-)
B. A.
CS is bad, they don't ship fast and the ink quality is suspect.
"Alpha Male" <nom...@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<aaoniu$c5o1d$2...@ID-119695.news.dfncis.de>...
cozyhome
C80, I held it under water and RUBBED the picture and it didn't budge. I
stood it on end to dry and when it did it looked the same as when I got it.
I would have went right out and bought one except everyone complains about
the nozzles clogging, and with my luck...
Warren Block <wbl...@wonkity.com> wrote in message
news:slrnadtq8o....@wonkity.com...