Good Photo Printer?

[Everythingisnt]

Hey, I'm looking for a printer capable of printing off my photos in good quality, and which can connect to my macpro (not just to a digital camera). It needs to be able to print out 8X11 copies (the size of normal paper).. And I'm not sure about how much these usually cost, but I'm hoping not to have to spend over $800.

Advice, anyone?

 

[spork183]

Hey, I'm looking for a printer capable of printing off my photos in good quality, and which can connect to my macpro (not just to a digital camera). It needs to be able to print out 8X11 copies (the size of normal paper).. And I'm not sure about how much these usually cost, but I'm hoping not to have to spend over $800.

Advice, anyone?

You can get photo quality in inkjets for easily under $200. You want to look for one with 6 or seven colors and individual tanks. The epson R200 series are pretty good, as are the Canon pixma. My epson prints are virtually indistinguishable from costco or kodak prints. It depends on what your need is. Further advantage to the epson is the ability to print directly on inkjet printable CD's.

 

[Everythingisnt]

Thanks for the reply!

My main need is creating 8x11 prints of my photos for personal use, etc, so if a printer can achieve that with minimal fuss I'll be quite happy.

You mentioned something about separate tanks, though - what kind of ink cartridges (and how many) would I be looking at, then?

 

[iPhil]

Thanks for the reply!

My main need is creating 8x11 prints of my photos for personal use, etc, so if a printer can achieve that with minimal fuss I'll be quite happy.

You mentioned something about separate tanks, though - what kind of ink cartridges (and how many) would I be looking at, then?

The individual tanks can range from 5 to 14 tanks... It's cheaper to go that way vs. tri-color tank.. Once you run out of say yellow with multi-tank you replace that tank.. for tri-color tank once one of those colors run out you gotta replace the whole tank..


I'd recommend anything R-line from Epson or Pixma line from Canon..


Epson R line product page..


Always buy Mfr. ink/paper unless you want streaks thru the pics that you print..


Canon Pixma line

 

[Parsec]

I have a Canon Pixma 4000 myself and am quite happy with it. Also the fact that it can print directly on (printable) CD's and DVD's is great. It has 5 separate ink tanks. Excellent print quality. Also able to print borderless on paper.

In the past I've had good experiences with Epson also. I've only had bad experiences with HP. Even expensive color laserjet printers at work keep breaking down and often won't print straight. The print on the page often comes out slightly (but visibly) at an angle. This goes for multiple laser and inkjet printers. All from HP, stay away from HP.

Hope this helps.

 

[eddx]

I use Epson for my 8x11 (A4) images. My printer is an R300. Epson is the cheapest way to go in terms of ink costs. I got a relatively cheap photo printer and then spent the money on a continuous ink system so I never buy ink cartridges, just use pint sized ink bottles next to my printer. It makes me print more samples for clients which is great.

Ideally for your photos you want to be printing them at 18x12 but for this I would say buying a printer for 90% of photographs (pro or not) it is a waste of time, I use a fantastic printing company here in the UK that does 18x12 inch glossy printers at 400dpi for £1 each ($2 per print) - can't beat that.

Look into mid range Epson R range for your 8x11 prints, think about a continuous ink system if your doing a lot of printing.

 

[ChrisA]

Hey, I'm looking for a printer capable of printing off my photos in good quality, and which can connect to my macpro (not just to a digital camera). It needs to be able to print out 8X11 copies (the size of normal paper).. And I'm not sure about how much these usually cost, but I'm hoping not to have to spend over $800.

Advice, anyone?

For non critical work you can get a printer that makes decent prints for $100. Most people are hapy with these. but serious photographers will be able to point out problems, complain about color fidelity and so on. You will need to look at sample prints

The "standard" photo printer for those looking to get professional quality result is the Epson R2400. The price is right around $650. These make prints that are suitable to sell as "fine art prints". When you by a printer look at the ink Ink is what matters the R24oo is using 8 color archival ink.

Epson makes a 1400 printers that is slightly less capable but at 1/2 the price. It uses 6 ink colors,

My opinion is that you have to make a lot of prints to justify owning a pro-grade printer. I use a cheap three color printer for simple printing and send the serious work out to a lab.