Photo quality printers

[keddie]

Anyone have any recommendations on photo quality printers? HP, Canon v. Epson which model seems to be the best?

Thanks.

[NMarti]

Hi Keddie
You may start a small war with that questions. It's almost as volitile as PC or Mac.:D

I have used all three. I currently have a Canon i9100 for wide format printing and an Epson R300 for regular & cd/dvd printing. I am very happy with both. They are both slightly older models than what is on the market right now but both do a fabulous job. Some people complain of the ink nozzels clogging on Epson but I have never had that problem. The old HP I had was nothing in comparison to the current ones on the market but at the time the quality, ink life and durability was quite good.

The biggest consideration I would look at now behind image quality would be the ink cartridges. Some still use a multi-color tank and a lot of ink gets wasted. The replacement cost of cartridges can be a very important factor. Some of the newer printers also take 8 or 9 cartridges because of the special photo inks and that can be very expensive.

My best advice would be to go to amazon.com or zdnet.com and read the reviews and user comments. You can learn a lot from the everyday users over the skilled lab techs who test machines about ease of use, installation problems/issues etc.

[Wendy]

Hi ...

I have never been good at printing out but then I bought a Canon and I now get great prints :)

Wendy

[Carbone]

I currently have an Epson R340 but clogging is a p-a-i-n. I live in a very humid environment, so this is affecting my printer, I would imagine. My previous printer, a Canon, had never got this problem.

Next printer is a Canon. They can now print on CD and DVD, so there's no edge for Epson now.

Ray

[John L Gray]

There are a lot of of good printers available. Epson and Canon have a very good reputation for quality and delivery of prints. You need to determine what the vavious sizes you want to make. For example most of my restorations photos are 8x10 put my landscapes 11x 14. I currently use Epson printers but I would look at Canon as great choice.
Printers with individual (minimum 6 inks) color ink tanks are so important as some colors are use more than others

I also would look at the type of inkjet papers a printer can use. I prefer the matte and velvet paper that are heavier stock. My larger printer can take up 13x19 or rolls of paper and direct feed.

Good luck in your search.
John

[LeeOtsubo]

I have 8 printers in my office including 6 ink jet printers (IJP) so I feel qualified to answer this. My IJPs are either Epson or Canon. This is very much a religion war as Nancy said but there are some truisms. The IJP itself really isn't all that important, it's the ink that matters.

If archival quality is important to you, then you want one that uses pigment inks. Epson is way ahead of the crowd in pigment inks. Furthermore, there are many companies who produce 3rd party pigment inks for Epson printers but not many for Canon and hardly any for HP. An advantage of Epson inks is that there are many companies that produce compatible papers. Yes, that's correct, the paper must be compatible with the ink to get the best quality.

If you want highly saturated (bright) images on glossy paper, an IJP using dye inks is best. However, longevity will suffer. Some dyes (cheap Chinese knock-offs found on eBay) fade in a matter of weeks while other dyes will last 5-10 years. There are many types of glossy papers but most fall into either Epson/Canon compatible or HP compatible categories.

Epson is knocked for head clogs but I've never had an Epson that didn't clear a clog with one cleaning cycle. I've had Canons that needed to have the head replaced (which Canon did with amazing speed) and never clogged again. I believe the climate has a lot to do with head clogs. Here in San Diego, CA, it's normally dry and warm so there's not much of a problem.

As I said, the paper is critically important. I print on cheap Costco glossy paper for proofs but all my serious printing is done on either Moab (http://www.moabpaper.com/)(recently bought by some other company) or Mediastreet (http://www.mediastreet.com)papers. The Mediastreet fine art papers and canvas are like nothing you've ever seen. I have some wonderful prints on MS Royal Canvas that artist friends have told me look like paintings. Both companies have sample packs if you want to try their papers. Because I teach so many students each year, Mediastreet has provided a 10% discount code for my students to use on their Website.

MS also makes kits that will convert Epson and Canon dye printers to pigment. For about US$200, you can get a CIS (continuous ink system) that connects 4 oz bottles of pigment ink (typical Epson/Canon cart = 0.5 oz) to your dye printer. You'll probably wear out your printer before you run out of ink. I use an old Epson R200 (~US$100) with a MS CIS (~US$200) to print up to 8.5x11 on matte and fine art papers.

Hope I haven't caused your eyes to glaze over but don't get fooled by the printers, the secret is in the inks and papers.

[keddie]

Lee,

Thank you.

keddie

[chas3stix]

Lee,
Have you tried Red River paper? Friends of mine have and they really like it.
Since I currently have an HP printer to use I'm kinda stuck using HP paper.
I haven't had good results with other paper on the HP.(time for an Epson)
Chas

[LeeOtsubo]

Lee,
Have you tried Red River paper? Friends of mine have and they really like it.
Since I currently have an HP printer to use I'm kinda stuck using HP paper.
I haven't had good results with other paper on the HP.(time for an Epson)
Chas

I tried Red River once, a long time ago but they didn't have the paper I wanted in the size I needed (13" rolls). What I recall is that it was good stuff but life is too short to be testing too many printer/paper/ink combos. It's a major hassle.