Photo printer

[pnutmnm]

I have a Koday ESP7 and I am very happy with it. And the ink cost for it is much less that others on the market. It is also wireless so I can print from any of the computers in the house.

 

[scoot241]

I like my HP. It's a Photosmart 8450 and it's a few years old now, but it's worked very well.

However, when I'm doing lots of prints, I send them to Walgreens or Wal-Mart.

 

[kpadalik]

Thanks for the suggestions...I usually print mine up at Walgreens or if I have a coupon, some internet photo site. But there are the times when I just need to print up a couple pictures or do an enlargement. I also print up things on transfer paper or magnet sheets for my DD6 for school activities or Girl Scouts, soccer, etc. I will of course look at HP first, since that's what I am familiar with and I'll also try out that Kodak one that was mentioned. I like the idea of the low cost ink!

 

[wdwmickey]

I'm wanting to get a photo printer, and was wondering if anyone had an opinion on wheter the Canon MP620 all in one printer or the Kodak all in one was better. The Canon was $89 (the canon had 5 seperate ink cartridges $13 each and the Kodak had 2 $10 for black and $15 for color)and the Kodak was $99; the dpi etc. were similar. Just wondering if anyone could help with info. TIA Cheryl

 

[wdwmickey]

Can anyone recommend a good photo printer? I shoot mostly with a Nikon D80 and DD uses a Kodak easy share with 10 mp. I would like the printer to be affordable and be able to use it with my Dell laptop as that is where my edited photos are stored. Any advice? Thanks

 

[wdwwishes]

I have a couple of Canons and used to print with a Canon photo printer but it seemed that no matter how much ink I kept on hand, I was always running out of the wrong color. I use a local camera shop now or Snapfish for the bulk of my printing. If I need a quick print for school, to include in a card etc. I'll print one off myself on my HP. I think there's so much affordable printing out there that it's just easier to go that route. You'll definietly get opinions supporting both printing methods, at home and outside source, here.

 

[YesDear]

I have always preferred Epson printers as photo printers. More pros who print their own will use an Epson.

 

[wen-tom]

I can only give advice on the printer that i have - canon i560. I have had it a few years now and have never had any problems with it.

i dont print a lot of photos at home as there are cheaper and easier ways but if i just want a one off its pretty good. I like in the UK so cant compare pricing really but it was affordable when i bought it.

 

[pnutmnm]

I have a Kodak ESP7 - and I love it! The one thing that steered me to the Kodak (although it was more expensive than others in the same category) was the price of the ink replacement cartridges.

 

[wdwmickey]

Thanks, that's the one I'm leaning toward.

 

[wdwmickey]

Thanks

 

[Antonia]

I have all these digital photos and never print them. What is a good printer to use exclusively for photos. Maybe if I had a printer at home that I could edit them with and print in the comfort of my own home, I would print them!! Also wonder about the expense of supplies for the photo printer.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

What's your price range?

How large do you want to print?

How important is spot on color accuracy?

How often will you print?

Do you plan to print both glossy and matte and change between the two frequently?

 

[GrillMouster]

After the cost of the paper, ink, printer are all calculated, it's usually cheaper to get prints done at a lab. You could use Mpix, snapfish, winkflash, etc.. They're very affordable and ship right to your door. Of the three I mentioned, Mpix is the most expensive, but provides pro lab quality. If you're a bit more budget conscious, then snapfish and winkflash are good choices. They often have sales, too. I think I just got an email from Winkflash that they're doing 100 4x6 prints for $.04 each

You can upload the images to Walgreens, Cosco, Sam's Club (WalMart), Target etc. from your computer and pick them up at your convenience. Of these, Cosco has the most consistent quality results, because they calibrate their machines frequently (and they allow you to softproof, but that's probably beyond what you want to do right now).

Something else to consider when printing from home, especially if you print off sizes, is that you'll always have wasted paper and ink that adds to the overall expense. Plus, many people conveniently forget to include the cost of the printer itself when calculating the per-print cost of printing at home.

Many inkjet printers are super cheap because they nail you on the ink cartridges. They cartridges don't last long and aren't cheap. Kodak has released a line of affordable printers that are supposed to be the cheapest option for printing at home, but I don't think it's cheaper than using a lab, and the print results aren't as good as a lab.

 

[tiggr33]

I agree with the questions the previous posters have asked. That being said, I am fan of the Epson 1400. It gives amazing results and the ink is affordable. But it takes up a fair amount of real estate on a desk.

 

[boBQuincy]

Canon's Pixma Pro 9000 can produce prints that surpass those of print labs *but* it is big (25" wide), over $400, and requires a calibrated monitor and great care in setting up your files for the best results. It is also generally more $$$ per print than sending them off to a lab.

For less demanding applications the price and size of the printer drop quickly and many of the photo printers from Canon, HP, and Epson can give very good results. I would expect that the price per print is still more than a local lab though. Printing at home with an inkjet is not a cost saver.

 

[klmall]

Do you need wireless? Two-sided printing? Fax capability?

Based on 9 years of taking digital photos I totally agree with opinions posted above.

We've had Canon, Dell and HP printers (Dell was free and a disaster). The Canon printers were okay for pictures but weren't wireless so we purchased the HP 8180 last summer and really like it. It scans photos very quickly and the prints are very good.

But as others have suggested, get your printing done online. I've used Snapfish, Winkflash, Walgreens (online) and Costco for my prints, almost always getting discounts etc. Walgreens has printed some excellent 8 x 10 prints for me online.

I never print photos at home unless it is a rush job for some reason or a test photo; it simply costs too much given the price of ink cartridges nowadays. And I am a firm believer in commercially printed photos lasting longer compared to home printed (I know this is disputed!).

We use our printer mostly for text printing and scanning old photos and slides.

If you want to do something with your photos maybe you could try simple digital scrapbooking or setting up some online photo galleries. Several online places print digital scrapbook pages for $4.99 a page before discounts.

 

[keagansmom]

I bought the HP photosmart B8550. Prints gorgeous photo's. But it is spendy and the supplies are costly. However I love being able to print at home in any size I want any time I want.

 

[Pamlur]

I bought a new Mac Mini and a new Macbook Pro this year. They both came with a "free" printer and one of the choices was the Canon Selphy CP780. For casual prints just to mail to friends or something, I love it! I got two of them, one for me and one for my daughter.

For anything else, I order from Smugmug.

 

[Tuffcookie]

Who has the best prices for ink cartridges for ink jet printers? I need to get a different source for my Canon ink cartridges. Best Buy rakes me over the coals!

TC