Which printer is best

JG
Posted By
Jim_Guild
Dec 24, 2006
Views
428
Replies
19
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Closed
My operating system is Win XP and I’m using Photoshop 9.0 CS2 to restore old family photos. Any suggestions on a printer, I need to upgrade.
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John Joslin
Dec 24, 2006
You’ll get as many recommendations as there are printers!

You need to at least specify a budget and a maximum print size.

You should also upgrade to 9.0.2.
M
Monty
Dec 24, 2006
John Joslin wrote:
You’ll get as many recommendations as there are printers!
You need to at least specify a budget and a maximum print size.
You should also upgrade to 9.0.2.

If you are going to do B&W and need up to A3+ in size then the Epson R2400 is a good buy. Clocks in at around the £500 mark.

Excellent colour printer too.
JG
Jim_Guild
Dec 24, 2006
"You need to at least specify a budget and a maximum print size."

My budget is about $400.00. Picture size will very up to 8 X 10 with the majority at 4 X 6.
MD
Michael_D_Sullivan
Dec 25, 2006
I would advise strongly considering an Epson near the top of that range, and steer clear of HP at all costs, based on my experience. I have heard bad things about Lexmark, but have not used them. The lower priced units, in general, tend to have much more expensive inks (the units are cheap so they can get you on the ink) and fewer of the adjustments that would be useful to a Photoshop user (like being able to turn off the printer’s color controls and use a profile). Check online whether the unit has color profiles available.

I use an Epson 2200, which allows printing up to 13 inch wide paper, which is more than you need (and beyond your budget), but the R800 is the current model that seems best to fit your needs and budget. It’s $354.99 at newegg.com, prints on paper up to 8.5" wide, and uses the excellent Ultrachrome pigment-based inks. It holds 8 ink cartridges, including both matte and glossy photo black, as well as a "gloss optimizer." That’s what I would buy if I were in your shoes. Others may differ.
DM
dave_milbut
Dec 25, 2006
if you want it only for pictures, look at the kodak 1400 pro (currently has a 100 bux rebate). it’s a dye sublimation printer. i just printed my first pix from it and i’m loving it!
T
Talker
Dec 25, 2006
On Sun, 24 Dec 2006 18:43:11 -0800, wrote:

if you want it only for pictures, look at the kodak 1400 pro (currently has a 100 bux rebate). it’s a dye sublimation printer. i just printed my first pix from it and i’m loving it!

I too have the Kodak 1400 Pro, and I love it also. I have three printers, one HP, one Epson, and the Kodak. If I were to judge the quality, they all do a good job, but the HP does the best job of the three.
There is no one answer to your question Jim, but any printer at that price will do a good job.
The Kodak’s ink/paper comes as a bundle, so you get 50 sheets of paper and a color ribbon that prints 50 sheets, for $100 (retail), or $2 a print. You can find deals for less than $100 though. Dust is a major factor with this printer. Also it only prints up to 8×10.(as does the Epson R800. The HP 8750 prints up to 13×19)
The HP has always been my printer of choice (although the Kodak is a close second) because they have the print head in the ink cartridge. If the print head becomes clogged and you can’t get it clean, you just need to change the ink cartridge. If this happens with an Epson, you can throw the printer away.
The Epsons give a marginally better print than the HP, but you’d need a magnifying glass to see the difference, and it’s not much. Of course, I have only used the Epson 2200 and the R220, so I can’t say how the other Epsons compare…especially any printer under $400. HP just came out with the 9180, but I don’t know what the street price is on that. That looks like a real nice printer, but it might be a little over your budgeted amount.
One thing to keep in mind, don’t go for those cheap
printers….like under $100. As someone mentioned, they use a lot of ink. The more you spend on a printer, the lower your cost per print will be.

My own 3 personal picks would be:

1. HP Photosmart 8750 Professional Photo Printer
2. Kodak 1400 Pro
3. Epson Stylus Photo R800

So, back to my original comment, there is no one best printer Jim.

Talker
QP
Q_Photo
Dec 25, 2006
The Epson R800 would get my vote. I’ve been using an Epson R1800 for over a year now and work it very hard at times. It gives great prints, is very consistent and has been reliable. Epson makes the only printers that I would consider for photographs. That being said, Dave has offered a good recommendation in that with a dye sub printer there are no nozzles to clog.
Q
MD
Michael_D_Sullivan
Dec 25, 2006
Dave, does the Kodak print different sizes? I thought dye subs only printed a single size because they have rolls of dye sized to fit. You wouldn’t want to use an 8×10 dye roll to print lots of 4×6 pix. If Kodak has a solution to this dilemma, its printer would be very worthy of consideration. I have been very impressed with the quality of the prints from my wife’s 4×6 dye sub printer from Epson.
B
Bernie
Dec 25, 2006
You can put three 4×6 prints on one 8×10.
DM
dave_milbut
Dec 25, 2006
in that with a dye sub printer there are no nozzles to clog.

and it’s continuous tone vs. sprayed dots. it the ink comes on film so that that there’s no "spraying" going on inside the printer.

Dave, does the Kodak print different sizes?

I have a couple 50 sheet 8 1/2 x 14" packs. they also make 8 1/2 x 12 and A4 size packs. all types come in glossy or matte finish. ink and paper come in one package. you can print whatever you can fit on a page up to those sizes.

I created and saved a template in photoshop so i can just choose it for a new doc and it’s all set up w/sizes and resolution (304ppi) for me to move my images onto.

info page w/ $100 rebate form < http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/products/printer s/1400/1400Index.jhtml?id=0.1.18.22.9.14&lc=en>

here’s a link to the full specs. < http://www.kodak.com/global/en/health/dental/imagingSoftware /printing/1400Printer.jhtml>

kodak is listing it for 499. amazon has it for 349. < http://www.amazon.com/KODAK-1400-PHOTO-PRINTER-8116253/dp/B0 00593UGW/sr=8-1/qid=1167085530/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-0988349-2 076043?ie=UTF8&s=electronics> that’s where i got mine. minus a 75 bux rebate (like i said, now it’s 100).
MD
Michael_D_Sullivan
Dec 26, 2006
Sounds like a good deal. Dye subs make very nice, "photographic" looking prints. Can you swap the packs out — e.g., make a dozen in one size, then swap to a different size to make a larger or smaller print, then swap back?
MD
Michael_D_Sullivan
Dec 26, 2006
By the way, Dave, your link to the full specs led to a page marketing the printer to dentists (great for before and after pix). A more general purpose link oriented toward photographers is here < http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/products/printer s/1400/1400Index.jhtml?id=0.2.22.22.5.18&lc=en>.
BL
Bill_Lamp
Dec 26, 2006
NOW we know what Dave REALLY does for a living. He does TEETH!!
DM
dave_milbut
Dec 26, 2006
Dye subs make very nice, "photographic" looking prints. Can you swap the packs out —

I suppose, if you keep the ink with the paper. Better to use what you can and cut i suppose though.

LOL. it’s a bit hard to keep that site straight. some of the links don’t go where you’d expect them. i usually search on the kodak site when i need something specific like driver updates or the manual. and no, i don’t do teeth! 🙂
DM
dave_milbut
Dec 26, 2006
A more general purpose link oriented toward photographers is here.

still that was the 1st page (with the rebate form) that i linked to. nyyyaaa! 🙂
GA
George_Austin
Dec 27, 2006
Dave,

Best price of 1400 paper and where to buy?

George
DM
dave_milbut
Dec 27, 2006
I haven’t shopped too much, like i said, i went amazon and got the rebate (75 at the time, 100 now) and the free ink/paper kit with buy 2 get 1 free (still waiting on that one, since oct, but the check for 75 bux only took about 2 weeks).
GA
George_Austin
Dec 28, 2006
For what it’s worth, a second opinion (not mine): "Dye sublimation printers are expensive to operate, are not particularly archival, and have poor color gamut. And who knows how long Kodak will be around to support the 1400."

The most addressable of these complaints is the one about operating expense. What IS the cost of ink/paper? How many 8×10’s can one print for a buck?
T
Talker
Dec 28, 2006
On Wed, 27 Dec 2006 22:45:06 -0800,
wrote:

For what it’s worth, a second opinion (not mine): "Dye sublimation printers are expensive to operate, are not particularly archival, and have poor color gamut. And who knows how long Kodak will be around to support the 1400."

The most addressable of these complaints is the one about operating expense. What IS the cost of ink/paper? How many 8×10’s can one print for a buck?

I have one of these Kodak 1400 Pro printers, and I buy my supplies from Adorama. I see they have a price of $69.95 for a 50 sheet box of glossy, if you go through Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00059261M/ref=dp_olp _2/104-0332798-6183932

I haven’t been able to find exact numbers on the life of this type of thermal dye print. I see anything from 14 years to 40 years. (Kodak says they will last a lifetime…..how long is that?) I figure an 8×10 print costs less than $2…..more like $1.65. When you ask how many 8×10’s you can print for a buck, I have never seen any printer print an 8×10 photo quality print for a buck. If you know of one, maybe you could fill us in on which one it is.<g> When you buy supplies for the 1400, it comes with the paper and ink together, so that a 50 sheet box of paper has enough ribbon to print 50 prints. Once you’ve run out of the 50 sheets of paper, the ribbon is all used up also.(they also sell 25 sheet packages). Why I choose this printer is because it’s prints are waterproof. My HP and Epson prints are not.(I have three printers). I have found that in the area that I live, the humidity levels are high in the summer months, and giving people an inkjet print, mounted behind glass with the proper foam board and matte, still results in the print sticking to the glass. It might take a year, but inevitably, it will stick to the glass.
If you consider that most people don’t want the picture framed, but want to frame it themself, sometimes a year later, well, inkjet prints can present problems.(just watch someone try to blow a speck of dust off of a print that you just gave them, and have a droplet of spit hit the print. It happens all the time with disastrous results.) Considering that the Kodak can be had for less than $300 with a rebate, it’s a definite bargain.

Talker

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