RDOC wrote:
I want to buy an inkjet printer that is capable of printing 13 by 19 size images and don’t want to spend a fortune. Please give me some suggestions. Thanks! I am printing for my own pleasure and not for business use, but enter the images in a camera club competition that is not for money prizes but for fun.
Epson 3800 or R1900.
Of course then it depends on what you call "a fortune".
I bought a used 3800 (via Craigslist) with ink carts about 50% full for CAD$750. Then I spent another just under $600 on a full set of carts (9 of them). These carts hold 80ml of ink (why they are more expensive) OTOH, they last a hell of a lot longer than the typical home printer carts. (New, it’s about $1300 – $1400 with a full set of carts).
My ink cost is close to 1 cent per square inch printed. So a 13×19" print would cost $2.47 (though I print that size paper to 11×19" most often ($1.87).
As it happens I very often print on 13×19" paper (cheap stuff is about $3/ sheet) to 11×17 (1" border). Better paper runs 5 – $10 per sheet or more.
Over the long run (I print on average 1 to 2 large sheets a week and any number of smaller proofs and 8.5" x 11" sheets) this printer is saving me it’s cost every year v. lab prints. I’ve had it 2 years now. It has gone months without printing and then printed clog free. (I’ve had a clog exactly once in two years – and it was immediately following an identical print that was perfect).
I do sell the odd print so that also offsets my personal printing but sure does not pay for it.
Anyway, the above is probably more than you’re thinking about, but if you do spot an Epson 3800 at a good price, leap on it. Over the long term it’s worth it.
Consider then, the Epson R1900 – new is about US$600 with a full set of carts.