If I get a Dimage IV, which printer should I buy?

[l_plate_driver]

Hi,

 

I use Sensia 100, Velvia 50 and Kodak EB100 slides.

 

I am considering buying a Dimage IV scanner.

 

What size prints can it print; are 11 x 14's OK (website reckons it

can handle 15 x 22.8 prints)?

 

What kind of printer should I consider getting; how good does the

printer's resolution have to be to do the scanner (and the slides)

justice?

 

Thanks, from a scanner/printer green-horn!

[steven_clark]

Mathwise I'd say it should handle more like 11x17 or 13x19. 15x22.8 might be possible but only because the viewing distance will be considerably longer. A good printer to experiment with would be the Epson R200 at $100. It would only give you 8.5x11 but it's cheap and gets your feet wet. As for which larger printer to get that's mostly up to you and for someone else to give advice. I've gotten a little tired of listing the tradeoffs. One thing you might want to think of is the Epson 1280, it may be a little old but it's pretty darned cheap for the quality you get out of it these days and you can actually still buy some new at Best Buy stores.

[._._z]

Dear Greenhorn,

 

How many greenbacks do you have to spend on this printer?

[l_plate_driver]

I will limit my budget to $350.

 

Printer manuals go on and on about "4200dpi" or other like-wise figures presumably relating to resolution.

 

If the Dimage can scan slides at 3200dpi, what dpi figure should the printer be to do the scanner justice?

 

Thanks

[steven_clark]

The DPI figure is the single most useless spec the printer has (it doesn't even tell the number of dots, only how precisely they can be placed) the figure you might be most interested in is droplet size, printhead construction and ink type. In practice anything 3pl or lower tends to be good enough.

[kent_morris]

I have the dual scan IV which I assume is the same model you are talking about. I actually had an HP 7960 before I got that scanner. I have been happy with the results from that combo. I principally bought the HP for it's ability to do b&w prints. I have been extremely pleased with B&W results. The color is also good with a little effort, but not what I was mainly concerned about when doing the research for the printer. If I were principally interested in color, I would have looked more closely at some of the epson printers and possibily canon models as well, and my purchase may or may not have been the same. Good luck in your search.

 

km