Photo printer results/suggestions please?!

[darrenbeattyphotography]

Hi everyone. Since I looked for a section to pose this question in, I'll throw

it in general. I have seen the prices (naturally) of photo printers dropping

lower and lower. I know NOTHING about photo printers, and the family has asked

me what I want for christmas. I know its not much money available, but is it

possible to get a "decent" photo printer for 150 dollars? If so which one?

Which features should I look out for? I do know one thing. I like how HP has

the ink in packages sold as one unit instead of buying individual cartridges.

Since I'm a Nikon shooter, I thought I would ask you guys. I have also seen

photo printers where I can just simply insert the CF card and go through the

images. I'm sure thats not in the budget though. Any suggestions or leads

would be appreciated. The parents will be shopping through amazon.com.

 

(I cant think of anything else I want for christmas so this is it, other than a

pocket external drive) Help the lost soul!!!!!! :-)

[elliot1]

Unfortunately inkjet printers are not the best choice as the pictures tend to fade over time. Although inks/papers have improved, if you really want your pictures to last a lifetime, use a lab or get a dye-sublimation printer. You can use on-line labs like PEPhoto, Snapfish, etc. and get prints for about 1/2 the cost of typical photo printers. Cost for a print from a photo printer is about .30 compared to .10 - .15 (including shipping) from on-line sources.

 

If you do buy an inkjet printer, do get one with the individual tanks as it saves money because you only replace the cartridge that is empty.

 

Canon, Sony and Olympus make nice 4 x 6 dye-sub printers. Olympus and Kodak make great printers that print up to 8 x 10 or 8 x 12 (Kodak). Cost is about $1.50 per print. There are other printers available as well.

[darrenbeattyphotography]

So your response is.... keep buying prints from smugmug? And dont make your own? I dont know what a dye-sub printer is. I'll check into them. What kind of cost are these you speak of?

[ci_p]

I'd suggest avoiding printers generally if you can. And especially avoid the inkjet variety. Paying a proper print processor for a proper print makes for a much less cluttered life, and the price is probably similar.

 

I like the small dye sub Selphy range from canon for use as a portable printer. It can produce a 6x4 print in a minute or so, powered by an optional Li-ion battery.

[darrenbeattyphotography]

sounds good Ci. I've been looking. Does this canon model accept CF cards?

[dwight200]

Generally, manufacturers sell their printers below cost. Once you have a printer, you have to buy their toner cartridges, which is where the real profit is.

[bill_keane2]

I haven't got a printer yet because it's a whole new money-pit, and I can get wonderful photo process prints done by a pro.

 

Here's an idea... Do seasonal books of your best, most memorable stuff. Save as 1600x1070 JPEGs, and upload them to MPIX.com

 

For $40. total you can have a beautiful book in your hands in a week's time.

[wj_lee]

Have a look at http://www.photo-i.co.uk

 

There are couple of issues with inkjets. First is the running cost which can be very high depending on whether you are using genuine cartridges and papers. Clogging is another thing that can drive you nuts, this is especially the case with third party inks but even with genuine inks this can happen.

 

Other than that modern inkjets aren't too bad at reproducing pictures and with pigment inks they say pictures can last very long time.

[elliot1]

WJ - A long time and a lifetime are two different things. If you look at the ratings of inkjet printers, they all say 'under glass', meaning if you put your picture in a picture frame (and, you actually need to block the air from the back side with aluminum foil or plastic or glass), the pictures will be rated to last the time they specify. No one knows for sure.

 

The bottom line is that inkjet prints on glossy paper (matte paper may last longer) will fade far sooner than regular prints.

[ilkka_nissila]

Pigment inkjet print permanence is generally better than with traditional photographic paper, especially in display. Some early inkjets were quite bad in this respect, but they were all dye type.

 

Inkjet prints offer the greatest gamut and dynamic range of all color photographic materials available, as far as I know. In my experience they are overall the highest quality.

 

An Epson R200 or similar may be had for a price in your range, but you need to use heavyweight matte or colorlife papers to get any kind of reasonable permanence on these cheapest of photo inkjets. Buy something better if you value your time.

[juanjo_viagran]

I just bought a Epson R2400 and printed just out of Picasa few 13X19" of my photos and the result is AMAZING.

 

you should look for Pigment ink for longevity, Epson use some K3 in which is suppose to last 200 years.

 

Next week I'm getting a CIS from MIS which makes K4 ink which is suppose to be even better.

 

For $150 I'm sure you can get a good printer, just look at what kind of ink they use, and if you going to print a lot get a GOOD CIS.

 

http://www.inksupply.com/index.cfm

 

http://www.inkrepublic.com/

[dgfassett]

You will be pleasently suprised by the quality of photo printing possible with a simple, inexpensive, "all in one" machine. Many are available at or below your $150 limit.

[darrenbeattyphotography]

Thanks for the responses everyone. Geez, i thought this would be simple. I'm seeing its not. I wish I could just say, i have a D200 and 150 bucks from the parents for christmas for this gift, which is the easiest to use.

 

Dennis, i figured as much.

 

Ilkka it seems that printer has bad reviews on working longer than the first set of inks???

 

Bill, i totally agree with you, but the pictures that I will be printing will be for family etc. none of these need to last till 2100, my portraits arent that great yet. Anyone have a D200, or any nikon with a CF card, that they have found works well?

[ross_lipman]

I've had good results with HP printers. I currently use a 7960. Current model is the 8750 I think. Seperate color photo and photo b&w tanks, with the print head in the tank- meaning that every new cartridge has a new print head to reduce clogging.

 

With the 7960, I can create prints that are indistinguishable from lab prints.

 

Best,

 

Ross