bobar57 Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 <p>Hi, I just received my Nikon D60 kit, yes I'm an amateur, but the camera is still versatile and fun to use and I think I'll learn quite more about photography using it. Anyway I'm thinking of buying a printer(should it be inkjet or laser?) to print my own pictures, nothing too fancy or expensive, just capable of delivering good prints at a maximum size of 8"x10", but mostly 5"x7" and if possible in the range of 100.00 to 200.00 dollars. Also I'll need recommendation on type or brand of matte photo printing paper-I hate the glossy one, but that's me-of quality.<br /> Your answers will be greatly apprecciated, thanks<br /> Robert</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny_anderson Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 <p>I have a Canon IP4500 that I really like. It was about $130.00 when I bought it earlier last year. It uses 2 black ink and 3 color ink cartridges. Makes great prints.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert lee Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 <p>Color lasers are not at all suitable for photographic output.</p> <p>Get the lowest end Epson inkjet for around $100. It was the R280, maybe it still is. It's perfectly okay to go to Epson's site directly and purchase the refurbs for ~$50. This is what I do when when I run out of ink - order refurbs for the ink and throw away the printer.</p> <p>In this price segment, the manufactureres depend on the razor blade business model. They almost give away the hardware and hope to make money on the inks. The printer itself is essentially the same technology as the the up-market, wide carriage models.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddox Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 <p>Yes, get your hands on an Epson R280. It uses the same inkset as Epson's superb 1400. These inks are supposed to have among the longest color life of dye-based inks. I have used both the 1400 (which is a 13x19 printer) and the R280 (8.5x11), and in my opinion they both deliver stunning results. You can get R280s dirt-cheap on closeouts now... less than $50 in many cases. I bought one before Christmas for $34. It's certainly money well-spent.<br> Canon Pixma printers are also extremely good, and can have notably fewer clogging problems than Epsons. However, Epson really has the edge on color life.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_m Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 <p>Would (could) the Epson R280 be used as a dedicated B&W printer?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobar57 Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 <p>I don't know about B&W, but surely I'm going to buy a refurbished one from the Epson website, is a steal.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddox Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 <p>Tony, I wish I could answer your question, but to be honest I don't have any experience with dedicated b/w printers. I did (quickly) look at Lyson's website to see if their Quad Black inkset was available for either the R280 or 1400, but I did not see it.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph_burns2 Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 <p>You can get the 1400 for about 160 USD if you think you might need 13x19 prints in the future. Great printer for color output</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan bachmann Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 <p>I have the Epson R285 which is the European version (the R280, R285 and R290 are the same except for the CD that comes with them as far as I can tell). It is fantastic for color prints. My regret now is that I wish I had an A3 printer of this quality.<br> As for black and white, it is not so wonderful. They seem to be slightly cold in feeling. They are still very good, but there is a feeling that comes across of something lacking. Perhaps printing on a warmer paper, like Bamboo would take care of that problem. There are 6 colour black/grey ink systems in the UK for this printer though, so that may help. From what I understand, the good black and white printing requires at least one black and one lighter black ink to make a good ink jet B&W print, though I could be wrong there. Quadtone rip didn't work at all on my R285 - the image was mostly black.<br> As for the inks for this printer, I get the OEM versions for half the price as the shop sells the retail versions and you should also be able to get the individual inks since you will mostly be using yellow, light cyan and light magenta for photo printing.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwbowman Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 <p>I just received a brand-new Epson R280 printer, and out of the box it didn't work, failing to recognize any of the ink cartridges that came with it. Fortunately, Epson will be sending a replacement, but I've read since then that this has been a common problem with these printers. Anyone else had this or similar trouble?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert lee Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 <blockquote> <p>Epson R280 printer ... Anyone else had this or similar trouble?</p> </blockquote> <p>No. It has consistently been a fine printer model for me.</p> <p>I've gone through three or four of these by now. It's cheaper to buy the printer than replacement cartridges, so I usually just throw the printer away when the ink runs dry. Every one has worked out of the box without issues.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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