Graaille

Need a bit of first hand advice/recommendations. Can anyone give me a first hand recommendation on a color photo printer. I have a budget of around 300 for the actual printer. Needs to be able to print out at least 5x7, prefer having the option of printing a bit larger tho.

Reason for asking, sister is getting Married first weekend of October, and wants to do a picture wall of photos from birth to present, but some of the pictures are wallet sized, some are 5x7, some are 8x10. Most have some type of damage, and I will be scanning them in and doing some repairs, but want to print the pics out on Kodak-quality paper so it looks like its straight from the photolab. (insert favorite place here). Soooo....

Anyone have any favorites that they use and can wholeheartly recommend?

putwig

Quote: Originally Posted by Graaille Need a bit of first hand advice/recommendations. Can anyone give me a first hand recommendation on a color photo printer. I have a budget of around 300 for the actual printer. Needs to be able to print out at least 5x7, prefer having the option of printing a bit larger tho. Reason for asking, sister is getting Married first weekend of October, and wants to do a picture wall of photos from birth to present, but some of the pictures are wallet sized, some are 5x7, some are 8x10. Most have some type of damage, and I will be scanning them in and doing some repairs, but want to print the pics out on Kodak-quality paper so it looks like its straight from the photolab. (insert favorite place here). Soooo.... Anyone have any favorites that they use and can wholeheartly recommend?

My last three have been Canons. I love them. Quiet, fast, beautiful prints up to 8 x10. Mine has a seperate ink tank for each color. My wife prints a ton of photos, so quality, speed and economy are musts.

My current one is the i960. Briliant.

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PokenHopen

or you could go to walgreens or walmart which will now print digital prints(after you scan and fix em) for like 29 cents a print for 4x6 which is also the normal cost for developing, there are also specials on a regular basis and will turn out to be cheaper then paying for the sheets and printing them out.

used to be that you have to pay like 4 bucks for a 8x11 sheet but they now use the same machines for regular film and digital and the cost is the same too.

btw- my wife works at walgreens, and we even got our wedding pictures done there because she knows the equipment is the same stuff used at any of the major labs, very nice $70K machines that also are hooked up to Fuji directly and if not taken care of properly will not run at all.

but that is just my 2 cent.

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mrcracker

I worked out the economics on photo printers recently, and it's really in your best interest to bring the digital shots to a drugstore or other printer to have them done. The supplies for good prints ended up costing somewhere in the realm of $.75 per photo and you can get them done most places for $.25 a file and that's on top of the cost of the printer.

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FunkyFresh

What they said.

I was going to buy a photo printer too, since the photographer at my wedding used a digital SLR. But it turned out Walmart's 1 Hour Photo Center offers 4x6 prints for 19¢ each (just lowered from 24¢ each). Couldn't beat that cost on my own, and Walmart's quality was great. (For you legal sticklers, yes, the photographer signed off on letting me make all the prints I want.)

Just FYI, I've heard countless times how brand-x ink cartridges don't really save money. They often use larger ink droplets, which worstens quality and uses up the ink faster.

THRASHER2

Walgreens or Walmart.................

http://photo.walgreens.com/
http://www.walmart.com/photo-center?...5426&dept=5426

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Cyno01

Whatever you do, dont buy a lexmark. I'd second a cannon if your still gonna get your own, just beacause you can purchase each color seperatly.

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ranger1033

Here is a awsome printer Graaille for printing photo's it also prints on cd's and dvd's with the adapter that comes with the printer.Me myself i have 2 of thease printers and i love them alot.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16828103155
PS The ink for this printer are also seperate cartridges to.Vey good thing to have if you only need to replace one in cartridge at a time.

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THRASHER2

CompUSA.com has the Epson Stylus Photo R300 Photo Printer on sale for $110 - $30 rebate [Exp 7/9] = $80. In-store pickup only.
http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...ct_code=307127

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Graaille

I used to support Lexmark printers, wouldn't buy one, wouldn't give one to my enemy, unless it was to drop it on his head.


Thanks for all the replies. There isn't really a Walgreen's in my area, so if I do the take it to someone, it would have to be Wallyworld. Still may consider actually picking a photo printer up tho... looking at the Canon PIXMA iP5000 or iP6000D, (only seeing refurbished i960's in my brief excursions between calls Putwig.) On the HP side, because every other printer I've owned have been HP, I've looked at the Photosmart 7760, 7960, and 8450. Problem is, beyond this one project, I'm not sure that I would have enough of a use for it to make it worthwhile. Will debate w/myself a bit more, still encouraging replies....

MLiV

19 Cents at my local walgreens. Can't beat the quality picture u get from those commercial printers. Unless your mass printing, I rather go to walgreens personally.

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HoJo

Quote: Originally Posted by putwig My last three have been Canons. I love them. Quiet, fast, beautiful prints up to 8 x10. Mine has a seperate ink tank for each color. My wife prints a ton of photos, so quality, speed and economy are musts. My current one is the i960. Briliant.

I agree 100%. I also have an i960 and I love it. Paid around $140 for it at Newegg. It's my third Cannon and they've all been great.

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