Posted by John Farmer on February 22, 2009 at 12:09 PM
I'm looking to upgrade my current printer, an HP Photosmart 7200 series, to something which will allow me to print larger than 8X10, say up to 16X20 maximum, and which has both good color and B&W characteristics. I'm not a pro printing out dozens of files a week.
Space availability is somewhat of a limitation and price is definetely a limitation. I'd like to keep this under, say, $500-600.
Thanks.
Posted by John Mumaw on February 22, 2009 at 12:16 PM
Just a thought....depending on the number of larger enlargements that you need to print, you may be better off 'outsourcing' the work to a commercial printer like Mpix. Aside from the initial outlay for the printer, paper and ink costs can be a very expensive proposition printing those size of enlargements.
Mpix does an outstanding job with both color and b&w prints, and the price is comparable to (or even cheaper than?) inkjet printing.
Posted by David Bostedo on February 22, 2009 at 12:29 PM
I agree with John, if all you're concerned about is the final product. I could get prints done professionally and cheaper I think from MPix, or WHCC, or West Coast Imaging, or others. But I, personally, like working on prints.
So if you do get a printer, in that price range you're looking at a 13x19 printer. I'd check out the reviews on Photo I. The available models are :
Epson 2880 (pigment)
Epson R1900 (pigment)
Epson R1400 (dye)
Canon PIXMA Pro 9500 (pigment)
Canon PIXMA Pro 9000 (dye, and my printer)
HP B9180 (pigment)
HP B8850 (pigment)
There might be a couple of other dye printers as well...
You might know this already John, but the first thing to decide is dye vs. pigment. Most people choose pigment because of it archival qualities - the print will last a lot longer. But pigment is a little harder on the machine (more clogs), has some bronzing issues, and doesn't tend to have quite as large a gamut. Dye longevity if properly framed or stored is probably still longer than I'll live, but if you sell prints, pigment is probably the way to go. (Hence, more pigment printers available.)
I'd guess beyond that that the Epson's are the market leaders here, maybe just because they've been doing it the longest. All of these printers are good. One last thing though - if you're going to switch between glossy and matte, you might consider getting one of the models that doesn't require switching black inks.
Posted by John Mumaw on February 22, 2009 at 12:47 PM
And bear in mind that in order to get truly good (read 'neutral') b&w prints, the printer needs to use inks carts of different shades of black/grey, not just one black ink cart.
Photo-I is an excellent resource for printer reviews. Best of luck with your decision!
After much thought, I bought a refurbished Epson R2400 directly from their website. I usually don't like buying refurb gear, but they gave me the same warranty as if it were brand new. And, the best part was that it was only about half the cost of a new one. The money I saved went a good ways towards ink and paper. Just something to consider, if you are looking to shave some dollars.
Having said that, if you aren't planning on printing frequently, it may be more cost effective to outsource your work online. Ink goes fast, and paper ain't cheap. Even a lower end 13x19 sheet of epson luster is around 2 bucks per sheet. Nicer papers climb steadily from there. Doesn't sound like much, but it adds up. Personally, I love printing myself. It is very satisfying to see your finished work roll out the end of the printer, and having it look so much better than on any monitor. Good luck to you!
Discussion
4 repliesSpace availability is somewhat of a limitation and price is definetely a limitation. I'd like to keep this under, say, $500-600.
Thanks.
Mpix does an outstanding job with both color and b&w prints, and the price is comparable to (or even cheaper than?) inkjet printing.
So if you do get a printer, in that price range you're looking at a 13x19 printer. I'd check out the reviews on Photo I. The available models are :
Epson 2880 (pigment)
Epson R1900 (pigment)
Epson R1400 (dye)
Canon PIXMA Pro 9500 (pigment)
Canon PIXMA Pro 9000 (dye, and my printer)
HP B9180 (pigment)
HP B8850 (pigment)
There might be a couple of other dye printers as well...
You might know this already John, but the first thing to decide is dye vs. pigment. Most people choose pigment because of it archival qualities - the print will last a lot longer. But pigment is a little harder on the machine (more clogs), has some bronzing issues, and doesn't tend to have quite as large a gamut. Dye longevity if properly framed or stored is probably still longer than I'll live, but if you sell prints, pigment is probably the way to go. (Hence, more pigment printers available.)
I'd guess beyond that that the Epson's are the market leaders here, maybe just because they've been doing it the longest. All of these printers are good. One last thing though - if you're going to switch between glossy and matte, you might consider getting one of the models that doesn't require switching black inks.
Photo-I is an excellent resource for printer reviews. Best of luck with your decision!
Having said that, if you aren't planning on printing frequently, it may be more cost effective to outsource your work online. Ink goes fast, and paper ain't cheap. Even a lower end 13x19 sheet of epson luster is around 2 bucks per sheet. Nicer papers climb steadily from there. Doesn't sound like much, but it adds up. Personally, I love printing myself. It is very satisfying to see your finished work roll out the end of the printer, and having it look so much better than on any monitor. Good luck to you!