[shuttertalk]

We haven't touched on this topic in a while, and was just wondering what printer setup everyone is using, and whether you're happy / thinking of upgrading / thinking of dismembering your printer. I was using a HP Photosmart 7660 from 2003 / 2004 and just recently upgraded to a Canon PIXMA MX860 because the inks were getting pretty expensive and I hated the 3-colour in one cartridge where you had to throw the whole thing out just because you ran out of one ink. Apart from that, the HP served me quite well actually - reliable, no clogging or any other problems.

Anyway, the MX860 is more of an office machine - it's an all in one with ADF and duplexing but has 5 inks and does pretty nice prints. Not that I print much photos - I reckon it's more economical to get things commercially printed these days.


What about you? Lusting for the new Canon PIXMA Pro 1? How much do you use your printer for printing photos?

[Toad]

I use an HP 6500A all-in-one for my garden variety printing needs. I still have an Epson R300 in the configuration for photo printing, but I don't really use it. When I print for framing, I am almost always printing 11x14 (16x20 frame), and the R300 doesn't cut it for that size. Not sure that I will purchase a new photo printer or not. For the amount that I print, I think that a photo lab might actually be a better solution. Ink is expensive, and it doesn't keep forever. If you don't print much, your own photo printer can be a pretty expensive solution.

[Pavel]

I use Epson 3880. I used to have Epson R1900. Both a pigment printers and thus the prints are quite durable. This second printer is a bargain and an excellent choice for color for those on budget. It does not handle BW well and so I sold R1900 and bought the 3880. I believe that even very skilled and demanding photographers should be happy with this printer output. Mechanically, both printers were flawless and I did not have any problems with drying ink when I did not use it for a few months. Pricewise, it is significantly cheaper then Walmart when printing 11x14 and larger (in terms of ink and paper). Walmart is cheaper for smaller sizes. Walmart and many other cheap printing houses do not color manage, but I do. High quality color/contrast/brightness-critical photos done professionally in a color managed environment is much more expensive when not done at home. For me, printing at home is the only way to go. Actually printers are not that expensive - think of it as a price of your typical lens (or less). There are now newer Epson printers than R1900 and 3880. The new ones use more colors and have wider color gamut. That is a real advantage for those of you who like rich colors. I tend to run out of gamut in the areas red, yellow and hot brown as well as bright green. These are precisely the colors that have been added and which expand the gamut. I will not upgrade but those of you thinking about serious small (ish) Epsons, you can get a very good machine right now.

[enviroguy]

I bought Pavel's Epson R1900 a few years ago. Colour prints are excellent and have won a number of awards at my camera club. B&W prints are OK (much better than my previous Epson R1400 that is junk in my basement) but as Pavel indicated, could be better. If I need a superb B&W, I have a friend that promissed to help me with that. Colour management works well from monitor to printer. I'll be staying with the R1900 for the time being.

.....Dennis

[EnglishBob]

Last year i was sick of using my photo printer for text, so bought a Brother 2170W B&W laser printer, it got hammered by the wife's school printing for 20 months and came out fine, I like that it is fast and wireless so all the computers in the house print to it.

For Photo's I am still using my Canon i9900 that i bought in 2005, color images are great, starting to struggle with B&W so I get those done at Costco, cheap and once they stop trying to improve them for you have great clarity and contrast. I print mainly 11" x 14" on it, with the occasional 13" x 19". I have won awards for prints in the Camera Club, teh Council or Camera Clubs and even managed a couple of seconds in the county fair, so the prints must be pretty decent.

Have a print on the wall that gets some sun on it for part of the day most of the year and it still looks as sharp as a recent reprint, so for a dye printer they seem pretty durable for a 4 year old print.

[matthew]

So, that was quick. This time last week I was stoked about the Canon Pro-1. I have no doubt that it will be among the best, if not the be the best, of all of the 13" photo printers. But last weekend a dedicated office/multifunction printer joined the household, meaning that my photo printer would no longer do general duty.

So here's the result:



I've just brought home an Epson 3880. This is an absolute workhorse of a printer, capable of handling 17" wide paper, and has been out for a couple of years now. Many people who are excellent printers – such as Pavel – use this model, and as my camera cabinet proves, I prefer to have equipment with abilities that are far beyond my own.

My next step is to buy a better monitor calibrator, which should be taken care of by tomorrow. And then I need paper. Lots and lots of paper…

[Toad]

...and its pocket sized...

[Pavel]

Matthew, are you planning to take this photoprinter on our photoshoots?(). Congratulations - it is a great printer that will not hold you back. My only beef with this great printer is that i tend to run out of gamut in oranges, yellows and greens. The current 3880 replacement has those. With this printer it takes a little fidling not to run out of gamut with bright and saturated colors I mentioned. Matthew, I buy Epson Premium Luster 13"x19" at Vistek in quantities of 100 sheets. It comes to just over a $1/sheet. The paper is a bit thin, but it is a bargain considering excellent DMax and one of the best gamuts at any price. I now rarely use matte paper to avoid the cost of swiching. Matte paper as you know feels nicer, but the gamut is no match for luster. I now have an unopened box of 100, but we may get together on future purchases, as I sometimes do with Dennis. The papers are packaged inside the box in 2 packages of 50. You will love the BW capability of this printer. I am including a link to Eric Chan (http://people.csail.mit.edu/ericchan/). He is superb as a guide to printing, and color management with 3880. I follow his advice slavishly. I would read his stuff before buying the color management kit.

[matthew]

Robert, it sure isn't small, but it's actually only an inch wider than my previous printer. In exchange for that it can print on 17" wide paper instead of "just" 13". So with the same logic that makes me think that my medium-format Fuji GA645 is a small camera, I have to say that I'm pleased with how compact it is.

Pavel, thanks for the link. I wheeled that thing home: a 2.5km walk up Spadina, but it was much easier than taking the streetcar and much less resentment than paying a taxi driver who would otherwise be trying to run me down when I bike to work. So I probably could bring it with me as long as I don't have my big camera that day.

I was looking at the Epson 4900, and almost reached the point where I was saying "but it's only an extra five hundred…". Fortunately I stopped myself before completing the thought. Really, if it wasn't for the $300 rebate, there's no way I would have bought this one. I'm even wincing at the price of a modest monitor profiling device, but I realize that without it all of the other costs are just wasted money. Fortunately my recent adoption of film photography has conditioned me to accept ongoing costs.

[Zig]

I'm a complete lazy duffer here...besides, my floor space is monopolized by guitar cases.
I stick with a small Brother model, as the maximum output I do as stock at home is around 7x5 inches, and that for greetings/occasions cards for local distribution. I also set it to "Miserly" and use a heavy conqueror-style paper, as this gets a pleasing "printing-press" texture. Absolutely any printing other than this I always upload files and get a pro firm to do it; this has the advantage of invariably getting a freebie if I have to kick their rears for misdemeanours like dust-spotted prints or thin blacks.
My local pro-mate swears by his A3 Epson R-something: looks good for colour, good enough for camera-club type stuff, though it does seem that for decent monos one has to find a printer that is mono-specific. I personally would not have a clue about how to choose from the infinity of different blacks there are.

[Don Schaeffer]

Epson Stylus mx415 all-in-one

[NT73]

...and its pocket sized...

You beat me to it, Toad.


I have a Canon Pixma IP4300, which takes 5 inks (2 are black for some reason, but no white, so I cant print clouds or fluffy white dogs)
It works much better than my old (replaced for free once, and finished with clogged print heads and ink all inside the body) - Epson which had the print heads in the body rather than the ink tanks.
Both models were cheap to buy and so-so for ink.
It gets quite a bit of work around Xmas, when my wife does a number of Calendars with photos for each month.


I don't do much photo printing but the quality is good when I do.

[Pavel]

It gets quite a bit of work around Xmas, when my wife does a number of Calendars with photos for each month.

I have a 4 ink manual printer (black, blue, red and green). It is inexpensive, the inks cartridges are cheap too ad last a long time. It gets a so much workout around Xmas my wrist hurts. Attaches to a shirt pocket when not in use.

[NT73]

It gets quite a bit of work around Xmas, when my wife does a number of Calendars with photos for each month.

I have a 4 ink manual printer (black, blue, red and green). It is inexpensive, the inks cartridges are cheap too ad last a long time. It gets a so much workout around Xmas my wrist hurts. Attaches to a shirt pocket when not in use.

It is quite a while since I saw those. Are they coming back into fashion? I used to get them all stuck in the same hole.

We do a themed calendar each year, for friends only of course. Maybe next year we will print on Izal. Most probably be more useful these days.

[Pavel]

I forgot to mention that my manual printer does not require complex color management.

NT I suspect that not too many people still has those. Probably younger members of this forum have no idea what we are talking about. They may have never seen one of those.

[NT73]

I forgot to mention that my manual printer does not require complex color management.

NT I suspect that not too many people still has those. Probably younger members of this forum have no idea what we are talking about. They may have never seen one of those.

Keep em guessing! They think they know everything. Bet they've never seen them frogs you put tar in to make em jump.