Photo printer

[KrazyPete]

Do any of you have experience with different brands of printers? I had an HP PSC 1401. It's multi-function printer that we picked up at Sam's Club because it was a good price. It doesn't even use their fancy Vivera inks. It takes plain old 21 black and 22 tri-color.

I got a new laptop that came with a printer rebate for the Canon Pixma MP160. This printer bragged about its "lab" quality prints and "FINE" nozzles and ink.

So I took the Canon printer because I was never really happy with photos prints on the HP. They always had a bluish look in the black areas at certain angles to the light. But the Canon is much worse by comparison. The color is way off, it's losing a lot of detail. There are very fine dotted lines going across the print even though they are brand new, freshly aligned heads.

I'm ready to blame user error for the gross performance of the Canon printer. I am using HP photo paper because that's what I had. Maybe I need Canon paper. Is there something I can do to get better prints from the Canon or should I switch back to the HP?

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I'm a big Canon fan, shareholder, and printer user. I recommend that you get an Epson.

Whatever brand you use, find profiles for it and the paper that you use. It's much easier to find those profiles for Epson printers. Using profiles and a printing program that allows for soft proofing (like Photoshop), will help you get more consistent print results.

 

[MICKEY88]

I have an HP photo printer, it does an excellent job, I've learned to only use kodak or hp paper, buy the best and set the profile for the paper you are using...

however that said, I will confess I rarely print my own pics anymore since I got a walmart 4.9 miles from my house last april, and tested their lab, they do an awesome job, so other than printing pics of my 2 nieces when they are over for a visit, I find it more efficient timewise to upload to walmart, and pic my pics up an hour later if I'm in a hurry, or the next day if i'm not, for professional stuff or just stuff I really care more about I send to mpix...

 

[disphoto]

did you use Canon paper? I did a test one night, Canon paper... sharp and great color... Epson paper... the whole thing had a pink tint to it. The paper couldn't absorb the ink the right way.

 

[KrazyPete]

Now, I'm really thinking it's the paper. I found a post on another forum someone was using HP paper in a Canon Pixma printer and they described the color as "muddy." Muddy is exactly how I would describe my prints. The same person said they got incredible prints once they switched to Canon paper.

I guess tomorrow I'll be finding an official Canon paper retailer and doing my little part to raise Mark's stock value.

 

[boBQuincy]

I have not had success using HP or Kodak paper in my two Canon printers. I have had great success using Ilford and Harman papers. I have been slightly less happy with Office Depot Premium (supposedly Konica but they may be out of the paper business now), it is ok for casual prints and costs a lot less.

Of course I have had great success with Canon's Photo Paper Pro but that is expected.

Ilford Smooth Pearl is my favorite, the new Harman looks better but for more $$$. Ilford and Harman have profiles for the Canon BCI-6 inksets and probably for the newer inks also. Konica no longer offers the profile but if you want to try it I will put the file on my website.

 

[Groucho]

Each company's software has presets for their own paper, so it wouldn't be surprising if Canon paper worked best in a Canon, Epson paper in an Epson, etc. Fortunately I have a big stack of Epson paper when it was dirt cheap at Staples one time, although I so rarely print anything out....

Still, I suspect you could get settings that would work with most types of paper. I doubt that one OEM's paper is noticably deficient to anothers.

Were you buying a new printer, I'd definitely check out Epson first and foremost.

 

[dturner]

I'm in the market for a new photo printer. There are so many on the market now I'm curious to see what everyone uses and how well they like the one they have.

I use a Canon Rebel XT - DH says I should buy a Canon printer.

Been researching the new Kodak printers and although the ink is a lot cheaper I've seen lots of reviews of people NOT liking the printer or having problems with them.

 

[jann1033]

i had a canon multipass, hated it , it never worked right from the moment i took it out of the box and it was horrendous trying to get it fixed...almost made me swear off canon products.( if i hadn't had some lenses i would not have ever bought a canon dslr just because of that printer, although i like the dslr and customer service came through on that one when i had a problem)
now i have a hp psc all in one( i need the all in one type features for husband's work) . the printer, copier etc is great but imo the photos are only so so,even with the photo ink , sometimes they print really weird..and the ink is in only 3 cartridges so if one color runs out in the photo or color cartridge you have to toss the whole thing. i like separate cartridges better
the main problem i have with printers is any ink i have used seems to not hold up to moisture as well as pro printed prints do. and since the price isn't really all that much of a savings i just go with a photo printing place usually.

 

[dturner]

i had a canon multipass, hated it , it never worked right from the moment i took it out of the box and it was horrendous trying to get it fixed...almost made me swear off canon products.( if i hadn't had some lenses i would not have ever bought a canon dslr just because of that printer, although i like the dslr and customer service came through on that one when i had a problem)
now i have a hp psc all in one( i need the all in one type features for husband's work) . the printer, copier etc is great but imo the photos are only so so,even with the photo ink , sometimes they print really weird..and the ink is in only 3 cartridges so if one color runs out in the photo or color cartridge you have to toss the whole thing. i like separate cartridges better
the main problem i have with printers is any ink i have used seems to not hold up to moisture as well as pro printed prints do. and since the price isn't really all that much of a savings i just go with a photo printing place usually.

That's what I've been doing recently - having photos printed online with a photo printing place.

I haven't bought a new printer in 7 years, with all the new technology out there, I figured by now there would be an excellent photo printer for us to use at home.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I a huge Canon fan. I've owned a Rebel, an Elan, a D60, a 10D, and a 1D. I also own a Canon printer. My next printer will probably be an Epson. I don't think that the Epsons are really that much better. It's just that they dominate the market, so you have more choices of papers, profiles, inks, etc.

 

[boBQuincy]

My Canon i9900 recently started leaving some blank lines on the page (it got a *lot* of use) so I did some research looking for a new printer. The Epsons looked good but I finally went for Canon's Pro9000.
Although the Canon accepts many more papers than the previous generation did the Epsons still have a far greater choice of papers. Most of those papers (fine art) do not interest me or I might have gone with an Epson printer.

*In general* dye inks still have the edge on gamut over pigment inks, particularly in yellows and reds (pigment sometimes has a very slight edge in blues and greens).
Pigment is better for longevity but I am not too concerned about my prints lasting for longer than dye inks will last.

A good dye or a good pigment inkjet printer can produce a print that is as good or better than anything a photo lab can do, but it is neither a time savings nor a cost savings!

 

[MarkBarbieri]

A good dye or a good pigment inkjet printer can produce a print that is as good or better than anything a photo lab can do, but it is neither a time savings nor a cost savings!

I very much agree. I think that the best answer for most people would be to not have a printer at all. Just buy the prints. You'll save time and money. I only print because I find the process educational and challenging and I like to have control.

 

[Melissa_E]

I very much agree. I think that the best answer for most people would be to not have a printer at all. Just buy the prints. You'll save time and money. I only print because I find the process educational and challenging and I like to have control.

I absolutely agree. You can get prints for less than a photo printer will print them at home. I have an Epson ink jet (not dye sublimation) and it does and OK job. It is one of the earlier ones so that is part of the problem, but I've been amazed at the job that my parent's Kodak printer does which is a dye sublimation. I have to have the planets aligned so that I don't get ink jet lines. If I had to do it again, I'd either put the $100 towards prints at a store, or get a dye sub.

 

[dturner]

I absolutely agree. You can get prints for less than a photo printer will print them at home. I have an Epson ink jet (not dye sublimation) and it does and OK job. It is one of the earlier ones so that is part of the problem, but I've been amazed at the job that my parent's Kodak printer does which is a dye sublimation. I have to have the planets aligned so that I don't get ink jet lines. If I had to do it again, I'd either put the $100 towards prints at a store, or get a dye sub.

I am seriously thinking about buying a Kodak printer like the ones that were pimped last week on Celebrity Apprentice.

 

[fitzperry]

I think that the best answer for most people would be to not have a printer at all. Just buy the prints. You'll save time and money. I only print because I find the process educational and challenging and I like to have control.

Count me in this group too. If I could find a reasonably priced printer that met my standards for image quality, I'd probably enjoy the challenge and the control over the end result. But whenever I've considered purchasing one during the last couple of years, I've decided my money was better spent on more camera gear.

I did have a little Canon photo printer (can't remember the model #) that dh picked up on a clearance rack at Staples or someplace like that. It produced decent enough prints that I'd use it if I were in a hurry for whatever reason, but it conked out on me a couple of years ago. I also had one of those Epson Picturemates because it was free with something else we bought and didn't care for it.

Anyway, as others have said, there is little or no cost savings in doing your own prints (quite the contrary in most cases). Unless you want the creative control, I don't see the point, particularly now that you can upload your prints to any number of places (Costco, Target, Walgreens, Walmart, etc.) and pick them up in an hour.

 

[rtphokie]

I have a Canon something or other, I paid something like $10 for it with my new PC. It produces fine results but the per print cost is just too much for my liking.

My printer of choice is either WalMart, Walgreens, or Target, whoever is has the best price. I can generally upload them and pick them up in an hour or so.

 

[DueyDooDah]

Here is a very good "article" on today's printing options.

 

[safetymom]

www.wilhelm-research.com

I use the Epson R1800 and 2400. They both do great prints. Cost per print for paper and ink is around $1.50 to 1.75.

Archival life is longer than traditionally developed photography.

 

[cpbjgc]

I too have a Canon camera (Rebel XTi), but I use an Epson multifunction printer (CX 4800). I only use it for prints when I either need something right away or just want something to put up in my office, otherwise I use a photofinishing service for my prints as this is cheaper. Print quality is quite nice and it has separate ink cartridges (4 in total, black, cyan, magenta and yellow) which I like. My old printer had the print head and all the inks in a single cartridge, and it was alway painful to have to change the cartridge because only one color was out.

One thing you might consider is going to a store where they might let you print a sample (they do this at Futureshop and Best Buy here in Canada). Many of the printers now have card readers, so you just need to bring you memory card along to see what results you get.