Best Photo Quality for around $200

[Len Robbins]

I'm trying to help a friend find the best photo quality printer for around
$200. Any suggestions? As for myself, I have a Canon S800 (discontinued now)
that I'm totally happy with. I don't like the idea of changing cartridges on
the HP's for photo quality and I've heard that they go through cartridges
like water. I'm not sure if the Epsons still have a problem with their print
heads. I really haven't been paying attention to what's out in the
marketplace now.

Thanks,
Len

 

[DF]

Hands down for the Canon i960. Low ink cost and individual color
replacement makes this a winner
go to
http://www.usa.canon.com/html/conCprProductDetail.jsp?modelid=9388&item=9443&section=10214
for product details. I own the Canon i860 for about $50 less. Both are
GREAT for photos or text.

 

[Joel]

I'm trying to help a friend find the best photo quality printer for around
$200. Any suggestions? As for myself, I have a Canon S800 (discontinuednow)
that I'm totally happy with. I don't like the idea of changing cartridges on
the HP's for photo quality and I've heard that they go through cartridges
like water. I'm not sure if the Epsons still have a problem with their print
heads. I really haven't been paying attention to what's out in the
marketplace now.

Thanks,
Len

Me, I just do my printing at SAM's Club 4x6" for 19 cents a pop
(Wal-Mart charges 26 cents for 4x6" or $2.86 for 8x10"). It seems
cheaper than paying for ink, photo paper, and the photo will last much
longer.

If you want to get cheap print then I would suggest to go with Epson
cuz you can get OEM catridge for around $3-4 a pop comparing to the
original $20-25, or HP ink cartridge costs around $30 average (some
cheaper some more expensive) unless your friend refill his/her ink.

Epson, it's better to use Contineuous Ink System (hardware) which
costs between $80-120 and s/he can use bulk ink without having to refill
(just pour the whole bottle of ink to the CIS unit and it would last for
year).

 

[Ray R]

I'm trying to help a friend find the best photo quality printer for around
$200. Any suggestions? As for myself, I have a Canon S800 (discontinued now)
that I'm totally happy with. I don't like the idea of changing cartridges on
the HP's for photo quality and I've heard that they go through cartridges
like water. I'm not sure if the Epsons still have a problem with their print
heads. I really haven't been paying attention to what's out in the
marketplace now.

Thanks,
Len

Me, I just do my printing at SAM's Club 4x6" for 19 cents a pop
(Wal-Mart charges 26 cents for 4x6" or $2.86 for 8x10"). It seems
cheaper than paying for ink, photo paper, and the photo will last much
longer.

I have a Canon i850. The cost of ink for a 8.5 x 11 photo is 2 cents
when I refill. Quality is much better than either Sam's or WalMart.
Glossy photo paper is about 35 cents per page, matte is about half
that.

 

[Joel]

I have a Canon i850. The cost of ink for a 8.5 x 11 photo is 2 cents
when I refill. Quality is much better than either Sam's or WalMart.
Glossy photo paper is about 35 cents per page, matte is about half
that.

I may have to believe it costs you 2 cents (water?) but I will have to
wait for few more days to believe yours is better than Sam's or
Wal-Mart.

Just remind me few days later so I will say "I believe you" <g>. I
was doing lot of printing and have been refilling my ink for many years,
and even using Continous Ink System which I don't even have to replace
ink cartridge every few refills, and I still can't see 2 cents per print
unless I print on emptied cartridge or water <g>.

 

[Debbie]

I have the Canon i860. Purchased it at Staples for $149 with $20
rebate gift card.

I love the quality of print, text and photo. I don't print very often
but it is always ready to go when I am without having to do a bunch of
cleanings before printing anything like I had to with my Epson. I
mainly like it for the separate cartridges which I can get 2 sets for
about $30.

Hope this helps,
Debbie

 

[Joel]

I have the Canon i860. Purchased it at Staples for $149 with $20
rebate gift card.

I love the quality of print, text and photo. I don't print very often
but it is always ready to go when I am without having to do a bunch of
cleanings before printing anything like I had to with my Epson. I
mainly like it for the separate cartridges which I can get 2 sets for
about $30.

Hope this helps,
Debbie

Before photolab like Wal-Mart, SAM's club and many other online do the
printing (it was pretty expensive when they first available) I used to
print my own for many years til photolab like Wal-Mart and SAM's Club
accept printing on CD or online.

I shoot lot of photos with digital camera, use Photoshop to crop, and
some adjusting then either upload to Wal-Mart (for friends and others to
pick their own print, sometime I upload 500-600 photos at once) or burn
to CD and let either Wal-Mart or SAM's take care of the printing
(cheaper and the photos last much longer).

Also, the photos taken by digital camera has much better quality than
35mm camera.

 

[Ray R]

I may have to believe it costs you 2 cents (water?) but I will have to
wait for few more days to believe yours is better than Sam's or
Wal-Mart.

Just remind me few days later so I will say "I believe you" <g>. I
was doing lot of printing and have been refilling my ink for many years,
and even using Continous Ink System which I don't even have to replace
ink cartridge every few refills, and I still can't see 2 cents per print
unless I print on emptied cartridge or water <g>.

Bulk ink is about $2 per ounce. I get about 100 prints per ounce.
I don't care if you believe my math or not.

I tried Wal-Mart and was not satisfied with the results. Since you
are proficient with Photoshop try duplicating the my experiment.
Create an image that is pure red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, and yellow
in Photoshop. Compare the Wal-Mart and inkjet version to see
which is closer to the pure colors. This can be verified by scanning
the images and looking at the individual channels.

An added benefit of the inkjet is consistent results. It is independent
of the photoprinter calibration and age of the chemicals.

 

[Matthew Roycroft]

Before photolab like Wal-Mart, SAM's club and many other online do the
printing (it was pretty expensive when they first available) I used to
print my own for many years til photolab like Wal-Mart and SAM's Club
accept printing on CD or online.

I shoot lot of photos with digital camera, use Photoshop to crop, and
some adjusting then either upload to Wal-Mart (for friends and others to
pick their own print, sometime I upload 500-600 photos at once) or burn
to CD and let either Wal-Mart or SAM's take care of the printing
(cheaper and the photos last much longer).

Also, the photos taken by digital camera has much better quality than
35mm camera.

I have an epson photo 960 (only a small amount out of your price range
unfortunately). Use only original epson cartridges (can't say I've ever
tried anything else so can't compare there). Don't have a clue how much
ink it goes through, but the cleaning cycles uses HUGE amounts. As for
quality...The 960 prints when properly edited in photoshop are MUCH
better than anything you can get ANYWHERE else. I used until recently
profesional print labs (upto $10 for 1 8x10 print) so obviously very
good quality prints, however with the 960 I can print images exactly how
I want them to come out (with colour calibration of monitor priner etc.)
This printer uses slightly better inks that are meant to last as long
as traditional photos (obviously I can't say how good it is for
that...75 years is a long time).

If you know how to use USM (unsharp mask) in photoshop and use a decent
quality printer, printing 300dpi images you'll win every time over
cheaper photolabs (if you look closely).

I use slide film scanned using a 4000dpi scanner. Unless you are using a
top of the range digital SLR at over 10mp this'll beat your image
quality every time.

So...home printing CAN be as good as budget labs (walmart) it CAN be a
lot worse if not done better, but it also (if on decent printer/paper
and processed properly) can allow you to achieve image quality that only
pro print labs can produce (and a lot easier as you don't get problems
in communication if asking for something to be changed on the printout).
I'm not sure about pricing of inks though....

 

[Joel]

Bulk ink is about $2 per ounce. I get about 100 prints per ounce.
I don't care if you believe my math or not.

I tried Wal-Mart and was not satisfied with the results. Since you
are proficient with Photoshop try duplicating the my experiment.
Create an image that is pure red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, and yellow
in Photoshop. Compare the Wal-Mart and inkjet version to see
which is closer to the pure colors. This can be verified by scanning
the images and looking at the individual channels.

An added benefit of the inkjet is consistent results. It is independent
of the photoprinter calibration and age of the chemicals.

You can get little less than $2 per oz here
https://www.atlanticinkjet.com/showprod.asp?currency=US but still lot
more than 2 cents per 8x10".

I haven't printed any artwork at Wal-Mart but I print lot of portraits
and wedding photos, and the quality are great (much better than printing
from 35mm camera).

 

[Joel]

I have an epson photo 960 (only a small amount out of your price range
unfortunately). Use only original epson cartridges (can't say I've ever
tried anything else so can't compare there). Don't have a clue how much
ink it goes through, but the cleaning cycles uses HUGE amounts. As for
quality...The 960 prints when properly edited in photoshop are MUCH
better than anything you can get ANYWHERE else. I used until recently
profesional print labs (upto $10 for 1 8x10 print) so obviously very
good quality prints, however with the 960 I can print images exactly how
I want them to come out (with colour calibration of monitor priner etc.)
This printer uses slightly better inks that are meant to last as long
as traditional photos (obviously I can't say how good it is for
that...75 years is a long time).

Before switching to Continuous Ink System I refilled my ink *but*
still have to use original Epson ink cartridge after around 3-4 refills.
I don't think the photo print by inkjet will last very long, if you look
closely to the photo (after some years) then you will see some color
fades much faster than other, leaving lot of dots.

Samething with our printer, we need to learn their printer and you can
adjust the photo to match the color you want, and you can tell them not
to adjust the photos. I only print portraits and wedding photos and I
am happy with the quality.

If you know how to use USM (unsharp mask) in photoshop and use a decent
quality printer, printing 300dpi images you'll win every time over
cheaper photolabs (if you look closely).

Man, my eyes are pretty bad but pretty sharp with finding image
quality.

I use slide film scanned using a 4000dpi scanner. Unless you are using a
top of the range digital SLR at over 10mp this'll beat your image
quality every time.

I don't have slide film scanner but I do have regular film scanner,
and never like the quality of scanner (they are so good which can pick
up very small dots, dirt, scratches etc..) and I am lot happier with
digital camera than scanner.

 

[Len Robbins]

Thanks everyone for their 2 cents worth.

Regards,
Len

Bulk ink is about $2 per ounce. I get about 100 prints per ounce.
I don't care if you believe my math or not.

I tried Wal-Mart and was not satisfied with the results. Since you
are proficient with Photoshop try duplicating the my experiment.
Create an image that is pure red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, and yellow
in Photoshop. Compare the Wal-Mart and inkjet version to see
which is closer to the pure colors. This can be verified by scanning
the images and looking at the individual channels.

An added benefit of the inkjet is consistent results. It is independent
of the photoprinter calibration and age of the chemicals.

You can get little less than $2 per oz here
https://www.atlanticinkjet.com/showprod.asp?currency=US but still lot
more than 2 cents per 8x10".

I haven't printed any artwork at Wal-Mart but I print lot of portraits
and wedding photos, and the quality are great (much better than printing
from 35mm camera).

 

[Buddy B]

Thanks everyone for their 2 cents worth.

An excellent site for reviews of printers/cameras go to

http://www.steves-digicams.com/