before buying an ink printer

[Nik]

Hi,
Some piece of advice from ConsumerReports:

Consider these before buying a photo printer:

ConsumerReport, July'07, p.37:

"Weigh ink costs.
High ink costs can make a bargain-priced printer a bad deal in the
long run. With many tested models, a4 x 6 cost 30 or 35 cents; on
others, it was 45 or 50 cents -up to twice what you might pay at a
photo lab. For 8xlOs, costs ranged from 75 cents to $1.45, a huge
difference.

Don't choose a printer solely because of low cartridge costs, though.
Kodak is touting the low cost of cartridges for its new EasyShare
5300, a $200 all-in-one, but our tests showed that photo costs were
comparable to those of other printers- 35cents for 4x6 photos and $1
for 8xlOs - and print quality was middling.

Look for convenience features.
If you'll be printing snapshots as well as 8xlOs and text pages, a
second tray for 4x6 paper is handy. And make sure you don't have to
swap out black to use photo ink. A few models still require that.

Take claims with a grain of salt.
Advertised speeds are often higher than you'll get in normal use. Our
tests yield realistic speeds you can compare across brands. A
printer's resolution, in dots per inch (dpi) can be confusing as well.
All things being equal, the more ink dots a printer puts on the paper,
the more detailed the image. But dot size, shape, and placement affect
quality. So don't focus only on resolution. The same holds true for
ink colors. Some inkjets use up to eight photo inks. Theoretically, a
wider range of colors can improve a printer's flesh tones and color
gradations, but that hasn't always been the case in our tests."

Have a nice day...

 

[Richard Steinfeld]

Hi,
Some piece of advice from ConsumerReports:

Consider these before buying a photo printer:

ConsumerReport, July'07, p.37:

Don't choose a printer solely because of low cartridge costs, though.
Kodak is touting the low cost of cartridges for its new EasyShare
5300, a $200 all-in-one, but our tests showed that photo costs were
comparable to those of other printers- 35cents for 4x6 photos and $1
for 8xlOs - and print quality was middling.

Thanks, Nik. This is pretty sobering. I wonder if the same is true when
printing on plain paper. Well, it's a good reason to remain with my
present printers for the medium term. Perhaps Kodak will refine their
system to deliver a true value, or set up some real competition between
the other players in reaction. I feel like waiting.

Over their many decades, Kodak has proved to be a remarkably clever
company -- that seems to be in their corporate bloodstream. However,
they have also played the game of captive supplies, the game that we
know all too well, many times, too. Who remembers film sizes 116,
126,620,128 -- or owns doorstop cameras for these films, no matter how good?

They've lost their competitive advantages now, and aren't the same
company that they were -- no longer the Great Cathedral of Imaging.
Maybe it's time to sit this one out for a couple of generations and wait
for it to mature. Here's one company that really knows their stuff when
it comes to dies, pigments, retention, and bases.

Richard

 

[Michael Johnson]

Good information for those that plan to use OEM ink. For refillers the
cost of ink is basically irrelevant and ease of refilling becomes
paramount along with printer quality and features. As for number of ink
tanks, I agree that there isn't much difference to the average user. I
really can't tell the difference between our i960 and iP4000 printers.

I was hoping that Kodak's new printers would have more of an impact on
the other manufacturers OEM ink prices but it looks like it probably
won't. I'll just keep plugging away with our non-chipped Canon printers
and ultra low cost after market ink. We've been doing his for years
with no more problems than using OEM liquid gold (aka ink).

IMO, anyone looking for the low cost, high quality color inkjet printing
needs to grab a Canon CLI-8 based unit. At least they can be refilled
easily and you only give up ink level monitoring in the process.

 

[measekite]

Good information for those that plan to use OEM ink. For refillers
the cost of ink is basically irrelevant and ease of refilling becomes
paramount along with printer quality and features. As for number of
ink tanks, I agree that there isn't much difference to the average
user. I really can't tell the difference between our i960 and iP4000
printers.

I was hoping that Kodak's new printers would have more of an impact on
the other manufacturers OEM ink prices but it looks like it probably
won't. I'll just keep plugging away with our non-chipped Canon
printers and ultra low cost after market ink. We've been doing his
for years with no more problems than using OEM liquid gold (aka ink).

IMO, anyone looking for the low cost, high quality color inkjet
printing needs to grab a Canon CLI-8 based unit. At least they can be
refilled easily and you only give up ink level monitoring in the process.

You do not want to do that and besides nobody has been able to legally
get around the Canon patent of the new and improved CL8 ink.

 

[Frank]

You do not want to do that...

Why not?

and besides nobody has been able to legally

get around the Canon patent of the new and improved CL8 ink.

How do you know that to be true? You don't do you? Don't lie now. We all
know you're the number 1 liar in this ng.
Also, who cares as long as the results are what the end users expects.
Anyway, you're just a shill...a plant for canon. Hell, you don't even
have any experience using after market inks so you...know...nothing!
Nothing!
Frank

 

[CheaperOnEbay]

Brand New Ink Cartridges are 99 cents on eBay with free shipping.

Just in case you are in the market for new ink cartridges, they are
the cheapest on eBay. An example is if you own the Canon i960
printer. Go to eBay and type in keyword, "18 ink cartridge for Canon
i960". The total price will be less then $18.00 shipped, that's about
99 cents each.

It doesn't matter what quantity, what brand(Canon, Epson, HP,
Lexmark), they are still the cheapest on eBay. Shop around for the
best price, there is so much competition on eBay that the only real
winner is the consumer.

Sincerely,
Cheaper On eBay

 

[Taliesyn]

Brand New Ink Cartridges are 99 cents on eBay with free shipping.

Judging from your positive eBay feedback rating (in the 20,0000s), I
doubt you really need new customers from this very finicky group of
people who like their printers and their own favorite inks. Most of us
ar not enticed by such offers as 18 cartridges for 18 dollars from a
seller we're not already familiar with.

-Taliesyn

 

[measekite]

You are a spammer. You are selling junk.

 

[measekite]

Judging from your positive eBay feedback rating (in the 20,0000s), I
doubt you really need new customers from this very finicky group of
people who like their printers and their own favorite inks. Most of us
ar not enticed by such offers as 18 cartridges for 18 dollars from a
seller we're not already familiar with.

-Taliesyn

While most people would not patronize the spammer and go ahead and buy
OEM ink, I am sure he is spamming this ng in search of idiots. And since
he is doing so repetitively he may be getting some scores.