Ron 717 Loc: Pennsylvania

I saw that I made a mistake on the price I corrected it after the fact so it’s further down this thread.I meant to type $500.00

rcarol

Thanks for the clarification.

Soul Dr. Loc: Beautiful Shenandoah Valley

I wholeheartedly second that opinion. I have owned and used almost every brand of inkjet printer.
I have found Canon printers have the least problems and the best colors. And the most economical to use.

will

avemal Loc: BALTIMORE

a program to print pics

Ednsb Loc: Santa Barbara

where are you finding a Pro 200 for $200?

The Watcher

I've noticed lots of misinformation in some of the replies. If you want to learn about printers and printing I suggest you look at these links. The top one will say there are no contents, but it's there. Just click on videos or playlists.

https://www.youtube.com/@cheo1949

https://www.youtube.com/@KeithCooper

one_eyed_pete Loc: Colonie NY

The thing I love about photo printing is every time a print comes out it reminds me of those old days in the darkroom when I loved watching an image appear before my eyes in the developing tray. Home photo printing is not for the faint of heart or the lazy. It requires knowledge and dedication to calibration of devices and maintenance of the printer. It's not cheap but for me it's worth it. You received two links above with more information than you want. Both Canon and Epson make excellent photo printers. Just like a classic car, you can't let a printer sit in the garage and rust. Those nozzles are tiny, tiny, tiny and it doesn't take much for a clog to form or an air bubble to form and cause a nozzle not to deliver ink droplets. The tried and true path to avoid that is to keep ink flowing thru periodically The period is likely somewhere between 3 to 10 days. You can get software which can schedule periodic small purge prints. Today ECO tank printers save lots on ink cost but printer cost is greater. Companies used to nearly give away printers because they knew they got their profit from repeated high cost ink purchases.

coskibum Loc: Bella Vista AR

I use a Canon PIXMA TS6020 at home. It has 5 ink cartridges and gives good to excellent prints for a home printer. If I would larger prints, If use a local photoshop in town. I have use HP's prints for years but found that the ink cartridges cost just keep climb to high.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

There are four 13" printers currently available that are photo quality and able to print 11x14:

- Epson XP-15000, $300, dye inks, 6-color
- Canon Pro-200, $549, dye inks, 8-color
- Epson P700, $800, pigment inks, 10-color
- Canon Pro-300, $850, pigment inks, 10-color

Someone might suggest the Epson EcoTank or Canon Mega Tank (versions both 8.5" and 13" wide) for more cost-effective inks, but these are actually not considered photo quality because they only use 4 or 5 colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, black and sometimes gray). The Canon iP8720 is another 13" wide printer that sells for $250 and is 6-color. But, two of it's inks are black and the other five are like the EcoTank and Mega Tank printers.

There aren't many 8.5" wide truly "photo quality" printers these days. Epson XP-8700 and Canon G620 are both all-in-one printers (also have a scanner) with 6 dye-based colors. Both of those printers cost $300.

Even though 6-color is about the minimum, there is a noticeable difference between photos printed with 6 inks versus those done with 8 or more colors.

Dye inks used to be really prone to fading. They've improved and now are typically rated for around 100 years life. But that's about half the life expectancy of pigment inks. Personally I prefer pigment inks on matte papers and dye based on semi-gloss and glossy papers.

Whatever printer you might choose, also look carefully into the cost of replacement inks and the size of the ink cartridges. It's an ongoing expense after that initial purchase. There are 3rd party inks that are cheaper, but may not work as well or be as long-lasting.

Finally, you mention having to print an image numerous times before you get it to look right. Is your computer monitor calibrated? If not, that's most likely the problem. Many computer monitors are way too bright for proper photo editing and they don't render color all that accurately, either. Too bright a monitor causes you to adjust your images too dark. And inaccurate colors on the monitor will cause you to mis-adjust the images trying to fix a problem that's not there. A calibration device like a Datacolor Spyder or Calibrite ColorChecker is a big help setting correct brightness and locking in correct color rendition. Because they lose brightness and shift color as they age, monitors need to be re-calibrated periodically (I do it monthly). While there's an initial investment in a device, it will likely pay for itself over time with less wasted paper and ink,

Sidwalkastronomy Loc: New Jersey Shore

I bought my eco tank et8550 at its peak. Was back ordered at $699. They notified me went up $100, still back ordered. Bought it for 799. 7 months I'm on my 5th, yes 5th machine. Ink smears all over now been advised if I print 11x14 use a q tip to mop up over pray ink puddle.
I love the prints when they are not a mess of ink.

Boris77

I used Epson ink jet printers at work and home for many years. They all seemed to need frequent use AND occasional head cleaning. When I had a printing lull at home (30+ days) the machine clogged up so badly I could never get full color again.
Then I bought the Canon Pro-100. Seven years of NO trouble printing, until one day it died (did not turn on). Since it is very heavy and not repaired locally, I trashed it and pulled out the second printer I had bought and stored. I am in year two with my new/old Pro-100.
I strongly recommend the Canon Pro-200, or whatever similar model they are selling with dye based inks.

As for color we had great success at work by buying equipment that was recommended to work together; we never needed serious color calibration; it was done by eye. My at home standard is that the print look good. I print in batches of a common subject. The first (8.5x11) print usually is a sacrifice to the pictures I am least sure of; after that I can tune in the rest before printing. I always make one or two small prints to satisfy myself before I make a large print (13x19), and often reject the picture for focus, sharpness, etc., but seldom for color.
The equipment used does matter!
Boris

markwilliam1

I also endorse the Canon Pro 200 and currently own one. Fabulous printer and the images it produces are Amazing! I’ve owned 3 Epson wide format printers and Every one of them suffered from clogged print heads after sitting for only 2 weeks! I just threw away my Epson R3000 after it started to leak all the Cyan ink into the printer and on my photographs! It wasn’t even a year old…found out it was a known design fault by Epson. I paid over $800 for this printer. NEVER Epson AGAIN