High Quality Photo Printer (Page 4): I guess I'll be the first to mention HP. Years ago I swore I'd never own another product with their name after a premature (in my mind) failure and...

SonoraDick Loc: Tucson

I guess I'll be the first to mention HP.

Years ago I swore I'd never own another product with their name after a premature (in my mind) failure and no customer service, but most printers seem to be junk these days so a decent deal on one of their Envy printers combined with their "Instant Ink" program made me try them again.

When the trial ink runs out I'll be on a plan where I can print 50 pages/month for $3. I don't print much so I think that will be sufficient, and this will encourage me to print a few of my photos. A page is the same whether it's one line of black text or an 8 & 1/2 X 11 color print, so I don't have to worry about ink consumption, as free delivery of the ink is included in the monthly cost. There are also plans for more-frequent users.

So my ink cost won't exceed $36 for a year unless I go over the 50 pages, and I've been pleased with the way my prints look (so far). Hopefully the printer itself will last long enough to make this a decent deal.

JaiGieEse Loc: Foxworth, MS

Another vote for the Epson SureColor P800. It has done an outstanding job for me. Big, expensive ink tanks - yes, but you get a LOT of prints out of a set. you can also get a roll paper adapter for the P800 for longer, panorama style prints. I've been using Red River paper with excellent results. Cost of paper plus ink for an 11x14 tends to run less than $2.00, except for RR's Polar Pearl Metallic (approx. $3.37). A larger print will be more, of course, but this system is quite efficient for moderate costs.

broncomaniac Loc: Lynchburg, VA

If you buy an HP you can enroll the printer in HP Instant Ink. I haven't paid for ink in 4 years. There are several tiers of service and you can actually print for free in one of them. I have a Canon Pixma 920 and it prints like a dream. Prints are identical for the HP envy series. You cant tell them apart.

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

10MPlayer wrote:

I've used the search function and didn't find much recent activity on my question. I want to buy a very high quality photo printer capable of larger sized prints. I've looked at the Canon Pro 1000. Looks great but the ink refills would break the bank at $59 each and 18 of them. Ugh. Any suggestions on something high quality but maybe a little more reasonable?

You say you want a high quality printer that prints larger size prints. That is great, but if the price of ink cartridges throws you, then it sounds like you are not serious. What about the cost of paper? Is that OK? Large size paper is expensive, too. Nevertheless, a larger format printer is on my wish list.

Have you done research and calculations to compare cost, efficiency, and quality of different models? Just doing the math is very revealing. My printer uses small cartridges [around 8ml] which are ~$18 each. The cartridges for the printers you are looking at are ~$60, and contain 80ml. An 8-pack of cartridges for the Pro-100 is $125, a 9-pack for the Epson P800 is $500. Yes, that is ~4x as much cost, but for that you would be getting ~9x as much ink.

Take a look at the Red River Paper website, they have an excellent section dealing with just these issues. They have even done cost of inkjet printing as well as some printer comparisons: http://www.redrivercatalog.com/cost-of-inkjet-printing.html

Hope this helps.
Susan

Rich2236 Loc: E. Hampstead, New Hampshire

10MPlayer wrote:

I've used the search function and didn't find much recent activity on my question. I want to buy a very high quality photo printer capable of larger sized prints. I've looked at the Canon Pro 1000. Looks great but the ink refills would break the bank at $59 each and 18 of them. Ugh. Any suggestions on something high quality but maybe a little more reasonable?

Hi 10M, if you think $59 is a lot.....it isn't. I had an Epson 4880 printer with 10 ink cartridges. All ten cost me over $500. The higher quality printers use archival pigments. That translates to $$$$. But it's up to you.
Rich...

broncomaniac Loc: Lynchburg, VA

SonoraDick wrote:

I guess I'll be the first to mention HP. br br Y... (show quote)

I missed your post about HP. Consider me a fan of the Envy series.

LeeK Loc: Washington State

I'm purely an amateur and have lots to learn but I like the Canon Pixma Pro 100. I don't do a lot of printing though and I have heard that you need to keep the printer on all the time so the ink lasts longer. Otherwise, it tends to dry out.

tomc601 Loc: Gilbert, AZ

I second the Canon Pixma Pro 100. Prints up to 13x19 and here's the kicker. Until the end of the year they are offering a $250 Rebate along with 50 sheets of Canon paper. I bought mine from B&H. That brings the cost of the printer down to about $100. Also, refillable cartridges are available by various manufacturers for this printer. I've read that Precision Colors are excellent and brings the cost per print to pennies. http://www.precisioncolors.com/PC42.html

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

tomc601 wrote:

I second the Canon Pixma Pro 100. Prints up to 13x19 and here's the kicker. Until the end of the year they are offering a $250 Rebate along with 50 sheets of Canon paper. I bought mine from B&H. That brings the cost of the printer down to about $100. Also, refillable cartridges are available by various manufacturers for this printer. I've read that Precision Colors are excellent and brings the cost per print to pennies. http://www.precisioncolors.com/PC42.html

You are also getting "real" ink cartridges, not starter/trial sizes. And, that's worth $125. The printer itself is at least free.

Hal81 Loc: Bucks County, Pa.

$59 seems about right for ink for a quality printer. I know you can get a printer for less than that. But they sell you the printer cheap and than they get you for the ink. If you print a lot of photos like I do the ink don't last too long. Just maybe you will have to get a part time job to pay for your photo work.

The Watcher

LeeK wrote:

I'm purely an amateur and have lots to learn but I like the Canon Pixma Pro 100. I don't do a lot of printing though and I have heard that you need to keep the printer on all the time so the ink lasts longer. Otherwise, it tends to dry out.

Let me clarify something here. You don't keep the printer turned on to stop the ink from drying out. You leave it on so it doesn't do a wasteful ink purge when you turn it on. Then there's the less known about, sixty hour internal timer used in Canon pro printers. If the printer sets idle for sixty hours, the printer will do a wasteful ink purge when you ask it to print. You can avoid this by keeping the printer turned on and printing something small within those sixty hours.

With this in mind, I've just looked at my notes and see that I need to print something small on my Pro 100 within the next two hours

shuck Loc: Shucktown, Mississippi

I want to buy a very high quality photo printer capable of larger sized prints.

I have an Epson 1280, old but never used. In the closet for many years.

Steve_m Loc: Southern California

It looks like Epson Pro 100 is taking the cake.

pmackd Loc: Alameda CA

russjc001 wrote:

The Pixma pro -100 had a terrific sale by Canon. It was $150 after rebate of $250. It makes 13x19" at largest print and the refills are about $120 for the 8 cartridges. Very nice prints!

This price tells you how much money Canon expects to make on the ink!

Do you live near a Costco? Beautiful 12 x 18 inch prints for $4. 20" x 30" for $10. 20" x 60" for $20. Plenty of pros use them.

10MPlayer Loc: California

Thanks to everyone for the great amount of responses. I can't respond to each of you individually but I do appreciate the time you took to respond. It seems there are a preponderance of opinions that suggest the Canon Pro 100 is a quality photo printer at a reasonable price. I've been an Epson guy for a long time. Leaving Epson to go to Canon is like leaving Ford to go with Chevy. Big move. Just kidding. I'm going to shop around and really dig into the Canon-100/Canon-10 situation. Again, thanks for all the information.