PRINTER FOR PHOTOS: What is the best printer for someone printing their own photos. Photo printers say they produce excellent prints, but can the quality of home printed prints come...

joto9d7 Loc: Laguna Hills

What is the best printer for someone printing their own photos. Photo printers say they produce excellent prints, but can the quality of home printed prints come close to those printed commercially?

What photo printers produce the best prints? What to you recommend?

Menkaure Loc: Michigan

Epson. Period. Get the best one you can afford.

mtparker Loc: Cape Charles & Springfield, Virginia

In no particular order I like:
1) Epson
2) Epson
3) Epson

joto9d7 Loc: Laguna Hills

Thanks for your quick reply. Can the better epson printers produce a print that is close to the commercially done prints and at what cost?

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Epson. Pro labs and pro photographers everywhere swear by them.

When I was Digital Products Manager of Herff Jones Photography Division back in the early 2000's, I researched the inkjet printer market annually at the Photo Marketing Association International Conference, and at the Digital Imaging Marketing Association's "printer shoot-out" contest held there. Epson was nearly always the big winner in most categories from sub-$100 printers to the big $5000 range, 44-inch wide pro printers.

Get one that uses the latest Ultrachrome inks, if possible. They last longer than anything else.

mtparker Loc: Cape Charles & Springfield, Virginia

I have never prorated the inks across a group of prints so I can't give you an exact cost but my 13 x 19 papers range from $2 to $11 per sheet.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Silver Halide prints are CHEAPER, in every sense of that word, including cost and quality.

Inkjet prints are expensive to make, but well worth it for the longevity and color gamut and range of available substrates.

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

I attended a Canon printing class this past summer, to educate myself on home printing. I then purchased a Canon Pixma Pro-100 printer, able to handle 19x13 photo paper. 50-sheet pack 19x13-inch cost less than $40.00: http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Luster-50-LU-101-13X1950/dp/B0089INHZ0/ref=sr_1_1?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1416785743&sr=1-1

(Download)

Canon Photo Paper Pro Luster 13x19 (50 Sheets)

mariak Loc: Las Cruces, New Mexico USA

joto9d7 wrote:

What is the best printer for someone printing their own photos. Photo printers say they produce excellent prints, but can the quality of home printed prints come close to those printed commercially?

What photo printers produce the best prints? What to you recommend?

I had a nice Epson for quite a while but you did have to print pretty often to keep the heads from needing cleaning and using a lot of ink. That was a while ago, they may be better now. I've been using a Canon the past couple of years and really like the look of the prints. And the heads have never dried out even after a month of not using.
good luck
mariak

Cotondog Loc: Saskatchewan, Canada

My vote goes to the Canon printer. I have 2 for home printing: The Pro 9000 Mark II and the Pixma Pro-100. Both provide outstanding image quality. I have owned Epson in the past, but see their print heads as lacking in quality.

lukan Loc: Chicago, IL

I have both, an Epson 3880 Pro, and a Canon Pixma Pro-100. The Epson is what I use for larger (13x19) prints, and the Canon for smaller prints. Both are excellent and I have had zero problems with either. The Epson is 2 1/2 years old, the Canon is 2 1/2 months old, and my print volume is under 50 prints per week. For home printing, taking cost and quality into consideration, I would opt for the Canon Pixma Pro-100 if I could have only one printer.

grandmadeb Loc: illinois, usa

I have had a Epson for many years. I love it. very good print quality. I just got a wide format canon pixma pro 100. I love it for larger prints. everyone has their favorites, but my 2 cents, Epson since I have a 10 plus history with them. deb

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

joto9d7 wrote:

What is the best printer for someone printing their own photos. Photo printers say they produce excellent prints, but can the quality of home printed prints come close to those printed commercially?

What photo printers produce the best prints? What to you recommend?

Epson or Canon. Both make high quality pigment ink based printers. Canon's I've had seem to have slightly less clogging issues than Epson's I've had, but both produce excellent images. I currently use an Epson 4880, upgraded from a Canon Pro100. Can't say there is a huge quality difference, but I am enjoying the lower cost of ink from my 220ml carts.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

joto9d7 wrote:

Thanks for your quick reply. Can the better epson printers produce a print that is close to the commercially done prints and at what cost?

No. The majority of commercially done prints are made on Lightjet or similar printers that use wet process paper - C41 if Kodak, or RA-4 if Fuji. These printers have the ability to produce 36 bit color, and much wider gamut than anything currently possible on an inkjet. The main drawback is the limited media choices. The main advantage is the archival nature, in the 100s of years, that you get from a properly handed C or RA print.

pbfcpa Loc: Central Maryland, USA

I have an older Epson 2200 and a Canon Pixma 9000. I am getting better prints that more like the original from the Canon than the Epson using Lightroom 5 on on iMac. Just seems like the Epson needs much more manipulation to get prints close to orignal than the Canon.