JRD3 Loc: Richmond, VA

I am starting my second year of digital photography. Recently I had several images printed professionally on quality paper using archival inks. Loved the result but not the price. Interested in comments, suggestions and recommendations on printers that will deliver quality results and not require a second mortgage. I am not opposed to paying the price necessary for equipment which will provide many years of good service.
If this same kind of printing can be done by internet exchange of images, I would appreciate hearing those thoughts as well.
Thanks for you help and consideration.

BassmanBruce Loc: Middle of the Mitten

I use a canon pixma pro 100. Results are excellent. New withe rebate it cost $100.00.
Sound to good to be true? Well yes kinda, the "gotcha" is in the cost of the ink. I only use canon inks and a set is $130.00.
It's worth it to me.

Leitz Loc: Solms

Your question would be best asked in the printing section: http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/s-120-1.html

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Second on the Pixma Pro-100. And use decent paper like Epson Exhibition Fiber or Hannamule Banboo. Get yourself from acetate archival envelopes to protect the prints and an archival box for storage.

Real Nikon Lover Loc: Simi Valley, CA

My best printer to date is the Epson 4550. It was under $500.00 and using the 5 star Epson 8x10 papers (Ultra Premium Glossy) it prints INCREDIBLE quality photos. It has 4 ink reservoirs and they last! Very happy thus far. I have had it 2 years and printed hundreds of photos and docs. If you want a larger format printer the Epson SureColor P800 is also superb. That is my next target purchase.

JRD3 Loc: Richmond, VA

Thanks for thoughtful response.

tcthome Loc: NJ

If you go with any of the Canon pro printers , check out jose rodrigueze 's channell( might be spelled wrong) on you tube. Covers a lot on canon & some Epson printers & a way to refill your your inks for a third of the price.

JRD3 Loc: Richmond, VA

Thanks. Very helpful

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

You don't say where you are from so I can only offer my own experience with Costco printing. They do an extremely good job and extremely good prices. I used Bayphoto, but I received too many prints that were nicked on the corner (it looked like they used their finger nail to separate the prints). I had one problem with Costco. One time the printer malfunctioned and couple of the prints were not fully processed. When I brought it back to the photo sections, they immediately ran through the entire order again and gave me double prints for the inconvenience they caused me (and apologized!)

JRD3 Loc: Richmond, VA

Live in Richmond, VA and COSTCO member. Will keep it in mind. Thanks

mikegene1

Love my Epson XP 950 all in one printer. Have had it for ? years. Always use Epson papers with Epson printers. Price at Epson $229.99.

James Van Ells

Tried Costco? Calibrate your monitor and take your images to Costco, they do a great job.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

I have used Staples for my large prints. In Richmond there must be a Staples =nearby. I do 8X10's my self, and buy my inks at InkFarm for 1/3 the price of Canon inks. I can't tell the difference in qualty of prints made with OEM ink or InkFarm. Some say that 3rd party ink may damage a printer. I have run through at least 6 s ets of inks. The way I figure if the printer fails The savings from Ink farm have more than paid for 2 new printers.

JRD3 Loc: Richmond, VA

Thanks for the ideas. Will put to use in the New Year

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

If you want to start printing at home, Canon and Epson both offer excellent photo quality inkjets. Look for models with 6 or more ink tanks for the best quality prints. Also look for individual tanks.... one for each color (plus black and possibly gray tones). That way you waste as little ink as possible.

You'll find inkjets use two types of inks: dye-based and pigment-based. On high quality papers, recent formulations of dye-based inks are rated for 100 years durability. Pigment inks are even longer lived, up to 200 years are predicted. Personally I like dye inks for glossy, semi-gloss and luster papers.... and pigment inks for matte papers.

For example, Canon Pro 100 is an 8-cartridge, dye-based ink printer. The Canon Pro 10 is a 10-cartridge, pigment-based ink printer. Both those Canon are 13" "wide format" printers that are able to make prints up to 13x19" in size and use fairly large ink tanks. Currently the Pro 100 is selling for $150 (after a $250 mail-in rebate) and the Pro 10 is selling for $450 (after a $250 rebate). There are both less expensive, smaller 8.5" wide printers, more expensive 17" wide and much more expensive 24", 36" and 44" wide printers. Some printers also can be fitted with accessories to utilize rolls of paper.

A full set of OEM inks for either of those Canon printers costs $125 to $135 . The Pro 100 uses "Chromalife 100" dye-based inks and the Pro 10 uses "Lucia" pigment-based. There are cheaper third party ink cartridges available and even methods of refilling ink cartridges yourself, though whether they give as accurate color or will prove to be as durable is open to question. Using third party inks probably voids any warranty, too. But a lot of people use the lower cost inks and are quite satisfied with the results.

In addition to inks, the other "consumable" is paper.... High quality 13x19" paper can cost anywhere from $1 to $4 per sheet. Smaller sizes cost less per page, of course.

If you are not already doing so, something I'd highly recommend is that you calibrate your computer monitor. If you do very much printing, a calibration device such as an X-Rite or a Datacolor Spyder or similar will basically pay for itself in savings of paper and ink. Computer monitors are nearly always way too bright, causing you to make prints too dark... and aren't all that accurate rendering color, causing you to incorrectly adjust that, too. Monitor brightness and color rendition change gradually, too, as the device ages. So calibration needs to be re-done periodically. I calibrate mine every 60 days. Some people do it more often.

In addition, you'll need to set up a color calibrated "work flow" and load ink/paper "profiles" to get accurate "soft proofs" of your images. If, for example, you were to buy one of the Canon printers and use Canon papers and inks, the profiles are built into the software provided. But if you use other papers and inks, chances are you'll need a different profile. Some paper manufacturers provide profiles. There are also some other sources of profiles... or some calibration devices can actually create custom profiles.