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Feb 21, 2021 10:09:54   #
Sidwalkastronomy Loc: New Jersey Shore
 
My old printer, Canon Pixma MG 5220, might be having some minor issues and thinking of replacing it. I use a commercial lap, Meridan Pro, for my serious wall hangers, mostly 16 X20. They do a great job printing on metallic paper and double thickness mount board. I don't like matting them and never will.
My photo printing is for casual 8 x11.5 and 4 x6 for showing friends. I would like separate ink cartridges or possible ink tanks. Even though I'm not using it for wallhangers, I still want the best quality prints possible. As you all know ink is very expensive, and for the last year been using cheaper aftermarket ink with no problems. With a new printer I can't do this for warranty issues.
After reading reviews, most printers have some issues. I would like some real life experiences.
Because I'm not using it for my wall hangers, I haven't come up with budget yet. Thinking under $300 but not written in stone.
We all know the major cost of printing is the cost of ink, the most expensive liquid on earth.
I like Canon products but a friend has a HP with the per month ink plan but they are not great for serious photos from what I've read. Anything Canon I own has treated me well.
I'm open to all suggestions thanks.

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Feb 21, 2021 10:27:08   #
Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States
 
I send prints out almost always. Rarely print at home, and only 4x6, 5x7, and 8x10/12.
I simply bought a Canon TR8520 for home printing.
I prefer separate ink cartridges so I'm not throwing unused ink when one color runs out in a multi-color cartridge.
Depends on one's needs and requirements.

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Feb 21, 2021 11:07:12   #
lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA
 
Sidwalkastronomy wrote:
My old printer, Canon Pixma MG 5220, might be having some minor issues and thinking of replacing it. I use a commercial lap, Meridan Pro, for my serious wall hangers, mostly 16 X20. They do a great job printing on metallic paper and double thickness mount board. I don't like matting them and never will.
My photo printing is for casual 8 x11.5 and 4 x6 for showing friends. I would like separate ink cartridges or possible ink tanks. Even though I'm not using it for wallhangers, I still want the best quality prints possible. As you all know ink is very expensive, and for the last year been using cheaper aftermarket ink with no problems. With a new printer I can't do this for warranty issues.
After reading reviews, most printers have some issues. I would like some real life experiences.
Because I'm not using it for my wall hangers, I haven't come up with budget yet. Thinking under $300 but not written in stone.
We all know the major cost of printing is the cost of ink, the most expensive liquid on earth.
I like Canon products but a friend has a HP with the per month ink plan but they are not great for serious photos from what I've read. Anything Canon I own has treated me well.
I'm open to all suggestions thanks.
My old printer, Canon Pixma MG 5220, might be havi... (show quote)


I don't know your model but I currently have a Canon Pixma PRO 100 printer. Does pretty good up to 13x19 inch color Inkjet prints. Mediocre B&W though. Next one for me will be a Canon Pixma PRO 1 or other $1,000+ printer. Office printers are horrible for photography. I've tried using them in the past. Prior to the model "100" I had a Pixma PRO 9000 (higher, priceyier, older), similar results to the "100".

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Feb 21, 2021 12:00:09   #
Sidwalkastronomy Loc: New Jersey Shore
 
I don't need really high pro model

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Feb 21, 2021 12:12:19   #
Josephakraig
 
Sidwalkastronomy wrote:
My old printer, Canon Pixma MG 5220, might be having some minor issues and thinking of replacing it. I use a commercial lap, Meridan Pro, for my serious wall hangers, mostly 16 X20. They do a great job printing on metallic paper and double thickness mount board. I don't like matting them and never will.
My photo printing is for casual 8 x11.5 and 4 x6 for showing friends. I would like separate ink cartridges or possible ink tanks. Even though I'm not using it for wallhangers, I still want the best quality prints possible. As you all know ink is very expensive, and for the last year been using cheaper aftermarket ink with no problems. With a new printer I can't do this for warranty issues.
After reading reviews, most printers have some issues. I would like some real life experiences.
Because I'm not using it for my wall hangers, I haven't come up with budget yet. Thinking under $300 but not written in stone.
We all know the major cost of printing is the cost of ink, the most expensive liquid on earth.
I like Canon products but a friend has a HP with the per month ink plan but they are not great for serious photos from what I've read. Anything Canon I own has treated me well.
I'm open to all suggestions thanks.
My old printer, Canon Pixma MG 5220, might be havi... (show quote)




Like Lenses and Cameras there are a vast number of different opinions on printers. It will likely always cost more to print at home than sending off your images to be printed, but, if you do print at home you can change the image, reprint and get what you want right away.

I do up to 13" x 19" at home and use a Canon Pixma Pro-10. There is a difference in different printers and their ink, some are dye based (most printers) and some are pigment based. The pigment based usually hold their color much much better than the dye. If you want pictures for your kids and grandkids to have for a long time get a pigment based printer.

I have used several brands of ink and honestly don't think one is better than the other, perhaps slightly different but not better or worse. Generic ink is a major cost savings for me.

I'm on my 3rd Pixma Pro printer, I wore two others out and the cost of repair was nearly the same as buying new so I did.

I like being able to print right after post production instead of having to send the image somewhere and waiting. I also like being able to make minor changes right away after seeing a print.

I have used Epson, HP and Brother image printers. I liked all but the Epson's kept having clogged head issues. I used the monthly charge for HP but when I went over the charge got to be pretty high. I eventually dropped the monthly ink and put generic in and HP remotly turned off the printer. Someone sued HP and then they sent out a patch to fix it so that it could work with generic but they made it difficult to use so I just got mad one day and threw the printer out into the trash. So far the Canons have been far and away the best printers for photo images.

I found out about the difference between the dye and pigments after deciding to remount a picture I had hanging in my den. When I pulled it out of the frame the part of the image protected by the edge of the frame was much more vivid than the part you could see when framed. That is when I got the Pixma Pro-10 instead of the Pro-100, the 10 has the pigments instead of dyes.

The Pro-10 is a thousand dollars retail but you can find it in the price range you are looking. There are sales and overstock or even perhaps used but they are available.

I've included a post from Ebay as an example of what you can find..

Good luck.



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Feb 21, 2021 13:08:08   #
Sidwalkastronomy Loc: New Jersey Shore
 
thanks for a great reply and helpful information.

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Feb 22, 2021 08:25:18   #
Temuna
 
Very pleased with Canon 300 — a relatively new model.

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Feb 22, 2021 08:35:53   #
AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!
 
I've been going down the same road since my Pixma MG6220 is trying to die. There are so many models! I eliminated HP's because they don't offer a straight paper path. I eliminated Epson because of the high cost of ink. So I'm back to Canon. I called Canon (and waited on hold for over 30 minutes) to get a recommendation. It was the TR8520. They offered me a discount because of being a previous Canon printer owner. All I have to do is have the serial number of my 6220. I think I'm going to order it this afternoon. And, as of Friday, it was currently in stock!

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Feb 22, 2021 09:02:25   #
Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb
 
I have the Canon Pro 1000 it prints 17X22 and will fit your size requirements. I think the quality is great. Might be worth you looking at. Canon uses it for demonstrations ay shows so they think the quality is show worthy.

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Feb 22, 2021 09:07:24   #
tcthome Loc: NJ
 
Not sure on the budget but these shouldn't be to much over.

Epson XP 15000
Canon TS 8320

Check out vids on this guys channel. He will show some samples & hook you up with Precision Inks if you want to refill the ink for less.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz9YXaSulpM90vC24lmAeZA

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Feb 22, 2021 09:46:47   #
Delderby Loc: Derby UK
 
I also had a Canon Pixma that recently died. I replaced it with a Canon TS6350. (3 in 1) Super pleased. Front and top feed. (Top feed for thick papers). I went to Canon after having bad experiences with both Epson and HP. So I stayed with Canon - glad I did. I print about four 16x20s in a year, so I go to White Wall for those.

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Feb 22, 2021 09:52:21   #
Floyd Loc: Misplaced Texan in Florence, Alabama
 
Check out the Epson XP series. My XP-960 uses 6 cartridges prints beautifully on most any medium as well as CD/DVDs. Also, bulk ink from Precision Colors, to my eye and several others on UHH, are comparable to Epson inks at about 1/5 the cost.

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Feb 22, 2021 11:32:00   #
knutte
 
Temuna wrote:
Very pleased with Canon 300 — a relatively new model.


How's the B&W'? I have the PRO-100 which i love but the B&W's are sometimes so-so

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Feb 22, 2021 12:04:52   #
drc023 Loc: North Little Rock, Arkansas
 
I know that you said you didn't need a 13x19 format printer, but I urge you to look into the Canon iX6820. If you decide it could work for you be sure to get it directly from Canon. They will probably give you a discount off the $179 price. You also could look at the iP8720 if you can find a decent buy. Canon is out of stock and other vendors have boosted the the price well above retail. Both use the 250/251 cartridges so you can easily refill if you decide to use refill ink, hopefully from Precision Colors or get 3rd party cartridges dirt cheap online. I have a Pro-100 and also an iP8720. The iP8720 is pretty close to the Pro-100. It's a 6 color printer and the iX6820 is 5 color. You could also consider a Canon Megatank printer. Ink from Canon for this line is around $13 per color for a 4oz bottle. My daughter has a Megatank printer and she is very pleased with it.

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Feb 22, 2021 12:14:35   #
AGO
 
A little over a year ago my old Canon all-in-one died and I replaced it with an Epson. I have cursed that printer every day since. The scanner is good, but the printer is awful. Even though it hasn't died, I'm thinking of dropping a 50 lb weight on it to kill it so I can have an excuse to buy a new one.
P.S. Epson's customer service has not been helpful with the problems I've encountered.

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