burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Frankly, I do what you do when I can. But I do use 8.5x11 for 8x10 borderless prints. That size paper is easier to find.

12x18 printed on 13x19 fits a standard frame size — either 12x18 OR 13x19. Both are hard to find locally, but easily found online.

My Epsons generally last until they discontinue driver support for the current MacOS. I attribute that to using them often and not printing borderless.

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

Years ago I saw an article with pictures of what a printer's internals looked like after being used primarily for borderless prints - it was a gunked up mess. I never printed borderless again.

Photomac Loc: The Dalles, Or

Yes, to print or not to print and what size and brand. Several things to take into account. I'm familiar with this question because I have come and gone with printing several times. First, the brand. Buy the one that offers you local support. Both Cannon and Epson are fine printers and you won't go wrong. Secondly, it's not the ink that costs so much, its the paper!! Fine art printing is an art form and the tuition to learn via experience is expensive. Take a class if you can. Maybe the company can recommend one. I had the epson 800 as a starter, it worked great and did have some tolerance for not printing every 3 or 4 days, but all of them require regular printing. I would suggest batching and printing weekly if possible, or at least turning it on to run through it's cycles. I did purchase the 24inch epson SC7000. Make sure which ever one you decide on has at least 10 inks and has both matt and glossy inks on seperate jets so you don't have to switch between those choices. Moving to the 17plus size means you really need to pay attention to paper profiles and understand all the nuances of printing. Be prepared to do test prints before committing to the large paper size. It will save you money and frustration.
Good luck

PhotoPhred Loc: Cheyney, Pa

I have 2 Canon printers for photography. I have a Canon PIXMA Pro 9000 MkII that is probably close to 20 years old, and Canon PIXMA Pro 100 that is at least 12 years old. They both have been incredible. Granted the ink is expensive. I had some health problems several years ago and both of these printers sat idle for almost a year. When I was better, I turned them on, loaded some paper, and out came some prints. I have to ocassionally have to run the cleaning utility.The Pro 100 is especially good for B+W prints as it has black, light grey, and dark grey as well as various color inks. The old 9000 has a bunch of color inks and black. I don't know what I'm going to do when these stop working.

jdmiles Loc: Texas

I had the Epson 4900 which is a 17" large format. I now have an Canon PRO 4100 which is a 44" large format printer. So the quality is about the same. However there are differences. If you calibrate the printer paper the Canon is better by far. They will both clog the head if you don't print enough. So I make sure I print something at least every 3 days. The Canon has user replaceable heads but still that is about $800. As I understand it the Epson becomes a boat anchor because it cost too much to replace it.

If she is doing this as a hobby then I would be careful going above 17" because it is a major commitment in time, cost, and space. Based on what I know now I would buy another Canon.

steinr98

I belong to a Photography club of over 600 members. We have used Epson for years at our club. We have 2 units. We always felt the Canons were a little over compensated in color(our opinion).We are now using the P800s and I can honestly say I cannot believe how those prints come out- I personally have the Epson P600 which is also a great printer but the P800 replaced it. I believe the P900 is the latest. One note, and one has to be aware this- We are in Arizona- very dry here!!! so we have to do a test print usually a 4x6 print at least every 10 days or so or a print head can dry up. It can be repaired but it does take time and a bit of work!! This is the only "CON" I can come up with. And yes I do this at home also!! I will say again- This printer is super sharp!! Will print a 17x22.

sigo

Is there a review resource that also compare the cost of ink? A breakdown of average cost per print and the overall cost of ink replacement is a critical criteria for printer selection and is often omitted from reviews.

Sidwalkastronomy Loc: New Jersey Shore

Epison 8550 is eco tanks so not a factor. Getting bigger paper and cutting it to borderless very expensive

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

Not as expensive as ruining your printer and having to buy another.

Sidwalkastronomy Loc: New Jersey Shore

They replaced mine 4 x under warranty

paulrnzpn Loc: New Zealand

My only printer is a colour laser printer. I use it only to print documents though, not for photos.

I get my large photo prints done at a local print shop. It's a lot cheaper than owning a good photo printer yourself, especially when doing large format prints, and the people at the print shop are pros at their work.

Having said all that, over twenty years ago I bought an Acer Dye Sublimation photo printer. It only did one size prints, 6x4". At the time, doing good quality home photo printing was quite new tech and it was costing me $1 per print with this home printer. It did a good job; however, the first printer blew up, so they replaced it under warranty. And then within about a year after that Acer made the paper and dye cartridges obsolete. So that was my last-ever purchase of an Acer product. (I have never looked at Acer products ever since.) And it was my first and last go at doing home printing. These days a standard 6x4" print costs me 25 cents at the print shop, or sometimes it is as low as 10 cents per print when they have a print sale on. (New Zealand money.) But most of my printing is large format, always done at the same print shop, and it is not costly either these days.

[Note "colour" - that is how it's spelt in the English-speaking world. :) ]

paulrnzpn Loc: New Zealand

Keep cost versus quality in mind. Some inks fade quicker than others.