Need new photo printer: I have a Canon iP 4500 printer. I am dissatisfied with the way my photos come out. Could someone recommend a good printer for photographs. Thank you...

Ruthlin Loc: Long Island New York

I have a Canon iP 4500 printer. I am dissatisfied with the way my photos come out. Could someone recommend a good printer for photographs. Thank you

Mama & Baby Seal at La Jolla in Calif

Robert R Loc: Indianapolis and Naples

Ruthlin wrote:

I have a Canon iP 4500 printer. I am dissatisfied with the way my photos come out. Could someone recommend a good printer for photographs. Thank you

When my printer died, I called B&H photo, they recommended Epson XP-610. I purchased one, the prints look nice but I cannot compare to others. It does seem to use a lot of ink.

Ruthlin Loc: Long Island New York

Thanks for your reply. Looking nice is not good enough the pictures I print on the canon I have now look nice, but not sharp.

jethro779 Loc: Tucson, AZ

Ruthlin wrote:

Thanks for your reply. Looking nice is not good enough the pictures I print on the canon I have now look nice, but not sharp.

Are you sure all the blame can be placed on the printer and not paper profile, printer profile, or color profile? My sister in law has an ip4500 and her prints are fabulous.

Ruthlin Loc: Long Island New York

Thanks that us a great suggestion. I will buy new paper. Appreciate your response.

tuffsheet Loc: WPB FL.

Printing a picture is a process which requires an accurate monitor, reliable software to process the image, and a printer that is able to use different paper profiles.Which software do you use to process the prints? If you would use Lightroom there is a function in the "Print" section called soft-proofing where you can actually download paper profiles from the manufacturers and compare the different print results on a monitor before you ever actually print them. I use a Canon Pro-100 printer which prints a 13 x 19 picture that comes out excellent. Just buying different paper may..or may not improve the picture quality. It sounds like you expect a lot from your printer so you'll have to calibrate your monitor first....lynda.com has excellent courses for explaining how printing all comes together. It's pretty educational and interesting

Gary Truchelut Loc: Coldspring, TX

As mentioned above there are a lot of variables that go into printing and if they are not all set right your prints may not look right to you. I have an Epson 3800 which I dearly love and it prints up to 17 X 22 inches. It was not cheap but I've printed many images on it with stunning results.
Just go through the items listed by tuffsheet and try again. Also you can run a print head alignment to make sure your printer is set for the best sharpness.

mikedidi46 Loc: WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA

Ruthlin wrote:

I have a Canon iP 4500 printer. I am dissatisfied with the way my photos come out. Could someone recommend a good printer for photographs. Thank you

I am using an older Lexmark and it does a good job. But I have been looking into the HP line of printers, for photo's and others. I just have not made a decision right now. It would be nice if you could print out a photo as a test before purchasing.

Pine1 Loc: Midland & Lakeway

Paper and ink can make you or break you. I have a Canon and an Epson and both are very good providing I use paper designed for what I want to produce. Good luck.

Ruthlin wrote:

I have a Canon iP 4500 printer. I am dissatisfied with the way my photos come out. Could someone recommend a good printer for photographs. Thank you

sueyeisert Loc: New Jersey

FYI- You have to have the profile of the paper in you computer for set up.

Ruthlin wrote:

Thanks that us a great suggestion. I will buy new paper. Appreciate your response.

Donkas1946 Loc: Southern NH

I use the same Canon Pro-100 and agree that they look fantastic even without being too careful with the paper profile.

tuffsheet wrote:

Printing a picture is a process which requires an ... (show quote)

Ted d Loc: Green Valley, AZ.

Gary Truchelut wrote:

As mentioned above there are a lot of variables that go into printing and if they are not all set right your prints may not look right to you. I have an Epson 3800 which I dearly love and it prints up to 17 X 22 inches. It was not cheap but I've printed many images on it with stunning results.
Just go through the items listed by tuffsheet and try again. Also you can run a print head alignment to make sure your printer is set for the best sharpness.

I use Epson printers also. One Stylus photo R3000, and one stylus photo R1900 Monitor and paper are calabrated with X Rites color Munki. Paper is Epson or Red river. We produce DVD's and use the CD printer tray that these printers have. They only print up to 13"x19" I would love to be able to afford the R3880 and print up to 17"x22". For the business I use a canon MX860 all in one.

charryl Loc: New Mexico, USA

Epson 3880 is probably the way to go of you can afford it.

The printer is only one of the things that make a great final print. Paper, print settings, paper profile and sharpening of the final master print file are all required to get the best outcome. I would do all of those things first.

charryl Loc: New Mexico, USA

mikedidi46 wrote:

I am using an older Lexmark and it does a good job. But I have been looking into the HP line of printers, for photo's and others. I just have not made a decision right now. It would be nice if you could print out a photo as a test before purchasing.

Not possible. A "test print" would tell you very little. Making an excellent final print is as important (and time consuming) as taking the initial picture and post processing. No one print is a test of the printer. It's the paper, the ink, (different inks for different outcomes in B&W), the paper profile, management of color, printer settings, and specialized sharpening of the final master print file.

You might drop by the photography labs at a local college. Ask questions and see what they are using and the outcomes.

charryl Loc: New Mexico, USA

Ruthlin wrote:

Thanks that us a great suggestion. I will buy new paper. Appreciate your response.

Glossy paper will give sharpest results (but has other problems). Pearl or luster paper is the best, IMHO. Matte papers will provide the least sharp image.