good reasonably priced photo printer

P
Posted By
Phosphor
Sep 19, 2003
Views
1629
Replies
75
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Closed
I need to get a dedicated photo printer and I was wondering what everyone would recommend. Ideally, of course, I’d like an Epson 1280 or 2200, but I really don’t need that much printer right now. Any suggestions for smaller format Epsons or maybe Canons?

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Easy-to-use drag-n-drop Photoshop scene creator with more than 2800 items.

BB
brent bertram
Sep 19, 2003
Barbara,
I’m getting by nicely with the Epson Photo 890 ( small version of the 1280 ). I’m lusting after the Enhanced Generations Archival Inks at Mediastreet ( with the Niagara confinuous ink system ), but haven’t gotten the courage , yet. Perhaps I’ll ask for the system for Christmas.

πŸ™‚

Brent
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Phosphor
Sep 19, 2003
Thanks, Brent!
JF
Jodi Frye
Sep 19, 2003
Barb, I was amazed that STAPLES still carried my Epson 785 exp at a great $ 99 price. You wouldn’t be disappointed…promise …you should know by now that I’m very particular about quality πŸ˜‰
CS
Chuck Snyder
Sep 19, 2003
Jodi and Barbara, the Epson lineup of choices is downright dizzying, and their website is a treasure trove. My next printer – whenever that might come – will be an Epson, in spite of my loyalty to Canon on the camera side.
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Phosphor
Sep 19, 2003
Thanks, Jodi. I’ll check that out.

Chuck, have you tried any of the newer canons? I was wondering if they have any drawbacks other than the ink life. You’re right about the Epson website–almost too much to choose from.
CS
Chuck Snyder
Sep 19, 2003
Barbara, no I haven’t previewed them, although they continue to get pretty decent reviews. I’ve still been concentrating my ‘imaging dollar’ on the front end of the process (cameras, lenses – and books) and there hasn’t been anything left over for the back end (printing). Maybe after the next job I do for my old employer….

Chuck
I
imacgirl
Sep 19, 2003
Barbara, you may want to give Epson a call at 1-800-463-7766 and ask them to send you info on those printers. I did and they sent actual prints from both the 1280 and the 2200, now I’m trying to decide which one to get.

πŸ™‚

Barb

Edit: One of these days, I’ll learn to read the entire question. πŸ˜‰ They’ll send info on any model, just tell them to include the sample prints too.
P
Phosphor
Sep 19, 2003
Thanks, Chuck and Barb.

Barb, I wish it were a choice between those two. 8^)
I
imacgirl
Sep 20, 2003
Barbara, I may be deciding for a long while, they are quite an investment. The models will probably change before I choose one ;-), or better yet, maybe the prices will drop. All this stuff really starts addin’ up fast!

Barb
RL
Richard L Hanlon
Sep 20, 2003
I have the Epson Photo 820. Its a 6 color printer. One thing it does that is AWESOME: It will print a large panaromic picture. I bought 8.3×23.4 inch photo paper and have absolutely beautiful prints. Also, if you go to www.islandinkjet.com you can buy a chip resetter which allows you to refill the cartridges. This printer has been quite busy recently. My mother asked me to scan and print over 200 slides. I printed 5×7 prints (2 per page) and got an average of about 20 pages per cartrigde. But with the ink from Island Inkjet, it was not expensive at all. I am a die-hard fan of the Epson line. I use the Epson Perfection 2400 scanner and the two together are awesome.

And its cheap. I’ve seen it on ebay for under $60.
BB
Betsy Burch
Sep 21, 2003
Hi Barbara, et al,
I am very happy with my new Epson C82 which I purchased after reading an article about it in the May 2003 issue of Shutterbug magazine. This printer is also very inexpensive at your local Staples! Good luck…
Betsy Burch
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Phosphor
Sep 21, 2003
Thanks, all. imacBarb, I forgot to ask if you aware of how limited the X drivers for the better Epsons are. If not, you should read up on that before you buy one. Lots of people switching to canon for X these days because of the Epson drivers.
SD
Shrilly Drabble
Sep 22, 2003
I can highly recommend the Canon S520, it has single colour ink cartridges so if you run out of one colour then that can be replaced , the ink jet nozzles do not dry up as I have found that Epsons do,. they use the ink right to the last drop as far as I can tell and the print quality is very good. If you need edge to edge it will do that too, though I think it stretches the image to do this.
There is a newer one too which is the S820 but I havent checked out the price. I live in UK so it depends on your base what you pay I think.
kind thoughts
Shrilly
JH
Jim Hess
Sep 22, 2003
This response will probably bring the wrath of the Epson diehards down on me rather severely. But I have been getting exceptional results using an HP PhotoSmart 7150 and Kodak Ultima satin finish paper. You can purchase the printer at Staples for $99.
I
imacgirl
Sep 23, 2003
Hi Barbara,

Do you know what the specific limitations on the better Epson printers for X are or where I can read about them? Thanks!

Barb
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Phosphor
Sep 23, 2003
Hi, Barb. I’ll send you some links to posts from unhappy switchers in the print center and preview forum. I hear a lot of whining about the drivers for those printers lately, unfortunately. Pity.
I
imacgirl
Sep 23, 2003
Barbara, how very kind of you to send me the links, thanks! That is a pity, wonder why Epson can’t develop a driver for X that functions to its full potential. I currently have the Epson C-80 and had some problems in the beginning because of a conflict with Classic, it wouldn’t print at all with Classic on. Never owning a computer or printer prior to that didn’t help matters either. I’m a little better at trouble shooting now. You’d think they’d test these drivers prior to release and make sure they work…I guess we’re the beta testers.

Barb
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Phosphor
Sep 23, 2003
Well, it’s really kind of surprising from Epson, because they were THE printer for mac for so long and about the first company to really support X in their drivers. But canon seems to be pulling ahead now. Epson just doesn’t seem to want to upgrade their drivers. They got away with blaming apple for a long time, but now that canon does have all the features, like edge to edge printing, that Epson has been saying were impossible due to X, their excuses are sounding kind of thin.
JF
Jodi Frye
Sep 23, 2003
This response will probably bring the wrath of the Epson diehards down on me rather severely

Na….I’m glad you bought a printer that works well for you and that the kodak paper does a good job. I do believe most of the companies are getting better at producing ‘photo’ quality printers. The age of digital photography has become a much more popular past time than it was 5 years ago. The companies are doing there best to produce ‘ Epson’ quality type printers…ha ha ha,,no really though, i’m glad you found quality with your HP…now that they’ve merged with Compaq I suspect they have more of an advantage to produce quality materials….’hence the saying " if you can’t beat them, join them ".
AT
Andrew Turek
Sep 24, 2003
HP PSC 1205. Sells in England for about Β£100, say $140, probably less in the US. May also have a different name there.

Andrew
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Phosphor
Sep 24, 2003
Was somebody who posted to this thread considering an Epson 2200? Newegg.com has it advertised for $599, which I understand is a good buy. ??? They’re a reputable dealer.

Edit: I should have added that they seem to have some pretty good prices on other Epson models, too.
I
imacgirl
Sep 24, 2003
Hi Beth,

I was considering the Epson 2200 or the 1280, but Barbara B. informed me that the drivers for these models in Mac OS X are lacking. I went over to the Apple Forum and someone said the Canon i9100 functions with all it’s features in X. Not sure about the ink longevity for Canon printers, that’s why I was interested in Epson.

I’ll check out Newegg.com, that’s a new one for me. Thanks!

Barb
P
Phosphor
Sep 24, 2003
Hi, Barb. I’ve ordered from New Egg and had no problems.

Barb, if you really don’t need the printer right now you might want to wait to see what Panther brings. I believe there are supposed to be some major changes in the way printing is set up. Also, remember that in 10.1.5 your driver functions right now may be even more limited than if you were running 10.2.
I
imacgirl
Sep 24, 2003
Hi Barbara,

Nice to have positive input for places to shop on-line, thanks!

It looks like I’ll have to upgrade eventually. πŸ˜‰ Those printers may not even run in 10.1.5, it’s ancient! Anything a week or so old, with computers, seems to be almost obsolete. I’m may just wait for Panther’s release and go from there. Hopefully those drivers won’t take forever to come out. Maybe Epson will get their act together!

Barb
BB
brent bertram
Sep 24, 2003
This is the text blurb on the most recent MAC driver for the Epson 2200. "
Macintosh OS X
epson10686.sea.hqx – 9.2MB – posted on 04/18/03
This driver adds paper handling capabilities, unique to EPSON printers in Macintosh OS X including borderless, roll paper and minimum margin printing. Please view the "OS X booklet.pdf" for additional details.

The installer places a folder on your desktop labeled "epson10686". Open that folder and double click the .dmg file to create a disk image with the printerΒ΄s name on your desktop. Open the disk image and double-click the installer.pkg file to run the printer driver installer. Follow the on-screen instructions to install your driver.

Note: This driver is for direct connect only and will not function with the external print server.

This file is for use with Macintosh OS X (10.1.3 – 10.2.4). "

A virtually identical blurb for the 1280 driver . Not being a MAC user I don’t know whether ver 10.1.3 – 10.2.4 , is very inclusive or not.

πŸ™‚

Brent
I
imacgirl
Sep 24, 2003
Brent,

You are my hero…thanks! πŸ™‚ I’m running OS 10.1.5 and it’s included…yay!!

Barb
P
Phosphor
Sep 24, 2003
Hi, Barb. I didn’t mean it’s not included; I meant that there are things that aren’t available in X till jaguar that the driver may need to enable all the features.
P
Phosphor
Sep 24, 2003
Could you give an example of those other features, Barb? To me, a "feature" means it works! I’m so easy to please sometimes it’s disgusting.
P
Phosphor
Sep 24, 2003
Well, I don’t really mean "other’ features, Beth.

I don’t personally know anyone who has ever been able to do edge to edge printing in 10.1.5 on an Epson, but then it doesn’t work too well in 10.2 either, by all accounts. The matte black cartridges tend not to print (if you want to use those), and margins generally tend to be woogly in X. Most people I know who have both a pc and mac and a 1280 or 2200 use the pc to print.

I don’t think there’s theoretically a lot of difference between the 1280 driver and the 2200, but the 2200 is really hard to set up because the firewire connection doesn’t work too well in X, so you mostly have to use usb. Most of the people I know who are using either of these printers in X are using a third party driver, since the Epson driver tends to just stop for no apparent reason in mid-job a lot of the time.

As I say, these are problems that are pretty common in the more up-to-date versions of X, and the odds of the thing working better in an older version like 10.1.5 are very slim. Oh, yeah, and a lot of people find these printers will only print pictures, but totally ignore text.
P
Phosphor
Sep 24, 2003
Oh, well, if a "feature" could be expanded to include text, I’d say that’s an important one! πŸ™‚ I get it now. I’ve never had any trouble with my HP; the drivers load and work fine on anything I attach it to, PC or Mac, so I’m not very experienced in this. It’s a good thing I’m not in the market for a printer now; I know I’d find this just as frustrating as the others of you that are trying to get a new one.
CS
Chuck Snyder
Sep 24, 2003
<margins generally tend to be woogly>

Barbara, one thing we definitely don’t allow around here is woogly margins…..!!

πŸ™‚

Chuck
I
imacgirl
Sep 24, 2003
Oh well, it looked promising for a split second! πŸ˜‰ Back to the drawing board…

Barb
BB
brent bertram
Sep 24, 2003
{This oughta start something <G> }

Maybe an "upgrade" to Windows is in order ! (Hah, there I said it ! )

( OUch ! OuCH ! Put down that baseball bat , Barb , OucH )

πŸ™‚

Anonymous
JF
Jodi Frye
Sep 24, 2003
anonymous II
I
imacgirl
Sep 24, 2003
….and put up with all those viruses! πŸ˜‰
CS
Chuck Snyder
Sep 24, 2003
Viruses?? Who’s got viruses??

(cough cough hack sneeze…..)

πŸ™‚
P
Phosphor
Sep 24, 2003
Yeh, I’ll take a woogly margin any day!
CS
Chuck Snyder
Sep 24, 2003
Wasn’t that a prehistoric beast that looked a little like an elephant…??
PD
Pete D
Sep 24, 2003
Chuck,

Why are you over here playing with these mac kids and not sending me a test e mail to my hotmail account?

Didn’t you get my last e mail where I supplied the address? (Or maybe you sent it and it did not go through?)

PeteD
BB
brent bertram
Sep 24, 2003
I kind of look at my 25 "wormy" emails each day as a "feature" of the Windows platform <G>.

πŸ™‚

Anonymous
CS
Chuck Snyder
Sep 24, 2003
Pete, I sent the test e-mail right after you requested it…..guess it didn’t fly. That was from my RR account to your hotmail; shall I try hotmail to hotmail?

Chuck
I
imacgirl
Sep 24, 2003
You guys havin’ trouble with your PC’s and e-mail??? πŸ˜‰
PD
Pete D
Sep 24, 2003
didn’t fly. That was from my RR account to your hotmail; shall I try hotmail to hotmail?

Chuck

Yeah, lets try that. Hotmail account is not important to me but I have kept it active with that name for the past eight years so I would like to know it works or not. (yes I do open it at least monthly to keep it active).

Hotmail "bug report" does not answer me. I have submitted 4 or 5 reports over the past week or so.
BB
brent bertram
Sep 24, 2003
Not really , Barb, <G>

Just turn on Norton AntiVirus "silent" mode , so you don’t know about them and all is well . ( Unless something sneaky gets through )
I’m getting 20 to 30 virus mails daily, in this latest "Microsoft" barrage . I have 4 email accounts and only 1 has been picked up by the virus . Of course, its the one I use here <G> .

πŸ™‚
CS
Chuck Snyder
Sep 24, 2003
Pete, just sent it.
PD
Pete D
Sep 24, 2003
Hey Barb,

Yeah, problems with hotmail,…. so we can’t talk about you on hotmail right now like we normally do πŸ˜‰

PeteD
I
imacgirl
Sep 24, 2003
Pete, what’s that supposed to mean??? πŸ˜‰

Barb
PD
Pete D
Sep 24, 2003
I’m getting 20 to 30 virus mails daily, in this latest "Microsoft" barrage
.. I have 4 email accounts and only 1 has been picked up by the virus . Of course, its the one I use here <G> .

The one you use here; hmmm.

I have looked at my "bulk mail" (spam) for the account I show on the forum, before emptying it today, and there were several from a supposed ‘Microsoft something’ and what they appeared to be a phony windows update file attached. One was 154kb another was 148kb if I recall correctly.

Is this the virus that everyone is getting?

PeteD
PD
Pete D
Sep 24, 2003
Barb,

Can’t tell.

PeteD
I
imacgirl
Sep 24, 2003
Yes, Pete. Even imacgirl is receiving these annoying e-mails on my address here. πŸ™

Barb
PD
Pete D
Sep 24, 2003
Chuck,

Well that didn’t work either. Guess I will just wait until they get whatever is wrong fixed.

PeteD
BB
brent bertram
Sep 24, 2003
Pete,
Mostly I’m getting fake support emails from Microsoft, with various themes. I think you’re seeing the same thing. I suspect it’s just a case of an "email collection agent" grabbing published addresses and targetting them. It is very annoying and the most persistent bombardment that I’ve ever seen .

πŸ™‚

Brent
I
imacgirl
Sep 24, 2003
Pete, that’s not very nice now, is it? πŸ˜‰

Barb
CS
Chuck Snyder
Sep 24, 2003
Pete, you might want to set up another hotmail account just to see whether that’ll work….
PD
Pete D
Sep 24, 2003
Barb,

Do you "show" your e mail address in preferences? Is that the common denominator with this? Or are people with hidden e mail addresses getting it too?

PeteD
I
imacgirl
Sep 24, 2003
Pete, yes I do…think I’m crazy! πŸ˜‰

I was going to hide it, but I subscribe via e-mail on some of the topics.

Barb
PD
Pete D
Sep 24, 2003
…think I’m crazy! πŸ˜‰

Barb,

I think many people are crazy, (a lot of them nearby), however you are not one of them. (If you mean about "showing" your address…..same answer. I do too).

PeteD
P
Phosphor
Sep 24, 2003
Wow, I go away for a few minutes for a few minutes to get some work done and come back and 26 new messages.

Barb, if you were using 10.2 you could just set up rules in mail to corral all that stuff in your junk mailbox.

I think many people are crazy, (a lot of them nearby)

So, Pete, do tell.
I
imacgirl
Sep 24, 2003
Pete, yes, the address. A little clarification needed!

πŸ™‚

Barb
JF
Jodi Frye
Sep 24, 2003
So is this virus suppose to be the norm now ? Will the day come when it stops coming ? Will we miss the segments of Norton attacks apon it ? Will we miss the constant submission to quarantine the blasted thing…will we miss deleting it ??? Will the Mac people ever feel our pain ;(
I
imacgirl
Sep 24, 2003
Barbara, I had some 30+ rules set up in my mail app, just takes too darn long to go through them all.

Jodi, I’m getting these annoying e-mails too. I feel your pain; I have a dial-up also! πŸ˜‰

Barb
BB
brent bertram
Sep 24, 2003
Jodi,
They’ll never feel our pain ! <G>

πŸ™‚

Anonymous

( Bill Gates for California Governor !! )
PD
Pete D
Sep 24, 2003
Barb,

In "preferences" on the forum first page; You can choose to "hide" your e mail address. Or show a phony address. Or "show" it.

PeteD
I
imacgirl
Sep 24, 2003
Brent, think Steve Jobs would be the man for the job, he’s a resident! πŸ˜‰

Barb
I
imacgirl
Sep 25, 2003
Thanks, Pete, but if I hide it I can’t subscribe via e-mail…it’s a double-edged sword. πŸ˜‰ Thought Adobe requires a ‘real’ e-mail address…

Barb
PD
Pete D
Sep 25, 2003
Barb & Barbara, (& anyone else that is around)

I was not going to post it until the site was done but go here and look at my grandkids. The 5 picture links under "Highlights" on the home page. http://home.comcast.net/~peted1/wsb/html/view.cgi-home.html- .html

PeteD
I
imacgirl
Sep 25, 2003
Pete,

Looks like you and your adorable grandkids had a great time at Pike’s Peak. Did you take the Cog Railway up there? I did a number of years ago…a very relaxing trip. Love Colorado! Your site is very nice, thanks for sharing it! πŸ˜‰

Barb
PD
Pete D
Sep 25, 2003
Barb,

Did not take the Cog RR. Drove up because my son was involved with the "hill climb" races a few times. (hill climb races, motorcycle racing….. guess that is where my grey hair is coming from)

We also took the kids to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. The only Zoo built on a mountainside. I did not know a Giraffe’s tongue was soooo long. It was a demanding week but the kids made it a real fun time.

I intend on posting a gallery of that trip because I got some nice shots but just trying to learn all the ins and outs of web sites. (and My Comcast changed the way we upload a few weeks ago so I am back to square one again and can only see how to upload one picture at a time).

Pete
I
imacgirl
Sep 25, 2003
Pete,

So, you must have made it up there in record time! πŸ˜‰ Would love to drive it someday…slowly of course, I’d have to take pictures every 2 feet. Maybe I better walk…! πŸ™‚

I’ll look forward to seeing your shots from the trip. I know how it is with ISP’s changing the rules, Earthlink revamped their web gallery building site and it took me forever to remove 2 specific pages. That’s why I like PBase, it can’t get any easier!

Barb
P
Phosphor
Sep 25, 2003
My condolences to everyone. πŸ™‚
PD
Pete D
Sep 25, 2003
So, you must have made it up there in record time!

Barb,

Nope. Not me. At least not any more. Hope you get a chance to drive it sometime.

It is a 19 mile drive to the top and there are interesting stops along the way but going up is where to "scout" shots and for sightseeing because when you start back down the brakes get so hot on vehicles you have to stop often. There is a mandatory checkpoint at about 12,000 feet and they take the temperature of brakes. That is also about the tree line. Most everyone needs at least twenty minutes for the brakes to get back under 300Β°. (Ours was 488Β° at the checkpoint).

Pete
I
imacgirl
Sep 25, 2003
Pete,

I hope to get there again someday soon, thanks for the tips! Sounds like it’s rather tough on the brakes, I remember the grade increasing rapidly at the tree line. The view from the top is awesome, I like that thin air and the crystal clear blue skies! πŸ˜‰ It’s worth burnin’ up the brakes…

Barb
AT
Andrew Turek
Sep 25, 2003
This thread is a textbook example of wandering off the point, isn’t it? You can think of it as a sort of high-tech natter in what in this time-zone is still called a pub.

Not that I’m complaining, I’m just amused.

Andrew
VB
Vicky Bilaniuk
Sep 25, 2003
I just got around to looking at this thread now, and I wanted to add my own personal experience: I have had *ROTTEN* luck with Epson. I mean, right down to having the company threaten me with not honouring their warrantee. I have been sticking with Canon, as a result. I haven’t had any threats from Canon because I haven’t had to get any support. I’ve punished my cheapo little S450 quite regularly, and it still holds up. It is dirty (full of dust and dried up ink), yet it still works just fine. I would like to get a new print head for it, but I am not sure that they are even making them anymore for this model. πŸ™ I bought it when the model was being replaced (and I think it cost around $75 or something, CDN). For my next printer, I want one of those tiny portable models that print photo quality images. I’ve seen a sample of their output, and they are just perfect for me, a non-pro! They even have an optional battery pack! So CUTE! (and AFAIK, Canon has no competition in this area – no one makes them small enough. Well there are the ones meant to be hooked up directly to a digital camera, but the Canon models are real printers that can be hooked up to a laptop and can print on any kind of paper)

The problem I had with Epson was that they got upset when they found out that I had used no-name brand ink (I *had* to – Epson ink was extremely expensive and I was on a tight budget). The no-name brand ink specifically had that model of Epson printer on the label, and the cartridge looked *exactly* the same as my empty Epson ink cartridge, and it was half the price of official Epson brand ink. I replaced the black cartridge first, and everything was fine. I then eventually had to replace the colour cartridge, and after that, the thing refused to print yellow. I thought that perhaps the yellow ink was defective, so I put the old one back in (which still had some yellow in it), and it still wouldn’t work. I cleaned it repeatedly, and it never worked. It never printed yellow again. I called for support, and they said to send it in. I got it back a couple of weeks later with a new *motherboard* in it, a letter saying that the failure was my fault because I put non-Epson ink in it, and a threat stating that if I ever used non-Epson ink again, that they would not honour my warrantee. (by this time, the printer was perhaps 2 or 3 months old) I used that printer until the current ink (which magically was Epson ink…) in it ran out, and then I gave it away. I will never buy another one again after that treatment. To this day, I remain unconvinced that no-name brand ink can wreck a *motherboard*. I would have been willing to believe that it could have wrecked the print head, but the *motherboard*?? My aunt ran into the same problem with them, too. She has had the same personal reaction. I’m sticking with Canon, now, and she’s gone into the HP world. (and she actually has a graphics business that she runs out of her home, so she *really* didn’t appreciate Epson’s treatment of her – she took it more personally because she had a much more expensive printer).

I must add that we had to deal with whatever the Canadian operation is. It’s possible that the Epson’s Canadian operation is filled with twits.
VB
Vicky Bilaniuk
Sep 25, 2003
Oh one more thing… I bought this Canon printer long before I got my first Mac. I also had bought a Canon scanner (similarly cheap). They worked just fine on my Windows machine. When I decided to buy a Mac, I never even bothered to check to see if Canon had drivers for OSX for these two devices. I figured that if the stuff didn’t work, it would give me a chance to upgrade. πŸ˜‰ However, both items worked like a charm. I know I had to download a driver for the scanner for sure, and I *think* I had to download one for the printer, too, although OSX supported the printer by default (but not the scanner). IIRC, the difference between the downloaded printer driver and the OSX one was that the downloaded one came with some extra software, which did things like clean the print head, tell me the ink levels, etc. (I find it difficult to remember things I only had to do once…)

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