I am looking for opinions on CURRENT model color photo-grade printers (hence not bumping one of the old threads - models change too fast). What I'm specifically wanting to know is which one might be best after I start having to change ink cartridges. In my experience, they ALL work just fine on the first carts - but over time just get crappier and crappier as new ink is installed. Anyone have one they're using that you can recommend? I want "wall art" level printing - 8.5" x 11" is fine. But larger would work too.... Jedi
Not sure how much it would help you as it's not exactly high-end nor is it "current", but I use a Canon MP620 and love it. Completely wireless printing/faxing/scanning. The quality is very good, at least to my eyes. I bought for about $120 about 2 years ago and just got 2 sets of 3rd party ink for it for $20 total and it looks just as good as the Canon ink for 3x more. Hope it helps.
How much are you printing and what are the (realistic) quality requirements? If you print a bunch and need bulletproof quality, Epson still wins... But if you're not looking to sell prints (or a freak about your own work) then (sadly) Canon probably is a better bet today.
Have been using Canon Pixma Pro 9000 . No troubles , no clogging , great results . Would recommend it.http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/printers_multifunction/professional_photo_inkjet_printers/pixma_pro9000_mark_ii
I would have to agree. My Canon is fantastic. HP is just horrible. They have a pending lawsuit about ink cartridges expiring after eight months, just giving an error even though there is ink in the cartridge.
We print sometimes a hundred photos each week for work, all of those are for framing. I would suggest Epson, next to me is an Epson Artisan 835. Seems really good. And I have three more Epson's behind me. Even cheap ones, like R340 are excellent at producing very good level prints. I find that if I feed them Epson cartridges, and epson premium glossy photo paper. Never a hitch. They are a bit like Ferrari's, and anything mechanical. The more you use it, the better. It's when their nozzles get clogged from drying out, etc. that you have problems. And as usual, once you are deciding on a printer, have a look on amazon and see what hundred's of other users have thought about it. Canons are good too. I will never buy another HP printer.
Epson have always had a rep for clogging if not in regular (frequent) use. The Canon Pixma 9000 is pretty much the go-to printer for home / serious hobbyist use at the moment. For really heavy use you might want to look into dye sublimation printers instead of inkjets. No print head nozzles to clog up, no ink cartridges to worry about having chips in them for expiration. Replace color film ribbon and you are good to go for several hundred prints. Works by heat transfer.
We have always had Epson and they always end up losing quality and getting clogged. As people have mentioned, it may be from infrequent use. So now we have a couple Canon printers and they have been no problem yet and we have gone through a decent number of cartridges. Every generation of printer, the print quality tends to get better, and the Canon prints seem very good.
YUP! (warning gross generalization ahead) Epson = Top quality, high volume output, annoying user experience. (but top quality) Canon = Still good quality, variable output volume, better user experience. Sorta like my favorite business saying: "You've got speed, quality and price. Pick any two."
I use these printers. Mitsubishi printer cp9810dw. ~$1200. You can beat the speed or quality they produce.
