Photo printer (A4) recommendation

[JULE5]

Hi
I am after a photo printer of decent quality if anyone can help. I have previously only bought Epsons, and do like the quality.

I've looked at the RX585 and that seems great, I like the sound of the Claria Inks. The 285 seems to have a few complaints regarding it's reliability, noisiness etc. but it is cheaper and uses the same print head and inks.

As I have always looked to Epson, I admit that I know little of other makes such as Canon. Can anyone recommend any of the above, or indeed persuade me to a different manufacturer?

It must be:
A4 (A3 great but usually £££)
Min 6 inks.
Separate inks
Good fade resistance
Doesn't need to be hugely fast, or quiet for that matter.
Small runs of photos, probably 1 sheet at a time

Would like to move to a continuous ink system at some point.

Thanks for your wisdom, in advance.

Jules

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I have had excellent results with my HP 8450. I have had pictures(under glass) in the living room for the last two years and there is no fading at all. It is also great for black and white pictures too!!

If you like Epson printers it maybe worth going for an R800 as this is a very well regarded printer too! I would have got one of these but I managed to get the 8450 over a 100 quid cheaper at the time which made it better value. The R800 has various continuous ink systems available for it too.

It costs around £210:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/103703

[JULE5]

I n hindsight, I realise that I forgot to mention one pretty important thing, budget! I'm looking in the sub-£100 bracket (around the price of the RX685 and down).

Nice piece of hardware that though, 8 inks, must produce some good results.

Thanks

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

This Canon has got good reviews though:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/printe...IXMA-iP4500/p1

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/347331...Inkjet+Printer

I am not certain how well the newer ChromaLife100 inks resist fading though!?

[fuddam]

canon always been my best bet

[Stoo]

Canon!

[Thorsson]

Canon. Definitely tops at the moment.

[TheAnimus]

With CIS (Continious Ink Systems) my experiance has only been on epson printers.

That said for the money, it was a bargin, but by the time the CIS had finished, the heads where nakarded (it didn't survive a move properly) and the quality suffered.

The other thing is the ink that the cheap CIS came with faded quite quickly, and wasn't as waterfast as the offical stuff, it also took a LOT longer to dry.

[Betty_Swallocks]

The only problem with Epsons I find is that the print head is separate from the ink cartridge. This is fine if you use the printer regularly but if you don't the ink has a tendency to dry in the head and it can block up. This is often more apparent if you use non original ink cartridges. If this happens you throw the printer away because it's next to impossible to clear. I have a colour laser printer that I use for day to day printing so my inkjet only gets used occasionally when I need a higher quality print or I need to print on something that I can't put through the laser. I've had two Epsons go in this way.
HP have the head built into the cartridge so if this happens you replace the cartridge and you're up and running again.
That said, if you do use the printer more often Epson do produce fantastic prints.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The only problem with Epsons I find is that the print head is separate from the ink cartridge. This is fine if you use the printer regularly but if you don't the ink has a tendency to dry in the head and it can block up. This is often more apparent if you use non original ink cartridges. If this happens you throw the printer away because it's next to impossible to clear. I have a colour laser printer that I use for day to day printing so my inkjet only gets used occasionally when I need a higher quality print or I need to print on something that I can't put through the laser. I've had two Epsons go in this way.
HP have the head built into the cartridge so if this happens you replace the cartridge and you're up and running again.
That said, if you do use the printer more often Epson do produce fantastic prints.

I agree as my previous Canon had problems with the print head being blocked up after periods of no use.

[Pob255]

It's a problem with any ink jet, even one where the print head is part of the cartridge.
Granted on a combined head+ink cartridge if it drys up you can just replace it.
On mainy more expensive models, designed for higher volumes the print heads are seperate so easy to replace.
However I've noticed a worrying trend recently, we've got two All-in-one printer models (both epson I think) that use seprate print heads which are non-replaceable and the ink cartridges are both small and pressureised.

There are some very good and cheap colour lasers about now, eg the HP color laserjet 1600 which can be got for around £120
However, and this is a biggy, Toner is very expensive, a new laser will come with a set of quarter filled toners and a replacement "full" set will often cost you more than the printer.

But here's a thought, if you really don't do much in the way of colour printing, a local copy shop.
They will often do good high quality prints for not a great deal of cash, granted it's been a while since I've had too but it was under £2 per copy and that was high quality with proof prints.

[JULE5]

Some good points there all, thanks.

However, all you Canon boys n girls; I need some reasons! Picture quality wise, Epson will be almost impossible to beat, but expense in terms of ink, and reliability issues could sway it.

I have gone down the local copy shop several times, and although its fun, the results when compared to your own prints, are dreadful. Colours are usually way off for a start, and if we're talking about those Kodak booths etc., the resolution simply isn't there.

I am quite good at using the printer regularly, so am "less" concerned about clogging. That said, my lovely A3 Epson 1290 lays dormant in need of a strip down due to ink reserve saturation after repeated clean cycles. Nightmare. And yes, "compatible" ink carts to blame.

CAT-THE-FIFTH: Thanks, I really like the look and sound of the R800, and could feasibly go for a 2nd hand unit. But... £90 for a set of original inks???? [swoon]

[Betty_Swallocks]

There are some very good and cheap colour lasers about now, eg the HP color laserjet 1600 which can be got for around £120
However, and this is a biggy, Toner is very expensive, a new laser will come with a set of quarter filled toners and a replacement "full" set will often cost you more than the printer.

This is very true, however my HP2500 gives around 5000 sheets per cartridge. I can get a full set of cartridges (genuine HP) on Ebay for just over 100 quid.
I had to go and buy some new cartridges for my HP5940 inkjet at the weekend and they cost my over 50 quid for the two which will give me about 800 pages (it's claimed). That works out 3 times more expensive than the laser and looking round Staples they had a virtually identical printer for £30
Lasers not much good for photos though.

[TheAnimus]

for photo's i really like Phasers, they are a bugger to maintain thou (i burnt myself quite in nasty ways fixing up old ones) but look really really nice on the cheapest of paper/card. Problem is they need to warm up literally. And the wax will fall off if the paper is folded.

still it was interesting to see that a computing dissertation write-up, got an in passing comment about how nicely it was printed using my phaser. Also i prefer the text on them as a dislexic i find the weve anoying.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The Xerox Phasers have decent picture quality although a printer like the R800 will have much better photo quality IMHO.

The HP D7360 seems to have good reviews :

http://www.trustedreviews.com/printe...smart-D7360/p1

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/97737...art-d7360.html

http://www.itreviews.co.uk/hardware/h1050.htm


You can get it for less than £100:

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/prod...px?sku=1015239

http://www.bigpockets.co.uk/product....xt_price=84.99

Not bad considering it was originally around £200!!

If you want to buy Epson the R285 seems decent too although I suspect the HP D7360 is better buy:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/printe...-Photo-R285/p1

It costs £50:

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/prod...px?sku=1022879

[JULE5]

Hi again
Yes I'd looked at the 285, and presumed the print results would be just the same as the higher models in the range as they share the same technology. However, I did see a few duff references to it's mechanics, paper feed etc. but although pretty much a steal it's not that much cheaper than the 585.

I like the new wireless PX700W... £200 though.

I will read up on the HP, ta.