cheap printers...worth it?

Hi Joe. I have regretted every cheap printer I have owned. Expensive ink, head clogs, random dumps of ink on the page, etc. Finally saw the light and bought an Epson 3880.

The newer Epson 13 inch photo printers are apparently very good - you should try to get some opinions on them (re cost and clogging).

Keep warm up there :)

Kirk
 
icebear said:
Usually the printers are indeed dirt cheap and they charge you an arm and a leg on ink. Unless you do print on a regular basis your printer will get clogged up and develop all kinds of maintenance issues. Finding a good printing service saves you a lot of hassle and headache.
Click to expand...

+1 +1 +1
AiPro lab.com or advanced Imaging.com Laser prints on real photo paper.
 
it's looking doubtful that i will take the printer plunge...
think i'll buy a spyder colour calibrator and set up the new monitor first.
 
... I've been using a Canon printer/scanner/copier for the last seven years, with a colour-spider to calibrate the monitor I can soft proof on screen and convert to my lab's printer profile when I save the print file or make a version for the Canon simply by converting the profile ... it took ages to set up in the first place but I've saved a fortune by getting the prints right first time ever since

... and it's a deterrent for buying anything new as I can't remember how I did it now
 
There are those who want to be in control of every step in the process and others who are happy to press the shutter and then turn the rest of the steps over to someone else. It is important to assess where you fall within that spectrum.

Some are happy to have a print in a few days. Others of us sometimes decide at 11PM that we want a print by 11:30PM.

It is very difficult to cost justify having your own printer. Likewise, one really cannot cost justify what most of us pay for cameras as it would be cheaper to simply buy stock photos. Let us not deceive ourselves. We do what we do because we want to, not because it makes economic sense.

10-12 years ago I participated in a number of print exchanges where 12 people would send 12 copies of the same print to the organizer. Ten days later, everyone would receive 12 different prints. So, I have seen very many prints from different people. I was always amazed at the high quality of prints people could make from printers that internet lore said were incapable of making such. I know I have proudly exhibited prints made many years ago on a $79 Epson using 3rd party inks. I look at some of those prints today and find them not lacking at all. I must admit that the newer printers make it much easier however.

Just like cameras, the quality of the final printed output is 99% user skill and 1% equipment. If you want to make your own prints, buy a printer. If you are happy with someone else doing that part of the process, then let someone else do it.
 
i think i'd like to learn how to print myself in the near future...but for now will be content with the lab's excellent work...
calibrating my monitor is a big step forward for me...so slowly i am working on the back end of things.
 
Bob Michaels said:
There are those who want to be in control of every step in the process and others who are happy to press the shutter and then turn the rest of the steps over to someone else. It is important to assess where you fall within that spectrum.

Some are happy to have a print in a few days. Others of us sometimes decide at 11PM that we want a print by 11:30PM.

It is very difficult to cost justify having your own printer. Likewise, one really cannot cost justify what most of us pay for cameras as it would be cheaper to simply buy stock photos. Let us not deceive ourselves. We do what we do because we want to, not because it makes economic sense.

10-12 years ago I participated in a number of print exchanges where 12 people would send 12 copies of the same print to the organizer. Ten days later, everyone would receive 12 different prints. So, I have seen very many prints from different people. I was always amazed at the high quality of prints people could make from printers that internet lore said were incapable of making such. I know I have proudly exhibited prints made many years ago on a $79 Epson using 3rd party inks. I look at some of those prints today and find them not lacking at all. I must admit that the newer printers make it much easier however.

Just like cameras, the quality of the final printed output is 99% user skill and 1% equipment. If you want to make your own prints, buy a printer. If you are happy with someone else doing that part of the process, then let someone else do it.
Click to expand...

This......
 
I'll preface this by saying that I just bought an Epson 3880 and have printed one colour A4 on good paper, and a few black and whites. The process is so exciting: I'm glad I took the plunge. From Lightroom there seemed very little learning curve. But the printer is big. Previously I was using an HP Deskjet 460 printer. It's hardly been used in the last year and I wasn't sure the colour cartridge had anything left in it or whether it would have been clogged up from lack of use. I was stunned at how beautifully it printed this shot. Supports Bob's point above.

A hundred bucks goes pretty quick with that printer's cartridges, however. And five year old images are fading and discolouring. And that printer is a cow to make photo paper feed properly. The Epson is a dream.

I think printing is a must to see what the result of taking a photograph is.

med_U28906I1366538693.SEQ.0.jpg
 
We have to have a printer for many routine things, so it might as well do photos too. We're on our fourth HP Photosmart now, got several years out of each one. We ignore the cost of HP's consumables, just part of having that utility available.

I print only 4x6 with it, and they look nice, even amazingly so to me. A range of sources can print larger and nicer when we (she) want to, from Walgreens to Ilford Lab USA.
 
I guess it depends on your needs. I bought a pricey Epson a few years ago. It used six cartridges costing about $100. When it gave up the ghost, I decided to let my processing shop do the printing. Much cheaper even for large prints. But not as much fun.
 
I plunged into an Epson L210 all in one. It uses ink bottles, not cartridges, and it prints color wonderfully. Cost of printing is reasonable (paper is still expensive, but there you are).
 
How about 198 after rebate for a 13x19 canon?

How about 198 after rebate for a 13x19 canon?

http://admiringlight.com/blog/world-printing/

I just double checked at b&h. 398 list price. 200 dollar mail in rebate good until for any item paid before Jan 3, 2015. --> 198 cheap enough. But of course they got u w/ the cost of the ink :( as always.

Gary
 
Correction --> the b&h printer price includes the same paper as a free bonus w/ the purchase of the printer --> that is part of the combo rebate price for printer plus paper at 250 rebate :)

Gary
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom