What do you print with?

**jwhite8086** · **11-06-07, 11:51 PM**

Do you print your own photos ? What type of printer? Why or let some one else do it who, why

**mikeb** · **11-07-07, 05:03 AM**

Quote:

jwhite8086 wrote:

Do you print your own photos ? What type of printer? Why or let some one else do it who, why

I print a lot of photos and use nothing but Canon photo printers. My current models which are over three years old now (discontinued) are the Canon i960 and the Canon i9100 which is a large format printer printing up to 13x19 photos. Each printer has six ink tanks with the colors broke down into their own tanks instead of a multi color tank. Along with cameras I feel Canon makes the best printers on the market.

**Fincave** · **11-07-07, 06:26 AM**

I do not print that many photos but am currently using an Epson DX 4850 printer/scanner. I was previously using a Canon S820 which probably was better quality wise, I switched to the Epson when my scanner went bang, it was just cheaper to buy a combo. Separate ink cartridges is a must, had an old Canon printer at some stage and when one colour ran out you had to change the three colour cartridge or print minus which ever colour had run out. I have found that the better the paper quality the better the print quality, I do not always use the manufacturer's recommended paper as it tends to be more expensive for what I presume is pretty much the same thing.

**11-07-07, 09:27 AM**

ive heard great things about epson / canon with the edge given to epson. i don't own either yet, so it's hard to say

**jvc** · **11-07-07, 09:51 AM**

I use an Epson Stylus Photo R200. Along with doing outstanding photo prints, it also prints directly on printable cds and dvds. It uses six individual cartridges, for more lifelike colors. I also use generic ink in it, from Rima.com. All six cartridges, costs a little more than just one cartridge, of Epson ink. The generic looks just as good, and lasts just as long, as the original Epson inks did.

**tonyvdb** · **11-07-07, 11:56 AM**

Epson and Canon both make a very good printer. There was a time where all the ink was in one cartage and this was a big issue. Now they come in separate tanks reducing cost.
I have two printers an Epson CX5800F all in one and a Canon s820 the Canon is better for photos because of the extra two ink colors but the Epson is faster and the cartages are slightly cheaper.
Stay away from Lexmark printers they are junk and do not last.

**tweeksound** · **11-07-07, 07:34 PM**

I don't print my own but I am particular about where I get them done.
I've tried many of the print places from CVS and Wal-Mart to specialty Main Street shops.

After comparing them all I chose one that I use all the time. They're not that expensive either.

That might be a good way to go either way. If you print your own, you can compare your prints to your favorite shop. If you don't print your own, it's good to know who can get real results.

**jwhite8086** · **11-07-07, 11:20 PM**

I have an Epson rx 580, same as 260 but with scanner The prints look beter than walmart and are water and smudge proof too. The ink is just so expensive I could give my printer away free and buy a new one instead of buying more ink, currently thinking about a Inkjetfly kit.

**Fincave** · **11-08-07, 02:16 AM**

A local magazine did a bit of a survey to see the differences between various places here in regard to print quality using the same pic stored on a cd, the differences were huge, at least when you print your own the quality should be consistent.

I used generic ink in an old Canon printer and then had a problem with the print head getting blocked, I phoned the store where I had purchased the printer and they told me to bring it in as it was still under warranty and Canon would repair it for free. When the salesman saw the generic ink he informed that Canon would not honour the warranty. I ended up buying a new printer as it was cheaper than buying a new print head. According to the salesman generic ink may have more solvent in it which causes it to dry quicker which can cause problems, also apparently colour durability is not always as good as the manufacturer's own ink.

**Peter De Smidt** · **12-15-07, 08:26 PM**

I print using an Epson R2400, an Ink Republic CIS, MIS K4 inks with photo black, and Crane Museo Silver Rag paper. I use a Print Fix Pro to create a printing profile for my system.

**tweeksound** · **12-16-07, 07:53 AM**

Ya, the local camera store that I go to (Concord Photo) has a display of comparisons between their prints and the other places. I think they touch theirs up quite a bit cause I've tried all of them and the difference is not a huge as they portray it.

**Captain Crunch** · **12-16-07, 09:15 AM**

I print through my photo sharing site "SMUGMUG" and love there work.
I also have an Epson R300
The Epson's and Cannons are "normally" the two most popular choices for photographers.

**jwhite8086** · **12-16-07, 02:15 PM**

any one tried inkjetfly

**jvc** · **12-16-07, 04:52 PM**

I buy the generic ink, for my Epson R200, from Rima.com, and have been using it for two years without problems. I get all six cartridges for $15 plus shipping. So, I get all six cartridges for just a little more than one Epson cartridge. It looks just as good, and lasts just as long as the Epson ink. But it doesn't sit around for long periods either, so doesn't have much chance to dry out. Of course, I can only talk of my experience with it.................

**Peter De Smidt** · **12-16-07, 04:57 PM**

Quote:

jvc wrote:

I buy the generic ink, for my Epson R200, from Rima.com, and have been using it for two years without problems. I get all six cartridges for $15 plus shipping. So, I get all six cartridges for just a little more than one Epson cartridge. It looks just as good, and lasts just as long as the Epson ink. But it doesn't sit around for long periods either, so doesn't have much chance to dry out. Of course, I can only talk of my experience with it.................

Have you seen fade data for the ink? If not, check out the research at the image permanence institute. Many third party inks have very poor longevity ratings.

**jwhite8086** · **12-17-07, 08:55 AM**

What inks would be best to try with my Epson RX 580

**atledreier** · **12-18-07, 12:45 PM**

I use a HP C4380 combo unit that's calibrated and profiled. It's a tad slow, but accurate and good saturation and fidelity.

**fibreKid** · **01-16-08, 11:42 PM**

HP CP1700. 4 separate carts for Ink. I've had it for 5 1/2 years now and never had any clogs. I would love to get it profiled but I also need to upgrade my PC to XP.

**Harpmaker** · **12-08-08, 06:00 PM**

For about the last three years I have used Canon IP4000 and IP5000 printers for most of my printing needs, including photos. They are duplexing printers (slow, but it works well) and the color photos look like 35mm prints! I have had no fading problems with either Canon or third-party inks. The main problem has been head-clogs, these happened with both printers at the one-year and two-year mark respectively. I have a detailed guide on cleaning these printheads on another forum.

Lately I got the 'laser bug' and got a Okidata C3400n color L.E.D. printer. It doesn't produce as good a photo as the inkjets, but they are good enough for most purposes. The problem is the cost of the toner! I ended up getting a Samsung CLP-300 color laser printer for less that the toner cartridges for the Oki cost! The toner for the Samsung costs less than $19 per color. It's prints are about the same quality as the Oki.

For true archival quality color postcard-size (or smaller) prints, it is hard to beat the dye sublimation printers such as the Canon Selphy. These prints will last longer than photographic prints! It's also kind of fun to watch the printer print each color separately.

Cost of the Selphy prints is about the same as inkjet prints the same size using good photo paper. The Selphy refills comes with paper and "ink" in one package.

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