and what about THERMAL printers??

There is a strange trend to try and keep JJ from getting a printer even if if she wants one, ...
I think the intent of most of the posts was to get across the point that home printing is NOT a simple, inexpensive alternative to sending your digital files to a proper lab to have them printed on "real" printers by proper technicians. In this day and age, not having a home printer would be very limiting, but there's a world of difference between printing out the occasional children's book report, e-mail, etc and trying to produce decent quality photographic prints.
Some of the comments in this thread seem to not differentiate between a printer used exclusively for making quality photo prints, and one used for printing out something like a book report. For me, there really is a difference though.

I don't use either of my photo printers for everyday printing tasks like book reports, documents, receipts, contracts, model releases, maps, etc. I wouldn't waste the valuable photo quality inks on such things.

No, for those everyday printing tasks, I have yet another scan/copy/fax/printer made specifically for that type of work. Mine happens to be a Brother machine that works with scans, copies and prints up to 11" X 17", as I sometimes have needs of the larger sizes. Likewise, I don't use that printer for punching out photos, especially not for clients. Though it does an "okay" job of printing photos, they don't come close to the quality of the dedicated photo printers, and I suspect that the inks wouldn't last as long.

In the same vein, I don't use the Brother scan/copy/fax/printer to scan photos to be retouched for clients either. While it does an "okay" job of scanning, and I do use it for everyday document scans and so forth, it doesn't come close to the quality of the dedicated print and negative scanner I use specifically for working with images.

Just thought it might be worth mentioning.
 
I have been a fan of my Canon Pro 100 since I found out about the Canon Pro software which, AFAIC, is just amazing in its ability to manage printing from either PS or LR.
Secondly I became a fan of prints when I started looking at them; surely a print is a much better vehicle than any screen for seeing and appreciating a shot.

Just recently I tried reloading Canon inks with a outside vendor with a good reputation - Precision Colors.
It was a tense job because the first reload involved modifying the cartridges slightly and, although there are decent videos, it is always nerve-wracking until one does it for oneself.

Today I had the first opportunity to actually print with these inks and the first time to see pictures shot with the Sony A7 II.

I made four prints on 13 x 19 paper.
Different kinds of photos, dramatically different color and tonal range - and I was absolutely stunned at how good they looked with the default setting.
(I don't know if this is typical of all photo printers but the prints dry a bit lighter than they first appear.)

No soft-proofing, no anything - just Canon Pro Software, Canon paper and print profiles, Precisioncolors.com inks.

Wow, I'm a convert.
 
Some of the comments in this thread seem to not differentiate between a printer used exclusively for making quality photo prints, and one used for printing out something like a book report. For me, there really is a difference though.

Thanks for the thoughts Buckster! Perhaps the confusion is my fault, because I do believe I did mention using it for school. What I meant by that was- if I have absolutely no pictures to print, and the heads were at risk for being clogged that it would be better to just print out ANYTHING (likly school related) than to let it sit and end up wasting ink later.

I have been a fan of my Canon Pro 100 since I found out about the Canon Pro software which, AFAIC, is just amazing in its ability to manage printing from either PS or LR.
Secondly I became a fan of prints when I started looking at them; surely a print is a much better vehicle than any screen for seeing and appreciating a shot.

Just recently I tried reloading Canon inks with a outside vendor with a good reputation - Precision Colors.
It was a tense job because the first reload involved modifying the cartridges slightly and, although there are decent videos, it is always nerve-wracking until one does it for oneself.

Today I had the first opportunity to actually print with these inks and the first time to see pictures shot with the Sony A7 II.

I made four prints on 13 x 19 paper.
Different kinds of photos, dramatically different color and tonal range - and I was absolutely stunned at how good they looked with the default setting.
(I don't know if this is typical of all photo printers but the prints dry a bit lighter than they first appear.)

No soft-proofing, no anything - just Canon Pro Software, Canon paper and print profiles, Precisioncolors.com inks.

Wow, I'm a convert.

Lew, thanks so much for sharing your experience with a 3rd party ink refill! I've been curious if it was possible to so something similar! I may PM you for the details later, if you don't mind.

I nearly have DH on my side (though it will be a few months before we can actually purchase it)

The last 3 shipments from USPS we received were crushed, or sliced through (ruining the cover of a math novel) and UPS seems to think delivering to our house is optional. I'm on day 3 of them delaying my photo order, and we have waited weeks for a package when it's snowy. The only carrier that seems to understand rural roads is FED ex, (they drove down my driveway IN THE SNOW! I love them) but obviously when ordering you don't usually get to choose who they ship with. Anyways, DH is as fed up with it as I am, so I am slowly winning him over, package by package. ;-)
 

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