Photo Printers

Wirral Bagpuss · Jun 5, 2005

I am contemplating getting a photo printer. I have my eye on the epsom printer mate and the HP 375 photo printer. I have a suspicion the HP 375 will be good value for money. But before i part with hard earnt cash, can anyone tell me is it worth getting a photo printer? Would i be better off getting my photo's done in the shops or is home printing a viable option? I want to see some good results of photos taken with my Nikon D70 !! :lmao:

tempra · Jun 5, 2005

I believe that it's generally more economical to get them printed as once you buy the printer, the paper and the ink - factor in the cock ups that we mere humans make, and it's a good chunk of cash for a photo.

Give photobox a try, they have a special on at the moment, poster sized prints for £5.99.

you upload to them, place your order, and they deliver - good quality as well.

http://www.photobox.co.uk/index.html

Christie Photo · Jun 5, 2005

I use Epson photo printers for proofing. I'm always amazed at the results. But there is a orientation period... the time it takes to learn how to get the most from your printer. You can burn through a bunch of ink and paper, but the TIME is what causes you to loose patience. Once you get it down, it goes rather smoothly.

The ink is not cheap, but it's still a savings for me on the proofing. Being "old school," I still have my final prints made at the lab.... for now.

Diarmuid · Jun 5, 2005

If your wondering which is cheaper, there really is no definite answer. In time, the photos printed commercially is probably a bit cheaper. However if your serious about your photography and would like to achieve top quality images, I would advise to start with home printing.

You will learn by doing it yourself. There is trial and error as there always is when doing any creative art form. But in order to fine tune your picture taking and photo editing techniques, printing yourself will show what you can achieve. Then you know the kind of quality to expect from your images when printed by a commercial processor.

Between the two printers you have mentioned, I would opt for Epson.

If you are serious about photography and want to know more about achieving top quality prints have a look at the Digital Photography Course from School of Photography. http://www.schoolofphotography.com/digital_photography_course.html

cbay · Jun 5, 2005

Alryt?
If you are looking for a Photo Printer which prints excellent photos, does borderless printing & even prints upon printable CDs/DVDs the Epson R300 is for you! I have had mine now for approx a month now and the pictures i print are amazing. And best bit is, it is a 6 ink system so if only one colour runs out you dont need to renew all the colours jst the one empty & Also compatible Epson Cartridges work a treat in it, i reccomend the "Imjet" Compatibles myself and there approx £50 + Postage for 15 sets so a total of 90 cartridges upon eBay. I would much reccomend the Epson R300 it is amazing quality and also you dont need a computer can plug your digital camera straight to it via USB or insert your memory card and has a LCD screen to select the type of picture size and quality you wish to print! What more would you want??

Rob · Jun 5, 2005

I use an HP Photosmart printer for my pictures which I frame and hang on the wall at home, but it's about the same price as pro printing. However, IMHO, once you have the hang of it, you can get results closer to what you want in your mind at reasonable cost. When it's approximately A4 size and it's hung on the wall, you can't easily tell the difference, especially if you've selectively enlarged, cropped, adjusted etc.

In the UK, I would say it costs me about £1-£3 per end product photo. I use an HP 7760 link which works really well for me, but ONLY with HP Premium Plus Semi-Matte A4 paper at about £15 for 25 sheets - on any other paper the photos suck.

Bear in mind that you need to look at your TCO - total cost of ownership. How much are the cartridges compared to each other for the models you've chosen? Also, a problem with some of the Epsom and Canon printers used to be that the print head was in-built, whereas it's part of the cartridge with HP. If it gets clogged or breaks, then the cost factor may be worth considering. They're probably all the same these days, but I've always used HP kit and found it to be very reliable. Many people recommend Epsom as well, so do a bit of web research and make up your own mind.

If you get the HP and you want to print greyscale / B&W pictures, make sure you get a printer which handles their "grey" cartridges, or your results will be green/purple/brown. I strongly believe that you can't beat wet printing in the darkroom comparing with inkjet for tones, but that's just my side-by-side experience, others may have achieved better results.

Good luck.

Rob

Wirral Bagpuss · Jun 7, 2005

Well i finally succumbed to temptation and bought myself the HP 375 photo printer. :thumbup: I know it does not do big pictures but it is nice to use to get prints for those moments when waiting is just not an option !! :grumpy: