Very, very good but cheap Photograph printer?

[tirediron]

Doesn't matter now. It's in a landfill in Florida

*Looks at Christina's location* Wow... when you throw something out, you THROW it out!!!

 

[bratkinson]

I'm only an amateur that gives away prints from my Epson printers. One of the things I and those who have gotten prints have discovered is that the ink used is water soluble. Even 1 raindrop fall on the picture and the colors run.

If I were to want professional grade prints, I'd definitely opt for a printer that uses 'high grade' ($$$) non-water based inks. As such, I have doubts about 'low cost' printers claiming ultra high quality.

As KmH mentioned above, the cost of the ink can be a major expense. Even my $175 Epson R580 printers cost about $85 for a set of 6 color ink cartridges. Fortunately, I've found ebay sellers with genuine Epson cartridges for $40-50 for a full set. Then I go to Staples and pick up a couple of the 2 colors I use most. I've tried 'compatible' and 'remanufactured' cartridges and they refuse to recognize almost 2/3 of them! And, of course, I almost ALWAYS run out of spare <whatever> color when I'm in the middle of printing 30-40 pictures (or CDs) at 2AM!! So I try to keep at least 2 of each color on hand, but still get 'stuck' occasionally. Fortunately, I have 2 R580 printers, so I still have one to 'finish the job'.

Edit: One more thing...be sure to calibrate your monitor AND the printer(s)! In addition to the 2 Epsons, I have an HP printer which has slightly different renderings of the same photograph as my printers are not yet calibrated.

 

[KmH]

Yep, we never even got to discussing calibrating and profiling the devices involved in editing and printing the photos.

While a computer display can be calibrated using a colorimeter, profiling a printer requires a more expensive spectrometer.
Fortunately a spectrophotometer can also calibrate computer displays, scanners, and projectors so you only need 1 device.
Tutorials on Color Management & Printing

Many professional image editors and print labs recommend - X-Rite CMUNPH ColorMunki Photo

 

[Snapitjack]

Epson Stylus NX430 is what I use. Not a pro printer but less than $100.00 (I've seen them as low as $50.00). Great prints with quality photo paper. No fading, yet. Ink is reasonable. To be honest I was very surprised at how good my prints look.

I calibrated my printer and monitor with my ColorMunki Photo and it seems spot on. The only difference in the print as opposed to the monitor is that the printed photo is a little less brilliant. After all the print isn't backlit like the monitor.