A4 colour photo printer - advice needed

superpippo

superpippo

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I have a small HP Envy all in one printer which I use occasionally for photo printing.
It is OK but it does not deal with paper over about 150g
I quite like the process of printing and it would be nice to print up to A3 size but I fear that I have too little space in my small room to accommodate an A3 type printer, say the Canon Pixma iP8750.
Looking at A4 printers, they often come within about £60-80 of the Canon and that seems not a lot for the extra size (although more ink?)
However maybe I would not use the A3 as much as I think and could continue to use an external printer, say DSCL, for larger prints.
So I have concluded that an A4 might be more appropriate for me.
But it must be able to deal with a range of papers, otherwise I may as well stay with what i have.

Does anyone have any experience or advice that they can share?
One of the problems in searching through advice/reviews is that the market changes so fast that often printers are replaced/renumbered (?) within a couple of years.

Any suggestions? e.g. Canon Pixma G550 £199 (relatively expensive), Epson EcoTank ET-2720, £180

Any others - particularly those that are available in the country.

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No specific recommendation but I had an HP printer with the same problem. I now have a Canon Pixma which has a rear paper feed option, this means that the paper does not have to bend back on itself in the printer so thicker papers are not a problem.
 
I have had a canon pixma mg6150 for donkeys years now and it has served me well. If i printed more pictures i would probably upgrade, but providing you get the colour profile right on the computer it is a good little unit. The rear tray definitely helps with thicker papers. Only thing is the ink, genuine canon would cost about 50-60 quid to replace the set, since i don't print many photos at home now i have switched to using ones from inkredible and they have been fine so far.
 
keeweeman said:
I have had a canon pixma mg6150 for donkeys years now and it has served me well. If i printed more pictures i would probably upgrade, but providing you get the colour profile right on the computer it is a good little unit. The rear tray definitely helps with thicker papers. Only thing is the ink, genuine canon would cost about 50-60 quid to replace the set, since i don't print many photos at home now i have switched to using ones from inkredible and they have been fine so far.
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Thanks , do you mean the canon pixma G650?

Buy Canon Pixma G650 Multi-Function Printer

The Canon Pixma G650 blends unrivalled photo-quality printing with the ability to produce high volumes at extremely low cost. Shop at jessops.com with free delivery.
www.jessops.com www.jessops.com
 
It's a TS8150 which was a bit dated when I got it but it was reduced due to the newer models which were already available. As you said in your post they change numbers so quick, sometimes I think that the only change is the actual number on the printer.
I went for a Pixma because, at the time, most of the recommendations were Pixma models. Looking around for the best deal I found the reduced one at John Lewis with a 2yr guarantee. I've had it about 3 years now and it has been fine.
 
superpippo said:
Thanks , do you mean the canon pixma G650?

Buy Canon Pixma G650 Multi-Function Printer

The Canon Pixma G650 blends unrivalled photo-quality printing with the ability to produce high volumes at extremely low cost. Shop at jessops.com with free delivery.
www.jessops.com www.jessops.com
Click to expand...
no, definitely the MG6150, its over 10 years old. I was getting more at the notion that the pixmas are decent printers for the money once you get past the price of ink
 
Suvv said:
It's a TS8150 which was a bit dated when I got it but it was reduced due to the newer models which were already available. As you said in your post they change numbers so quick, sometimes I think that the only change is the actual number on the printer.
I went for a Pixma because, at the time, most of the recommendations were Pixma models. Looking around for the best deal I found the reduced one at John Lewis with a 2yr guarantee. I've had it about 3 years now and it has been fine.
Click to expand...
Thank you
 
keeweeman said:
no, definitely the MG6150, its over 10 years old. I was getting more at the notion that the pixmas are decent printers for the money once you get past the price of ink
Click to expand...

Thanks.
The Pixmas generally get good reviews.
Ink is a consideration, that is why the Epson tank generatios may be good.
Althought the new Canon G550 may be an option
 
LC2 said:
I found this interesting, and Keith Cooper seems pretty clued up.
I've now watched quite a few of his videos.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUjaK2FlYxo&ab_channel=KeithCooper
Click to expand...

Thanks - I had not seen this - perhaps because it had been posted only 5 days ago.
I have watched a number of Keith Cooper's videos and found them to be informative at a detailed level.

Trouble is , this doesn't help :rolleyes:
He really thinks that an A3+ printer is better value and better for prints - which I kind of knew:)
I just cannot get something that size into my room - nightmare:):)
 
superpippo said:
Thanks - I had not seen this - perhaps because it had been posted only 5 days ago.
I have watched a number of Keith Cooper's videos and found them to be informative at a detailed level.

Trouble is , this doesn't help :rolleyes:
He really thinks that an A3+ printer is better value and better for prints - which I kind of knew:)
I just cannot get something that size into my room - nightmare:):)
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He's a print and printer snob. :LOL:

I forget the A4 Canon model I had but it made prints as good (to my eyes) as those I get from my iP8750.
 
If you are going to be doing a lot of printing then go for an Eco tank or the HP smart tank, it will cost more to buy (£180-200) but you'll save in the long term on ink.
A normal standard ink cartridge holds around 8-15ml of ink and costs from £18-£30. A black refill bottle for a smart tank has 135ml of ink and costs £13, the Epson bottle is a similar price but a tiny bit smaller.
Reading the companys print capaciities Epson claim 150 pages for a standard cartridge, 450 for the XL version and 4000 for a bottle in the eco tank (black ink)
HP claim up to 10,000 black pages from one of their bottles, even if that is a massive over estimate and you only got a quarter of that its still 2500 pages for £13, a bit better than 100 pages for £18.
The smart tank comes with 2 x black bottles and 1 each of the colours enough ink to easily print 1000 A4 pictures not bad for just under £200. If you think about it, a £60 printer will need £500 worth of cartridges to print 1000 A4 pictures, bottled ink is the way forward.
I'm not sure about the Epson but the print quality on the smart tank is great, i bought one recently and cant fault it.
 
Ed Sutton said:
I forget the A4 Canon model I had but it made prints as good (to my eyes) as those I get from my iP8750.
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Are you happy with your 8750?
I knew that I would be tempted by the A3+ size - it just seems a better solution than the A4 - but I still would need to find a space for it.
Do you have any practical issues that you could share e.g. ink use, ink clogging, paper choices - lots of youtubers say that they will review it and then bang on about so much irrelevancy that I lose patience. One even shows someone making a cup of tea before they start to speak. Jeez.
 
superpippo said:
Are you happy with your 8750?
I knew that I would be tempted by the A3+ size - it just seems a better solution than the A4 - but I still would need to find a space for it.
Do you have any practical issues that you could share e.g. ink use, ink clogging, paper choices - lots of youtubers say that they will review it and then bang on about so much irrelevancy that I lose patience. One even shows someone making a cup of tea before they start to speak. Jeez.
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It's a printer that makes prints with little hassle. TBH I'm not a pixel peeper or a print examiner so my views probably don't represent those of the majority of people on here!

Caveat - I prefer and usually use glossy photo papers. I've tried others and can't see the attraction of them. Whether that's the fault of my printer or just my taste I don't know. I used to make darkroom prints on glossy paper too.

I only use Canon inks and have (so far) had no issues with clogging. If not used for a while it does go through a lengthy clearing process which annoys me (and probably uses up ink). I use it mostly as an office printer which has the benefit of being able to run off an A3+ print at the drop of a hat. It's no better or worse than any printer I've had before for using ink. Except that big prints obviously use more ink than small ones!
 
Ed Sutton said:
It's a printer that makes prints with little hassle. TBH I'm not a pixel peeper or a print examiner so my views probably don't represent those of the majority of people on here!

Caveat - I prefer and usually use glossy photo papers. I've tried others and can't see the attraction of them. Whether that's the fault of my printer or just my taste I don't know. I used to make darkroom prints on glossy paper too.

I only use Canon inks and have (so far) had no issues with clogging. If not used for a while it does go through a lengthy clearing process which annoys me (and probably uses up ink). I use it mostly as an office printer which has the benefit of being able to run off an A3+ print at the drop of a hat. It's no better or worse than any printer I've had before for using ink. Except that big prints obviously use more ink than small ones!
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Thanks.
Sounds ok to me - not a pixel peeper but I do like sharp shots and I also prefer glossy paper
 
I have an 8750 and have used permajet refillable cartridges for a couple of years. I often go for several weeks without printing and during lockdown I didn't use it for several months while I had covid. The head did block up and I ended up getting a new one (head)..
However, it now runs fine again and as before, I'm very happy with the prints. Well worth the cost and desk space.
I also have an 8150 which is about 6 years old, had always used genuine Canon inks and prints perfectly even when left for months.
Both are excellent value for money in my opinion.
However, I do still wonder if the cost involved is worth it and am not sure if I'll replace them should they die.
 
I own a Canon Pixma MG7750 which makes decent colour A4 prints. Very good in my view for a multi-purpose machine.

I recently bought a Canon Pro100 at auction and of course now I can see just how much better the prints can be (and the 100 is an old printer really). But boy is that a big footprint.
 
superpippo said:
Are you happy with your 8750?
I knew that I would be tempted by the A3+ size - it just seems a better solution than the A4 - but I still would need to find a space for it.
Do you have any practical issues that you could share e.g. ink use, ink clogging, paper choices - lots of youtubers say that they will review it and then bang on about so much irrelevancy that I lose patience. One even shows someone making a cup of tea before they start to speak. Jeez.
Click to expand...
I'm another happy ip8750 owner - also only use Canon inks due to intermittent use.
Size wise it's certainly larger than an A4 printer, but not too big (~60 cm wide), and when not in use it's no deeper - you do need space in front of it for the output paper tray (which extends a fair bit), but that's only when you have it printing.
 
Not sure if it’s of any use, but I’ve a Canon iP4500, which I’m looking to move on as I’ve no use for it, have several sets of brand new Canon inks for it (and I think a new head for it).
I can list in sales section if it’s of interest to you
A
 
@stevewestern
@moggi1964
@Faldrax

Thank you for your comments

andyred said:
Not sure if it’s of any use, but I’ve a Canon iP4500, which I’m looking to move on as I’ve no use for it, have several sets of brand new Canon inks for it (and I think a new head for it).
I can list in sales section if it’s of interest to you
A
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Thanks for the offer, but I think that I will pass.
I am still not certain which route to follow, even though I thought that i had sorted things out in my mind :rolleyes:
I have just been able to buy a pack of glossy photo paper in a 150g weight and that will probably do me for now until I have a clearer idea which way to go.
 
stevewestern said:
I have an 8750 and have used permajet refillable cartridges for a couple of years. I often go for several weeks without printing and during lockdown I didn't use it for several months while I had covid. The head did block up and I ended up getting a new one (head)..
However, it now runs fine again and as before, I'm very happy with the prints. Well worth the cost and desk space.
I also have an 8150 which is about 6 years old, had always used genuine Canon inks and prints perfectly even when left for months.
Both are excellent value for money in my opinion.
However, I do still wonder if the cost involved is worth it and am not sure if I'll replace them should they die.
Click to expand...

I think that this is likely to increase my costs :)- I just fancy the whole shoot/process/print procedure and the opportunity to print within a few minutes of post processing without having to wait until I have enough prints to spread the cost of the postage.
Thanks for your views.
 
Paul-H said:
Watch out with the Epson Eco Tank printers, nice and cheap to run and quite good quality prints, even from the 4 ink printers but they also don't load heavy weight papers (well my two don't )
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Thank you. Just the kind of advice that I need.
The weight of papers is an issue for me . In my present printer anything over 150gms gets stuck - which is no use as a lot of papers are 200+gms.
 
ScottT said:
If you are going to be doing a lot of printing then go for an Eco tank or the HP smart tank, it will cost more to buy (£180-200) but you'll save in the long term on ink.
A normal standard ink cartridge holds around 8-15ml of ink and costs from £18-£30. A black refill bottle for a smart tank has 135ml of ink and costs £13, the Epson bottle is a similar price but a tiny bit smaller.
Reading the companys print capaciities Epson claim 150 pages for a standard cartridge, 450 for the XL version and 4000 for a bottle in the eco tank (black ink)
HP claim up to 10,000 black pages from one of their bottles, even if that is a massive over estimate and you only got a quarter of that its still 2500 pages for £13, a bit better than 100 pages for £18.
The smart tank comes with 2 x black bottles and 1 each of the colours enough ink to easily print 1000 A4 pictures not bad for just under £200. If you think about it, a £60 printer will need £500 worth of cartridges to print 1000 A4 pictures, bottled ink is the way forward.
I'm not sure about the Epson but the print quality on the smart tank is great, i bought one recently and cant fault it.
Click to expand...
Are there any Canon versions of this in A4 size? Or compact dimensions in A3?
 
superpippo said:
Thank you. Just the kind of advice that I need.
The weight of papers is an issue for me . In my present printer anything over 150gms gets stuck - which is no use as a lot of papers are 200+gms.
Click to expand...
Mine will just about do 200gsm paper but anything heavier you can forget about, I have boxes of 300gsm plus papers just sitting in the cupboard, paper I used to use with my old photo printer before it gave up the ghost that will just not feed into the ecotank printer.

Luckily I found by accident a 200gsm paper that works well and gives good results, very good results considering it's only a 4 ink printer.

Anyone tried the 6 ink Epson Ecotank printers, the one with 3 colour and 3 blacks.

Paul
 
Paul-H said:
Mine will just about do 200gsm paper but anything heavier you can forget about, I have boxes of 300gsm plus papers just sitting in the cupboard, paper I used to use with my old photo printer before it gave up the ghost that will just not feed into the ecotank printer.

Luckily I found by accident a 200gsm paper that works well and gives good results, very good results considering it's only a 4 ink printer.

Anyone tried the 6 ink Epson Ecotank printers, the one with 3 colour and 3 blacks.

Paul
Click to expand...
Thank you Paul
 
I have an Epson ET 2756 which handles 295 gsm paper no problem, and the quality of colour prints is fine. Mono comes out with a cast which I’ve yet to find a setting to eliminate it.
 
Not an expert on printing but if you are looking to use third party paper then make sure they have a profile for the printer you want to use, otherwise you are limited to the printer brand’s paper.
 
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