new printer

Dannyj1984

Dannyj1984

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Danny
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So it seems that my whole family bought each other photo albums this year :)

As the person who photographs all family get togethers I have been asked to print out a load of photos for everyone.

My options are just get them all and do a massive batch print with an online company like photo box, or look at buying a printer, we also have a baby due any day now and I bought my other half an album too so we can have a proper album of photos rather than the normal Facebook albums. I don't want to spend a fortune max £100 for the printer. If after the initial batch printing for the family I print around 5-10 per week is it cost effective to buy my own printer and will paying £100 get me one capable of printing 6x4 prints as good a quality as an online printer? or is it easier just to send off a batch for printing every month?

Thanks
 
Thanks looks like a bargain :) Do you know the max size this can print at for colour photos?
 
For ****'s ake, send 'em off. It's so easy & surely bound to be cheaper. Do a test run first, if there's any doubt, to make sure that prints won't be too dark (the commonest complaint, from those whose displays are too bright) ... or anything else.

Minimise both effort, time and environmental impact. Sorted.

PS - I note that despite the two recent tightly-coupled festive bank holidays having come & gone, on this forum we still all seem to have coloured balls. Bad enough if you're a man, but what about the women amongst us?

'Less is more' (Mies van der Rohe).
 
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gerry s said:
Based on what, your opinion?

;)
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Either that or someone else's opinion lol

I didn't say it was the best though it's just a recommendation for a good cheap printer that is cost effective to run and never gives up.
 
Thanks think I'm gonna stick with online services, after looking at cost of paper, ink and the printer it probably doesn't make sense financially to buy all the gear for only occasionally use.
 
It's unlikely running your own printer will be as cheap as sending away if you send a batch at a time. Your own printer gives you convenience, speed of getting a print and a certain satisfaction it is all your own work. I've got a big A3+ printer for exhibition prints, but use a small Canon that prints acceptable 6x4's.
 
BlackCloud said:
It's unlikely running your own printer will be as cheap as sending away if you send a batch at a time..
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This thing is that this is brought up over and over but people seem to forget the cost of postage when ordering from a lab. The prints may be about 20p for example but with added postage of more than £3 you would need to order a lot to beat the price of a cheap printer at home.

It's not always just about convenience or speed either. You have much better choice of paper types when printing from home and should a printed image have some kind of an issue it is easy to re-print one in moments whereas if you had purchased from a lab you would also need to re-order it.

There's often talk of ink costs etc. but for the printer I listed you can get 5 x sets of XL compatible cartridges for £18 and they will most likely work just as well. There will always be someone who comes along and mentions blocking print heads etc. but usually there is little to no evidence of this and I have been using refillable ink for years without issue.

Personally I would say for a £50 printer it would be worth a try then if it really works out to be a bad option it's not like you've broken the bank.
 
Hi Jamie,
I'm in a similar position to Danny in that I don't know whether to carry on printing my own or to use a lab. I have been printing my own now for a number of years using a Canon ip4500 which I think must be giving up the ghost as the prints I'm getting are rubbish. For the amount I print I know I would be better off financially, but I really prefer to print my own. The printer you mention looks good value, but do you know if it would be compatible with an old PC running XP?
I know most printers are wi_fi these days, but can they be used the old fashioned way?
 
I've not seen a printer, WiFi or network at home level that doesn't also have a USB connection so I'd say 'highly likely'
 
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