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melanie

melanie

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I've read the recent threads on this subject and I can't see this specific question being answered anywhere, but sorry if I've missed anything...

I think I'd like to get a printer and am REALLY baffled by all the options but lots of people seem to be recommending Epson so when I saw one reduced by £30 in a few shops this week I started looking into it. What I'm confused about is this - is there a difference (and if so, how much) between these "all in one" thingies and the thingies that are called simply "photo printers".

My initial guess was that if it just prints photos and nothing else it would probably do that better than a combination type of affair, but I'm not sure. There doesn't seem to be much difference. The printer only is faster but that's not an issue as I'll only use it for very small amounts anyway. Also the printer only takes 6 colours instead of 4 - so I guess it's more expensive on cartridges.

I'm only playing at this, and I've been using a place that somebody else mentioned, Pro-Am in Bradford, where the price and quality fantastic, but I need to take two half days out to get there and deliver my CD and then get back to collect the prints - they don't do online ordering! So I can't really spend too much. There's only about £10 difference so I'd like to spend the extra tenner and get a scanner and copier into the bargain, unless this is going to detract from the quality of the prints I end up with.

Can anybody advise me??

The all in one version was a dx7450 - I can't find the other one now but I'm sure you get the general idea.

Thanks
Melanie
 
Melanie

Simply put and "All in one" is a printer, scanner and also acts as a photocopier. A Photoprinter is just that, it prints good quality photographic images from your computer. It costs money to add the scanner so theorticaly a photo printer for the same cost as an all in one represents better value

Six colour printers tend to give better quality than 4

If you don't need to scan and copy go for the Photo only option. Also check that the type of ink cartridges that they use. get individual cartridges rather than the all in one colour cart. You end up throwing the Colour cart away 'cos the yellow ink has run out, but you've still got Magenta and Cyan left .

I've been an Epson user for years and they are great machines. Some people complain about blocked nozzles but I've neve had any problem. HP and Canon make good machines but I've limited experience of either of them

There are numerous online printing companies that offer good quality at a reasonable price. I've just had an offer from snapfish for 50 free 6 x 4 as a trial. See if you can get the same offer and see what you think

John C
 
I have to disagree on the quality side of things. The difference between 4 and 6 colour is tonal range. 6 Colours will give you better shades of blue, but you will only notice it if you compare it side by side with another printer. I have a Canon Pixma ip 6600D, fantastic printer, however recently carts have gone up in price! They now cost around £12 for the BK, C, M, Y and £15 for the PC and PM in the retail shops. You can shop around on the net and get them a bit cheaper, cheapest i have seen is something like £9 per cart. My mate has the IP 4500 and although mine takes a few extra carts, there is not really a bit difference in quality of prints.

The main thing it boils down to is what you are going to be doing wiht it and how much you are willing to spend. Everyone knows that the Epson printers can take cheap clone carts however what you must remember is that if these clog the printer up, you mayaswell throw it away.

I have been fairly lucky as i have had Epson, Canon and HP printers, along with a few Minolta Lazers... the out of them all, the canon is the best followed by Epson with HP trailing behind.
 
Thanks for that, Chappers & Dylan.

I'm thinking I'll have a go with the Epson on special offer - the 4-colour one.

Had a look at it in the shop today and realised that a lot of the reason for the slightly higher price of some similar models is to do with little extras that I really don't need anyway.

I might end up wanting to upgrade eventually when I (I mean "IF" I) get good enough for it to really matter.

Thanks for the advice.
M
 
melanie said:
Thanks for that, Chappers & Dylan.

I'm thinking I'll have a go with the Epson on special offer - the 4-colour one.

Had a look at it in the shop today and realised that a lot of the reason for the slightly higher price of some similar models is to do with little extras that I really don't need anyway.

I might end up wanting to upgrade eventually when I (I mean "IF" I) get good enough for it to really matter.

Thanks for the advice.
M
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One of my printers is an Epson R360 which I brought just over a year ago for about £70. I'm not a heavy user but so far it has gone through 4 complete set of cartridges costing £30 a time so £120 on ink which I order from Channel Islands as the PC World price is £45! Although the quality is good it's a heavy drinker of ink.

That's why I'm about to replace it and am eyeing up a HP printer or a HP all in one (printer,scanner, copier) which seem to offer longer lasting cartridges.
 
melanie said:
Thanks for that, Chappers & Dylan.

I'm thinking I'll have a go with the Epson on special offer - the 4-colour one.
Click to expand...

My advice would be to check the price of replacement ink cartridges first, some only take oem at high prices.

I like HP printers, but also have an Epson. The HP is an all in one photo printer ( C5180, about £50, and colours match my iMac) Photo prints are superb and good compatible ink cartridges can be bought for less than a third the price of HP`s own. I cant tell the difference in quality.
The later C5280 uses more expensive ink so will cost far more to run, till good compatibles are made.

I get my ink from here They are usually much higher capacity than originals and much cheaper.

Whatever printer you get ( or have now) if you order ink from them, put the promo code giveme10 into the box at checkout and get 10% off.

King of Groove, have a look here, dont forget the promo code.

Allan
 
What you have to factor in is if the ink prices rise, which in my case they have,will you still enjoy printing. My ink cost has rocketed, especialy when you factor in the PCW price of £78 for ink, whereas my mate who has the 4500 pays around £60, however his printer has two blacks as Canon have decided to use a matt black for standard text and a photo black when you put the printer in photo mode. The Matt black has around 50% more ink in than the stadnard ones. This is something to look at.
 
allanm said:
My advice would be to check the price of replacement ink cartridges first, some only take oem at high prices.

I like HP printers, but also have an Epson. The HP is an all in one photo printer ( C5180, about £50, and colours match my iMac) Photo prints are superb and good compatible ink cartridges can be bought for less than a third the price of HP`s own. I cant tell the difference in quality.
The later C5280 uses more expensive ink so will cost far more to run, till good compatibles are made.

I get my ink from here They are usually much higher capacity than originals and much cheaper.

Whatever printer you get ( or have now) if you order ink from them, put the promo code giveme10 into the box at checkout and get 10% off.

King of Groove, have a look here, dont forget the promo code.

Allan
Click to expand...


I've never used compatable inks as I'm not always convinced by the quality and if they clog the printheads your guarantee will be useless.
 
King of Groove said:
I've never used compatable inks as I'm not always convinced by the quality and if they clog the printheads your guarantee will be useless.
Click to expand...

I think most of this is just scare stories from the big players. I use compatable ink for my Epson R300 (£1 per cart) instead of the £10 ish that the originals cost. I have never had the heads block up and the print quality seems to be as good as the originals.

The only time I use originals is for the wedding photos I print out as that price is factored into the wedding price I quote. May get through two sets of inks for each wedding.
 
I've had a Canon MP 610 since Christmas. Print quality is brilliant and it doesn't seem too bad on ink, only had to replace the cartridges once or twice..
 
JPS said:
I think most of this is just scare stories from the big players. I use compatable ink for my Epson R300 (£1 per cart) instead of the £10 ish that the originals cost. I have never had the heads block up and the print quality seems to be as good as the originals.

The only time I use originals is for the wedding photos I print out as that price is factored into the wedding price I quote. May get through two sets of inks for each wedding.
Click to expand...

A friend of mine only uses compatable inks and I always think the colors look paler.
 
Every printer i have used compatables in, nackers up shortly after. Yes they are a lot cheaper and yes they will mean you spend less and get more, but is there a real substitue for quality?

One thing to bare in mind is the dropplet size of ink, which will vary from printer to printer, this will ultimatley dictate quality. Canon can go down to 1PL, wheras epson 1.5, HP are 3-5 and lexmark.... dont even go there.
 
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