Printer recommendations for my new 5mp. camera

Gray Drain · January 31, 2004

I just got a Sony F717, which I absolutely love, and am having problems managing and printing out photos (on a 4 year old HP printer.) The file size is so large that the printer needs 4 sheets to print out a hi resolution picture. Can I print photos from my new camera any way OTHER than reducing the resolution on the camera when I shoot the picture?

What is a good printer to purchase if I decide to update?

fish · February 1, 2004

Take a look at the Canon i9100. $499 list ($439 bhphoto, i think). Does 13x19 borderless in very high quality. I haven't actually seen one, but they've been getting very good reviews. Might have to check one out myself. I tried to make a high quality print on my old HP 970 today and it looked butt ugly.

wxwax · February 1, 2004

Be sure to check out Epson printers as well.

Are you printing directly from the camera? If not, at what resolution are you printing? David Kelly recommends 150 pixels/inch for an inkjet printer (and says to remember to uncheck the resample box if you're using something like Photoshop.) Increasing the resolution without resampling essentially shrinks the shot without harming its quality. It's like cramming the pixels closer together - higher resolution = higher quality print, up to a point.

Stunt Clown · February 1, 2004

Another one:
I am waiting on the new Epson R800. Supposed to be released in Feb. in the US market at $399. Quality is supposed to up with Epson 2200 just with max paper size of 8 x 1o for borderless and [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] 8.3" x 44" for roll paper. 8[/font] individual Ultrachrome colors. Should be sweet!.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=304681&is=REG

DarkRubiTJ · February 1, 2004

I've got the Canon i9100 and I am quite pleased with it. I also have the HP7960 and it prints well. The HP is great for printing off of a memory card. I will no longer purchase any product by Epson. I've had too many of thieir products go belly up, with the repair ending costing way too much. My last 1280 just died and the repair estimate was over $300.00. Not what one would expect in a printer that was less than 2 years old. Their consumables are too expensive. The Canon takes seperate ink tanks that cost 12 bucks. I just bought a set of 3 for $27 and some change at Costco. Print head replacement is $85 after the warranty runs out, and you can install it yourself. The Canon comes with software that you can use to resize your images.

ian408 · February 2, 2004

I print the occassional photo so I went with the i860. It only prints up to
8-1/2 x 11. For the cost, quality is good. $150 on sale.

I had an Epson 900C that lasted maybe two years before it gave up the
ghost.

Ian

Richard Cabesa · February 2, 2004

I'm not liking what I am hearing heere about the Epson. I had my eye on it because of the panorama/roll paper abillities. My HP makes a nice print most of the time but is limited to 8x13.

What else is out there or coming up that lets you set custom paper lenght?

David

wxwax · February 2, 2004

I've had an Epson Stylus Color 900 since 1999, no problems At all. I don'T print a lot, maybe that makes a difference. Never heard of reliability issues before. It prints great photos and graphics. I plan to buy another Epson when I upgrade. They get great reviews,too.

DarkRubiTJ · February 2, 2004

I've got a 900 also. You are right it's a great printer, it's print quality and reliability are top notch. Cartridges are hard to find and expensive when you do. I print quite a few large prints and I got tired of feeding it. My problem with Epson is a repair issue. My 1280 was a good printer, used only to to print large photos 11 x 14,11 x 17 and panaramas. It would sometimes not see use for a week or two. It just died, no power getting to it, should have been a simple repair. Estimate was over $300.00 because it needed a new logic board, at $250.00 plus labor. That's not right for a printer that had maybe made 200 prints in it's 18 month life span. It was the last straw. It was the third piece of Epson equipiment I had purchased in 10 years, two have gone belly up with repair estimates that were bank account draining. Epson makes good stuff, they are just way too high on their repair parts. In my experience I can not justify investing more money in their products, because the reliability is not there for me.

The i9100 does have a custom paper size setting in the driver software which allows you to use different paper sizes. I run Epson 8.3 x 23.4 Panaramic Paper through mine with no problems.

wxwax · February 3, 2004

Thanks for the details of your Epson woes, DarkRubiTJ. Against that I balance this, from Luminous Landscape.

The first Epson Stylus Photo was introduced in 1995, and the photographic world hasnâ€™t been the same since. Arguably Epson has set the standard for digital colour printing over the past 7 years. Every year or two since then Epson has advanced the state of the art â€” and has done so to a far greater extent than any other manufacturer. In fact, itâ€™s fair to say that during the past 7 years there have been greater advances in colour printing technology that in the previous 50 years.

Tough decision.

Tom Vervaeke · February 3, 2004

Canon
I use the Canon i9100 for big stuff. I use a i950 for smaller stuff. I only got the 9100 after I got my 6.1mp Nikon and I could print that large in quality. I print a lot of 11x14's and enter them into competitions. I too like the ease of use of the Canon's. I like the 6 separate ink containers, and the easy to maintain printer. It comes with a great suite of SW tools for cleaning heads. calibrating the print head, etc.. which you seldom need, but are nonetheless handy.

I almost exclusively use the Canon Photo Paper Pro. Looks great when matted and framed.

I've had Epson's in the past and for some reason they just don't "click" with me. We also have an older HP Photosmart printer that we do 4x6's on by printing directly from the CF cards. Great fun at parties where folks are drinking and there are digi cams around. I've seen some very personal shots come off of this printer at time. Kind of like the new version of a Polaroid.

The combo of Photoshop Elements II and my i9100 allow me to be the semi-creative cretin I always wanted to be.....

Tom

Printer recommendations for my new 5mp. camera

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