Photo Printer

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mf26

32 posts

Geek

#62311 3-Jun-2010 14:50

I am new to photo printing and I plan to purchase a good printer for my photography needs. Some requirements I am looking for:
- can print up to 8R size photos
- Good quality prints - comparable or better than commercial prints
- can print 3R, 4R or 5R prints as well.
- Optional: can print on DVD discs as well.

Also what paper is best to use as well to have photo prints not fade off in time, any suggestions as well will be welcome.

Having provided my requirements, what specs should I be looking for in terms of a good printer. Some say I need to get at least a printer with 6 ink cartridges to have a good color balance. Need some advise, if you can advise the specific printer brand and model the better. Price - hopefully it is not more than $300. Thanks.

MF26

marmel

1924 posts

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#338168 4-Jun-2010 09:38

If you don't want to spend more than $300 I doubt very much you will get something to produce photo's of the same quality that you can get from Harvey Norman etc. Remember they are using machines that cost 10's of thousands of dollars.

Even if you spend $500 plus on a home printer the prints will probably look really good for the first few years but in my experience they start to fade after that, even if you use top quality photo paper.

Also you might want to look at the cost. Inkjet printers are notoriously expensive to run. The printer may seem cheap at the time but look at the cost to replace all of the toner cartridges, sometimes it is cheaper to buy another printer!

I guess what I am saying is unless you want the privacy of a home printer to print "holiday snaps" from that week you spent at the nudist colony I would just use Harvey Norman or even better a specialist photo outlet.

samwooff

219 posts

Master Geek

#338847 6-Jun-2010 19:46

Something like the canon ip4700 is probably as good as home photo printing is going to get for under $300.
Don't expect to better commercial prints though, they look as good as they do cause they're done on printers that cost more than $300.

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