Printer reccomendations?

[SandiaPaul]

Greetings,

For a couple of projects I have in mind I will need to print things, labels, signs, etc...
Right now all I have is a B&W laser printer. Any ideas on a good color printer? It would be nice if this thing could also function for more "family" printing tasks too.
Or do I just get the cheapest one cause it will break in 6 months anyway?

thanks,

Paul

[78ths]

Hi Paul
The industry standard is Epson. If you can afford it a 13X19 format printer offers the most flexibility and their quality is outstanding. I have an old Epson 2200 that still produces first class prints and the 7900 which costs a fortune in ink as the tanks are big ( this is a massive printer ).
Any of the Epsons are great printers and are used a lot as pre press proof printers (the big units 7600 -> 9600)
cheers Ferd

[mabloodhound]

Paul, I have a Canon  i9900 which has been in use for a few years (since it came out).   
It has been a superb performer and I use it a lot for high quality photo printing, as well as my card stock modeling.
It is a large format printer and can do oversize (13 x 19) which is good and it handles 100# card stock easily.
I'm sure it has been updated since, but I really like the Canon.
This appears to be the replacement model http://www.adorama.com/ICAIX6520.html

[darrylhuffman]

I use several printers in my business for flyers, for DVD covers, for general printing, for printing sheets of scale signs and printing custom decals.

I have tried them all and will only buy Epson from now on.

Great printers, beautiful prints and the inks are waterproof.  Not so for HP, Canon or other brands.

The best value for me is the Epson Artisan 50 as it also prints directly onto the labels on the CDs and DVDs I sell.

But any Epson will great.

I get my inks online from Amazon.com for the best price.

Make sure to use Epson inks and not Brand X inks for Epson.

[DaKra]

I have a cheapo HP 932c deskjet that came with my computer.  I belive it retails for around $75, with ink.  I'm always looking for a reason to upgrade it, but the thing has always worked perfectly for my needs.   I print all my signs and decals with it, such as on the van.   Finer resoluton than any silk screen decal I've seen.  So I'm sort of thinking for this type of work there just isn't a whole lot of difference worth paying big bucks for.   But I will when I find one!  

Dave    

PS good point about waterproof ink, thanks Darryl, will look into that.

[eTraxx]

Yeah. I have a Brother laser for general printing. I bought a cheapo HP 'All in One' printer/copier/scanner JUST for the scanner. It was like $59 at WalMart. I was surprised at how well it prints though .. photographic quality IMO. I think that more expensive printers are 'probably' better made

[78ths]

The real test is color accuracy, longevity and wear resistance to handling in the prints. For scale labels etc... I use the lightest weight epson paper ie for veggie crate labels and it can be scrubbed to add wear to the images yet the image will not fade.  In modeling color accuracy is not as big an issue nor is tone range and quality to most people. 60% of society is color blind and would probably not be able to see the difference. For me the difference is night and day. The added feature epson has is the ability to download color profiles for most if not all of the fine art gallery papers on the market, many of these acid free (again we are in the pro realm and more than likely well beyond the needs of the average user).
In summary the original question was :

It would be nice if this thing could also function for more "family" printing tasks too. 

If you want the industry standard then go with an Epson. (I always recommend buying the best you can afford) If you want the best deal have your files printed at Walmart or Target - you get photo quality for less than the paper will cost you if you do it yourself. 

I find the 13X19 format most useful as it allows you to do 11X14 full bleed prints and larger for backgrounds etc... most of the prosumer Epsons will take roll paper so you can do backdrops for dioramas. 

As an image professional and having been digital 100% since 1996, printers play a key role as they replaced the darkroom. I will only use Epson printers with Epson ink, not the 2 bit crap sold in ink marts. I use Epson paper 60% of the time and vary with other brands depending on the final outcome desired from like ink press paper. 
If you go to graphics sites Epson is often the only printer reviewed (for a reason) if you go to PC sites then you see the rest of the stuff. At the end of the day you need to balance budget and needs. To me the printer should last years without any issues. My 2200 is from 2001 and still prints like it is new.  Just a thought.

[DaKra]

Went and had a look at the Epson printers over at Amazon and, as I always do, clicked on the one star reviews ... yoinks!     

Any recommendations for a good reliable mid to low end Epson?

Dave

[finescalerr]

Please listen to Ferd about Epson's being the industry standard. My recommendations for people on this forum whose needs are not for all-out professional photo output would be (on the upper end) the Epson R1900 photo printer. It's a "semi-pro" printer. I own one. It is an excellent combination of true photo quality at a reasonable price. If you need a general purpose color printer for the family and yourself, then maybe consider the top Epson office printer for a few hundred bucks less. (The R1900 is not good for black-and-white output. It is strictly a color printer.)

HP and Canon make some excellent color printers. Most professional photographers still prefer Epson because of durability and color accuracy. I checked them all out a couple of years ago when I decided on the R1900. My father, who runs a lot more photos through his printer than I do, really put his Epsons to the test; they are extremely durable and long lasting. My old Epson 800, after years of use, was in virtually new condition and I couldn't bring myself to dump it so I gave it to my cousin.

Paper Creek used three Epson top of the line office printers to crank out all their products. They ran for hours each day.

Professionals don't have time to mess with minor issues; their gear has to work right the first time and forever. You should think about that ....

Russ

[marc_reusser]

I will agree with the comments about the Epson inks and printing quality....Hower...I strongly disagree with the equipment/mechanical quality...at least with the large format printer....I bought one for use in the office to print reduced size check sets and 11x17 client presentations and drawings.......after 4 months it was useless...the print head system no longer budged. Epson told me there was nothing they could do about it (I did not buy the extended warranty at the office-despot)....and not to badmouth Epson...a large format Cannon I had also failed in 6 mo.  ...however....all my HP machines have worked flawlessly for several years until they are just run into the ground....and cost me less for the unit.  Mind you...I am not hard on my equipment...I am actually pretty anal about it.
I would consider buying a new Epson if the cost was more reasonable compared to my experience with their lack of longevity, and support.

If you plan to print a lot, you definitely should also take into account the cost of the consumables (IE the replacement ink cartridges), over the expected life of the printer.

Not to rain on the Epson parade...just a note and my two cents worth.

M

[78ths]

I cannot speak about the consumer epsons  as I have only bought the pro models, sadly I also have only bought ink for the 2200 and the 7900. A full set of ink for the 7900 is 1759$ (350 ml) and the biggest tanks run  2869$ (700ml) for the ink. Now that is a hard pill to swollow. And that is in canadian dollars, even more in US $ 

http://vistek.ca/store/ProPhotoPrinterInk/241075/epson-sp-7900-9900-color-ink-set-11-carts-700ml.aspx

[SandiaPaul]

Thanks for the ideas....OK so it seems like the Epson is the way to go, now to pick which one.

Paul

[darrylhuffman]

Paul,

I would go with the cheapest as you are not really interested in making a living with your printer like some of us are.

[finescalerr]

At the home office/consumer level, here's a very good one for $85.00: http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/Product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&sku=C11C617121.

At the most basic pro photo level, this is what I use ($300): http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/Product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&sku=C11C698201.

The big difference is the inks they use. The R1900 is the least expensive printer to use their highest quality photo inks. But, for the use you have in mind, that may be unnecessary.

Russ

[John McGuyer]

I hear all of this about Epson printers yet I have an Epson CX6000. It could very well be the worst piece of junk I have ever purchased for any purpose. It's printing is barely recognizable and takes forever. It eats ink like a T-rex eats meat. I've tried everything including having a service rep try to make it work. I would take it to the skeet range except I had to sell my shotgun.

John