My Next Printer

[Seven]

Ok so I am thinking of buying a printer again soon as my old one doesn't work.

I used to have a inkject epson 4 tank which with epson paper printed good quality prints that I was happy with.

Now I am wondering what I could buy now eg laser or still get inkjet. The wife loves going to harvey norman, but I am wondering is there a good option for home use that doesn't break the bank and still allow good prints with out chewing thru ink for only a handful of prints.

Would be interested in what people are finding and what is a good buy. Remember I am only really doing 6x4's and a few larger ones.

[MarkW]

forget laser - good for office work ie reports and documents - crap for photography

Inkjet is the only type. You need to pick between short or long longevity of the print first before deciding on what printer model:

Short term - dye based inks
Less than 10 years in an album (5 years on a wall inside out of direct sun light)
Has the best colour reproduction available.

Long term - pigment based inks
Accelerated tested to give 70 to 100 years in an album (estimated at 30 years on a wall out of direct sunlight).
Not as good as ink based but can be equal or better than commercial "mini lab" type prints you would normally get from K-Mart, Hardly Normal, etc.

Once you know how long you want the print to last, then pick the suitable Epson printer to give you this. Epson are the best I have ever found - far surpass HP and Canon for print quality.

Something you should also look into is the ease of getting replacement cartridges - you cant generally purchase high end printer inks from outlets like officeworks, dick smiths etc.

I use an Epson R1900 which comes with pigment based inks but I also have an aftermarket ink tank kit which runs dye based inks. The pigments are worth about $25 per tank and it has 8 tanks. The gloss cartridge goes pretty quick. At least you dont have to replace all the colours in one go (single colour tank).

[ShaneB]

Gidday

I have an Epson R800. Not the cheapest, but prints will last 100 years - and they look great.

Regards

[Seven]

I'm glad to here epson is still a winner and is the paper for epson still the best to use

[MarkW]

I'm glad to here epson is still a winner and is the paper for epson still the best to use

Ive tried all the papers available at the local officeworks and the Epson Ultra Glossy and Premium Glossy is by far the best (and most expensive) I've ever used. The whitest, glossiest
and heaviest paper.

If I'm doing Christmas Cards or something that really doesn't matter all that much then I use Kodak Premium glossy photo paper as you can get it from Woolies and its pretty cheap. I'd never hang a Kodak print on my walls.

[Seven]

Ive tried all the papers available at the local officeworks and the Epson Ultra Glossy and Premium Glossy is by far the best (and most expensive) I've ever used. The whitest, glossiest
and heaviest paper.

If I'm doing Christmas Cards or something that really doesn't matter all that much then I use Kodak Premium glossy photo paper as you can get it from Woolies and its pretty cheap. I'd never hang a Kodak print on my walls.

Yep nothing has really changed in 3 years then as the prem glossy was by far the best with colour etc. Oh well back to getting another epson I think

[ShaneB]

I'm glad to here epson is still a winner and is the paper for epson still the best to use

Yeah. The constant message from Wilhelm Research is that genuine papers and inks work best - regardless of brand.

Unless there's no need to worry about qaulity/lasting qualities, the the good stuff is the only way to go.

Regards