PCA Forums

looking for an inkjet, needs to be good with photos

text i dont care as much about because my dad has a laser, but the printer wont work over the network, so its annoying to have to move everything to his comp and then print it.

so far, i have the following pros and cons

Epson
pros
- best photo quality, no dithering at all
- new model (C80) has separate cartridges
- new durabright ink is freaking awesome
cons
- no built in printhead, so when that goes...might as well buy a new printer
- cartridges are chipped, so they can't be refilled

HP
pro
- they are tanks, print heads are built into cartridges, so they practically last forever
- cartridges are refillable
cons
- photos arent that great
- cartridges are expensive when u have to replace them

any opinions? which model specifically? also, hows refills, i hear the ink isnt as good

thanks

Epson sucks... get HP or Lexmark...
if you didn't want color... I'd suggest Lexmark's latest sub-$200 laser printers

Oh yeah... what OS is running on your network?
If it's win98 or higher, you should be able to share your printer using peer-to-peer network setup.

XP on both of them

network is messed though, it works but the system hangs whenever either one of us tries to browse the other person's files

I have HP 940c plugged into USB and shared on a network with 3 computers using XP.
Setup was a nightmare....but now it is working good.
New drivers on HP.com .... drivers on disc didnt work with XP.
Once I got the thing installed it works like a charm and I am impressed with quality.

try setting your NIC's in the network to 1/2 duplex and see if that fixes the browsing problems...
btw... are you using a hub, switch, or router to connect the network together?

none of the above, just 2 NIC's and a cross over cable

my dad doesnt believe in routers...he didnt believe in my MS intellimouse explorer mouse either, but now he's bitching that its broken and he's gotta use an old PS/2 scroll

"its so much heavier"
"its not as smooth"
"i want those buttons"
"this isnt as comfortable, my wrists are hurting"

well.. for the MS explorer, there's an 800# u can dial to get a free replacement if it's under warranty... do a search in the forums and u should find it...

as for the network... i think it's time to invest in a couple of cat5 cables and a $40 switch

Epson does not suck! Epson photo prints are far better than anything hp puts out.

I've been using Epson printers for the last 7-8 years and all have worked great. But the bad thing now is they are doing like lexmark and making you buy their print cartridges by using a chip on the newer printer cartridges. as you know. You can buy generic ones but they are still higher.

If you can find an older Epson like the 880 then I'd suggest that. Or I think the 750 which is the last photo printer not using chips on the cartridge. I have the Epson photo 700 and the photos it prints out still beats anything I've seen from any HP printers. Text isn't the best but my main print jobs are photos so this does me very well. Plus I can get color cartridges for under $5 and b&w for $2 that work just fine.

However if you can't find an Epson not using the chips then maybe an HP is your best bet.

I recommend HP, best printer I've ever owned. I hear they have the least amount of warranty work done on them as well...

is there a real advantage between a photo series from epson and just a regular epson printer?

i checked out some samples @ staples today, and the quality from HP on photos is terrible

i am kinda leaning towards a C80 cuz my dad says he might need to use it for some flyers, but that one is chipped. I am also considering a photo 820

My dad has a really sweet HP ScanJet. Prints pictures out on photo paper so crisp and clear.

the HP printouts i saw @ staples were...bleck

they had one from a 990 on HP glossy, terrible

one from the portable photosmart 100 on HP glossy, even worse

looked at the epson c80 print outs, and they messed up the glossy one cuz the non glossy looked ALOT better and the tones in the glossy were all off

also, hows the durability of epson printers? like, how would before the printhead dies and how much is it to replace them

I have LOTS of experience in this area.

I have owned the following:

HP1315
Epson 785EPX
Cannon S800

Of the three, and the only one I still have is the Cannon. The pictures and color vibrancy is just amazing, plus the cost per ink cart is the lowest.

The epson had the best photos of the bunch, but is notorious for clogs in the print head, and the price for ink carts is crazy.

The HP fell far behind both the Cannon and Epson in actual real world photos, wouldnt even consider until they start using 6 color inks.

My DiMage 7 digi cam and the Cannon team up as if they were made for each other, even though the 785EPX has PIM (Print Image Matching) and is supposed to make the MOST correct pictures, it fell way short IMHO.

Anyhow, there you have it

Good luck with your purchase and let us know what you've decided, and thoughts.

Morphius

The epson photo printers are 6 color while the regular ones are 4 color. It does make a difference with photo's.

If you don't use an epson for weeks then the print head may get clogged. Then you run their print head cleaning cycle and that can take 10-20 times if the printer has been sitting for a long time. Bad thing is that uses up ink. If you print weekly it should be no problem. Never had print head problems yet with my several year old epson 700.

But again, the newer epsons really do suck imo because of the dam chip they include. Plus the replacement cartridges are higher and that's the whole idea. I never pay more that $5 and they work great. Like I said, see if you can find an earlier epson model not using the chip. If not then I'd suggest an hp.

I rarely hear anything good about cannon printers but if Dave says his is good then it is.

the canon looks pretty sweet, but its out of my budget

i wanna spend as little as possible

so many contradicting reviews...ahh, my head's gonna explode...