Best Photo Printer Under $1000
discman -- Sun, 06/08/2008 - 09:26
What is the current thinking on this subject? I know Epson has some cool new high-gamut inks (K3?) but I think they make you switch between Matte and Glossy blacks? Does HP or Canon have a recent and superior model (everything I've seen looks 1-2 years old)?
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I'm sure you have already got a printer by now, but my choice for under $1k would be the Epson R1900 or Epson R2880. The 2880 would be better for lots of black and white printing, or thick media. Can't remember if you have to change out blacks manually in it. The 1900 would do great for mostly color. Hope this helps, Chuck.
Actually, I still haven't pulled the trigger. How easy is the Epson software to use (drivers etc)?
Just to confuse you more...I've been VERY happy with the HP BP9180 for more than a year now after having nothing but trouble with Epson printers. The Epsons had constant nozzle clogging issues and even when they did work the color wasn't WYSIWYG with a calibrated monitor. The pizza wheel marks on large prints also has a headache.
The HP uses archival inks. THe inks are expensive and it goes through them with alacrity. BUt the prints are superb. I can also go from color to B&W without having to change anything out. I regularly use it for 19 x 13 prints.
While it may be long of tooth by printer life-cycle standards according to the person talked with at CES, HP has no plans of replacing the 9180 any time soon.
Steven Stone
Contributor to The Absolute Sound, EnjoytheMusic.com, Vintage Guitar Magazine, and other fine publications
Yeah, printers seem to have lifecycles like cars, not like computers. Thanks.
I read an LFI (Leica) comparison last night. They liked the B9180 best too.
I've had the Epson Stylus Pro 3800 for over a year and use it very irregularly, but it's never clogged (fingers crossed). I may print something once a month (often a 19" print or two, but sometimes only a single 4x6), which I consider remarkable. I had an earlier Epson (Stylus Photo 2700) that was a pain in terms of both the driver and clogging, but this machine has good software, beautiful color with sufficiently large ink tanks (and built-in two shades of black), archival K3 inks. Very nice printer.