New Photo Printer required - which is best?

[Paul Golfer]

Hi,

Well, after leaving my post on about my i965 and its flashing green light and not really getting any feedback I guess I have an uncommon problem with it - or all the Canon experts are on holiday!

As I can't fix it easily I guess the time has come to ask all of you which photo printer out there is currently the best. At this point I should mention that I only require this to be a colour photo printer ( I usually only print out on Fuji Premium Glossy, mostly 6" x 4" and the occasional 10" x 8").

I was very happy with the print quality of the Canon i965 but am willing to listen to any recommendations. Cost of ownership i.e. ink usage and ease of replacing with good quality replacement cartridges is a consideration, although I don't print so many that I would be worried about refilling cartridges myself.

So I look forward to hearing your suggestions. I live in the UK so a UK or European model number would be appreciated.

Thanks for reading

Paul

 

[pharmacist]

Paul,

I would go for the Canon IP4500, marvellous quality and very easy to refill. Go and hurry, since Canon is going to outphase this printer in order to sell you those greedy Canon CLI-521/PGI-520 cartridges: less bang for the same bucks.....

 

[Smile]

Well go for Canon IP4500, since your printer had light cyan and light magenta cartridges this will be lower quality but canon no longer makes IP6700D so you have no choice here

 

[mikling]

If you want the best dye based printer and the key word is that it is strictly for photos, then there's no question that perhaps the Canon Pro 9000 should be a very serious candidate. Extremely wide gamut clinches the deal here.

If you've become a more serious photographer and occasionally want to print with pigment inks for permanent prints then a current Epson 6 color printer could be considered. You can print with dye most of the time and have a spare set of cartridges with pigment inks to swap over when the need arises. The models that qualify here are the R260, R280,R380, RX580, RX595, R1400.

I'd say that the Epson 6 color and the previous Canon 6 color are possibly equals right now. The Pro 9000 though has wider gamut for more realistic colors if you utilize the better range.

Of course many photographers also consider going to a wider carriage printer when they repurchase a printer for larger prints. Here, the champ of versatility is the Epson R1400. Wide carriage, and can utilize dye and pigment inks ( though not officially by Epson) but I've been doing it for months now.
the R1400 is also very reasonably priced as well. As for clogging issues, time has moved on and so should opinions I think it is not an issue any longer for most photographers wanting to print . I left three Epson unused for 8 weeks, Only one required one head cleaning to comeback up perfectly.

For some reason Canon has departed the world of 6 color printers, leaving you either a significantly lower performing 4 color 4500 or jumping all the way to the pro 9000. Also since it is striclty for photos then the pigment ink cartridge in the 4500 is really of no use.

Oh,....there is one model that is still being liquidated by Canon and that is the MP970. A master of all trades. Does text quickly as well as having 6 photo colors. Grab them while you can.

Though controversial, I'm finding that a properly profiled older printer can easily produce better output than a newer printer with mismatched ink/paper combinations. This certainly could raise the question of why not look for a used printer with low miles? and take the time to tweak it?
Even the old spec of picoliter droplet size is meaningless now as long as the droplets are perhaps no bigger than say 4 or 5 pl. Getting smaller, yields imperceptible differences on real photos.

 

[Paul Golfer]

Many thanks for the replies so far gents, currently looking at the options you have suggested.

Paul

 

[dantheman]

Mikling,

My local Fry has a deal on the MP970 last couple week for $100 after $100 rebate. Are you recommending this printer? I may just buy this for back up just in case my MP610 die on me. The good thing is that it uses the same CD trey as the MP 610.


I only use it for picture printing and a lot of cd/dvd printing Is it better than the MP610?

Thanks,

 

[jflan]

For some reason Canon has departed the world of 6 color printers, leaving you either a significantly lower performing 4 color 4500 or jumping all the way to the pro 9000. Also since it is striclty for photos then the pigment ink cartridge in the 4500 is really of no use.

I wouldn't sell the iP4500 this short, in fact most all reviews of this printer declare it best in class and way ahead of its rivals.
For direct-disc printing it has no rivals except perhaps its own stable mates.
Also, note that it is a 5 tank system.

 

[lolopr1]

Also, note that it is a 5 tank system.

Maybe 5 tanks but still a 4 color printer.

 

[mikling]

I qualified the printer by checking carefully the user's needs which appeared strictly for photos. The 5th pigment tank in the 4500 is of no use whatever in this application (photos) and if anything is a burden by helping to fill up the ink pad quickly with pigment ink. More of this ink is also extracted during each clean cycle and thus contributes to totally wasted ink.

There is no doubt whatsoever that the 4500 is an extremely versatile printer suitable for possibly the majority of users. However while labeled as a photo printer by Canon, it's purpose is more text and good photos. This is contrasted by pure photo printers that are terrible at printing text quickly but are designed for photos. The MP970 bridges those tasks nicely. It is a well constructed, and prints text quickly and possesses a reasonably high quality scanner at the same time. The difference between the 4500 ( and 5 tank AIOs) and the 970 is that the 4500 is targeted at "general" users with occasional photos. The 970 for photographers who also want text capability as well. The reasonable prices for the MP970 now is only because they probably are being discontinued. Otherwise they were pricey machines before.

The question is then, can 4 colors do the trick? Yes it can depending on the results you want and how picky you are. Remember even the least expensive printer sold in the discount store is capable of producing a good photo. So in the end it depends on the level of results desired results the money one is willing to part with as I haven't even mentioned the pricier printers such as the R1900, HP B9180 or the R2880 and the Pro9500 all of which offer superb output.

 

[jflan]

I qualified the printer by checking carefully the user's needs which appeared strictly for photos. The 5th pigment tank in the 4500 is of no use whatever in this application (photos) and if anything is a burden by helping to fill up the ink pad quickly with pigment ink. More of this ink is also extracted during each clean cycle and thus contributes to totally wasted ink.

OK, but note that the manual cleaning cycles are selectable in these groups :
All tanks
Black pigment
Dye-based array

If non-selectable cleaning cycles were a concern, one could use a dye-based black refill in place of pigment black.