Non A3 size printers

[LongQ]

I have been following the recent threads about the relative merits of Epson and Canon A3 printers and it seems that you can't go too far wrong these days with top of the range models from either company.

But what about their smaller models?

I don't see myself needing an A3 printer often and I don't have the space for one at the moment. So what are the compromises if one drops down the range into the A4 size machines?

Does anyone have an experiences or observations? Direct comparisons between models in the manufacturer's range and for the competitive models across manufacturers would be useful if anyone has any.

[pmanson]

My Dad's just brought a HP P8150 for £90 and the results are very impressive!

[simpo two]

pmanson said:

My Dad's just brought a HP P8150 for £90 and the results are very impressive!

Yep, but watch out for cartridge costs. HP carts have integral print heads - alternatives are scarce and from my experience refills are unreliable.

[pmanson]

simpo two said:

pmanson said: My Dad's just brought a HP P8150 for £90 and the results are very impressive! Yep, but watch out for cartridge costs. HP carts have integral print heads - alternatives are scarce and from my experience refills are unreliable.

Strange I always found HP's cartridges to be cheaper than others (Still not CHEAP though!)

[GetCarter]

Yo

Just buy the latest Epson A4 photo - you won't regret it. I think this is the latest: www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001D0LM8/qid=1126211819/sr=2-3/ref=sr_2_3_3/026-3419472-6636416 -

Then www.MX2.co.uk sell the cartridges and paper (semi gloss rocks) at about half price

Steve

[406]

I have an R800 that I want to get rid of. 6 months old

[LongQ]

406 said:

I have an R800 that I want to get rid of. 6 months old

Any particular reason for disposal?

[406]

LongQ said:

406 said: I have an R800 that I want to get rid of. 6 months old Any particular reason for disposal?

Selling the house and getting a motorhome to tour Europe and met up with V6GTO in Spain for a beer and a game of golf or 2.

Dave

[LongQ]

406 said:

Selling the house and getting a motorhome to tour Europe and met up with V6GTO in Spain for a beer and a game of golf or 2. Dave

Ah, dreams of travelling. Parents of a friend of mine have been doing that for years, though only in the winter and I don;t think they know V6GTO ! . I think they may have given up now though - age and wearing out the Winnie seem to be factors.

They kept their UK home though.

So, how are you going to print your pics when on the road .... hmm, guess you won't need to.

Have you run the R800 for black and white prints and, if so, what did you think of the results?

[406]

I have a small HP 6x4 printer with pict bridge for on the road and a laptop I have never done B&W prints with it, defeats the object of having a colour printer

[LongQ]

406 said:

I have a small HP 6x4 printer with pict bridge for on the road and a laptop I have never done B&W prints with it, defeats the object of having a colour printer

So how else do we get a display print for those colour desaturated shots that are so popular?

Remarkable fact. I have just been checking the prices and, amazingly, PCWorld are offering the lowest price I can find! Has the world ended?

[406]

Monochrome printers?

[LongQ]

406 said:

Monochrome printers?

Ah, but then you still have to deal with the bits of colour that remain ...

Must confess I have not noticed any monochrome grey scale printers for home use. Mrs. LQ was provided with an B&W copy of an old photo of a family group a few weeks ago and wanted some duplicates. So I banged it through the scanner to copy and produced a few prints A4 size in various shades of grey. Sadly none were the same as the 'original' and so were rejected for being slightly cooler, warmer or not so black on the blacks.

Mind you both my scanner and printer are ancient technology by current standards. Hence the interest expressed in more recent products.

[LongQ]

simpo two said:

pmanson said: My Dad's just brought a HP P8150 for £90 and the results are very impressive! Yep, but watch out for cartridge costs. HP carts have integral print heads - alternatives are scarce and from my experience refills are unreliable.

Currently have an elderly HP printer and ink costs are highish. Alternative suppliers are better priced but not by much overall, if I buy cartridges when they are on promotions. That said my backup Epson has lower cartridge prices but they are lower capacity and the ink gets used rather quickly per page it seems. Cheaper to change the printer than to buy the ink! (Almost!)

But both of those have 3 ink colour cartridges which will never be very economic in my opinion.

The basic decision seems to be between Epson (great looking prints and 75 year ink life) vs Canon (Great prints, quiet operaton and faster, but 25 year ink life).

Does ink life bother me I wonder? Probably not.

[406]

The R800 has 8 carts

[football_taxi]

I have an Epson R300,they are under £80 now and I buy my inks from ebay for well under £1 a cartridge.It also has a built in multi-format card reader.Im really pleased with the results.

[LongQ]

406 said:

The R800 has 8 carts

Yes, somewhat most cost effective I assume, but do you buy the genuine Espon inks to replenish, at about £12 each I believe, or alternatives for somewhat less?

I suppose the great unknown is how long the alternatives last before the pigment fades - and of course how important that is for the purpose of the print.

There are some interesting reviews here.

www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/printers_page.htm

[GetCarter]

I use my epson colour photo printer to print B&W - easilly done and provided you are using Epson photo paper the results are stunning.

I would suggest you stick to Epson ink as the prints will last many years.

Mrs Get does however use tesco ink for everyday printing and apart from a nasty message warning you that it's a crap idea using anything other than Epson (they would say that wouldn't they), they seem to work fine.