Photo quality printer

[2slo]

I'm wondering whether it's worth buying a new good quality printer to print photographs. Other than the convenience factor, is it worth doing this or is it more cost effective to use an internet photo print company?
I print about 500 6x4s and about 50 A4s per year.
What do you recommend in both cases (printer and print company)
Thanks.

[MartinP]

I don't bother with a printer as it's so expensive for paper and ink and it's just another colour calibration step to have to worry about. For general good quality prints I'd recommend Photobox (a lot of others on here use them too). They're around 10p per 6x4 and I think about a pound for an A4 print. Compare that with the cost of decent printer paper and OEM ink and you'll struggle to come anywhere close to that price.

[2slo]

Thanks, I'll look them up.

[LongQ]

What MartinP says is quite right.

Inkjet printer quality can be excellent but paper and espeially ink costs can be very high . Using 'compatible' inks could make a big difference to costs it you are prepared to take that route. Likewise if you are not very fussed about using name brinf papers there are some excellent paper products around that go some way to making things more cost effective. However printing is something of a black art still it you want really good colour matching. If such matching is important but not utterly critical life can be easier all round since almost anything modern will give reasanable output most of the tuime

Printers tend to want to run cleaning cycles a lot especially with only light use. Typically that uses ink for no purpose at all. Running a batch seems to be much more cost effective. So far as I know this is much the same for both dye and pigment based print systems these days

On the other hand if you want to get into the technical aspects of printing - even just for a fuller understanding of how to get the best results from third party's print device - having something half decent to play with may make sense. And yes you do get the convenience of instant output.

My wife, on the other hand, insists on going to Boots ...

I bought a manufacturer refurb on eBay for about the same price as a set of replacement inks. I often think it might be cheaper to buy a new printer than to buy replacement inks. There are, of course, sources supplying original manufacturer inks at discounted prices compared to RRP but even so it's not cheap to print your own photos compared to using a bulk print service.

[2slo]

Thanks