OT - Colour printers
Discussion
Can anyone recommend a colour printer that doesn't cost a bomb and can produce acceptable (subjective I know) prints of shots that have been captured from a 1 megapixel digital video camera. I know that at that resolution 6x4 is likely to be best I can hope for. Recommendations for paper type useful too.
Cirks
Cirks
i have had problems with epson printers in the past with them being noisy and expensive to run. as the printer i owned had its heads replaced every year as the quality of the printing was going downhill with every page printed.
I have currently got a HP deskjet while still expensive if you buy the HP ink it offers good quality prints on 6" x 4" Photo Paper (Glossy and Matt) and its a hell of a lot quieter..
My personal prefrence would be the HP for durability and the Epson for exellent quality colour pics.
I have currently got a HP deskjet while still expensive if you buy the HP ink it offers good quality prints on 6" x 4" Photo Paper (Glossy and Matt) and its a hell of a lot quieter..
My personal prefrence would be the HP for durability and the Epson for exellent quality colour pics.
HP Photojet P1XXX range of printers are really great price/performance wise. However...
In case some are not aware, the graphics card (believe it or not) tends to influence how good your printed material comes out on color printers in Windows. So don't stick to 256 colors and expect photo quality printing...
(Of course, everyone on PH probably already knew that
)
ErnestM
In case some are not aware, the graphics card (believe it or not) tends to influence how good your printed material comes out on color printers in Windows. So don't stick to 256 colors and expect photo quality printing...
(Of course, everyone on PH probably already knew that
) ErnestM
something else to consider, the comment about epsons having slightly better photoquality is true (on a price like for like basis) however the HP will probably have better text printing and paper handling. If you are just printing the odd photo go for an epson, if you are printing quite a bit of text I'd say an HP might be a better bet.
I'd agree that most colour inkjets above the discount bin price will give you good results (PC Magazine did a test of these things not that long ago) but the thing to look at is running costs. Printer vendors use the mobile phone model: sell 'em cheap but rack up the profit on the consumables. A full-colour A4 print can cost a huge amount in ink alone, never mind the special non-absorbent (ie, stays flat not crinkly) inkjet paper.
So if you're going to do a lot of colour printing, it might even be cheaper in the long run to buy a colour laser.
So if you're going to do a lot of colour printing, it might even be cheaper in the long run to buy a colour laser.
I have had an HP Deskjet 820CXi (one of the 990's predecessors!!) for a number of years. It has been a great workhorse for printing letters to A4 sized photos (which when in a frame under glass, from a reasonable distance) look just as good as the real thing. The only downside to colour ink/bubblejets is the cost of replacement ink cartridges.
PS The ones that come with any new printer are never fully charged so don't expect them to last too long! The replacements available at most computer/highstreet electrical/office suppliers/supermarkets may seem expensive but will last considerably longer than those supplied with your printer.
PS The ones that come with any new printer are never fully charged so don't expect them to last too long! The replacements available at most computer/highstreet electrical/office suppliers/supermarkets may seem expensive but will last considerably longer than those supplied with your printer.
Epson photo stylus 750. Don't make them any more but whatever superceded it must be good. Only use it to its full on occasion so not so expensive on consumables. E-Mail most of my photo's to the relatives and let them print out. As for photo glossy paper I have had the same results with el-cheapo and Epson dick turpin type.
quote:
HP Photojet P1XXX range of printers are really great price/performance wise. However...
In case some are not aware, the graphics card (believe it or not) tends to influence how good your printed material comes out on color printers in Windows. So don't stick to 256 colors and expect photo quality printing...
Hows that then? I am not saying you're wrong, it just seems unlikely
You'll need at least 1440 dpi resolution on the printer to get photo quality, and 5 colour inks. Using photo quality glossy paper does make for the best pictures, but it is expensive and you can burn through ink.
To get good quality you shouldn't try to print at lower than 300 pixels per inch, or the edges in the pictures will look jaggy. Saying that it's often not all that noticeable until you drop below 200 or so.
That means that if a 1 megapixel digital camera takes a shot of say 750 pixels x 1500 pixels, you should in theory only try to print at a maximum size of 2.5" x 5", The further you push it beyond that the more the picture quality will deteriorate. Of course it depends what you want to use them for.
I use an Epson Photo Sylus EX, it's execllent but slow, takes about 15 minutes to print a top quality A4 (~8x12 inch) picture, and if I want to do A3 I set it up in the evening and get the pic the next morning. Newer models are probably a bit faster.
>> Edited by JohnL on Thursday 23 May 21:26
To get good quality you shouldn't try to print at lower than 300 pixels per inch, or the edges in the pictures will look jaggy. Saying that it's often not all that noticeable until you drop below 200 or so.
That means that if a 1 megapixel digital camera takes a shot of say 750 pixels x 1500 pixels, you should in theory only try to print at a maximum size of 2.5" x 5", The further you push it beyond that the more the picture quality will deteriorate. Of course it depends what you want to use them for.
I use an Epson Photo Sylus EX, it's execllent but slow, takes about 15 minutes to print a top quality A4 (~8x12 inch) picture, and if I want to do A3 I set it up in the evening and get the pic the next morning. Newer models are probably a bit faster.
>> Edited by JohnL on Thursday 23 May 21:26
Thanks for the recommendations. Checking out the reviews of some of the models you mention seem to back up your comments. Interestingly, the HP 940c seems to come out pretty well against its more expensive stable mates (ie the 990CXi). At the moment, I'm looking for a printer for my parents to use so they can print piccies of my daughter that I send them and the sub £100 cost of the 940c is what they are looking for. Since I need to upgrade at home too I may consider the more expensive models if they prove to be that much better than the cheaper ones.
Thanks again.
Thanks again.
quote:
....and update your camera, you Neanderthal!
Should I upgrade my ZX81 that's being used for the downloading too
Like everything else to do with bl**dy technology the camera is out of date after only a couple of years. It was one of the better JVCs (can't remember the model number) and since it has recently been rebuilt by JVC free of charge 8 months outside the warranty period I think I'll stick with it for the moment! Pretty good service really bearing in mind that the video was bought in Singapore and the UK HQ paid for it all.
bought some new Cartridges for my epson660 today, 2 blacks and a colour for £14.99 in total !!, hardly worth the mess of re-filling at that price . the shop is in Peterborough and they put the wrong black carts. in the bag by mistake , but delivered me the right ones a couple of hours later to save me the 30 mile round trip , good friendly service I recon, they also do mail order at www.cartridgeplus.eu.com give em a try they deserve to succeed
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