Help choosing a photo printer

[r3n4ud]

Hi all. I'm looking at picking up a photo printer mainly for printing dvd covers and the odd photo. Printing text is not a bother since I have a seperate printer for that. I've narrowed down the choice to two printers: Canon ip4200 and Espon r320. I read many reviews from different sites and both seem to be good printers with the Epson being more slightly expensive but able to print to dvd's as the advantage.

Just wondering if anyone has any experience with either of these printers and want to give their opinion. I know visiting an electronics store to check out print samples would help, but thought I'd ask for your opinions as well. Also, if you have any suggestions as to other good photo printers in the price range of the two I listed, that'd be great as well.

[JerryB]

Hi all. I'm looking at picking up a photo printer mainly for printing dvd covers and the odd photo. Printing text is not a bother since I have a seperate printer for that. I've narrowed down the choice to two printers: Canon ip4200 and Espon r320. I read many reviews from different sites and both seem to be good printers with the Epson being more slightly expensive but able to print to dvd's as the advantage.

Just wondering if anyone has any experience with either of these printers and want to give their opinion. I know visiting an electronics store to check out print samples would help, but thought I'd ask for your opinions as well. Also, if you have any suggestions as to other good photo printers in the price range of the two I listed, that'd be great as well.

hi,
all printer have there drawback and + and -'s ......
epson.... at least up t about year ago they problems with there ink.. when idle for severa days the ink would have a tendency to settle and then clogg the inkjets... I don't if epson has gotten around to fixing that problem with there inks....

cannon.... frineds always had problems with paper jamming especial if it uses partial grapvity feed...... also I always thught.. even thugh individual color it seems there prices were really expensive on the cartridge...!

hp... over all pretty good and reliable and I like the idea you buy a cartridge andyou get a new set of inkjets... although the last coupleof years the ink gotten a little more expensive..ie , you pay the same price but they made the cartridge alittle smaller.... sneaky!!!

never like lexmark
well those are my thoughts...

[Eyedoctor2]

I love my Canon Pixma 4000. Great output in text or color.

You will also definitely want to go to this link:

http://pixma.webpal.info/IP4200/

if you decide to go with the Canon IP4200.

I did it on my 4000 and it works like a charm.

[r3n4ud]

Thanks for the info guys! I really appreciate it.

I decided to buy a Canon ip4200 since it was on sale. If I don't like the quality of its printouts, I can always return it for another printer. Also will test out printing on the Canon. Neat little trick!

[overloaded_ide]

You made a wise choice.
Canon is one of the best. I have and have had many printers so I am not blowing smoke.

My I850 lasted years where I fried Several HPs a Xerox, etc.. evey couple months till I bought the I850. Only early this year did the print head fail, I had 2 I850s so I swapped the head from the second and it still prints great. Like I said, I was burning out other brands fast and I do alot of printing!!!!
Once I got the I850 and liked it I bought the spare I never needed. It NEVER EVER even once had a paper jam in several years!!!

I have the Epson R200, it's ok. Quality is great but too expensive to operate. Epson inks cost too much, you need after market ink but then the cartriges aren't refillable so you have to buy ones that are etc... It all adds up to more than the cost of the printer!!! The I850 is an easy to refill cartrig, after years of use and many many refills I am STILL using the original cartriges that came with the I850, only need to buy ink which is cheap! Almost the same tank in the IP4200, refill the same way but it has a chip you need to ignore.

I have the IP4200 canon also. It is fairly new. I actaully bought 2 of them, 1 is in the box never opened. Like I said, I do ALOT of printing and I simply cannot take chances of a printer going down, rural area here, I have to ship in everything, so printers and computers I keep spares ready in case one breaks.

So far the IP4200 is working great. I did the disk mods and made a cheap cardboard disk caddy. I like the printed disks as well or better than on the Epson R200. The quality is great. Refilling ink tanks will be easy so printing is cheap! It does have chips on the tanks, but when you refill you can turn off the monitor system when it says out of ink and just keep printing. You will need to LOOK at your cartirges at times to make sure you don't run them dry.
As far as paper handling, it's one of the best so far. It has the top feed and a cassete below. Load normal paper in the top and card stock in the bottom as I do and you don't have to swap stuff everytime you print.
The duplex printing is the best thing for me and why I really bough them. NO other 1 sided printer ever prints books without errors from sticky paper when you print one side and flip it over to print the other for like a 50 page book. The IP4200 prints one side, then feeds the paper back in and prints the other side, then prints side one of the next sheet etc.. Printing this way there is no change of sticky paper feeding 2-3 sheets at once. Now I can print all those 50-100page manuals and books perfect I needed to print for years. I think the metal plating manaul I bought was like 150pages and I never did get a correct copy of that printed.

Also HP was the VERY worse at jambing up or feeding 2-3 sheets at once when trying to print books! Xerox was better but not good, Canon was the best but also not perfect. Other printers jamed and were a major pain when they fed 2-3 sheet of paper at once, at least the Canon only fed 2 sheets and did not jam at all. It was a problem with sticky paper from printing the first side that caused more than one sheet to feed, but still it screws up the book with mismatched pages. Of all the printers I used for book printing the Canon I850 was the best even though not perfect.

cannon.... frineds always had problems with paper jamming especial if it uses partial grapvity feed...... also I always thught.. even thugh individual color it seems there prices were really expensive on the cartridge...!

hp... over all pretty good and reliable and I like the idea you buy a cartridge andyou get a new set of inkjets... although the last coupleof years the ink gotten a little more expensive..ie , you pay the same price but they made the cartridge alittle smaller.... sneaky!!!

Your way off base on that. Not being insulting to you but for other people who may read this thread I reply to what you said and add extra comnents based on first hand experience.

First maybe $8 per cartrig X's 3 is only $24 compared to a HP 3 color cartrig at $35!! How could that be expensive? Even if your paying $12 each for the canon colors it's the same price. Then figure you throw away a ton of ink with the HP, if Yellow runs out you throw away all the Cyan and Magenta you had left which may be half full still. With seperate tanks you use all your inks so it is by far the cheapest way with any printer. I know I use about 2X sometimes 3X the yellow as I do Cyan or Magneta. For certain based on refiling knowlege of seperate tanks and color usage I can state that if I were replacing the singal 3 color tanks I would be throwing away 1/3 of the ink I bought with no question about it.

Canon has one of the most reliable top feeds I ever saw and as stated I have had and burned out a ton of printers. Only reason I used other brands like HP or Xerox for awhile was rural area I had to take what I could get, and no place local had Canon. Epson I only bought because of the disk printer and I had to go 150miles (each way) to get it! . I started buying online or actually traveling large distance to get Canon again!
Ink for the Canon is about the same or less than other brands, NO it is not more expensive if you plan to use OEM inks.

HP is CRAP, the ones I had were the worse for the paper jams, short warauntee, burned out in a few months. Constant errors when getting close to the burnout time. I think it was a 900 pay call also perhaps for out of warauntee tech calls when they quit working. Pretty sure that was HP! I know it was not Xerox, there support was great.
All in ONE color tanks mean you throw away alot of Cyan and magenta ink just because the Yellow ran out, talk about expensive!!!! Sure you get a new print head with each new cartrig, but you pay through the nose for that!!!! A Canon print head lasted me years of constant everyday printing with massive work loads far above what a normal user would have, Big deal if after a couple years the head died. It worked perfect unitll the printer would just not turn on because of a head error. Heck I may find a way to fix that still, if not I saved a sh*tload on inks and $45 for the new head would not be bad other than I can buy a new printer for a couple dollars more so why buy just a head?

If you REFILL an HP all in one tank, it is a pain but lowers the costs, it also PROVES their printheads do not need replaced with each cartrig and various marketing claims how it is good to do so is just crap!!! I refilled a few 4 or 5 times and never had printhead problems. Actually the printhead and cartrig will probably outlast the crappy printer if you keep refilling it.

All manufactorures try to push that crap of voiding a warauntee if you use after market inks.
FACT, the only part that can be hurt by bad ink is the printhead!! With HP all in one tank color cartriges with the built in print head there is nothing to worry about ruining, if you buy a new cartrig your tossing the old print head anyway so you realy have no reason to worry about ruining it, right!

When you figure a new head for the I850 is only $45 it's not alot to worry about either if you are saving $200 on inks. For me the savings are far more than that. At about $1 a tank to refill compared the the cost of OEM tanks $8-$12 each my savings add up to over $1,000 I am sure!
I do ALOT of printing!

Another good thing about a printer like the I850 or IP4200, the print head pops out easy to replace it. SO, if you wanted you could actaully have one head for OEM inks for those really important works you want perfect and last the 100years and a second head for printing normal stuff like disks and books/text with generic inks.

[ntscuser]

The Canon won't do Verbatim printables without leaving a white border as the printing area is oversize. There is a workaround but it's messy.

http://pixma.webpal.info/119mm/index.html

(kim)

[r3n4ud]

You made a wise choice.
Canon is one of the best. I have and have had many printers so I am not blowing smoke.

My I850 lasted years where I fried Several HPs a Xerox, etc.. evey couple months till I bought the I850. Only early this year did the print head fail, I had 2 I850s so I swapped the head from the second and it still prints great. Like I said, I was burning out other brands fast and I do alot of printing!!!!
Once I got the I850 and liked it I bought the spare I never needed. It NEVER EVER even once had a paper jam in several years!!!

I have the Epson R200, it's ok. Quality is great but too expensive to operate. Epson inks cost too much, you need after market ink but then the cartriges aren't refillable so you have to buy ones that are etc... It all adds up to more than the cost of the printer!!! The I850 is an easy to refill cartrig, after years of use and many many refills I am STILL using the original cartriges that came with the I850, only need to buy ink which is cheap! Almost the same tank in the IP4200, refill the same way but it has a chip you need to ignore.

I have the IP4200 canon also. It is fairly new. I actaully bought 2 of them, 1 is in the box never opened. Like I said, I do ALOT of printing and I simply cannot take chances of a printer going down, rural area here, I have to ship in everything, so printers and computers I keep spares ready in case one breaks.

So far the IP4200 is working great. I did the disk mods and made a cheap cardboard disk caddy. I like the printed disks as well or better than on the Epson R200. The quality is great. Refilling ink tanks will be easy so printing is cheap! It does have chips on the tanks, but when you refill you can turn off the monitor system when it says out of ink and just keep printing. You will need to LOOK at your cartirges at times to make sure you don't run them dry.
As far as paper handling, it's one of the best so far. It has the top feed and a cassete below. Load normal paper in the top and card stock in the bottom as I do and you don't have to swap stuff everytime you print.
The duplex printing is the best thing for me and why I really bough them. NO other 1 sided printer ever prints books without errors from sticky paper when you print one side and flip it over to print the other for like a 50 page book. The IP4200 prints one side, then feeds the paper back in and prints the other side, then prints side one of the next sheet etc.. Printing this way there is no change of sticky paper feeding 2-3 sheets at once. Now I can print all those 50-100page manuals and books perfect I needed to print for years. I think the metal plating manaul I bought was like 150pages and I never did get a correct copy of that printed.

Also HP was the VERY worse at jambing up or feeding 2-3 sheets at once when trying to print books! Xerox was better but not good, Canon was the best but also not perfect. Other printers jamed and were a major pain when they fed 2-3 sheet of paper at once, at least the Canon only fed 2 sheets and did not jam at all. It was a problem with sticky paper from printing the first side that caused more than one sheet to feed, but still it screws up the book with mismatched pages. Of all the printers I used for book printing the Canon I850 was the best even though not perfect.

cannon.... frineds always had problems with paper jamming especial if it uses partial grapvity feed...... also I always thught.. even thugh individual color it seems there prices were really expensive on the cartridge...!

hp... over all pretty good and reliable and I like the idea you buy a cartridge andyou get a new set of inkjets... although the last coupleof years the ink gotten a little more expensive..ie , you pay the same price but they made the cartridge alittle smaller.... sneaky!!!

Your way off base on that. Not being insulting to you but for other people who may read this thread I reply to what you said and add extra comnents based on first hand experience.

First maybe $8 per cartrig X's 3 is only $24 compared to a HP 3 color cartrig at $35!! How could that be expensive? Even if your paying $12 each for the canon colors it's the same price. Then figure you throw away a ton of ink with the HP, if Yellow runs out you throw away all the Cyan and Magenta you had left which may be half full still. With seperate tanks you use all your inks so it is by far the cheapest way with any printer. I know I use about 2X sometimes 3X the yellow as I do Cyan or Magneta. For certain based on refiling knowlege of seperate tanks and color usage I can state that if I were replacing the singal 3 color tanks I would be throwing away 1/3 of the ink I bought with no question about it.

Canon has one of the most reliable top feeds I ever saw and as stated I have had and burned out a ton of printers. Only reason I used other brands like HP or Xerox for awhile was rural area I had to take what I could get, and no place local had Canon. Epson I only bought because of the disk printer and I had to go 150miles (each way) to get it! . I started buying online or actually traveling large distance to get Canon again!
Ink for the Canon is about the same or less than other brands, NO it is not more expensive if you plan to use OEM inks.

HP is CRAP, the ones I had were the worse for the paper jams, short warauntee, burned out in a few months. Constant errors when getting close to the burnout time. I think it was a 900 pay call also perhaps for out of warauntee tech calls when they quit working. Pretty sure that was HP! I know it was not Xerox, there support was great.
All in ONE color tanks mean you throw away alot of Cyan and magenta ink just because the Yellow ran out, talk about expensive!!!! Sure you get a new print head with each new cartrig, but you pay through the nose for that!!!! A Canon print head lasted me years of constant everyday printing with massive work loads far above what a normal user would have, Big deal if after a couple years the head died. It worked perfect unitll the printer would just not turn on because of a head error. Heck I may find a way to fix that still, if not I saved a sh*tload on inks and $45 for the new head would not be bad other than I can buy a new printer for a couple dollars more so why buy just a head?

If you REFILL an HP all in one tank, it is a pain but lowers the costs, it also PROVES their printheads do not need replaced with each cartrig and various marketing claims how it is good to do so is just crap!!! I refilled a few 4 or 5 times and never had printhead problems. Actually the printhead and cartrig will probably outlast the crappy printer if you keep refilling it.

All manufactorures try to push that crap of voiding a warauntee if you use after market inks.
FACT, the only part that can be hurt by bad ink is the printhead!! With HP all in one tank color cartriges with the built in print head there is nothing to worry about ruining, if you buy a new cartrig your tossing the old print head anyway so you realy have no reason to worry about ruining it, right!

When you figure a new head for the I850 is only $45 it's not alot to worry about either if you are saving $200 on inks. For me the savings are far more than that. At about $1 a tank to refill compared the the cost of OEM tanks $8-$12 each my savings add up to over $1,000 I am sure!
I do ALOT of printing!

Another good thing about a printer like the I850 or IP4200, the print head pops out easy to replace it. SO, if you wanted you could actaully have one head for OEM inks for those really important works you want perfect and last the 100years and a second head for printing normal stuff like disks and books/text with generic inks.

Wow, that's quite a read! I definetly appreciate you taking the time typing that out. I haven't got around to testing out the ip4200 yet, but I'll be tackling it tomorrow to see how it handles!

[r3n4ud]

The Canon won't do Verbatim printables without leaving a white border as the printing area is oversize. There is a workaround but it's messy.

http://pixma.webpal.info/119mm/index.html

(kim)

Have any idea how it handles Taiyo Yuden printables? Or does it have the same problem as Verbatim printables?