recomendation for a Scanner/Photo Printer

[Denvers Dawgs]

I'm looking for a photo printer and scanner in one. I currently have an epson r200 and have no problems with printing quality, so I was looking at the epson CX8400. My real question is about the scanner portion. What should I be looking for for a resolution. The CX8400 scans @1200x1200 resolution. The scanner would be used for docs as well as photos if needed. Is 1200x1200 good for photos?

[redwudz]

1200 X 1200DPI scan rate is overkill most times, IMO. I do 90% of my photo scans at 300DPI. Higher rates will take forever on a large photo and you are not likely to see much difference unless your photo is an inch or two square.

I've used several HP all-in-ones that have a printer, scanner, copy capability, print photos from a SD card and also fax and have network connection capability and no problems with any of them. The only downside is some have tiny ink cartridges, especially the ones with six cartridges. Be ready to replace them fairly often if you do a lot of photos.

The price of cartridges and how much they will print is a big issue. There are many economy printers that sell for about $30US, but the inkjet cartridges cost more than $50 each. Walgreens Drugs, for one, sells refilled cartridges fairly cheap. I refill the black ink ones myself. The color ones are a bit trickier as you need to calibrate the printer as the colors seldom match the OEM cartridges exactly.

[cyflyer]

1200 X 1200DPI scan rate is overkill most times, IMO. I do 90% of my photo scans at 300DPI

It is better to have more dpi and not use it, than to need more dpi and not have it !

What should I be looking for for a resolution ?

It depends on how serious you are about your photos. If you really want quality photo reproduction then go for a separate scanner, and separate printer. The all-in-ones are a convinience scanner and will not give the higher resolution and depth that a dedicated scanner will give you. Do you scan standard prints that you want to enlarge ? Then you'll need at least 1200dpi Do you scan A4 size prints ? Then 300dpi will suffice , see it all depends.
Personally, I scan small b/w prints that I want to touch up and later publish, I scan slides, I scan negatives. These can only be done on a 'photo' quality scanner. I got the Epson Perfection 4490. Resolution of 4800dpi if I want it, and necessary if I'm going to scan a itsy-bitsy neg, transpanrency head etc. You can get these scanners second hand on e-bay (especially if you are in the US) for dirt cheap. There's the Epson Perfection 4490, 4890, 4990 all similar capability. I got mine second hand from e-bay and its worth every cent.