Inkjet Printer for Photos

As I am interested in buying a photo printer..simply because there is no quality printing service available here, I have followed this thread. What, I ask, is a CISS system?? How I hate these abreviated terms..It makes me feel so stupid having to ask. Please kindly educate me. I feel I am missing something here.

Don't worry, I had to Google it as well. CISS is the abbreviation for continuous ink supply system. It's a number of tanks that reside somewhere outside the printer with tubes connected to the print head. These systems are required for printing large formats where you need lots of ink (in relative terms) for one print. If you would have the ink in the print head carrier you would need more power and have more forces working on it when you carried such a big mass.

The beauty of the system is that you have large tanks compared to the standard cartridges. Another appeal is that you can fill them with "cheap" replacement inks (and these are dirt cheap compared to the cartridges from manufacturers). The question is if the quality of the ink is comparable to the original and/or if it does damage the delicate print heads.

Hope that makes it clear and isn't complete nonsense. This is how I understood it (and yes, I had heard of the systems before but didn't know that they are called CISS).

Prieni

R800 (as I stated above). This uses a set of 8 cartridges. I'm very impressed by the reviews and I think I would enjoy this printer... if I could afford to run it.

£88 (inc post) is the lowest price I can see on eBay for a genuine set of cartridges. Maybe I could find a set for £40, but that's still very expensive considering they don't last long. (Cartridges can be replaced individually, but individual ones are very expensive too).

I have to decide whether it's best to use a more economical printer with genuine cartridges/ink or a better printer with non-genuine cartridges/ink, or do neither and just carry on sending off for prints (which I'm getting fed up of).

Currently I don't have any photo printer at all, and I've been using online printing services, or just viewing my pics on computer monitors.

If that would be my choice I would go for a more economical printer. Let's face it, my old 870 would have been still good enough for the occasional print if it would not have started smearing black blobs on the prints. I bet that even the cheaper printers are capable of at least the same quality that I got with the 870.

I don't know why you are getting fed up with the online printers, is it lack of quality or turnaround time or a mixture? If it is the turnaround time than a "cheap" printer will most probably do the trick...

Prieni

Turnaround time especially bothers me when the prints don't turn out as expected, meaning I have to get them redone. But I want good quality as well.

Anybody experienced printing photos on colour laser printers?

The colour laser printers are dropping in price, and are much more economic to run than inkjet printers. I have seen just a few examples, and they don't look bad at all. I don't have exact figures, but my guess is that the printing costs on laser printers are less than half of the injets.

Maybe there are some decent laser colour photo printers, but... the printouts from some Epsons and HPs I've seen were quality of a photo in a newspaper.

UPDATE:

I got an Epson R800 and am using with a Continous Ink Supply System from Ink Express aka Inktecmidlands. Well, it seems to work, and I don't believe the heads are any more likely to clog with this ink than Epson ink.

Apparently, the most common cause of clogged nozzles is prolonged disuse of the printer, and that can happen with any ink.

Canon ix4000 has served me well for the past couple of years print quality is excellent thanks to ttkand is about £220ish

I have been looking at the Epson STYLUS PHOTO R1900, anyone had any experience with it :
I currently have an Epson Stylus Photo R390 for my A4 stuff and I'm very happy with that.

Is there any reason why HP ink jet printers rarely get a mention when there is talk of which printers to buy? I have an HP photosmart 8250 which seems tp produce good prints on HP top quality paper. I have never tried other printers and was just wondering if I am missing out on soemthing here. Are Epson and Canon really the mutts nuts when it comes to printers?

I think its just epson have been around a lot longer making A3 printers maybe! .All i can comment is on my canon ix4000 and i love it a friend of mine uses epson he loves his.I am sure HP are just as good but make less models!

Don't know, to be honest. I have been an Epson man for many years and as I was satisfied with the results and durability of prints I went for Epson again.

I could imagine, though, that there is not much between the top quality printers of Epson, HP and Canon.

If you look at SLR's in magazines (camera specific or not) then you get the impression that only Canon and Nikon cut the mustard. We know different, don't we?

If you are happy with your prints then the HP printer is fine...

Prieni

I've discounted buying an HP in the past because the paper is stored at the front and has to be curved round 180 degrees to be printed. Not a problem with paper, but I often print onto card, and a straight path is much better for that. I have a Canon at the moment, but have previously used Epson.

I originally chose Canon (an i850) a few years ago when a magazine review showed it printed as well as the comparable Epson, but in about a quarter of the time.

Dan

It can also happen if you use different brands of inks that react with one another, so stick with what your using now.

Also, coming back to the subject of CISS, I had one on my Epson R300 for years, I was considering getting one for my 1400 but after watching videos on the "Lyson" website I was dissauded from buying one, apparantly unless you printing an awful lot of stuff then even original cartridges are the most economical way to go; link