Printer suggestions please

I'm looking to get a printer just for printing pictures. I have an (oldish) HP 6980 which I 've had for about 10 years and is an excellent general printer, and which I intend to keep.

I don't want a multi-function device, and I'm prepared to pay up to £500. What would you suggest I consider?

I've used Epson Stylus Photo A4 printers for years and the quality of the prints is spectacularly good. The latest model in the series is the P50, I believe, and customer reviews indicate it's as good as its predecessors. The ink's expensive (£50 or so for six cartridges). I use Epson ink but compatibles are available, and reportedly very good, for about a third of the price.

If you're looking for an A3 printer, the ink costs can be staggering and I'd suggest using an outside firm to print them off at a fraction of the price.

I'm sure many of the products from other manufacturers are as good as the Epsons, but I can't see how they would be any better.

Oddly, the Stylus Photo printers do a better job of, well, photos - and desktop-publishing projects - than word-processed text. It's good enough for letters but exhibits some jagginess under a magnifying glass (that's a primitive tool for pixel-peeping, if younger members are mystified).

Good luck with your search.

Al

I use a Canon PIXMA iP7250. Prints excellent A4 prints and text, it can use wireless too.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-iP7250-Colour-Inkjet-Printer/dp/B009D07OVQ

Original inks are expensive but thats the same for every inkjet these days. Manufacturers sell the printers for peanuts and make their money through cartridge purchases.

I use a A4 Canon 6 ink (extra grey to dyeline and pigment blacks). Mine is with a scanner built in as you might as well these days MG6250. It produces excellent prints. many are around the house framed. Only direct sunshine near south windows have required reprints over years as I would expect.

IF I was buying a newer model i would check Replacement ink availabiity first. Newest always only take Canon cartridges. Same goes for other makes. It costs me about £6 a set of six on Amazon using mostly Go Inks. canon would be about £60 a set.

IF you go for dedicated Pro printer then there are inking systems available. Be warned if you don't use them, or the printer regularly if will dry up and fail. That is the biggest problem.

I went a really budget route...
got a hp envy 5530 (49.00 in sale), and I subscribed to their instant ink. £3.49 per month and that gives me 100 A4 pages. an A4 page could just have one word on it...it still counts as one page....but an A4 photograph is only classed as one page as well. The quality is not top class, but for just home printing its great.
inks just turn up in the post before I need them...ive never ran out yet, and for 3.49 I think that's pretty good value.

Thank for your suggestions. I appreciate the help.

I'll have a look at the epsons and canons suggested. As for inks, I have long resigned myself to their horrendous costs. Thank you for the point about the A3 printer though; I had considered one, but now think that I'll pass!

You're not kidding Russ,
I worked out that buying ink cartridges for my canon printer comes to 1,386 pounds per litre

A complete set of original inks costs nearly as much as my printer new. It's a racket!

If someone made a good printer and sold inks at a realistic price they'd probably clean up.

A chap at PC World (how much more expert can you get?) said Epson had a new range of printers that use refillable ink tanks, slashing the cost of ink. The trouble is, he said, they are basically £50 printers priced at £200. Seems they'll get you one way or another.