Printing at home.

I'm tentatively looking at investing in a decent printer for use at home.
If anyone has any advice for me it'd be appreciated. In particular, many claim to be "better than photo lab quality" - does this ring true ? Obviously over time you're going to get the colour dialled right in but how do they in general compare to a decent lab print ?

I'd be printing a mix of colour & mono & it seems this is an issue too, with changing cartridges etc.
Is it worth the investment or best to find a good lab & stick with them ?

I'll be interested to hear what you decide.

On a bit of an impulse I bought a Canon Pixma 4500 at £65 which has 5 inks (2 black and three colour) which are not cheap at about 8 quid a go. Then there's the paper which isn't cheap - because in my limited experience cheap sadly tends to mean unreliable.

I'm very pleased with the A4 results and I'd like an A3 printer but I suspect that finding a good lab might be better and more cost effective. So I await your research with some interest.

Mike

After many years with Canon, I now use Epson. Not sure if it still holds, but Canon wouldn't print even white borders with other software other than their own - which may not be the case now.

Currently using an Epson 285. I like the driver because in Advanced mode I can adjust the colours individually in the same way I'm used to when making Cibachrome prints. The cartridges can be a mare because they stop working when they decide the ink has run out (usually up to 30 percent remaining). However, the individual carts have a memory reset button hidden above the chip which resets the memory to a more accurate reflection of the content.

Try to go for a six or seven colour printer, not the cheaper four colour. With OEM or Jettec ink you'll get lab quality results. Expect to pay around 200 ish for a decent A4, and 350 up for a decent A3.

All IMHO

From what I saw when I was looking I think Graham is probably right. My Canon will do white borders but it's not going to be as good as a £200 printer.

But good enough is good enough and for the moment it is - good enough!

I suppose I could provide a sample if it would help. I reckon each A4 glossy costs about a quid to print perhaps less but not a lot. And A4 isn't the ideal format either.

Mike

These are the two I am looking at to replace my canon i9950 Pro A3+ printer,I print all my own wedding photos.I use the OEM inks with Ilford Galerie paper.


http://www.ebuyer.com/product/128735

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/121337

I have to get a new printer as well. A fellow forum member (from another forum, though) has shown his prints from an Epson R1900 and these are just stunning. My old and trusted Epson Stylus Photo 870 wasn't shabby but the R1900 shots do blow you away.

You should be clear that printing at home will be more expensive. The appeal is that you can print whenever you like and get instant results.

Prieni

I have an Epson Sylus Photo 1400, the 'little brother' to the excellent R1900, and I'm very happy indeed with the quality. Borderless A3 is wonderful, especially in conjunction with Fotospeed gloss photo paper.

The 1400 has 6 ink tanks, but IIRC the 1900 has additional cartridges for matte black and gloss optimiser, which was recommended (according to the salesman at Park Camera) especially if you print a lot of black and white!

Edit: I added a smiley...

(The difference in price was also, at the time, prohibitive for my limited budget.)

I'm using an Epson R360, which uses "Claria " inks, as the printer has to be a multi use, it's good for most printing jobs,including CDs and DVDs and can print from slides.
I'm quite happy with the results of A4 pictures.

Unless you're looking for an A3 for professional use, Is there really any need for the expense of an A3 photo printer, as the outlay must be far more than getting shots blown up by a lab?

Yes, for the same reason it was always better to have your own darkroom. You can adjust and repeat your prints there and then until you consistently get exactly the results you require. Every time. No more prints back from the lab that are close but not perfect.

Doing the job yourself can give you superior results.

I agree John When a client comes to me for a reprint I do it there and then (if time) and they take it with them, job done and out of the way.
No posting etc.

A bit off topic here but does anyone know if labs are still using "chemical" process to produce wet prints on photo paper, or have they mostly moved over to laser printing etc

Theres a ad or two in the weekly AP, nothing around my way as I know of.