Printer Question

[disspatcher]

I am in the market to purchase a new printer. I will be using this primarily for 8 x 10 glossy photos. What should I be looking for?? I will be hopefully making anywhere from 20-40 pictures/copies a month. So; cost of ink cartridge replacements is also crucial. I dont want to buy a printer where its going to cost a fortune for supplies.

Any thoughts or tips??
C'Mon I know we have some competuer geeks out there..MIKEY??? : Please Help!!

Diss

 

[disspatcher]

If it matters...Id like to buy it from future shop..lol..I have a gift card!!!!

 

[Porter86]

I;m sorry I can't be of any help, i dont know much of this stuff. lol.

 

[MikeyMikey]

Here is my money saving tip!

IF I were to print 20-40 on 8x10 photos I would not be using my own printer. Unless someone else is paying for the printer + inks + paper.

My obvious option will be to use the Photo Centre @ Costco. You can either submit your photo via online and have pick your pickup location or just visit the warehouse yourself and do it on the stop.
I suggest you try few sample print outs to see if you are satisfied with the results.
The reason I recommend is because of the price for larger prints at Costco.

Here are Costco's Photo Print Pricing

Product Price
4x6 $0.15
5x7 $0.39
8x10 $1.39
8x12 $1.39
11x14 $2.49
11x16.5 $2.49
12x12 $2.49
12x18 $2.99

As you can see 8x10 print out on either Glossy or Matte (your choice) is only $1.39

$139 * 40 = $55.xx = likely cheaper than to print out 40 8x10 prints + cost of paper.

Than again, I would also buy myself a cheap-O photo printer just in case I need to print something out in a hurry.

Yes you do need a Costco membership but I think this will help you save money in the long run.

Visit Costco and read the details.

Also, if you do/want to get Costco membership yourself, see if you can get a Premium Membership ($105 after tax) one. It does cost more for a year but you do get a like 3% back at the end of the year or something like that... i can't remember.
I just got like $75 Costco coupon back.


Enjoy!

 

[balapickerel]

it's usful to get a printer with a scanner as part of it. also try to pay attention to the cost of ink cartriges(my printer works great but ink costs almost as much as the printer) some printers have refilable ink cartriges and those result in less money spent over time
hope this info helps

 

[disspatcher]

I will need the use of a scanner, thats why having a printer at home is needed. I thought about costco too. I was told the home cost of ink and paper would only be about 1.00 or so per pic. Not sure how accurate that is. Then you need to factor in the price of the printer itself...200-300 or so?

 

[MikeyMikey]

I will need the use of a scanner, thats why having a printer at home is needed. I thought about costco too. I was told the home cost of ink and paper would only be about 1.00 or so per pic. Not sure how accurate that is. Then you need to factor in the price of the printer itself...200-300 or so?

Cost per print depends on brand/model of printer.

Since you will be needing a scanner anyways, I guess you will need to buy one. New printers only comes with a starter ink so you won't be able to print out as much as a new ink cartridges. So I guess you can try it out when you need to buy a new inks (re-fills are cheaper). Than you can decide/calculate how much it really is costing you.

I personally recommend only laser (black & white) printers to those who do NOT need photo printing at home due to it's extremely low prices these days. Even some colour laser printers can be had for under $200. Than again, each seperate colour toners will be expensive. Online shopping for laser toners will be best way to go.

Anyways...

If you check FutureShop website there are ton of All-In-One Colour Ink Printers that are very good prices.
First thing you would need to do is see which colour inks! are the cheapest and see the specs on how many aprroxmate photos it can print out. BUT! also see how much it would cost to RE-FILL! the INKS @ Island Ink Re-fill centre. http://www.islandinkjet.com/
As for scanner feature,,, well this is year 2009 and scanning technology have came very long way and I personally wouldn't care which brand as they are all good and all high resolution now.

This is what my brother is personally using.
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/prodde ... 037&catid=
He bought it without asking me! Seems good enough, fax feature is a bonus too. Not that it is anything special these day in technology.

Let me know which one you'll get and let us know how much it really cost in the end to do your photo printing needs.

 

[jaimela]

I have tried an HP printer to print photographs and found that the picture never comes out as good as taking it to a photo centre. A lot of the times, you have to watch once the photos are printed on the printer such that the ink remains wet and if you don't let it dry properly, it distorts the picture. As well, if exposed to light, it changes the colors of the picture. In the long run, it will cost you more to print your own. Costco is a great suggestion. You also have Sam's club or even walmart which is still pretty inexpensive.

 

[MikeyMikey]

Well...

Not just printing from home but printing from anywhere actually...
there are few things you need to calibrate.
You need to calibrate so that the color you actually see on your monitor match the color your printer will print out.
I believe you can download a printer profile that Costco is using, so you'll know how your photos will come out.

 

[balapickerel]

with some cheap printers you will get thin stripes on your print where no in was used

 

[disspatcher]

Thanks for the help!!!

 

[balapickerel]

when are you planing to buy the printer?

 

[disspatcher]

next sale at future shop Id say..depends. I dont mind the Costco deal, but I need good Kodak paper..I need to find what they use first...The prints must be fairly high quality,,,

 

[balapickerel]

go to staples for photo paper. the staples brand photo paper is great quality. the picture of the rose i posted in the photography contest i took on my dads camera and then printed and a month later i took a picture of the print whith my camera, thier paper is great quality

 

[MikeyMikey]

next sale at future shop Id say..depends. I dont mind the Costco deal, but I need good Kodak paper..I need to find what they use first...The prints must be fairly high quality,,,

I still think Costco 1 Hour Print Service is way to go.
Anyways,,, I just checked some of my 4x6 prints from Costco and back of the photo paper shows 'FUJIFILM Fujicolor Crystal Archive'

By the way, what type of photo are you printing? if you don't mind me asking?

 

[balapickerel]

hey dispatcher are just going for a one time use or do you plant use it on a regular basis, if it's just every once in a while that plan on printing than i'm with mikey, go for the costco option

 

[MikeyMikey]

He've said he'll be printing regularly

Another tip is to not buy any printer that uses news type of ink. because after bit of time... 3rd party can start making cheaper compatible inks too.