Recommend a photo printer

C

CraigS2

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Hi guys

We have 2 young kids and spend a lot (too much probably) time snapping pics. What is a good printer for printing some of those precious moments? To be used later for school project as well etc. Decent printing quality with not too expensive ink cost a priority.

Cheers
Craig
 
fujifilm instax printer

Best little printer out there, I got it years ago, and have printed a few hundred prints up to date, best thing around
 
I have a Canon IP7200 Photo printer. I actually bought it because it worked out to be the same price as printing my wedding photos at a photo shop.

Printer with ink, plus paper for my number of prints (10 A4, 100 or so 10x15) cost me R1800 I think. Photoshop was around R1600 - 1700 for all my prints.

The type of paper you use is really important too OP. There is a discernible difference between Canon's platinum pro and their standard glossy paper.

Also just be aware that the lower end printers - like the Canon IP7200 - aren't the best if B&W photography is a big deal for you. The higher end ones have slots for multiple cartridges for shades of ink for grey, vs my one which mixes colour with black to make the shades.
 
mattrudlles said:
Printer with ink, plus paper for my number of prints (10 A4, 100 or so 10x15) cost me R1800 I think. Photoshop was around R1600 - 1700 for all my prints.
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You should have shopped around or at least negotiated a better price. That amount of printing shouldn't have cost more than R600, if that.
 
bwana said:
You should have shopped around or at least negotiated a better price. That amount of printing shouldn't have cost more than R600, if that.
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I did check around at the larger chain outlets. I am happy that I own the printer anyway, it is really convenient to print at home.
 
mattrudlles said:
I did check around at the larger chain outlets. I am happy that I own the printer anyway, it is really convenient to print at home.
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I'm not saying that it's not convenient, obviously it it, but it isn't cheaper than having them done in a lab. Or at least it shouldn't be. On an order that large you should have received a substantial discount.
 
Some schools offer a printing service for projects, which can save the parents money. The kids may not tell you about this since it is less convenient for them.

If this is the case you can get a dedicated photo printer like the Fujifilm that Ewie mentioned or the equivalent Canon one.
 
I found that if you do not print often, heads clog and cleaning process wastes too much ink.
So for us if we want to print something that will last we use print shop (ORMS)

For projects and in general printing we use Epson L382.
Very happy with it and from time to time we use it to print non important photos on HP photo paper. (stuff that you put on fridge)
Prints do fade and there is colour shift after some time but it actually looks cool like one of those polaroid printers.
 
garyc said:
Some schools offer a printing service for projects, which can save the parents money. The kids may not tell you about this since it is less convenient for them.
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Funny you mentioned that but we only recent.y found out about that service at my kid's school when the heads on our printer clogged and I didn't have time to get a new colour cartridge. :o
 
My parents used to have an Epson L1800. Great printer, until its print head clogged up to the extent that the automatic cleaning processes couldn't clean it anymore. Replacing the print head is terribly expensive, and we couldn't justify the cost. Now they're using a cheaper Canon; I'm not sure which model. Personally I think one should speak to reps of both Canon and Epson, and buy the cheapest that prints the quality you need.

Draw yourself up a table of printer cost, ink replacement at x pages (sometimes difficult to find, but the information is available), inkhead cost (even more difficult to find, again not impossible), paper cost, and then decide what you want to buy.
 
In terms of printing costs the most cost effective solution I found was the following:

Printer: Canon Pixma MX870

Ink tanks:
IPC520
IPC521BK
IPC521C
IPC521Y
CLI520M

PAP05 190g A4 photo paper

Item numbers above via Esquire. Four years ago each item (ink tank/paper per 20) cost less than R 22 ea incl. vat. Bought multiples of each and still printing so contact them for latest 2019 pricing.
 
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