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General discussion

economical printer mostly for photos

Aug 30, 2009 12:58AM PDT

Our home printer is an HP which produces good quality prints and text documents. The problem is that the cost to replace ink is outrageous (it has one color cart and one b/w). I am hesitant to buy a photo printer due to the limited size print capability. It looks like Epson or Canon might be acceptable for photo quality and general all-round print tasks and cheaper to operate over the long run than the HPs? I would like to spend no more than $150. Any suggestions?

Discussion is locked

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Walgreens.
Aug 30, 2009 1:42AM PDT

In this forum is some member that discovered that at the end of the day you can just print such at the walgreen and other places cheaper than buying a printer, ink and glossy paper.
Bob

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Maybe not as easy as you think, review...
Aug 30, 2009 6:00AM PDT

Now you know why inkjet type printers are practically sold cheap, because they will get the $ later via the ink carts. On top of that you want a "photo" type prtr. which on its own is the most ink hungary of the group. I can only suggest you review Canon and Kodak offering. Kodak has made a big deal of their ink costs. Canon is similar but only because ink is used rather a replacement prthd. and ink combo. HP replacement ink heads cost more or any other similar ink carts, because you get more than ink, a prthd. as well. Visit the respective websites and review thier offering. Don't fall into the 3rd party ink refills. When it comes to photos you want quality and sometimes refills fall short and they may also cause problems of their own, especially under demanding photo outputs. But to each their own, you have to find that out on your own and they are success stories. Just buy from a vendor you trust and good service.

tada ------Wiolly Happy

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Quality prints, econo ink?
Aug 30, 2009 6:21AM PDT

Thanks for the input. Apparently Kodak is cheapest, hands down, but many sites rate their photo print quality poorly. What's the point of saving if it looks bad? Canons do come up high on the ratings at many sites. At this point, I may be better off to (again) invest in new HP carts as the output is good. Know anything about Epsons?

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Just an observation....
Aug 30, 2009 12:45PM PDT

I won't recommend due to my bias. Epson in fact has great output, but when they have a problem, geeez its not at all easy to fix. Epson uses a different technology compared to other inkjet printers and because of that they tend to "clog" more readily and their ink pricing isn't any better or cheaper.

If you can and have in your locale, try to visit an office outlet like Office Depot, Staples, etc. and get a hands on feel by the demos they have on display. I stick by my earlier post, its still valid. good luck

tada -----Willy Happy