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General discussion

What brand of printer do you own, and are you happy with it?

Apr 4, 2006 5:17AM PDT

What model, make, and brand of printer do you own (primary printer), and are you happy with it?

Brother
Canon
Dell
Epson
HP
Lexmark
Samsung
Sharp
Other (which one?)

Discussion is locked

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HP laserjet 1012 b/w
Apr 4, 2006 11:14AM PDT

best printer I ever owned, the paper never jams, it prints fast, clean copy without rattling the windows or taking forever to print. Im not a general fan of HP products, but this one is just what I needed. Even if it does burp about three minutes after printing. *g*

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HP d145
Apr 4, 2006 11:14AM PDT

The d series of multipurpose printers are great. Photo printing has been very good in large 8 x 11 size prints.

Print heads are a maintenance problem when not used for a period of time.

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Print heads drying out MAJOR problem on d145
Apr 4, 2006 2:00PM PDT

A great printer ruined by this fault and the time limitations on the cartridges AND it senses and blocks attempts to refill cartidges. I will never buy ANYTHING HP again.

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Epson R320
Apr 4, 2006 11:14AM PDT

Very happy with this printer...very good quality photos with fair ink usage. Reasonable priced refills and printing on CD/DVD is a added bonus.

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what brand of printer
Apr 4, 2006 11:16AM PDT

I HAVE THE HP PHOTOSMART 2610 ALL IN ONE PRINTER I AM VERY HAPPY WITH IT. IT PRINTS GREAT PHOTOS.

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Printer Owned and Satisfaction
Apr 4, 2006 11:17AM PDT

Since December 2005, I own an Epson Stylus Photo R220. I am extremely happy with it -- 5 stars! Beautiful prints, sparing usage of inks utilizing six ink cartridges, excellent user interface (driver), and last but certainly not the least, the CD/DVD print capability -- an outstanding and unique feature.

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Epson Stylus Photo 750
Apr 4, 2006 11:17AM PDT

Had this for a number of years and it still produces for me. Photos and text are crisp. Epson ships ink immediately when I email an order. Good experience.

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What brand of printer do you own, and are you happy with it?
Apr 4, 2006 11:17AM PDT

Myself, I find the Lexmark P6250 to be one of the finest printers out there today!!
I have used HP, Epson and a few others, but the Lexmark P6250 has to be the best one of them all.
The pic's that come out of this printer have to be the best you can get even using No-Name paper.
You can't tell the differance between pic's from your local photo shop and the pic's from the P6250
Give it a try and find out for yourself.

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HP seems to do it for me
Apr 4, 2006 11:18AM PDT

I have 3-printers going at present and my absolute best workhorse is my HP 1320 Laser Jet. Quality, versatility, and economy of use are far ahead of any others I have owned and used in the last decade for black and white work. For color I currently have a HP3745 and a all-in-one HP 4200. Between the two I find no discernable difference in print quality, both are very good. While I tend towards HP Photo paper I find for color work that Kodak, and Epson also produce fine work. Longevity has yet to be determined.. Every since color became available, years ago, I have owned a color printer and at the time when few of us has a color printer the charge was up to $5 of a sheet in the few shops that owned a color printer, I made some prints for a copyright. The other day I was looking in the 3-ring binder for the copyright papers and examined the print I had kept for my records. I was amazed, it looked like the day it was made (I remember the shop owner ran about 5-copies to get one close to the true colors (a watercolor painting). What can I say?

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(NT) (NT) Canon i960
Apr 4, 2006 11:20AM PDT
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Best printer?
Apr 4, 2006 11:20AM PDT

Elderly H-P OfficeJet G85 works fine but I am looking for a newer all-in-one model to include digtal photo printing of any manufacturer and would appreciate feedback

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Epsom Stylus PHOTO RX700
Apr 4, 2006 2:10PM PDT

This sounds like the machine for you.It is built to commercial quality, being strong and sturdy, with a little less plastic. Control layout along with the LCD screen is very easy. Scan settings(film, photo and doc) are highest in the market, and photo output is truly remarkable. Standard text printing comes down to only good. When you see the results of printing onto CD, you will be astounded. This miltifunctio is designed for the prosumer.

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Canon PIXMA MP-500 and HP Color LaserJet 4550
Apr 4, 2006 2:49PM PDT

The HP Color LaserJet is a discontinued model but an incredible workhorse (you can find them used -- especially on ebay -- and they're almost all still great printers). I use this for text documents and anything the kids want to print as the cost per copy is significantly lower.

Then I got a Canon PIXMA MP-500 all-in-one (copier, printer, scanner and photo printer -- the only thing missing is fax capabilities, which I still don't understand why they left that out). I use this primarily as a photo printer and the output is incredible -- pretty much photo lab quality! I picked this up at BestBuy after comparing output of several printers (including Epson and HP).

A key selling point for me was that the Canon uses five cartridges, while most HP and Epson and other manufacturers tend to use two (black and a combined color cartridge). The problem, at least to me, is that with one color cartridge once you use up one color, the cartridge is basically done and you have to replace it, even though there is still ink for other cartridges in the tank. This Canon uses Black, Photo Black, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow. So when the Yellow runs out, you only replace the Yellow cartridge. Much more efficient and saves you money. Some newer Canon photo printers come with six or eight cartridges, which should make them even better (although I compared the MP-500 to a six color Canon and preferred the output of the MP-500).

I used to have a Canon MultiPass (all-in-one with fax) F80. The cartridges for that one are almost identical to the MP-500's. And the old unit worked very well with compatible cartridges, which can be picked up online rather inexpensively ($3-$5 per cartridge). The MP-500 will have compatibles available this summer, which will provide wonderful savings as well.

As for paper, I have used Staples high gloss photo supreme as well as Kodak glossy photo paper and both seem to work equally. But I haven't had the printer long enough to know if fading will become a problem with either paper. And a friend of mine did a flyer with color photos printed on 28# copy paper done on the HP laser and the output there was amazing as well!

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Epsom Stylus PHOTO RX700
Apr 4, 2006 8:31PM PDT

The Epsom Stylus PHOTO RX700 miltfunction comes with six individual inks.

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Canon Printers
Apr 5, 2006 2:13AM PDT

I would like to suggest to you, to stay away from the online compatible inks. I used them on my Canon S800. It took many many cleanings before I got good true color prints. The inks online aren't much cheaper. On my S800, I buy the authenic Canon cartridges & at the most, pay 11.99 with no shipping costs. By the way the ones I buy online,were only $6.00 each, but none of them were full. So you really aren't saving enough for a lower quality ink to sacrifice the continued performance of your printer.

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Canon i9900
Apr 4, 2006 11:21AM PDT

I am on my third Canon. Present one is the i9900 and only use Canon paper and ink. I have never had any problems with this printer. I got burned using refillable ink cartridges on a previous Canon s9000 and had to replace the print head. I'll stick with OEM inks

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Inks in a Canon
Apr 4, 2006 12:31PM PDT

I previously had a Canon S900 and went through 3 print heads in less than a year using Canon inks. Bought a Canon I960 about a year and a half ago and have only fed it Media Street inks in carts I have refiled myself and have never had a problem with it. Get great prits using Office Depot photo paper (glossy and satin).

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HP Printer(s)
Apr 4, 2006 11:21AM PDT

I currently have:
hp psc 2510 PhotoSmart all-in-one
hp 2575xi all-in-one
hp 932c Deskjet
hp 3650 photo
hp 832c Deskjet

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Lexmark X1150
Apr 4, 2006 11:22AM PDT

love my lexmark,it does all i want and more,when i upgrade i will get anothere lexmark all in one again but with a built in fax

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HP Photosmart 1215
Apr 4, 2006 11:22AM PDT

This is an excellant printer with additional ports for different memory cards, Plus it uses the larger ink cartridges, Which cost no more than the smaller ones Used in todays newer printers. So i do not need to worry about a new cartridge as often, I also own a Dell combination, Scanner printer copy machine, And i hate it. Dell got one over on me with this piece of Junk, I cannot get cartridges for it on the open market, I have to special purchase them from dell. Which I think is wrong and basicly I am forded into paying more, Than I would if purchased at some of the online ink sellers or even places like staples or office Max. I rate the dell a -0, and my HP Photosmart a 10+.
Thanks
Dom
Afton New York

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LexMark X5250 (3-in-one)
Apr 4, 2006 11:23AM PDT

I'm thoroughly delighted with Lexmark (X5250)3-in-one (scanner, printer, photocopy with use of FAXing, too) - it prints fast, easy access for copying (even can copy without the use of my computer, just press the copy button and voila!) and the most important, is the cost of inks! Much cheaper price inks (black: under $19; color: under $23.00) than other brands I've used. Print quality is very good, too. Bright, sustaining colors that don't run together on the paper, which is also important. I print a lot with my business and for family/friends, so using this printer is very useful, cost effective, and best quality printing. I'll always buy a LexMark printer.

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Canon - Excellent for Photos
Apr 4, 2006 11:23AM PDT

I have an Canon IP6000D. It has to be the best printer I have ever owned. I am a veteran of HP printers and the output quality of this Canon is much more impressive. I also like the the ability to change out individual ink cartridges. I always hated replacing the entire cartridge because one color ran out.

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HP Printer
Apr 4, 2006 11:26AM PDT

I have an HP 1610v All-in One.This is the second printer I've owned and I am very happy with it.It works well with my programs and is easy to operate.

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Okidata
Apr 4, 2006 11:26AM PDT

I have an Okidata C5200 that I'm very happy with!

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I own a Lexmark all in one printer
Apr 4, 2006 11:30AM PDT

I like it for the most part but I do not like how the cartridges dry up quickly if I don't print anything for awhile.

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HP Premium plus
Apr 4, 2006 11:34AM PDT

But only in cases of "emergency". I prefer to get the print from photo shop. It's cheaper aand I find the quality better.... I use an old (but still vey good...) HP 5550...

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Uuuupssss!!! Sorry...
Apr 4, 2006 12:04PM PDT

Aint this nuts? I must get some sleep... I thought you were asking for photo paper... it's on the left of the poll in the newsletter, lol... So, printers... HP 5500 for photos and HP PSC 1315 for general light work... I owen Lexmarks and Epsons in the past but I never liked a single one... I really hated all my epsons. Haven't tryed Canons, thou... Cheers, nighty night...

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canon printers
Apr 7, 2006 2:35AM PDT

Try Canon, you'll like it. I have the S800 that is about 5 years old; it is still working great. I recieved my compact dye sublimation printer yesterday. It blew me away. The best photos I have ever seen using a digital camera. Can't tell the difference from professional photos. I understand the the dye sub photos last forever; don't fade.

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Hi
Apr 7, 2006 2:37PM PDT

Hi,

What is the dye sublimation? How does it work? I try to follow a lot on photo techniques, lens and stuff but not on printing which is a bit silly on my part really... I use a canon camera and I really think they master their field of business; so going to a canon printer makes a lot of sense to me? (BTW, sorry Nikon users but you know this argument is probably prior to the Bible itself?.) And my HP isn?t getting any younger? Like me, so I don?t follow technology as I used too? But I?ll stop feeling sorry for my self now, ok? Please post back that thing on the dye sublimation, please? Thx (1138, lol)!!!

Cheers!!!

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dye sub
Apr 8, 2006 12:07AM PDT

I wish I could explain this fully to you. I know it is a thermal transfer system. Chemistry definiton of sublimation changing solid to liquid or visa versa. The printer is first heated, then the paper goes back and forth through the printer with each pass it goes through different processing. I think that it has some kind of wax coating. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable will explain it.