Buying a printer - but which one?

[Dinarius]

I don't own a printer.

I shoot a lot of artwork for reproduction. The problem I have having quite a lot is the complaint from printers (in particular) and clients (to a lesser extent) is that they don't have the reference that a colour transparency used to give them.

In an effort to deal with this, I want to buy a printer which, when required, will allow me to deliver 7"x5" or 10"x8" (certainly A4 size at most) reference prints with the digital files.

I want something that is;

a. Not too expensive to run.

b. Give me some degree of colour management control.

c. Has reasonable resolution.

I've noticed that in some ranges (e.g. Epson) the models further up the range can frequently have just a few extra bells and whistles, without any improved print quality. I don't need bells and whistles.

e.g. the Epson R220 is 5760 x 1440 while the R340 (with its bells and whistles and costing a good bit more) is 5740 x 1440.

What should I be looking at?

If Epson, should it be the Picturemate range or the Stylus Photo range?

Having worked exclusively in E6 for 20 years and only recently moved into digital, this is all new to me. So, speak slowly please! ;-)

Thanks.

D.

[Utah]

Since I use a variety of printers I feel modestly qualified to make the following recommendation:

Assumptions: Low to intermediate volumes, ease of operation, print sizes to 8.5x11.

I have been using an HP photosmart 7960 for just such tasks. You can probably find one on ebay for under $250.00. Resolution and color accuracy are terific.
The printer does not handle thick or heavy paper very well but I don't suppose your printer needs reference prints on 360gsm paper..does he?

As an added, the printer makes excellent black and white prints also (I found John Cone comparing piezography prints to the HP 7960). Obviously HP has some newer models you might want to investigate.

I found doing this type of work on my large format Epsons to be very tedious and was ver glad to adopt the HP.

Best wishes and good hunting.

[jom]

I have 3 epsons
R210 (for A4 and CD's)
1290 (A3 and envelopes) it is actually photo quality
4000

they all suck for various reasons- 4000 ink clogs every 2nd day requiring expensive ink consuming cleaning cycles

the 1290 is old and slow, nice colours but will fade in a year, probably good enough for your needs
I bought mine 2nd hand

theR210 (might be R200 in your part of the world) is....... ok.. but when the ink is 40% full the printer will stop until you replace ALL 6 ink cartridges. Don't be fooled by the "individual" cartridges.
I use a "chip resetter" to get more out of the carts, then buy a whole new printer- only $20 more!

I'm not impressed with Epson's greedy corporate shenanigans

get an HP Design series

[DarkPenguin]

I'm not impressed with Epson's greedy corporate shenanigans

You're calling shenanigans on Epson?  I'll go get my broom!

[Graeme Nattress]

How about a Kodak 1400 dye sub printer? It doesn't mind infrequent use, prints up to 8x12, and has a fixed cost per print? Oh, did I mention the prints look lovely?

Graeme

[madmanchan]

Dinarius, does print longevity (i.e. archival characteristics) matter to you?

Eric