Printer suggestion

[Doug Earle]

I'm beginning to research upgrading to a higher quality inkjet photo printer and was looking for suggestions.

I will be printing both in BW and color, using fibre paper.  I am used to BW wet darkroom and looking for something that will get close to a traditional print and also do acceptible color.  

anyone have any suggestions, preferences, critques?  Cost is not a major factor but is a consideration.

Doug Earle

[DarkPenguin]

Try the printer forum.  That said the Epson 3800 is nice and comes with enough ink to offset its extra cost.

[mcfoto]

We have been using the Canon iPF 5000 for almost 3 years & it has been brilliant! There is a newer model & i have heard new ones are coming this year. we use roll paper now a it is much cheaper than sheet.
Denis

[Bob Peterson]

I'm beginning to research upgrading to a higher quality inkjet photo printer and was looking for suggestions.

I will be printing both in BW and color, using fibre paper.  I am used to BW wet darkroom and looking for something that will get close to a traditional print and also do acceptible color.  

anyone have any suggestions, preferences, critques?  Cost is not a major factor but is a consideration.

Doug Earle

I, too, recently began looking at printers.

I stumbled across Printerville, a printer-focused site I found useful.  Their recent article comparing the Epson 2880 and 3800 addressed a number of my questions.

I've pretty much settled on the Epson 3800.

Cost is a major consideration for me. I found a reference to Epson's refurbished offerings, where they offer 3800s for $995, a substantial savings over the list price of $1,295. Yesterday Epson sweetened the offer even more with a $100 discount, but today that discount is no longer there. I also found some Epson dealers selling refurbished units on EBay for less than $900.

Bob

[marcmccalmont]

We have been using the Canon iPF 5000 for almost 3 years & it has been brilliant! There is a newer model & i have heard new ones are coming this year. we use roll paper now a it is much cheaper than sheet.
Denis

I too am very happy with my iPF5000 the prints are stunning!
Marc

[Plekto]

Epson isn't the absolute best quality of the major brands, IMO, but it does a good job and more importantly, it has the least expensive ink.  The 3800 seems to be a very good printer for the price.

Now, if you're only doing 8X11 and not anything larger, there are cheaper options, still.

[DarkPenguin]

I got an email from Midwest Photo Exchange http://www.mpex.com a few days back with a huge printer sale. New 3800 printers were listed at $1175 with $200 rebates. That's better than a refurb unit.

They appear to be $1375 with $200 rebate.