comparing low-end printers for newbies

[Marshallarts]

When I print I send my images to Adorama (I live in NYC and pick up locally).  To be honest I'm so overwhelmed and obessed with understanding proper post-processing techniques I haven't allowed myself to get further overwhelemed by trying to learn printing.  I can imagine the process is just as in depth and requires just as much experience to learn properly--something I don't have time for.

Still, occassionally it would be nice to print at home so long as I don't loose my hair trying to get it done right.  I know to always print minimum 300dpi at best settings but that's about it.  I don't print enough to buy a larger printer than the ones that do 8x10.  I just bought a new MacBook Pro and took advantage of the offer to upgrade my printer.

i got the Canon MP620 that replaced my 4-year old HP 7450 Photosmart.  The old Photosmart boasts a print resolution of 2400x1200 (600x600 b&W) and the new Canon boasts 9600x2400 (600x600 b&w).  Now I suspect, and believe I remember reading somewhere before, that these resolution numbers mean nothing.  Now I'm regretting wasting the money on this new printer.

Does anyhow have experience with these printers and can tell me if in fact I spent my money wisely?  Do these numbers really mean anything?  Any last minute advice to printing on these lesser machines?

[Randy Carone]

The inks in the Canon MP620 are dye ink, with the exception of the black, so it is not an archival printer. I don't know how much you spent so I can't answer the question as to whether you spent your money wisely. I use a small dye-based Epson printer for printing documents, song lyrics, etc., so I don't waste the ink in my Espon 3800 for everyday use.

[David Sutton]

I ventured into printing on an Epson RX630 multifunction . Bought a Spyder2 Print to calibrate the printer/paper combination and Qimage to print. Very glad I began this way as when I got a 3800, the learning curve was small. I was not expecting anything great from the printer, but the results were surprisingly good, in fact better than from a store, though I could see fading after a year or less. If paper manufacturers supply canned profiles for your printer, so much the better, but I recall I got my Spyder2 on Ebay for really not much money.
If you are already softproofing, then it is just a matter of getting a profile for the paper/printer combination, and you may as well make use of it. Though if you get keen be warned you might need to get a second job to pay for the ink.  
David

[Marshallarts]

thank you all for your replies.  

I do believe professional printing is a ways off for me.  I can quickly see any cheap printer you'd get with a new computer is simply not professional and considerable time must be spent to learn how to do it correctly.  As I mentioned earlier I have a hard enough time with the overwhelming techniques I need to learn in processing (let alone the organization of my photos on my HDD).  

I don't want to come off as a newbie.  I've been shooting for a long time.  For some reason it just seems since introducing computers I've become too overwhelmed with all that needs to be learned.

Take for instance the colorimeter.  I actually bought a EyeOne LT for my monitor (haven't tried it for printing because as you'll read I can't even get it to work with my monitor).  Since I use HDMI I have no contrast adjustment capability and since you need to correctly set contrast first I can never achieve the true calibration from my monitor for which I bought the colorimeter!  And since I use a 17"MBP alongside my 24" Dell, for some reason I can't get them to match even if I use the EyeOne.  So after spending a few frustrated days trying to work it out I give up.  This has been my life with digital.  I am having a very hard time adapting.  Too many variables.   very very frustrating