Suggestions for a good printer

[Max Aue]

Hello, i would like to buy a good quality printer to be able to print just few selected photos of mine on a thick good quality paper, as it was from a professional studio.

Any suggestion?

Thank you very much

[jerryy]

23 minutes ago, Max Aue said:

Hello, i would like to buy a good quality printer to be able to print just few selected photos of mine on a thick good quality paper, as it was from a professional studio.

Any suggestion?

Thank you very much

That is a question, that on the surface, should be fairly easy to give some answers, but, well, you are starting down a path that could be really fun and neat or it could be frustrating, leaving you aggravated and bankrupt.

Take a look at these two links and then let us know which is better suited to what you are wanting to do. Without knowing that, your question is so open ended, it is difficult to know where to start, on the same line as telling you what kind of transportation you should buy.

https://www.moabpaper.com

https://instax.com/printer/

These are really just dip-your-toe-in-the-water starts.

[Max Aue]

Thank you Jerry

The instax idea is very nice but i think it can be great for the small squared prints only, in a Polaroid style lets say; for larger prints i am not a big fan of the white squared passpartout (not sure about the right word for it sorry)  around it...

You are right i have been qtoo generic; lets say i wish to be able to print occasionally (not daily or not even weekly) fine prints in maybe different sizes on a very good quality paper. Budget max around 600 gbp? I can consider more only if really really worth

Thank you very much

 

[jerryy]

I do not think you will be happy using a laser printer, those are useful for testing graphic design ideas before the final version is sent off to the commercial printers, they do not really do so well for printing photos.

Okay, now to narrow technology a bit:

https://www.systeminsight.com/dyesub-photo-printers/about-dye-sub-photo-printers/dyesub-vs-inkjet/

Ink jet printers still clog if they are not used on a regular basis (and sometimes even if they are). So they will have to be cleaned every so often --- this is not hard, one method is to use glass cleaner with a soft cloth on the print head. But they can print large and print very beautiful photos.

One more thing to consider is the business practices some manufacturers engage in, vendor lock-in. Once you get the printer, you must, must use their ink refills, you are not allowed to use third party cartridges or refill the current cartridges on your own. The practice is very controversial so I am just going to leave it as only something you need to be aware of.

Within the price range you listed, you can get very good quality printers from many different manufacturers. Of course there is online buying, but if you have local camera shops where you live, visit them. Many sell printers as well and have printer stations set up so that customers can try them.

Here is another paper site to vist: https://www.hahnemuehle.com/en/index.html

Once you narrow the tech a little, deciding on a company is easier.

[Max Aue]

Thank you. Definitely ink jet then! again, i will print rarely but different sizes and will be tipically to frame and hang them

a couple f models you would suggest?

[jlmphotos]

When I print, I have a 13"x19" Canon Pixma 100.  The printer cost me a whopping $50.00 and it included 50 sheets of Lustre 13 x 19 paper.  So basically it was free.  I love that printer!  I got rid of my Epson as it was nothing but issues with it - ink clogging, striping, splotchy ink placement.  This Pixma 100 is over three years old, and it still works beautifully.  Not too bad for free.  Just a side note I never shut the printer off; it's always on as this way the ink doesn't dry, and more importantly there isn't the huge ink usage when the printer starts up and primes itself.

You can check the canonusa.com website and they'll have specials every now and then.  My ultimate goal is to move up to a 17" x 24" printer but that's sometime down the road.

[jerryy]

Okay, from here I am going to give you a link to a page with comparisons between Canon and Epson, two of the bigger ink jet printer manufacturers.

https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/buying-guides/best-photo-printer

Some things need mentioning, the site is U.S. based and so are the printer model names. Many times, the EU and British versions will have slightly different names due to the different licensing issues.

I am using this site because you should be able to get these models in England without any troubles, and because the manufacturers do make great photo printers.

In reading the specs, keep an eye open for things like borderless printing and check on the prices for refillable cartridges.

Your local camera store should be able to get these and may have some already setting there ready to go.

[Blue Zurich]

Like it's been said, it's a slippery slope. It's very akin to shooting film where the curve can be steep and the cost is very much so for inks, dyes & high quality prints. Is you monitor calibrated? Are you familiar with ICC profiles?  Lots to consider. 

 

Keith Cooper on youtube can and has answered any question you could fathom. Google him.

[jerryy]

Keeping your monitor calibrated keeps a lot of trouble from happening. Soft proofing with the paper’s ICC profiles is way easier than back in the old days:

https://affinity.help/photo/en-US.lproj/index.html?page=pages/Clr/ClrProfiles.html?title=Color management

https://www.photography-raw.com/affinity-photo-printing-soft-proofing/

It is pretty much download the paper’s profile, put it where the editor can import it and then use it throughout the editing to printing process.

Keeping the shelves stocked with ink though is a whole ‘nother ball game.

[Jef G.]

Hi Max,

I really can suggest to go for a Canon Pro 200 or even maybe a Canon imagePrograf Pro 300. I have them both and love the quality of their prints and all the possibilities to print on special paper types from all the great manufacturers like hahnemuhle, Ilford, Canson Innova, Tecco, besides their own great Canon papers. Both to a max of 13 X 19 inch, borderless! The Pro 200 is more affordable (almost 1/2 the cost) and prints with the same accuracy and sharpness through dye based inks (8 separate ink tanks). Difference with the Pro 300 is that the 300 uses Pigment ink (9 ink tanks and the Chroma Optimizer), which is for a more professional type of use, especially on all kinds of heavier and matte types of art papers (f.e. form Hahnemuhle). The 200 I use more for the glossy, more normal photo papers. For making normal prints on normal photo papers, but occasionally also on matte papers and art papers, I Would go for the Pro 200. Do you want to get more into art like prints on art type papers, go for the pro 300. The pro 300 also has more to offer in supporting more brands and types of art paper in providing ICC profiles for the best results with every individual type and heaviness of paper...Using them gave me lots of inspiration and a whole new dimension to my passion for photografie. If you're not looking for that particular inspiration, but you just want great quality and detail, leave the 300 and by the 200 instead.

Of course...all the above is also to be found in several Epson printers...but I just don't own one of them.

Be warned! going to print in more professional quality wil cost you...more so when you only print occasionally. In that case; don't go that route.. printers like to be used regularly, or else much ink wil be spilled in the process of selfmaintenance.

Hope this wil help you decide... (and indeed watch Keith Cooper and/or JToolman Photo Printing Techie)

[jerryy]

15 hours ago, Jef G. said:

Hi Max,

I really can suggest …

You beat me to it! Ilford was next on my list of paper suggestions 😄.

p.s. Welcome to the forum.

[Max Aue]

On 4/27/2023 at 12:34 AM, Jef G. said:

Hi Max,

I really can suggest to go for a Canon Pro 200 or even maybe a Canon imagePrograf Pro 300. I have them both and love the quality of their prints and all the possibilities to print on special paper types from all the great manufacturers like hahnemuhle, Ilford, Canson Innova, Tecco, besides their own great Canon papers. Both to a max of 13 X 19 inch, borderless! The Pro 200 is more affordable (almost 1/2 the cost) and prints with the same accuracy and sharpness through dye based inks (8 separate ink tanks). Difference with the Pro 300 is that the 300 uses Pigment ink (9 ink tanks and the Chroma Optimizer), which is for a more professional type of use, especially on all kinds of heavier and matte types of art papers (f.e. form Hahnemuhle). The 200 I use more for the glossy, more normal photo papers. For making normal prints on normal photo papers, but occasionally also on matte papers and art papers, I Would go for the Pro 200. Do you want to get more into art like prints on art type papers, go for the pro 300. The pro 300 also has more to offer in supporting more brands and types of art paper in providing ICC profiles for the best results with every individual type and heaviness of paper...Using them gave me lots of inspiration and a whole new dimension to my passion for photografie. If you're not looking for that particular inspiration, but you just want great quality and detail, leave the 300 and by the 200 instead.

Of course...all the above is also to be found in several Epson printers...but I just don't own one of them.

Be warned! going to print in more professional quality wil cost you...more so when you only print occasionally. In that case; don't go that route.. printers like to be used regularly, or else much ink wil be spilled in the process of selfmaintenance.

Hope this wil help you decide... (and indeed watch Keith Cooper and/or JToolman Photo Printing Techie)

That has been incredibly useful, thank you. I was about to choose the pro300 when i read your last warning. Actually, yes i would use it just occasionally...is it so bad? do cartridges get damaged in some way if used rarely?

 

[jerryy]

@Jef G. is the best one to answer in terms of his experiences, whenever he checks back in, but this thread may help a bit:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/65774215

There are many good bits of information there.

[Jef G.]

18 hours ago, Max Aue said:

That has been incredibly useful, thank you. I was about to choose the pro300 when i read your last warning. Actually, yes i would use it just occasionally...is it so bad? do cartridges get damaged in some way if used rarely?

Hi Max, no its not that the cartridge get damaged in any way, but if you only print occasionaly, the printer will each time start a kind of Cleaning cycle, depending on how long it’s been standing idle. That will just cost you a lot of spilled ink. that’s to be taken into account. So in that case its more economical to buy the pro-200 vs the 300. Also the cartridge of the 300 are more expensive than that of the 200. In my experience at home, both printers print equally well and don’t ‘break down’ when they are at rest for a longer period of time. You cannot sea much difference really between the Two! It’s all in your choice on how to Work with them. Glossy prints most of the time (canon paper like Pro platinum, pro-luster etc); go 200! Don’t hesitate. The 200 even look’s better on glossy papers than the 300!.  But Art-like prints on specialized (and/or mostly matte) papers and archival prints that last the longest; choose the 300. Both haven’t let me down once!!  Food luck choosing!

[BobJ]

I have been printing ever since it was a darkroom job. I have a 6 year old Epson P800 that hardly ever clogs, even when left idle for weeks. The problem is that if you just want the odd print, as you state, it is simply not worth buying a printer. There are many companies that will do the job for you on good quality inkjet paper. It won't be cheap but it wil be much cheaper than buying the printer, paper and ink just to make  few copies.