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rlmorel · Jan 21, 2003, 08:38 PM

Hi all,
I am trying to buy an HP printer in the $150-$250 rangebefore 1/31/03 to take advantage of the $50 rebate. I want to use it mainly for photos and graphics.

Specifically, I do NOT want to purchase an Epson. This is difficult for me, because I believe Epson produces better print quality, and most of the reviewers back it up. I USUALLY do try to go with the consensus.

But after the crappy, halfassed job Epson did making drivers for my Stylus 900, which is not that old and was very expensive, I am going to change.

Plus...HP printers do not seem to do that ridiculous dance before you print anything where the print head seems to primp and preen for 5 min before printing.

And...HP printers do seem much quieter, although I think Epson has improved. Anyway, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

davidflas · Jan 21, 2003, 09:31 PM

I've never been big fan of epson printers. I used a have a stylus color 800 and it sucked right out of the box. I've been using hp since then and have been very impressed. also, avoid photo printers if you plan to print text very often...

zigzag · Jan 21, 2003, 09:51 PM

I would recommend checking out the Canon i850 - <$200. It's received rave reviews from just about everyone including tomshardware.com, and OS X support appears to be good.

HPs are also excellent printers (I have a 970), but their ink cartridges are more expensive than Canons. Also, some of the HPs require you to switch the black ink cartridge in and out if you're printing photos.

Back up 15 and punt · Jan 21, 2003, 10:48 PM

Originally posted by rlmorel:
Hi all,
I am trying to buy an HP printer in the $150-$250 rangebefore 1/31/03 to take advantage of the $50 rebate. I want to use it mainly for photos and graphics.

Specifically, I do NOT want to purchase an Epson. This is difficult for me, because I believe Epson produces better print quality, and most of the reviewers back it up. I USUALLY do try to go with the consensus.

But after the crappy, halfassed job Epson did making drivers for my Stylus 900, which is not that old and was very expensive, I am going to change.

Plus...HP printers do not seem to do that ridiculous dance before you print anything where the print head seems to primp and preen for 5 min before printing.

And...HP printers do seem much quieter, although I think Epson has improved. Anyway, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

For about $150 you have two choices in the HP line that will give you the capability of six color photo printing. The Photosmart 7150 and the Deskjet 5550. Both are $150 and use the same print cartridges. The 7150 comes with cartridge 57 (tricolor - cyan, magenta, yellow) and the photo cartridge 58 (light cyan, light magenta, dye based black). If you want to use this printer for text and graphics then you need to change out cartridge 58 for cartridge 56 (pigmented black). The 5550 comes with cartridge 57 and 56. If you wish to print photo's then you will need to switch cartridge 56 for 58.

If you do not like to switch cartridges then you will need to spend about $300 for the Photosmart 7550 which has all three installed.

OreoCookie · Jan 22, 2003, 03:11 AM

I'd suggest a Canon i550 or i850 instead. The ink is far cheaper than that for HP and the quality of the print outs is great.

I do not recommend HP printers due to their expensive ink and their ink policies (about 10 % of their turnover comes from their consumables business). I have owned 6 HP printers in total, two of them are still in use.

OldManMac · Jan 22, 2003, 08:52 AM

Read the February issue of Macworld. Epson or Canon; the HP colors weren't as good. You also pay more for ink on an HP, because they build the print head into the cartridge, so you pay extra for that every time you buy ink. I've owned them all, and I'm staying with Epson for my photo work. The little warm up dance that it does is of little consequence to me; what I want are good photos. If I'm buying a printer to make good photos, then I wouldn't settle for one that does mediocre work because of a couple of minor inconveniences.

Back up 15 and punt · Jan 22, 2003, 02:43 PM

Originally posted by KarlG:
Read the February issue of Macworld. Epson or Canon; the HP colors weren't as good. You also pay more for ink on an HP, because they build the print head into the cartridge, so you pay extra for that every time you buy ink. I've owned them all, and I'm staying with Epson for my photo work. The little warm up dance that it does is of little consequence to me; what I want are good photos. If I'm buying a printer to make good photos, then I wouldn't settle for one that does mediocre work because of a couple of minor inconveniences.

And what happens if the heads on the Epson and Cannon go bad? Do you replace them? I would also imagine that you are going to see ware and tear on these heads from normal use. Won't this also affect quality over the long run?

X-Ray · Jan 22, 2003, 06:08 PM

In the last year I have owned and used an Epson, a Canon and an HP printer. The Epson's print heads clogged alot and are a pain to unclog. Plus the Epson blew through ink cartridges. The Canon S820 lasted three months before a head clogged and on the Canon this is permanent and requires a new print head. My HP Photsmart 7150 has never given me a problem. While its output is not quite up to Epson or Canon, it's still quite good and the cartridges may be expensive but they last quite a while. It is true that any photo printer isn't that good for text (I use a laser printer for that). Also with a photo printer you're locked into using the manufacturer's photo paper. I also have an HP 952 (non photo) that I use at work. With it you can use cheaper (eg Kodak) paper and the text looks good, too.

OldManMac · Jan 22, 2003, 09:24 PM

Originally posted by Back up 15 and punt:
And what happens if the heads on the Epson and Cannon go bad? Do you replace them? I would also imagine that you are going to see ware and tear on these heads from normal use. Won't this also affect quality over the long run?

I don't know about the Canon, but I've had an Epson 870 for two years, and it sees a lot of use, and I've never had a problem with print heads plugging up, even after it sits for a week without being used. I use a Samsung ML-1210 for text work, so my Epson doesn't see daily use. I've gone through many reams of paper, as I only got the Samsung last fall.

TheMosco · Jan 22, 2003, 10:36 PM

I have a canon i550 and it seems to be holding up well. i got it for about 90 bucks after rebate and coupon at staples.

The printer heads on the canon are not built into the printer like epson. Its a removeable part that comes in a shrink-wrapped package. Before you can put in the ink for the first time, you have to place it into a plastic basket and then but the ink carts into the printer head device thing

. So if you ever have a problem, you can probably get it replaced. an advantage is that the ink is cheap. But if you use your printer often, you shouldn't have a ploblem with them clogging.

I also have a epson 740 that i have had since 99(?) and it hasn't clogged once.

xyber233 · Jan 22, 2003, 10:42 PM

My epson 740 is great. It hasn't clogged once.

OreoCookie · Jan 23, 2003, 02:42 AM

Originally posted by Back up 15 and punt:
And what happens if the heads on the Epson and Cannon go bad? Do you replace them? I would also imagine that you are going to see ware and tear on these heads from normal use. Won't this also affect quality over the long run?

Yeah, you simply replace the Canon heads. Even though I have printed over 5,000-7,000 pages (can't tell, but I have bought at least twenty cartridges), I didn't have to replace the head yet. So -- for the most part -- you won't have to bother with it at all.

The Epson heads -- AFAIK -- are built into the printer, so you can't replace them yourself. They are supposed to live as long as the printer lives.

I have a Canon S630 and I am perfectly happy with it.