[orcaslynn]

I want a new printer and am leaning toward Epson, but their site lists several different catagories; my interest types are Office and Photo.

Does anyone know why I'd want one type over the other when they have similar specs? The photo type touts 6 color vs 4 color, but is that a good thing? What about ink costs for the 6 color?

I want this to print out quality letters AND decent photos that will last for at least several years. Thanks for any light you can shed.

[ddiokno]

Since your need is both letters and photos, definitely opt for one of the non-photo printers... Both their photo printers and regular color printers will print excellent photos (wiith a little better quality photos coming from the photo printer). But for printing business documents, the photo printer prints slower and the blacks sometimes arent as black, because it uses the six colors to mix to get the black. In terms of cost effectiveness, go to http://www.ink4art.com and check out the ink they sell for the Epsons. I would try to find one of the printers that they sell ink for (the cartridges in six packs run between $40-50). I have an Epson 900 which prints incredible photos and great word documents... my sister and her husband have a 740, again fantastic.
hope this helps...
dave

[zigzag]

I agree that for both text and photos, go for a quality all-purpose printer rather than a photo printer. I have an HP 970 (since replaced by the 990) and recommend it highly - excellent text and photos, and automatic double-sided printing, which is a great time- and paper-saver.

If you look at the news items on Monday's MacNN and MacWeek home pages, each has an item about the new line of Epson printers. There are some interesting comments posted on both sites.

Also check out the reviews at pcworld.com (they do a Top Ten list every month), pcmagazine.com, cnet.com, amazon.com, MacWorld, Consumer Reports, etc.

Apparently, the new Epsons use a separate black ink cartridge, which provides for darker text. My HP uses a separate black cartridge as well.

From what I've read, no one has completely solved the fading problem with ink-jet printers. Epson says their prints will last 25 years, but only if they're kept under glass. I don't worry about it that much - as long as they last a few years, I'll still have the photos on my hard drive and can print out new copies when the technology improves. I figure that before long, we'll all be looking at them on portable LCD screens anyway, and prints will almost be superfluous.

[This message has been edited by zigzag (edited 02-12-2001).]

[tjcrebs]

I recently purcgased the HP-970, as well. I've been very pleased with both its photo and type output. Consumer Reports a few months back rated the HP-970 the best ink-jet printer you can buy (i.e., excellent output and very quiet).

I also compared the HP-970 ($299) with the newer HP-990 ($399) model. Print speed and resolution at the best print-quality are similar (e.g., beware of claims about "Draft" mode print speeds, since I never use draft mode). The new HP-990 has IrDA (infrared protocol) while the 970 does not, but IrDA wasn't worth the extra $100 to me.

Good Luck, T.

[tjcrebs]

I recently purcgased the HP-970, as well. I've been very pleased with both its photo and type output. Consumer Reports a few months back rated the HP-970 the best ink-jet printer you can buy (i.e., excellent output and very quiet).

I also compared the HP-970 ($299) with the newer HP-990 ($399) model. Print speed and resolution at the best print-quality are similar (e.g., beware of claims about "Draft" mode print speeds, since I never use draft mode). The new HP-990 has IrDA (infrared protocol) while the 970 does not, but IrDA wasn't worth the extra $100 to me.

Good Luck, T.

[Paul S]

I have to disagree. My Epson Stylus Photo 870 uses a separate black ink cartridge and a separate 5-color cartridge. Blacks are true black. All Epson photo printers are this way. Mine also prints text documents just as fast as any other ink jet, around 8 pages per minute. It's slower if I set the resolution higher than 360dpi for text, but that's the same with any printer.

The cost of ink isn't bad either. I do mostly photo printing with mine. A $17 color cartridge gets me about 40 8x10's. The $22 black gets be 80 8x10's. Of course this depends on the pictures printed, but that is my average since I bought the printer. For text printing, it's just as economical as any other ink jet.

I used to print photos with a regular Epson printer. While the quality was good, it pales in comparison to my photo printer. That printer gets me better prints than I get developed from my regular point and shoot 35mm camera. I use a Kodak DC280 for my digital prints.

If you want to have great photos that last, get the photo printer. Epson just announced some new photo printers that will be $150 after a mail in rebate. You can't beat that price. It's only $50 more than a regular printer like the 777.

Also, only use Kodak premium glossy photo paper for your photo prints. I have tested several different papers. You'd be amazed at the difference in the same picture from the same printer on different paper.

[ddiokno]

You might want to check out CNET... they have a team that reviews the printers, but what I find more useful are the reviews from the average person
dave http://computers.cnet.com/hardware/0....1016.dir.1063