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bbt · Oct 3, 2002, 02:33 PM

are epson's the best in photo's

i don't like how they spend so much time on start up cleaning their ink heads (a waste of ink)

any hp printers that you recommend?

this printer will be used by a small time design startup for compositions

dampeoples · Oct 3, 2002, 05:47 PM

I like my Epson better. I had a Photosmart P1000, but ditched it after 10.2 and got an Epson Stylus Photo 785(something). The print quality is better to me, but that's also the difference in a few years worth of technology.

bbt · Oct 3, 2002, 07:07 PM

yes epson seems to be the pick for graphics but how do people deal with the head cleaning and the waste of ink?

dampeoples · Oct 3, 2002, 07:59 PM

It does take a little while to start printing, but I use it for home use, and a few work documents. The waste of ink does not bother me because work pays for the cartridges, so I'm a bit biased on these issues.

iT4c0 · Oct 3, 2002, 11:42 PM

I have a HP photosmart 1115. I love the printing quality. One thing really bothers me is the time i have to wait for the thing start to print. It usually take the printer 1-2 mins to start printing things after i press the PRINT button on my screen. I dont know why. I think it has something to do with the way i connect to the printer. The way i connect to the printer is using "hp imaging driver" (something like that) insdead of USB. But it sux that i have to wait 1-2 mins to get the work start printing. This is just my opnion.

iT4c0

godzookie2k · Oct 4, 2002, 07:26 AM

Originally posted by bbt:
yes epson seems to be the pick for graphics but how do people deal with the head cleaning and the waste of ink?

its not THAT much ink...Epson cartridges go reasonably far. I've got two at work and one at home. I love Epsons. If 300 bucks is your limit, I'd go with the Photo 925 however, since you are a design start up you *really* should consider buying a wide format (11 x 17) printer, you'll never regret it, unfortunately the 1280 (I have one and we have one at work) is a bit out of your price bracket. But i would *really* consider it. And the mamma Jahamba 2000 P is REALLY out of your price range....but its purdy.

bbt · Oct 4, 2002, 11:20 AM

thanks guys

epson it is then

the other higher end models are not that much more

one thing that still confuses me is dpi

if you look at hp's dpi they should produce high quality printouts but many people complain that the higher dpi on hp makes no difference compared to lower end hp printers with lower dpi

is there something i'm missing?

bluedog · Oct 4, 2002, 06:59 PM

Well, hopefully not to chime in too late.

I bought a Canon S600 not too long ago, although they've rev'ed their lineup since my purchase.

It has performed very well and was printing in 10 since I got it. They had beta drivers for it that worked great. The only features it doesn't have is a postscript interpreter, and with CUPS that goes away, too!

It has seperate color ink cartridges and lasts comparably to the Epson. And I have both a mac and pc hooked up directly to it for printing (OS9/X with usb and WinXP and a parallel cable).

I've seen the quality and liked both canon and epson. My model was about $250 at the time.

jswayze · Oct 11, 2002, 03:29 PM

Originally posted by bbt:
thanks guys

epson it is then

the other higher end models are not that much more

one thing that still confuses me is dpi

if you look at hp's dpi they should produce high quality printouts but many people complain that the higher dpi on hp makes no difference compared to lower end hp printers with lower dpi

is there something i'm missing?

Just like with "megapixels" in digital cameras, dpi doesn't mean everything. Drop size is very important, and I think that's what makes Epson's output look so good.

I've got an 890, and aside from the excessive depletion rate of the ink, I couldn't be happier. Also their warranty support is great. I've had to send two Epsons back over the years, and each time I've had a brand new printer at my doorstep in 1 or 2 days.

-Jeff

frogbat · Oct 13, 2002, 07:09 PM

i sold epson printers in my last job and I got a 740 that I bought with my iMac a few years prior and the quality is still amazing

make sure to go for a printer that's capable of borderless printing if yer after an a4 - always useful for gfx printing

the 810 and the 895 were my favourites but i believe they've been superceded by newer models

also, what makes a big diff is the 6 or 7 colour processes as opposed to the usual 4 - the extra colours do help photo realism especially in organic stills such as for skin tones

another reason I like the epsons is that the paper path is generally simple than hp's models - as the latter have several models which require the paper to do a u-turn. This is usually to provide duplex printing capabilities but it's not a feature most inkjet users will appreciate. IMHO it also means more problems due to more mechanical parts that move within the printer (more things that can go wrong) and that paper jams are harder to sort out. Also, Hp's cartridges tend to be more expensive.

Here's a tip re the ink wastage in epson's models - use the printer as much as possible! The more you use it the less wastage you'll have as the cleaning kicks in when the printer's been off for a while (on most models). I had the light flashin tell me i'm about to run out of colour ink - I still managed to print approximately 5 full A4 colour prints.

Hope that helps anyone else interested in buyin a new printer.

shadesofsong.com : a little somethin bout music!

frogbat's homepage

RenaissanceGirl · Oct 22, 2002, 02:14 PM

I have a Canon S820. I had my eye on this printer for a while but when I saw a really hot deal of $155 for it, I jumped all over it! At any rate, I have been completely satisfied with this printer from moment I got it. The difference between prints from my Canon and photos from a professional lab is very slim.

Whatever your decision maybe, check hot-deals.org, bensbargains.net, and spoofee.com frequently, as deals on printers of different kinds pop up all the time.

art_director · Oct 22, 2002, 06:26 PM

i have an old epson photo ex. though the thing is a fossil it still kicks out beautiful color prints. my wife is a photo stylist and we print her book out from the thing. as for vector graphics and type, well, it completely blows. i believe the new epsons are better but still not great for vector / type output.

anyone have a report on the newer epson photo models?

skalie · Oct 24, 2002, 06:20 AM

If I could fit in a quick printer question into this thread, I am looking to get this one.......

http://www.epson.nl/product/printer/stylusc70/info/

There is a deal I found, US$150 delivered to my door.

My question is, the stats say it needs "Mac OS Classic 8.1".

I run Mac OS X 10.1 and revert back to Classic OS 9 when necessary.

Would that be a problem?

art_director · Oct 24, 2002, 09:10 AM

you'll need to check the epson site and see if they've released drivers for os x.

dadder · Oct 25, 2002, 08:42 PM

Originally posted by art_director:
you'll need to check the epson site and see if they've released drivers for os x.

We have the Epson 1280 and are running it completely out of OS X and it is fantastic! We charge $15/color print proof and easily make up any cost that goes into the ink and paper. As far as your question regarding drivers, this one has OS X drivers, but I would recommend getting the Adobe Postscript Stylus RIP software to go with the printer and your vector and postscript images will look like a matchprint. Epson rocks - it doesn't get any better.

dadder · Oct 26, 2002, 02:02 AM

Originally posted by RenaissanceGirl:
Whatever your decision maybe, check hot-deals.org, bensbargains.net, and spoofee.com frequently, as deals on printers of different kinds pop up all the time.

Even better yet, try:
www.shopper.com
nothing beats it.