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Franz · Aug 27, 2007, 05:26 AM

We are planning to buy a new printer very soon - I am wondering which printer is currently the "best" option for Mac users?

Right now I have an HP Photosmart P1000 and the printing is extremely slow in OSX compared to Windows (via Boot Camp). It doesn't appear that there are proper Mac drivers written for it, or any HP printer for that matter (I was looking and it seem to use an open source "gimp print" driver or something).

So I am looking for something with better Mac compatibility - we have four Macs in the house, every computer is a Mac. I want to get one printer and have all four Macs be able to print to it. Price is not much of a concern, I just want the best possible. If you guys have any suggestion, please say so!

Thanks

OreoCookie · Aug 27, 2007, 06:12 AM

If you want a nice photo printer, I'd suggest you have a look at Canon, they have supported OS X from the very beginning (read: 10.0).

Before we can recommend any printers, we need to know what you do with it. The Photosmart series are optimized for printing pictures … but I suppose you want a multipurpose printer, right?

Here are four models that might be interesting:
(i) Canon Pixma iP4300/iP5300: solid multi-purpose printers, works just fine for photos and documents. It's not a specialized photo printer, though. It can print onto suitable CD-Rs.
(ii) Canon Pixma iX4000/5000: essentially the same printers as above, but allow you to print A3+ paper (twice as large).
(iii) Canon iP6700D: a photo printer with integrated duplex unit. It can also print on suitable CD-Rs.
(iv) HP OfficeJet K550 (replaced by the K5400): we have one at work, it's a solid machine, very fast and solidly built. However, it's loud. The Mac drivers are working fine (with the exception of the placement of the duplex printing function). You can get this printer with a built-in networking interface and duplex unit.

The Canons are cheaper and should suffice unless you print a lot, lot. Even if you print a lot, they should be fine. I've tortured a Canon S630 to print over 20k pages. You don't necessarily need a networking interface in the printer, you can use a Mac of choice as a print server for your whole family. Even if you want a networking interface, you can easily get one (many routers and Airport base stations have a built-in print server).

skybolt · Aug 27, 2007, 11:05 AM

I second the motion for Canons -- I would not buy anything else. Great prints (photos and text), good price, widely available, etc. I print wirelessly to my ip6310D via the airport express and my husband prints to it wired via the airport. Works flawlessly!

Franz · Aug 27, 2007, 12:07 PM

The Canon Pixma iP4300 looks like an excellent printer for the price. I am leaning more towards an all-in-one type printer though (copy, scanner, fax etc). Or are those considered a bad idea - would it be better to just purchase those devices separately instead?

Networking support I can live without if there's a workaround (like buying an airport express). What I'd like to be able to do is print without having to turn the Mac (that the printer is connected to via USB) on. Does the printer have to support networking for that?

OreoCookie · Aug 27, 2007, 01:10 PM

Yes, but it requires either a router with such a function (e. g. Airport Express/Extreme base station, but perhaps your router can already do that, too) or an external print server (basically a little box that translates network signals into USB signals.

You can also get all-in-ones, and they do make sense, but I'd definitely suggest a laser all-in-one (e. g. Brother MFC-7820N (with fax, Postscript and built-in networking), they are marginally more expensive than inkjet all-in-ones. They are obviously just black and white printers which may or may not exclude them. If you definitely need color, then the Canon Pixma MP530 and 830 are worth a look. I'd go for the more expensive model.

-Q- · Aug 27, 2007, 01:21 PM

I've got to second OreoCookie's recommendation on Canon - I've had a PIXMA 4000 for the past year that has been outstanding. Quick print speeds, good, sharp black text and decent for color photos when needed.

Big Mac · Aug 27, 2007, 02:57 PM

Even Windows users are starting to dislike HP. It seems like they're not very good at writing drivers for any platform, anymore. I would probably get an HP laser but not an inkjet. My advice is to get a good inkjet for color prints and a good monochrome laser for everything else. I recommend against Epson, at least at the consumer level - expensive inks that don't last long, and quality issues. I have been pleased with Brother inkjet and Lexmark laser. I have always heard good things about Canon, and I trust the Xerox brand if you're looking for laser.

SVass · Aug 28, 2007, 12:09 PM

My printer choice is driven by cost of ink. Ink4Art sells low priced inks for many printers including my 8 year old Epson; so, before you reject Epson, check prices on ink. sam

Chongo · Aug 28, 2007, 02:40 PM

I have an Epson R200 and I like it. I can print on DVD/CDs and I do a lot of videos. I got tired of havening to print two labels when I needed only one using Avery labels. DVD manufactures also frown on using stick on labels as they tend to come off in the players. It uses separate ink tanks etc.

ghporter · Aug 28, 2007, 04:39 PM

I use a Brother HL-2040 laser, and it's great. And it cost about $70. Compare that to an inkjet-type printer's price, and if you can go with monochrome, I think that a laser's the kind of printer to get. For what I do, I have almost zero need for color, so the low priced laser was a no-brainer for me. When I do get around to getting a color printer though, I'm certainly going with a Canon.

Stogieman · Aug 28, 2007, 10:21 PM

Originally Posted by OreoCookie

Here are four models that might be interesting:
(i) Canon Pixma iP4300/iP5300: solid multi-purpose printers, works just fine for photos and documents. It's not a specialized photo printer, though. It can print onto suitable CD-Rs.

Can you do CD-R printing with the models sold in the US? I read somewhere that this option is only available with models sold in Europe. I was looking to get the new Canon Pixma iP4500 but I don't see CD-R printing mentioned anywhere on the features and specs page.

gooser · Aug 28, 2007, 11:50 PM

you didn't say what kind of mac you have, but to add to what glenn had to say a brother hl-2040 will also work with os9.

butterfly0fdoom · Aug 29, 2007, 12:07 AM

I've got a Canon MP830 all-in-one (I also have a Canon iP5200). We had an Epson and some HPs before the Canons, and, frankly, we're sticking with Canon. I print out a lot of school work during the school year, but even then, the ink takes a long time to run out (about 3-4 months with heavy use). That and they're plenty reliable.

JonoMarshall · Aug 29, 2007, 04:38 AM

I used to do countless prints on a Canon i9100 (4 years old now) and it was perfect... Canon all the way for me.

ghporter · Aug 29, 2007, 08:21 AM

Originally Posted by Stogieman

Can you do CD-R printing with the models sold in the US? I read somewhere that this option is only available with models sold in Europe. I was looking to get the new Canon Pixma iP4500 but I don't see CD-R printing mentioned anywhere on the features and specs page.

Epson has some sort of legal lock on direct printing to optical media here in the U.S. I don't understand it really, but they are the only ones that offer direct printing to the U.S. market. Which sucks, really, because they still have non-replaceable ink nozzles and their ink tends to clog or gum up if you don't use the printer for a few days. Canon, on the other hand, has replaceable nozzles, and their ink doesn't clog the way other inks do.

OreoCookie · Aug 29, 2007, 08:44 AM

@glenn, Stogieman
I wasn't aware of that.
In Europe at least (anywhere else in the world?), Canon printers can print directly onto suitable DVD-Rs and CD-Rs.

Edit: I checked, you're right, (according to Canon's respective website) the European model can print onto CD-Rs, the American model `cannot'.

Stogieman · Aug 29, 2007, 10:37 PM

Apparently there's a hack to allow you to do CD printing on the US models. Here's one for the Pixma IP4200. I wonder if it would work with the newer IP4500?

Five Easy Steps CD/DVD printing

human · Nov 9, 2007, 01:47 PM

I have a Canon MP530 here (got the $100 back already too) but I'm not super happy with the software or the 'best-quality' photo prints either. There is the possibility I just have to futz around with it for a while but right now I can print but not scan with it attached to my Airport Express. And when I read stuff like this in the manual:

"The following functions cannot be used in Macintosh computers because of the restrictions of the OS, though they can be used in Windows computers.

- Duplex Printing
- Photo Optimizer PRO
- Fit-to-Page Printing (available for Mac OS v.10.4 and later)
- Booklet Printing
- Poster Printing
- Print from Last Page (available for Mac OS v.10.3 and later)"

...well, I just suspect that's neither true nor fair.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not giving the printer the thumbs-down yet, I'm just a bit perturbed by the difficulties I'm having. I've been using and fixing macs for about 12 years too so I'm not entirely clueless on the troubleshooting end.

human · Nov 9, 2007, 01:54 PM

Ah, of course I find my answer right after posting. It's an Airport Express limitation I'm running into. Airport Express ONLY sends printing info over its USB port. Lame. So much for my plan of putting the 530 in the other room.

Eug · Nov 9, 2007, 01:55 PM

Yeah, these days a lot of the decision for Mac printers rests more on the drivers than the printer features IMO.

For example, some Samsungs have reasonable OS X drivers, some have flaky OS X drivers, and some don't have OS X drivers at all.

It seems to me Canon is very good for supporting OS X in terms of printer drivers. I haven't actually tested my Canon in Leopard yet, but I'm encouraged by the fact that the amount of space devoted to Canon printer drivers on the Leopard install disc is enormous.

ghporter · Nov 9, 2007, 02:58 PM

I had decent success with my old Samsung laser, except that there IS NO OS X driver for it-which meant using a CUPS driver for an earlier model and not being able to print envelopes and such from a Mac. Now I have a Brother laser (long story made short: with rebate, the Brother cost less than a replacement cartridge for the Samsung...), and the only thing wrong with it is that when you print to it over the network you get two blank pages after the printing is finished. That I can live with, though I'd prefer not to have to.