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Laser printers are great for many things, but when you do need good colour prints of photos, etc., you can apply the same advice to inkjets and get good results
by pmjordan 16y ago
Laser printers are great for many things, but when you do need good colour prints of photos, etc., you can apply the same advice to inkjets and get good results.
We got an HP Photosmart 8250 or so 3-4 years back. IIRC it was pretty much the most expensive A4 inkjet from HP at the time, but even that was only 2-3x as much as a mid-grade consumer printer. In any case, unlike most printers, it uses separate tanks for each colour of ink, and the print head isn't integrated into the cartridge. It makes a huge difference: the jets don't get blocked as they're designed to last. They also seem to be more precise, and you only replace the ink that's actually used up, and because the cartridges are "dumb", they're cheaper. Not quite cheap as such though, and bigger cartridges would be nice.
As for original manufacturer's ink vs third-party: in my experience, the HP stuff ages much better (especially when exposed to sunlight), everything else is probably subjective.
- wheels 16y agoMy compromise on color printing is in the rare case that I actually need it (I mostly print scientific papers, directections, etc.) I go to a local printshop and have them do it for a buck, eclipsing what I'd get even with a high-ish end home system. I prefer to think of ink-jet printers as dead to me. ;-)
- mhb 16y ago2.5 stars on Amazon with 48/109 1 star ratings and 25/109 5 stars.
- theBobMcCormick 16y agoUnless you print a lot of color photos and have a really good photo printer, it seems like it's hard to beat the cost-per-photo of just uploading your photo's to Walgreens, Walmart, or whatever other inexpensive photo printing place is near you.
- pmjordan 16y agoActually, it's more the opposite - if you just want to print a few at a time to send to relatives, it's a lot cheaper to print your own, as the delivery charges dwarf the price of the prints themselves.
- mbreese 16y agoUnless you live close to a Walgreens / Walmart / Target. Then you can upload the photos and just pick them up directly from the store when you're ready.
- pmjordan 16y agoWe have one such service here, but they have a per-order charge that's only 50 € cents below their per-postage-order charge. Their pictures aren't that great quality either, unfortunately.
- jonknee 16y agoBut you don't have to buy the printer and the ridiculously priced ink. Most of the time you can just do it in the store too, no delivery.
- krschultz 16y agoCostco does photos for about 9 cents each at a higher quality than I can print at home, and I don't have to do it. And you can get up to 30x20" things for $3. I'm replacing my inkjet with a laser the next time my ink cartridge is out. Not to mention I prefer the quality of laser for B&W and that's all I do anymore.
- pmjordan 16y agoOK, with prices like that there really is no point. I'm used to around €1 per 15x10cm photo in small quantities, much more for larger prints + €3-5 for delivery.
- duncanj 16y agoI find the Xerox (formerly Tektronix) Phaser solid ink color printers to be pretty awesome in this regard. They print fast and produce a glossy, professional-looking color print. I think the main problem is that they require more energy over the long term than a comparable laser.
- me2i81 16y agoThose are fine for colored text or lineart, not all that good for photographs in my experience