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Posts: 1,836I just sold a ton of stuff on eBay for funds toward a new printer. I want to get a really good one and I'm looking for opinions and feedback on what you use or what you would get. I'm hoping to tap into the crafters here who do printing on fabrics too!! Excellent photo quality, printing onto fabrics, ease of use & not a lot of maintenance issues, etc
Whatever you can add is appreciated!
:hug:
~Chrissi
q.D.paToOtieSOh, thanks for starting this topic Chrissi. My printer is over 6 years old and I love, love, love it. I've been looking at new ones on and off for about a year (preparing myself "just in case" Bessie give up the ghost). I'm just so overwhelmed. Technology has certainly changed in 6 years. My Canon is wonderful and prints pictures just like you got them from a Camera Shop. It only uses two cartridges. Now some of the ones I've looked at have had 6 or more! I almost fainted thinking of how much it would cost to replace them. Right now, to replace BOTH it costs me under $20. And I only have to do that every quarter. I can print almost 200 pictures and still go strong. I'm crossing my fingers that the new Canons are just as good, as quiet and as inexpensive to maintain as this one has been.
I would like Waterproof Ink as a feature though and I'm not sure what Printer brand has the feature with it's ink.
Storytime Bears
Past Time BearsLisa, I do think it is the Canon that has a waterproof ink feature. Might check it out on their website.
Chrissi, we got a new Cannon a few months back (after an awful old Lexmark for years!), It is really good for pictures, not sure about fabric as not had a go at that, I find it really easy to use and quick, BUT it takes 5 cartridges.... 2 different blacks, blue, yellow and red and at £10.99 (GBP) each I find it very expensive on ink. I didn't do much homework before and somebody had told me that Cannon's were cheap for cartridges. The thing is, I think it depends what model of Cannon you get so if you are planning on a Cannon it would be wise to check this out. I do think Cartridges can be bought cheaper for it on the Internet somewhere but I haven't checked that out yet.
Pauline
Back Road BearsA few years ago I was hearing/reading that the high end Epson printers were the best for photo quality. I had a low end model a long time ago and GAVE it away... hated that thing but I don't remember why!
I have no idea if any are proven better over another for printing on fabric.
Personally, I'm in the market for a new printer and have my eye on a Cannon. Not sure which model to go with.
You can Google "Epson vs. Cannon" or one brand vs. another and come up with lots of info. Would be worth reading up on!!
As for ink.... not all inks are created equal! I know NOTHING about ink.. it's like paint though.... some bleed, some are gloppy, some are better for glossy paper while others aren't, some are more vibrant in color than others. Some seem to soak into the paper more than others. Cheap isn't necessarily the way to go but the most expensive may not be right for your project either.
Is there a benefit to having 6 separate color cartridges? I'm thinking that if you have individual cartridges for each color then you can just replace the one that's empty. With the other kind it's 3 colors in one and if one color runs out faster than the others you still have to replace the whole thing, wasting ink and money. I'm sure the individual cartridges also effect the print quality.
More things to learn about!
Canna Bear PaintIf you want something truly archival (or as archival as you can get these days), Epson always ranks on top. I think they go, at best, to 80-100 years under optimal conditions. That having been said... this is not the "run of the mill" Epsons. You will need one that uses PIGMENT inks, which are more expensive. And you will have to use a very good archival paper, also more expensive. And the Epson printers that use pigments inks are more expensive. Oh yes, and I hate Epson printers and absolutely do not recommend them.
If you want something that is super easy to use and prints VERY nicely (what you see on the screen is what you get on the paper, basically), buy a Canon. They just use regular inkjet inks, but I seem to recall that they are archival in the 20-30 years range, or thereabouts. I am using an 8-color Canon i9900, and LOVE it. Never had an ounce of trouble from it, and it always gives a great print no matter what I'm doing or what paper I'm using. Supposedly does fairly well with fabric, but I've never tried it. The principal advantage that I find to the multiple ink cartridges is that, in the long run, it is cheaper. You will always use some colors faster than others, so would you rather run out of blue and have to throw out red and yellow at the same time because they are all in the same cartridge? No way! If blue runs out in a multi-cartridge printer, just replace the blue.
Hope this helps,
Kelly
Hearts Ease Bearsi took some friends advice that raved about their Epsons..and i despised the thing..despise isnt a strong enough word..it wouldnt pull any specialty papers thru at all..was very fussy about the print settings ( auugh) and being a top load it curled everything i put into it..and therefore wouldnt print on it,,ive had an HP forever and i love it and when this one dies im getting another...not sure about the inks..they are expensive..never tried Canon.. good luck! deb
I needed an all in one when my original HP Photosmart was on its last legs and wanted to move up to something that also allowed me to make copies and to send faxes and scan.
The model I bought is an HP Photosmart C7180 All-in-One. It's been with me for a few months now and I adore it. It has six Vivera cartridges -- five colors plus a larger one for black -- and I've only replaced three of them in all that time, despite using the thing ALL the time to print color photos and copies, as do my kids and husband. The color cartridges are reasonably priced; I think around $20 each, but I only bought them once so don't quote me on that. The printer comes with smaller versions of all six cartridges so you're ready to print right out of the box.
The whole thing is really, really easy to set up and understand and use. There are media slots built in so you can upload directly from just about any kind of storage device, and it even allows Bluetooth wireless uploads from handheld devices or your phone. In fact, the All-in-One is WiFi enabled and wirelessly networked into my home network; we don't even have a hardline connection to the PC and we can print from any room! That's a very cool feature for a big family in a two story house. (We've got three computer savvy kids at home plus tech weenie hubby, Tim and his laptop.) All of those things, a real plus for my particular situation.
Anyway... this thing has performed like a charm for me. I bought it with the mindset that if I wanted my photos to last I'd send them for professional developing and not rely on my printer to create long-lasting prints... so I can't comment on its archival value or that of its inks becuase it wasn't a consideration for me in my purchase. I didn't check into pigment ink printers or waterproof ink printers at all. However, I have used this All-in-One to print on prepared "fabric paper" which contains some kind of chemical prep that allows it to accept printer ink and stabilize it into a permanent state. I followed the instructions for the fabric paper which included heat setting with an iron, rinsing out excess ink with cool water til it runs clear, and then heat drying again to set everything permanently. This printer worked beautifully with the fabric paper (which comes attached to a sorta waxed paper backing) and I'd imagine that if you ironed fabric to freezer paper (as many of the magazines suggest for this kind of thing) and trimmed properly it would work just as well.
My imp faces were made using prepared fabric paper and my HP printer.
It's super easy to scan, make copies, and fax with this machine. The entire back comes off in case of paper jam and you have easy access to every place paper could get stuck. The photos are beautiful; I print them on glossy high end paper and have been really impressed with the quality. Loading paper is easy and I can keep letter size AND 4x6 glossy paper loaded simultaneously, toggling between the two on my print menu.
If you're at all considering something that does it all very well, I'd recommend this machine. I did do some research on the web prior to purchasing and for the price and functions and reviews this was the one for me.
Good luck and have fun! It's always exciting to get a new technical toy!!!
Waggle BearsShelli, we bought an HPC4180 a few months ago and I love it! I'm glad to know that you, the graphic artist person, got a similar machine. Mine does printing, scanning and copying and had three media slots as well and you can print from the memory card without downloading to your computer if you want. The only thing it doesn't do is fax and we'd had a fax for five or six years when I worked at home and I did not want to have another fax in the house. I'm very happy with mine, too, so if anyone not looking for a fax, this model is great and very reasonable priced.
Back Road BearsMy HP Photosmart all in one works great as I long as I feed it properly... there are a lot of papers it doesn't like and gags on! 
It gets rather annoying!
Nioka BearsI have an Epson RX650 and it prints gorgeous photos, scans form negatives and slides and prints on CD's etc....am not sure about printing on fabric BUT I am VERY happy with it and you can't pick the difference between the lab photos or it's photos (and I worked in a lab so I am very fussy! LOL) I've had it over 12 months and I've never had any problems with it whatsoever. Expensive to run?...yes it is somewhat BUT I think most quality ink jets are... I have a laser which I use for general printing and it is super cheap to run BUT doesn't print good photos.....
I had a Canon prior to my Epson and it was a real pain....in and out of the work shop and expensive to run and GRRRR...I will NEVER buy another Canon!!
I LOVE my Epson so I guess it depends whom you talk to! LOL!
HUGS,
Christine
My HP Photosmart all in one works great as I long as I feed it properly... there are a lot of papers it doesn't like and gags on!
I haven't had that experience with mine yet but maybe that's because it's brand spanking new, or maybe we don't have the same model. (My model # is C7180; I know they make more than one version of the all in one.)
I've used plain paper, card stock, fabric paper, and photo papers of several types and thicknesses and only had one paper jam since I bought it. It would be good to know what to watch for!
Thanks for the heads up!
Posts: 1,836Good good good information!!! Thank you!!
I didn't even think of an AIO before posting here and I should have since I need a scanner too :doh: I've been borrowing my sisters scanner and thought I'd be making a separate purchase!! Been googling all the brands listed here and it was hard to find a recent "test" review (without subscribing to consumer reports....), but I found one that seems pretty fair in testing.
Here's the link... http://www.popphoto.com/photoprinters/4 … otout.html
Keep the pros/cons coming, looks like there are a couple of us needing to go printer shopping soon 
:hug:
~Chrissi
Back Road BearsShelli - I've also found that perhaps mine doesn't feed at the right speed?? I see this when printing hang tags or business cards.... as it gets towards the end of the page the printing becomes misalligned. It starts out ok so I wondered if it was again not feeding the heavy paper through properly? I have all the printer settings right, document format right, etc. So I blame it on HP! Ours is about 3 years old. It's a 7210. I use it constantly. I'm sure yours is new and improved. 
All of our computer stuff is HP.... we really don't have much against them (though their tech support can be pathetic!). I just need my own printer now rather than sharing hub's (he's always getting mad at me for leaving the 'wrong' paper in the tray! It was right for me! :redface: ) and would like to try a different brand.
Ahhh, well that makes sense. I havne't tried to print labels or tags on mine yet. I may encounter the same problems when I do. Thanks so much for the heads up. Will keep me from putting too many eggs in that basket.
PS It's ALWAYS good to have your own toys!
Hearts Ease Bearswe have an HP Photosmart 7350..i do my business cards and flyers etc on it with no problem and greeting cards etc..it has all the media slots too. we have a variety of machines at work and they all have their quirks! the new HP business printers are pretty cool..we have just started installing those..kinda bulky..sometimes its just personal preference..we were trying to outsmart our prof copier at work yesterday..i needed something on yellow paper so i loaded it in the drawer,,and it chose the second drawer instead ( white) so we switched it around. it switched back! finally we yanked ALL thewhite paper out and did it then! :):):) deb
Posts: 535I have an Epson R2400 printer and I just love it. Now Epson is picky about what paper you feed through it, but the prints that I get off my printer are fabulous. I would definitely buy another Epson. I have worked with HP, Canon, and Lexmark in the past and I find the quality is better from the Epson. Now this is from a photographers point of view.
Hugs,
Julie
Hearts Ease Bearsi can't disagree with that julie,,but with my limited experinece ( cuz i couldnt master the darned thing!) i will never know!! but the people that recommended it to be raved about it quality etc...if my husband hadnt rescued it from me it would be on the curb right now!! 
deb oh well to each their own!
