[tisenberg]

I have a canon i850 printer that I use strictly for printing digital pictures. Awesome printer, fast, nice prints, etc. I let my old lexmark do the *other* printing. I have done the 8.5 X 11's and the 4 X 6 photo paper. I guess I prefer to use the 4 X 6 paper because I don't want to cut. Plus the 8.5 X 11 doesn't really work out to well unless you go with bigger pictures.

I have found that the software you use to print along with the printer can have different results as it relates to how much of the paper is printed on when using 4 X 6.

I like the printer supplied "Cannon Easy Print" software. The Kodak was okay, and the HP is alright.

I also played around with the HP paper, Kodak paper and non-name brand paper. I like the HP Premium and see no value in the extra priced "Plus" paper. I like the perf on the paper as it make it to have an easy place to touch. I have been using the Kodak paper lately, but it is not filling the last 1/4 of the paper with the image.

Just thought I'd dump a bunch of thoughts to see if it sparks a conversation.

 

[Stewart]

I was thinking about buying a digital camera, and was wondering if it is worth buying a new printer that will print pics????


Or is it easier to take a cd or memory stick to Wally World and having them do it????

 

[Argee]

We have an HP photosmart 7550...I like it as it has a small viewer I can use to view and crop photos without having to use the computer. As far as printing paper, the only brand I have used so far is HP. Only had it a couple of months so there is a lot to learn. :duh:

 

[Argee]

Originally posted by Stewart
I was thinking about buying a digital camera, and was wondering if it is worth buying a new printer that will print pics????
Or is it easier to take a cd or memory stick to Wally World and having them do it????

It all depends on how involved you want to get. When printing for yourself, you control what gets printed and what doesn't. You also have ultimate control on the image brightness, clarity, cropping, etc.....by taking it to Wally World they control what they feel the best image is.

Is this making any sense??? :crazy:

 

[tisenberg]

The way I explained it to my wife was as follows.... When you take a few pictures and want them NOW, go print them. If we have a batch of 60 or 100, we can take it to PriceClub, Wally, etc and have them do it. (I recommend testing each place, because paper and print quality is vastly different... as well as price).

I personally don't like the paper that WallyWorld uses for 35mm film, I prefer Costco.

What we/she found out was, she liked the "here and now"... she loads up the hopper, selects the pictures, zooms in on some, etc and hits print. She has printed probably 700 pictures since I got this last December. She printed about 30 pictures last night.

 

[Stewart]

One of the reasons I was asking about print is we have a laser printer that of course does not do color. That would mean that we would have to buy another printer that is color and picture capable. I think most of our pictures would be kept on CD and probably only print out a fraction of what we take. I just use Wally world as a loose example because I know they do the digital thing.

What type of camera would you recommend? I would like to keep it as close to 200 smackers as possible, and still get the most mp’s as possible. That may be a pipe dream, but that is OK if I am off base let me know. Thanks ahead of time.
:usa:

 

[ThGrubInspector]

Checkout Snapfish.com

Snapfish offers 2 services. First they will receive your digital photos and print them on Kodak paper for you. It takes about a week but the prints are excellent and indistinguisbale from a 35MM print. You need to invest heavily to get a home use printer offering the same quality print.

Second, for you non-digi's, they develop 35MM film and store them for you. You just upload the prints you want from their systems to you PC, it takes sec's. You can dump the not so good ones and order prints for the ones you want to share.

The prices :blush: are comparable to having 35MM developed at the local supermarket and they give Kodak quality. Enlargements are available too. I bought a pretty snifty color printer, but I continue to use Snapfish for my photos.

This is one of the best deals on the web!

Snapfish.com
(and no I'm not the President)

 

[tisenberg]

Stewart -> You can probably get a 3 megapixel camera for $200, more likely a 2.something megapixel camera. You'll probably end up purchasing other memory sticks too. I personally like the Sony line.

I went the CD route because I didn't want to have to stock up on memory sticks or bring a laptop on a long vacation. The CD option is more money though.

As for quality printers... I think I spent under $200 from the Canon i850 and it prints awesome.

There are several upload and print services from around 10 to 20 cents a print. You can even sit at stations at Wallyworld and Costco and pick which ones to print (I have not personnally done this).

 

[BradT]

Stewart,
Before buying any color inkjet printer, try and get a handle on what the cost per print will be. The printers themselves are being sold very cheap, but the cost of the consumables (ink cartridges) will eat you up.

 

[Stewart]

I know a new cart for my laser is like $70! Not so cheap. We have a color printer here at work and the wax sticks are like $100 for two! Again a little rich for me. I appreciate you letting me hijack the thread, it might be a little while until we are ready for a new camera. It gives me time to research and get it in the budget! :nerd:

By the way I notice the spell check button below except it is not working for me... I can use all the help I can get!

 

[Kevin Beitz]

Printers and ink

Remember that it is very important to price the ink before you buy a printer... There is a huge difference... I like Epsom printers...

 

[Stewart]

I havn't looked at the Sony cameras yet, I was looking at the Nikon's so far. I guess I need to figure out the price range first and then get it in the budget!:dazed:

 

[tisenberg]

Kevin Beitz is right. When looking at printers, price the consumables... that is where they really get you over and over and over again.

I noticed that I can get i850 cartridges over the web for a couple of bucks each. SO... when reviewing costs, make sure to look on the web too. I NEVER buy ink from the box stores.

 

[jodyand]

Thats where the money is

tisenberg
Thats where they make there money they sell the printer cheap and then when you need ink look out:duh: :duh:
Jody:usa:

 

[tisenberg]

Did another paper test last night. The test was between the Canon Photo Paper Plus Glossy and the HP Premium Glossy (one step down below "Plus")

I found that the Canon paper coming off of the Canon printer dried quicker. The HP seems more tacky when coming off the printer and is prone to sticking to other print outs for a few minutes. The Canon paper seemed completely dry when finished.

Gloss look, I think they were both very much the same, only a slight difference, but nothing worth worring about. If you have the light hit the gloss right and you look hard enough, you will see that the HP paper has more texture then the canon. Not that either is better, just an observation.

Cost between these two...

CompUSA:
HP 60 pack: $20.00
Canon 120 pack: $25.00

I bought them there because I needed it *now*... buy online and get it cheaper if you watch tax and shipping charges closely.

Lastly, this test is only of interest, since printers, ink and everything else affects the results.... "Your results may vary".

 

[JimD]

I shoot a LOT of film, and now a lot of digital. (like probably 200-300 rolls of print a year). I bought a digital so that internet stuff would be cheaper. Locally, I can now get 4" prints for $.27. The same as print, but I save the film costs. Also, it takes them 30 minutes at wally's neighborhood market. The quality is almost as good as my $1000 film camera. Much bigger prints, and the film is the way to go. BTW, I shoot a kodak 4 megapixel.
My only complaint is indoors. I have a BIG flash for my film, and it's not available for the digital. Bummer.

Just my opinion, but they are 2 different beasts. Depending on my intent decides what I grab on the way out the door.

Also, if you go digital, get one that uses a standard battery. Then go get NMH batteries with a charger. I can use 2 AAA's in 20 shots with flash, but my NMH's run about 100 pics. I paid $20 at walmart for 4 batteries, a charger, and a car adaptor. At shows, the chrger sits in the truck with 2 warming up, and 2 running down. I typically carry a 128M compact flash card for storage. At internet resolution, I can get about 250-350 pics.

 

[Kevin Beitz]

My ink cost me $6.00 for color and $4.00 for black ink....
Epson....

Babye.com

http://store.yahoo.com/babye/princar.html

Check it out...

 

[tisenberg]

My last batch was $1.54 per color (3 colors)... didn't buy black. It's amazing, the store wants over $30.00 for the 3 colors... what a crime.

You need to be careful with what you get. There are inks out there that are cheap and won't last. For those special pictures, you may want to slow down and *think* about it... then use the cheap ink anyways