[Rufus]

Greetings, Steve Ellis!!!

[EnglishBob]

I've printed around 15 17"*13" and 2 19"*13" and 20 or so 4"*6" pictures, a bunch of black and white A3 documents and I have just replaced my black and photomagenta cartridges.

I am surprisingly happy with how good on ink it is. All these were printed at best setting. The good thing for me is that the individual inks are only $12 USD. I was always running one color out in my Epsom and that was over $30 a pop, which really sucks if there is plenty of ink left in the other 2 colors.

[Peted]

Individual ink tanks are the way to go.

[Don Schaeffer]

I have an old Epson Stylus 780. I don't see how the prints can be improved. The driver is a little unreliable--it keeps getting contaminated and I have to reinstall it. I use ink from Island Inkjet and semi-glass or mat paper (right now Canon Mat Photopaper) that I can get as cheap as possible shopping around. I print about 8X10 on 8.5 X 11 paper.

[Peted]

Don, Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and get some new toys............ er I mean equipment.

[Steve Ellis]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys.

i look forward to getting involved and reading the threads.

[Petographer]

Great to have you aboard Steve. Looking forward to some images.

[StudioJ]

The other day a Canon Rep told me that the cost per A4 full photo page is $2.20 plus paper on my printer. I laughed at him, supposedly you should be able to print 30 A4 pages without having to change a single colour and double that before you would need to change them all. Which is great if you can buy the cartridges wholesale based on his pricing the cartridges are 1/3 cheaper than the cheapest retail price I've ever seen.

[Peted]

Yes indeed, I think the printer cartridges are outrageously priced for what you get.

[Steve Ellis]

The cartridge price here in the UK is certainly nothing short of outrageous.
Every time I need one I ask myself the same old question...I wonder if you can tell the difference with compatible cartridges ?
Every time I still go out and buy originals.
Does anyone use Canon compatible cartridges ? If so, what do you think ?

[Peted]

I refilled with my old Canon 400SP and I think it stuffed the print head, not that impressed. With the new Pixma IP 3000 my intention is to only use originals, I will be trolling the computer markets for the cheapest prices though, even online prices are high when you add postage. Most of my printing I will be doing through the local services though, just like to be able to do some printing when the feel like it rather than wait, bigger sizes are also expensive from the print shops.

[Steve Ellis]

I did indeed figure that the non originals could be responsible for various blockages/ breakdowns.
Ive also heard that they fade quicker than original inks and the colours are not quite true.
Spose the old warranty would be up the swanny too. ( assuming it is still covered )

[EnglishBob]

I've used canon compatible with my old bubble jet, the color rendition was horrible.

When I lived in the UK I used http://www.aktivdirect.co.uk/acatalog/index.html for my printing supplies, they were usually very competitive and I never had any problems with them. I used compatible black cartridges but I still preferred the manufacturers color ones.

[mic]

10x15cm prints $0.21 each at Big W....


Not sure about the quality but they're going to send the SOHO printer sellers broke.

[Peted]

I am guessing that a lot of people with cheaper P&S cameras don't worry about quality too much but do worry about the price and they probably don't want a print larger than 6x4 so 21c will most likely capture them.

[mic]

Indeed Peted.

This is the same section of the market that were happy with their P&S 35mm cameras.

Nothing has changed for them except the way the image is captured in camera. There is an old debate about where a photographer makes the image (In camera or darkroom) I lean towards the camera.

Every now and then I'll fiddle with an image but most of the time I'd like the printers to show me what I can do. If my prints come back really shocking, I ask "What did I do wrong when shooting" rather than " Geeeeze, aint they bad printers"


I have stong veiws on the P&S people and the role of the computer in photography. Maybe we could start a new thread?


Edited due to really bad spelling..

[Don Schaeffer]

I don't make photos primarily for prints. I use them on the net and for slide shows. Prints are a glut. I eventually make them into books and they sit on the coffee table. There's an absurdity about prints. I haven't got the kind of space they demand. So I just make a few prints a month. I'd much rather have a new camera than a new printer.

--Don

[jericho]

Funny you should mention that Don. With the advent of the digital age, which has dramatically increased our ability to share memories across nations in minutes, we are also slowly losing our hard copy records.

Over time, people are printing fewer and fewer photos and not aslikely to keep them in albums. Year after year, the paper record of our lives is diminishing.

I think this should be a separate topic for discussion..... Anyone???

[Toad]

Year after year, the paper record of our lives is diminishing.

This is another good point against printing your own photos vs using a lab. Home printed photos are non-archival and the emulsion can be easily scratched (unlike lab photos). This gives a false sense of preservation with regard to prints.

Except for prints that have been heat damaged, a 40 year old lab printed photo looks pretty much as good today as when it was new. This cannot be said about photos printed by home printers. B&W prints made in a lab wil survive us all.

Most photos printed in a lab whether they were taken by a digital or analog camera are chemically processed. Photo paper is exposed to light and given a chemical bath - in a home printer, ink jets spray tiny pixels of die on a sheet of photo paper. This just doesn't last and is VERY easily damaged. So the price you pay for lab processing vs home printing is just not apples to apples.

I have a decent Epson photo printer, but I will probably never use it for printing a photo again. Not only are the photos not as durable as lab photos, but they cost a lot. My Epson DRINKS expensive ink. Meanwhile the photo place on the corner will print me an 8x10 using proper technology for $4. When I factor in the cost of the paper I waste printing myself, there is just no significant financial or qualitative reason for printing my own stuff .

As for Jerry's question about the loss of paper record of our lives - good point. It is a strong argument for film vs digital. A good transparency will only improve as scanning and printing technology improves - ensuring better and better print capabilities as techology improves - but the images of today's digital cameras will probably look sadly inadequate in 20 years - at least without heavy interpolation and other software tricks.

Just my $.02

[guitarman]

I use a Pixma 8500 and love it. Exactly as the i9900 except the biggest it will print is 8X10. I never go bigger than that for myself. I also ue the ilford paper. Much better than the canon crap. I can't get the finish I like in Canon paper. There pro glossy isn't very good there matt is terrible. I use the smooth pearl and classic pearl Ilford. I prefer the Classic pearl but can only get it in 8X10. so for any 4X6 I use the smooth pearl. I will sometimes use the pro glss canon if anyone is wishing for that in a 4X6. Unfortunately Canon ripped us Canadians and American off by disabling the Disc printer option. So for that I use the Epson R200 Its great and I got it cheap and I only use it for disc printing. Luckily I've got the room as I have the R300 the IP8500 an HP LaserJet and am soon getting a dedicated B&W printer. Printing for your self is more costly than the lab but you have more control. I get much better prints than the lab.

[Rufus]

Dont you find it horrendously expensive then?

Oh, Ps; I'm Rufus. Welcome!

[shuttertalk]

Printing for your self is more costly than the lab but you have more control. I get much better prints than the lab.

I guess that's the general consensus at the moment, although I'm sure there will be one day when our kids will be asking - Dad, what's a photo lab?