Need a new color printer...Suggestions?

[Harlan Chinn]

Ok, I'm in the market for a new printer for my computer (PC), since my old Epson Stylus Photo 750 doesn't want to work with Windows XP Pro. The drivers for the printer are supposed to work according to Epson tech people but I refuse to waste any more time unloading reloading driver to end up sending a document to print and get nothing but print errors messages.

So, the decision is made to buy a new printer.
Criteria: Must be affordable 300.00 tops
Must print photographs well
Must also print text well and combinations of photos
and text.
Periferals (Ink cartridges) must too be affordable.
Printer must use the above efficiently

So anyone out there buy or evaluate printers for either home or the office that can give me some insight?
The choices are daunting, each manufacturer has a dozen or so models shown at, at least a dozen stores with employees that would rather sell you the extended warranty for something than to help in finding the right product, if they had any product knowledge.

Like to stay away from Epson (tech support sucks) unless their product is that much better. I'm open to anything else.

[RallyJon]

Just got an Epson Stylus Photo 900. About $200. Cartridges are reasonable. Prints great photos and fast, crisp text, and also prints directly on white matte CD-Rs. Pretty nice all around.

Don't know if it works with XP Pro, we're a few years behind at work.

[Overpaid Slacker]

Harlan -

Have you checked C|Net ?

Good luck -- I get paralyzed by the options and chasing the specifications.

JP

[nostatic]

I second the 900. We are using a few of them in the office to print CDs/DVDs and case covers. They are cheap, and work fine.

[arcsine]

Epson's tech support maybe crap but the printers are very nice. To make matters worse, at your price point nothing else comes to mind as something to recommend. And don't even think about the other company whose name starts with HP.

[Harlan Chinn]

Ok, Gary, I forgot you are in the industry. What do I need to spend to get good text and photographic quality? And at what price point? If Epson, which Epson?

[arcsine]

Harlan,
After gandering at the Epson site for a few minutes, the Stylus Photo 960 popped out at me; $250, 6 individual inks, 2 pL drop size, at least 1400 dpi resloution. It does not do Postscript but that will not concern you I will guess. The Photo 900 will save you some bucks but while it has 6 inks as well, they are all-in-one.

[Harlan Chinn]

The concensus is stay away from HP and get another Epson. Ok...
Has anyone seen the Epson R300? Opinions? Thanks guys

[widebody911]

Funny, but I work for HP, but wouldn't recommend their printers. Their refill pricing strategy borders on ransom. For a while, it was cheaper to buy a new printer than refil your old one; they nipped that in the bud by supplying new printers with 'starter' cartridges with 1/2 of an ink load.

I won an HP color printer at a charity car show, and I still won't use it.

[Harlan Chinn]

Thom, what are you recommending then?

[arcsine]

The only HP printer that I use and like is a $15,000, 54" plotter. The only reason it works so well is that it has a Fiery RIP attached to it. The other HP plotter, laser printers and scanners pain me to use.

[Harlan Chinn]

In architecture, the HP plotters are a standard until you get into the high output electrostatics (40k and above). I just want a good printer that I can print my portfolio pages that have photographs of my architectural experience.

[Pike]

I work at a computer store. My first recommendation would be the Epson C84. Epson and Cannon are better than HP in my opinion. Cannon stuff is a little more expensive than Epson, the cartriges are a little less money. I would be sure to get one with individual cartrages. The C84 usually goes for $99 or so, is fast, makes nice pictures, and has relatively cheap cartrages.

[Eric Coffey]

I like the Canon printers as well. If you are looking for a great all-around printer with great photo quality, check out the i860/i960 if you can. The problem is that you are never going to get really high quality photo prints from any inkjet printer. The home/portable dye-sub printers are coming down in price though, and they produce some awesome prints.

[Harlan Chinn]

Dye-subs are great for photographs but I need to do combo text/photographs. Thanks for all of the good advice...

[autobonrun]

Picked up a Canon MP730 bubble jet last week. Print, fax, copy, and scanner in one. Good quality photos and prints. My Xerox 480 gave up after about 5 years.

[Harlan Chinn]

Ok...If anyone really cares, I just ordered a Canon i960 color printer. I ordered through ECost.com when I went to a couple of the local retailers here where they were sold out. I went to CompUSA and to Fryes. It never ceases to amaze me at the people they have working on the sales floors of these places. First I ask them if they are first knowledgeable with the printers half of them need to find someone else either that or they simply read off of the item/price card which I have done already. Anyways, I just ordered it on-line and saved the sales tax, the shipping was free, however they did add a 4.95 "Handling Fee". Oh, well... cost me a half a tank in gas driving around to actually put my hands on these printers.
I just hope I made the right decision.

[Pike]

hehe Not a bad choice at all. I am really sorry (but not at all surprised) that you got poor help. There are several ways to look at it. The salesmen are expected to know everything about every product in the store. They are mostly Highschool and College students who are thinking 'paycheck', not 'help the customer.' The best time to come in is when there is a Rep. in the store. They usually know everything about the products. If you live in Seattle, I doubt you came to the Totem Lake store, but we have Epson and Cannon guys in fairly regularly. ( I would like to think that the help would have been better there too.) Good luck with the new machine!

[Schuey]

HP 9300 is nice...

[cassisrot]

Pike, you have a PM