Good printer for graphic design?

Barcardi

I have been researching printers for use mainly for pictures, but also text and line-weight. I am looking into buying one for a portfolio i am working on, as well as to print up high quality photoshop images / pictures.

However what i have noticed is that the only real review site i can find is cnet, and every single one of their reviews for a good printer is followed up by user reviews saying the printer sucks. So i am for a loss.

1: What is a good printer review website?

2: What is a good < 300$ printer out there that wont break down in a year or have super expensive ink?

Or should i just give up and go to a professional printer once a week?

birru

I've never had a printer I've liked. They've all had great output, but there were always issues. Paper misfeeds. Or ink drying up. Or bad Mac drivers. Or loooong startup times. Or trial and error to get smooth solid color printing. Etc.

I can't recommend a good review website really, because tech review sites always seem to gloss over printers, but you'll probably have better luck poking around photography and design forums to get real feedback from real users, who print a lot, not just pissy everyday consumers who rate something one star because they called tech support once and got a guy in India.

I've generally used Epson printers for their overall high quality photo and graphic output. Canons offer good output too, but I have had Mac driver issues in the past that soured me. They may be better now. Dunno. The best printers I've used have been Epsons higher end R series, especially the ones that offer multiple black ink options depending on media choice. Line weight has not really been a problem is long as I print in high quality on good media. Gotta control the bleeding. The really nice ones can even print larger format and accept feed rollers. Basically high end consumer with performance approaching their pro line. You WILL pay out the ass for ink. That's just how it is when printing graphics and photos on really good paper.

It's probably cheaper to print through a service bureau, but you'll have more control at home, so you'll have to decide what's more important. One thing I've been tempted by is printing portfolio books through iPhoto or Picasa, et al. The output looks acceptable, and you get professional binding. Some of the paperback pocket books could be great as portfolio giveaways to keep on your person if you have a chance encounter with someone who wants to see your work. And it's "stickier" than just pointing someone to a web site.

Jasconius

Epson makes redonkulous printers for graphics work, but they are also $texas.

Check out Epson first and see if there is anything in your price range that holds up to their reputation.

Barcardi

hmmm... seems to be? maybe this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16828103394

is 5760 x 1440 dpi good dpi these days for a printer? Or is that not the # i should be looking at?

Rothgarr

I've owned a few Epson printers in my lifetime... and I've had a love/hate relationship with them all.

Loved them because they had amazing output... when I could get a good print.

But good prints were few and far between. And I believe it's due to their paper feeding design (not sure if they've changed this in the meantime). The paper always fed downwards into the back of the printer. And dust would always get in and settle there like a big funnel. It got into the printer and constantly clogged the print heads. Every time I'd print a test sheet some of the lines would be missing -- so you tell it to clean the print head which takes forever and wastes ink (every color, not just the one that needs the cleaning). Do another test print. Crap! Now a different head is missing lines on the test sheet!

So I'd go through cleaning back and forth, probably wasting half the ink cartridge trying to get the thing clean. And it happened with all Epson printers I had that had that paper feed design.

Right now I'm using an all-in-one HP. It's not bad, and in the two years I've had it I never once had to clean the heads because the paper sits in an enclosed paper tray.

DHS Odium

Any real printer you want to use for graphics work, costs much, much more than $300. Add a zero or two on to that.

El Guaco

Epson printers can turn out really good photos, but the ink is beyond expensive. $65 or more for a new set of cartridges for about 50 prints or so. Every time you turn it on it charges the ink so you just have to leave it on all the time. I finally gave up printing non-photos and bought a cheap b&w laser printer for that. I doubt I will use my ink jet for photos again unless I need it right now and can't wait for a print service. Online photo services are so freaking cheap these days it seems silly to print at home if you can wait a few days.

Jasconius

El Guaco wrote: »

Online photo services are so freaking cheap these days it seems silly to print at home if you can wait a few days.

Here is the truth.

Rothgarr

Jasconius wrote: »

El Guaco wrote: »

Online photo services are so freaking cheap these days it seems silly to print at home if you can wait a few days.

Here is the truth.

We have a great photo printer at home but hell, we still upload out photos to either walmart or costco and pick them up an hour later. Cheaper, faster, and the quality is great. I know they also do at least 8x10, maybe larger. If you need poster-size, I've also had stuff printed out at Staples.

But not a bad idea to have something at home, too. You'd be amazed at how well cheap photo printers print these days.

maximumzero

+



A Full set of inks with this system generally runs you under $50 and last at least four times as long as the stock Epson stuff.

Barcardi

Ok, what is that?