a new printer

bubblybee

bubblybee

New Member
I'm looking for a new printer for my mum. she loves editing her digi cam photos and printing them out and also wants to be able to hook up the camera straight to the printer. she wanted laser but i think that'll be too expensive for her for colour. i was looking at canon's cos the cartridges are cheap. i've got a canon pixma MP110 which i really like but it doesn't do the direct camera thing. she's not too fussed about getting a multifunction printer cos she already has a scanner. she just wants something reliable, cost-effective and easy to work with (she's not hugely computer literate). any suggestions would be greatly appreciated :)
 
Go with HP. I have a cheaper one(3520) and a all in one(PSC 1350) and both do quite well with photos. Then, my dad and grandparents both have HP PhotoSmart printers, and they are REALLY good with photos. Both have built in card readers, too.

Now some of these have a USB port on the front...um, USB Bridge I think. Some camaeras can use this where you basically set what pics you want to print out and it'll send them to the printer this way. Not sure if your camera does it or not as not many do(I think only one of ours actually can...)
 
The ability to print directly from the camera to the printer is called PictBridge. Most cameras and printers currently do have that function build in to them. HP is good, but recently, I've been getting frustrated with the life of the newer cartridges that they put into some of their newer machines. Another good alternative is Epson, they have quite possibly the BEST print quality for pictures, and the ink resists fading longer than the HP ink. Plus, the Epson ink dries practically instantaniously upon hitting the paper, so that you can touch the print a lot sooner. HP will take awhile to dry, especially if it is a print that has a decent amount of black in it.

The main thing to consider is if your mother will be directly from the camera or printer most of the time, or using the computer. If she is looking to print from the camera or printer (a little harder, but not impossible) then you should get her something with a color preview screen so she can see what it looks like before printing it. Otherwise, if she is looking to print from the computer, then the preview screen does not matter. If you are looking for some specific recommendations of printers then here are some of the best ones for less than $250. All of these would be fine:

1. Epson R320(screen) - about $180
2. HP Photosmart 8150(screen) - about $180
3. HP Photosmart 8450(screen) - about $230
4. Epson R200(no screen) - about $100

One other thing to note is the cartridges that the printer will be using...
Epson:
Epsons use individual color cartridges that allow you to fully use the ink before having to replace it. Furthermore, the Epson cartrides also usually have a longer life than the HP.

HP:
HP uses a tri-color ink system that sometimes can lead to some unused ink being thrown away, therefore not lending as much to cost efficiency. When looking for an HP printer, try to buy one with the 96/97 cartridges in it. The printers usually cost a little more, but you will make up that cost in the ink in a VERY short amount of time (the 96/97 have almost twice the amount of ink in the cartridges).

Page yield information on the cartridges can be found out at the respective web sites of both companies. Let me know if you have any more questions, I will be more than willing to offer any more advice :).
 
Not to be insulting Other_One, but stay away from cheap HP printers, the cartridges, excuse my language, suck big time. For instance, the 3520 uses the 27/28 cartridges which are horrible with page yield. They cost about $18 and $22 respectively. However, the 56/57 cartridges that came out at the same time are $20 and $35 respectively and have more than twice the amount of page yield!!! Oh, and one other note, if you see a printer with the new 21/22 cartridges in them, STAY AWAY AT ALL COSTS! The cartrides have less than 150 pages in them both! grr...
 
Hehe, I actually used the printer very little. I simply wanted something to print black and white stuff. Over all, the color does well, too. But, if you want to talk about junk, look into the Lexmark printers! They're quality is horrible and their ink lasts half the time my HP carts did!

Now, my PSC used the 56/57 if I remember correctly. I have no clue what's different about them as they look like the ones that my cheaper one used. Maybe they just hold more ink?
 
Yeah, the 56/57 cartridges are completely filled with ink. However, the 27/28 cartridges are only half-filled. How about that for money-grubbing corporations??? But, if you don't use the printer that much, then the cheaper cartridges at least don't cost you as much if the print head dries up ;). And your 1350 does use the 56/57, the 1315 gave you the option of using 27/28 or 56/57.

Oh, and yeah Lexmark ink printers are not very good, but their lasers are waaay better than HP, however, no one can beat the Brother lasers.
 
well, a few things here. I had a canon printer and for photos, it stank, but that was my printer. Also, the lexmarks are expensive for ink.
 
Canon printers are pretty erratic with their performance... Sometimes they are awesome, and sometimes they won't work out of the box. (I opened one one time that the cartridge component didn't even move across so that you could put the cartridges in!!! Brand new!!!)
 
hmmm... very interesting. had not considered epson. i will look into it. think i will stay away from hp cos i've had a few of them and haven't been all that happy. just to settle my mind about the canon's... i was looking at the pixma ip400?
http://www.canon.com.au/products/printers/colour_bj_printers/ip4000.html

Also, you were talking about those printers with screens.. how important is that? i thought you just could have looked at it on your camera without the need for a screen.

thanks for all your help guys, i really appreciate it.... so will my mum!
 
Yeah, forgot to mention that part... The PictBridge uses the screen on the camera to view the picture, but most cameras do not allow any fixing of the image on board. What you see is what you get... The IP4000 is a decent printer, and if you like Canon, go for it. I personally think that the Epson R320 is a better printer, but that's my opinion :).
 
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