5MB printing

[CallOfTheWild]

Friends,

I am considering buying a 5MB digital camera, the question is though:

What color printer would print excellent quality 5MB (aprox. 2550*1800 resolution) in a regular picture size and would serve as a general purpose color printer for home use?

--Thanks,

Avinoam.

 

[Jim Guzel]

Hi,

Probably no one has answered your post because, what probably seems like a simple question to you, has a very complicated answer.

I assume that you are talking about printing 8x10 or smaller. The fact is that just about every new printer from Epson, Canon, or just about anyone else will do a very nice job on a file that big. In fact, I regularly print 9x12 prints on an Epson 1270 (a two year old printer) for model portfolios from as little as 1/4 of the file from a CP 990 which only has a 3 MB CCD. The trick is using the right interpolation (Genuine Fractels) and knowing how to use a filter like Unsharp Mask in the PhotoShop programs. However, if you are not much into image processing and aren't inclined to learn more than you have to combining one of the new cameras with PIM (Print image matching, from Epson, with a new Epson Printer might be best for you.

The real issues for printing are (1) do you want to create prints with archival life? (2) How important are issues like printing times and cost of inks and paper to you?

Archival printers are usually more expensive, the inks cost more and they print slower. But the quality is the best for photos. If you look through the readers submission sections in major photo magazines, almost every home-printed photo sent in by a pro is off of an Epson, because they have the best print quality. But Epson has a lousy attitude towards problems and they can be a real pain-in-the-tail. Canon, HP and Lexmark don't fall that far behind in quality and some of their printers are faster and have individual ink tanks for all colors, which is cheaper to operate in the long run. So they may be a better bet for you. Since I run a bussiness and need to do a lot of photo printing and regular paper work, I tossed out an extra $100.00 for a non-archival printer to do my paper work.

For you, something like the Epson 895 or C-80 may be fine. Write back and be more explicit on where you are at and what you need. I'll try to get back to you in a day or two. In the mean time, go to http://www.InkJetArt.com and read their news letters and visit some of their links. It will help educate you and it's a great sight. Good prices, too, but a long wait if you are on the East Coast and using the free ground shipping.

Jim G.

Friends,

I am considering buying a 5MB digital camera, the question is though:

What color printer would print excellent quality 5MB (aprox.
2550*1800 resolution) in a regular picture size and would serve as
a general purpose color printer for home use?

--
Thanks,

Avinoam.

 

[Jim Guzel]

Also, try this site for printer reviews: http://www.dp-now.com/index.html
Read the preview on the new Epson 950 and the Canon S9000

Friends,

I am considering buying a 5MB digital camera, the question is though:

What color printer would print excellent quality 5MB (aprox.
2550*1800 resolution) in a regular picture size and would serve as
a general purpose color printer for home use?

--
Thanks,

Avinoam.

 

[lilharley]

Difficult question to answer. There are always budget concerns, as well as your purpose in printing. If strictly for home use, i.e. personal, friends, co-workers, etc. most any of the printers can be used such as Canon, Epson, HP or Lexmark. In prior years, Epson provided the best quality prints.

Lately, Canon now provides prints equal to as well as surpassing Epson in detail and quality. Also, Canon printers provides features which surpass Epson in speed and individual ink tanks, which can be an issue in consumables.

Epson provides more models moderately priced models then Canon, while both have higher end models. Epson is more widely supported because of their dominance of the field in past years, while Canon is now only gaining ground. You may want to decide if you want to only print 8x10 or less of possibly print larger pictures (since your 5mgb camera should provide the necessary resolution).--Mike

 

[lilharley]

You should realize that the Epson PM950C has not been released yet, nor has an official release date, although it is assumed it will be this summer. Also, be aware of the - Important Note - in the review:

"It must stressed very strongly that this comparison is of limited value. It will introduce some aspects of the Stylus 950’s print characteristics, but as we weren’t able to print our own test prints on the 950, there is no direct comparison available."
Good luck

Friends,

I am considering buying a 5MB digital camera, the question is though:

What color printer would print excellent quality 5MB (aprox.
2550*1800 resolution) in a regular picture size and would serve as
a general purpose color printer for home use?

--
Thanks,

Avinoam.

--Mike

 

[Don Sider]

Jim Guzel wrote:
The trick is using the

right interpolation (Genuine Fractels) and knowing how to use a
filter like Unsharp Mask in the PhotoShop programs.

Jim:

I've read Genuine Fractals mentioned many times, but I'm not sure exactly what it is or what it does. Can you enlighten me about what it does and why it is better than Photoshops image resizing and interpolation.

Thanks,
Dvg

 

[Jim Guzel]

right interpolation (Genuine Fractels) and knowing how to use a
filter like Unsharp Mask in the PhotoShop programs.

Jim:

I've read Genuine Fractals mentioned many times, but I'm not sure
exactly what it is or what it does. Can you enlighten me about what
it does and why it is better than Photoshops image resizing and
interpolation.

Thanks,
Dvg

Dvg,

I can't honestly explain the mathmatical differences, but here are the practical differences (or lack of) that I've seen. Assuming that you are using PS 6, or PS Elements (I think), the bicubic interpolation has been improved over previous versions. Practically speaking, you won't see a difference taking a full frame image from a good 3 MB CCD like the CP 990, cropping it as little as possible and and producing an interpolated 11x14 print, assuming you do a good Unsharp Mask. I'm sure that a microscopic analysis will yield some, but I haven't had a client bring one in with them yet. You will start to see a difference at larger sizes. Using GF, I have been able to take 75% of a base file as described above and interpollate it into a very good 20x24 portrait. Keep in mind that portraits, unlike landscapes, usually have some softening done to them, so I'm not being as critical of fine detail, but I don't soften eyes and lips and they still pop quite well, certainly as well as I can get with Kodak Portra 160 of my 35mm film cameras, and without the grain. 13x19 landscapes look great and I'm sure that I can go larger, but I haven't run any tests yet.

The other big difference with GF is that it creates a compressed file that offers print quality equal to a TIFF file, and that you can re-interpolate that original GF file into different print sizes as you need them. GF works best with an original flattened file of about 15-18 MB (PSD, TIF, whatever) and compresses it to a file size of usually a little bigger than 3MB. When you open the file, you are able to pre-determine the size, resolution and crop. This has obvious storage advantages. If you are compressing a number of files, to save time, create a PS action and run it as a batch.

If you want more info, go to: http://www.lizardtech.com/genuinefractals The newly released Genuine Fractals 2.5 is probably what you need unless you see yourself doing pre-press in the near future, in which case you'll want GF PrintPro

 

[Jim Guzel]

Mike,

All good points that you made. Which basically goes to show my main point that there are a lot of good choices on the market for a few hundred dollars. For that matter, for less than $100.00 you can get a printer that will printer better, longer lasting prints than you could get for $1000.00 four years ago. It's more a matter of how much you have to spend and how much effort you put into making the best file to print from. So Avinoam, what is your pleasure?
Jim

Friends,

I am considering buying a 5MB digital camera, the question is though:

What color printer would print excellent quality 5MB (aprox.
2550*1800 resolution) in a regular picture size and would serve as
a general purpose color printer for home use?

--
Thanks,

Avinoam.

--
Mike

 

[teufel88463]

I agree. I got my Epson 785EXP from dell for $178, and already got back the $100 rebate. For $78 I have no complaints. Sure, I've had a few clogs, nothing that serious. Ink prices are very reasonable, $13.89 for a color cart and $17 for a black. Epson paper prices are also very inexpensive online, and I love their matte paper and premium glossy PP. All-in-all I have been nothing but impressed by my 785EPX. Epson printers just are a little more finicky, and require a little more love than others, hehe. I'd definitely buy the 950c is the price was reasonable. I am totally sold on micro piezo inkjet techology, clogs and all.

Friends,

I am considering buying a 5MB digital camera, the question is though:

What color printer would print excellent quality 5MB (aprox.
2550*1800 resolution) in a regular picture size and would serve as
a general purpose color printer for home use?

--
Thanks,

Avinoam.

--
Mike