Printer recommendation for my Dad, what do you think?

For Christmas, I am looking to get my Dad a printer to replace his Lexmark Z57 which finally died. What I would like is good photo printing but does not have to be quite top notch as he most likely won't know the difference and probably just as important is decent text output. Durability is a consideration as well as I am the main computer support and I sometimes don't visit for several months. I do not need any LCDs or digital card reading capabilities etc. I would like to keep the price $150 tops. An Epson is out of the question as I have a personal vendetta against them due to too many ink clogging experiences. The only real experiences I have had with inkjets the past year is the Canon I950 I bought for myself and the HP5550 (I hope I have the model number right) that I bought for another relative. I think the I950 may be overkill for his needs although I like the photo quality, speed and quietness. Things I don't like are the warm up times, price and in my opinion text quality although not horrible, is kind of so-so. I never had much exposure with the HP5550 but it seemed photo quality wasn't too bad and I believe didn't require a warm up time. I don't recall how the text was. However I remember it being noisy, clunky, and not real fast.

Am interested in hearing your opinions and recommendations.

P.S. Off subject but I think the individual Canon ink tank systems is over rated. I don't think I have printed more then 20 8x10 color photos and I have had to replace the photo magenta and cyan at a cost of $12 each. One more will equal the cost of an all in one color cartridge.

You have an assortment of different pricepoint HPs to choose from and the new Canon i860 CMYK printer. Its gotten some rave remarks on its photo capability.

Bruce

Bruce

geepondy said:

For Christmas, I am looking to get my Dad a printer to replace his
Lexmark Z57 which finally died. What I would like is good photo
printing but does not have to be quite top notch as he most likely
won't know the difference and probably just as important is decent
text output. Durability is a consideration as well as I am the
main computer support and I sometimes don't visit for several
months. I do not need any LCDs or digital card reading
capabilities etc. I would like to keep the price $150 tops. An
Epson is out of the question as I have a personal vendetta against
them due to too many ink clogging experiences. The only real
experiences I have had with inkjets the past year is the Canon I950
I bought for myself and the HP5550 (I hope I have the model number
right) that I bought for another relative. I think the I950 may be
overkill for his needs although I like the photo quality, speed and
quietness. Things I don't like are the warm up times, price and in
my opinion text quality although not horrible, is kind of so-so. I
never had much exposure with the HP5550 but it seemed photo quality
wasn't too bad and I believe didn't require a warm up time. I
don't recall how the text was. However I remember it being noisy,
clunky, and not real fast.

Am interested in hearing your opinions and recommendations.

P.S. Off subject but I think the individual Canon ink tank systems
is over rated. I don't think I have printed more then 20 8x10
color photos and I have had to replace the photo magenta and cyan
at a cost of $12 each. One more will equal the cost of an all in
one color cartridge.

Click to expand...

geepondy said:

P.S. Off subject but I think the individual Canon ink tank systems
is over rated. I don't think I have printed more then 20 8x10
color photos and I have had to replace the photo magenta and cyan
at a cost of $12 each. One more will equal the cost of an all in
one color cartridge.

Click to expand...

Exactly! For most people, (like you, me, and probably your dad), seperate ink tanks don't offer a compelling advantage.

I'd recommend the new HP Photosmart 7760. It's very easy to use and gives great results right out of the box. 6-ink photo output is fantastic, and won't fade like Canon. The addition of the #59 gray cartridge will allow your father to print black/white photos that nobody (including Epson) can touch. And of course, the best thing is that you can still print perfect text - just be sure to pick up the #56 black cartridge as well. The best thing about the HP Photosmart printers is that they print photos and text equally well, unlike Canon and Epson's high-end photo printers. And with the printhead on the cartridge, your dad will never fuss with clogged nozzles.

The 7760 comes with card slots and an LCD preview screen, which makes it really easy for "non-experts" to print photos - you don't even have to use the computer. It's $199, and the additional gray and black cartridges are $20 each.

-phils

geepondy said:

For Christmas, I am looking to get my Dad a printer to replace his
Lexmark Z57 which finally died. What I would like is good photo
printing but does not have to be quite top notch as he most likely
won't know the difference and probably just as important is decent
text output. Durability is a consideration as well as I am the
main computer support and I sometimes don't visit for several
months. I do not need any LCDs or digital card reading
capabilities etc. I would like to keep the price $150 tops. An
Epson is out of the question as I have a personal vendetta against
them due to too many ink clogging experiences. The only real
experiences I have had with inkjets the past year is the Canon I950
I bought for myself and the HP5550 (I hope I have the model number
right) that I bought for another relative. I think the I950 may be
overkill for his needs although I like the photo quality, speed and
quietness. Things I don't like are the warm up times, price and in
my opinion text quality although not horrible, is kind of so-so. I
never had much exposure with the HP5550 but it seemed photo quality
wasn't too bad and I believe didn't require a warm up time. I
don't recall how the text was. However I remember it being noisy,
clunky, and not real fast.

Am interested in hearing your opinions and recommendations.

P.S. Off subject but I think the individual Canon ink tank systems
is over rated. I don't think I have printed more then 20 8x10
color photos and I have had to replace the photo magenta and cyan
at a cost of $12 each. One more will equal the cost of an all in
one color cartridge.

Click to expand...

I would consider the canon i850 or i860. As you have probably heard here, the photo output of the i850 (what I use) is close to the i950. It also doesn't have the two photo colors that the i950 burns through so fast (and seems to be the most likkly to clog). It uses technology to simulate the lighter photo colors using the normal darker inks and does a very good job of it.

The text performance of the i850/i860 is much beter than the i950 too. The i950 was designed to be a dedicated photo printer. When it prints text it is trying to print it at 2400x4800 dpi which is way over kill for text and the reason it is so slow with text. If you try to kick the resolution way down you get speckeled grey text. It also uses dye black for text. The i850/i860 has a 600x600 low res portion of the head that uses black pigment ink. It is specifically designed for text and prints as fast as a laser printer. You also get a little darker, deeper black text from the pigment black ink. The i850/i860 are designed to be multi purpose printers, though they do great photos.

I have heard of the i850 selling for 100$ or less while the new i860 retails for 150$. The i850 used pigment black for text and all three dye colors to make composite black for photos. The newer i860 uses both a pigment black for text and a dye black for photos (it has 5 inks) which is a really nice feature if you ask me. It also adds pictobrige support and some other bells and whistles (cd printing in all countrys but the US due to US patents).

Just on a side note, those tiny all in one ink cartriges contain a lot less ink than the individual ink tanks so dollar for dollar, you are going to get more photos from the individual ink tanks.

You could go hp to completlly avoid clog problems but consumable costs are much higher and the i850 at least, has very little problems with clogs (much less than the i950).

You think they are overrated because you don't understand them. They are a godsend for people who use alot of ink. and pretty darn good for those that don't. comparing a single three color ink cartridge to a six color, six cart system is pointless.

geepondy said:

.

P.S. Off subject but I think the individual Canon ink tank systems
is over rated. I don't think I have printed more then 20 8x10
color photos and I have had to replace the photo magenta and cyan
at a cost of $12 each. One more will equal the cost of an all in
one color cartridge.

Click to expand...

oh, by the way, i agree with richard on the i860.

Ed Warburton said:

geepondy said:

.

P.S. Off subject but I think the individual Canon ink tank systems
is over rated. I don't think I have printed more then 20 8x10
color photos and I have had to replace the photo magenta and cyan
at a cost of $12 each. One more will equal the cost of an all in
one color cartridge.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

I haven't had the printer long enough to make any conclusive results but previous printer was an Epson Photo stylus with five color ink cartridge. It "seems" as if the five color cartridge at I forget now but I think less then $30 lasted about as long as the two Canon cartridges I have already replaced for about the same price. Again, I never actually counted the amount of photos printed so my statement could be erroneous.

Ed Warburton said:

geepondy said:

.

P.S. Off subject but I think the individual Canon ink tank systems
is over rated. I don't think I have printed more then 20 8x10
color photos and I have had to replace the photo magenta and cyan
at a cost of $12 each. One more will equal the cost of an all in
one color cartridge.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

I think it has become my front runner. I am hoping Sam's club will carry it as they carried the i850 and i950 before. I see CompUSA currently has it in stock for $150. One question that I will ask in this thread and see if it gets answered before starting a new one. Does the printer come with full ink tanks or partially filled "starter" cartridges? As mentioned, this will be a long distance gift. Hopefully Staples will carry the inks as that is the only printer store close to where he lives.

Ed Warburton said:

oh, by the way, i agree with richard on the i860.

Click to expand...

geepondy,

I disagree with you (that Epsons are bad photo printers). the only one that I saw which clog was neglected for over a year. My own personal experience is that they make the sharpest and most colorfull prints. I own the Epson 900 (but also have an HP because the prints made from the HP last much much longer without fading).

I still respect your opinion, however, (since I feel the same way about other companies) and would therefore like to suggest the HP 7660 (the 7760 is a little better only because it has the screen and not because it makes better pictures. Also, the 7760 appears to be above your price range).

The 7660 is an attractive printer (you do want a gift to look nice). A printer's looks, however, are not everything - what really matters are the looks of the final prints. The new HP printers excel in this (both in color and black and white).

With a gray cartridge, this printer prints beautiful black and white images (no other photo printer can do that). If your dad has some black and white negatives, he would be most appreciative.

HP inks are expensive (after all, you do get a new HP print head with every cartridge and you could argue that the cost difference with epson ink is enough to replace a clogged epson), but longevity on HP premium plus paper is excellent and may also justify the price difference. And while Epson prints look glossier and better, you can get the same with the HP by switching to a paper similar to Epson's made by Ilford at the expense of longevitiy (either their non-classic glossy or printasia). This would give you a choice between getting nice long lasting epson looking prints (minus the head clogging) or nice longer(!) lasting HP prints - all on your HP just by switching the type of glossy paper.

Anyway, that's my opinion: go with the HP 7660 (or 7960 if you are willing to spend a little more). Although all photo printers (canon, epson, HP) today make nice prints, the print longevity, ability to print in black and white, and the resistance to clogging (accomplished through the use of more expensive cartridges) make the HP your choice.

Good luck!

Sincerely,
Jorge

geepondy said:

For Christmas, I am looking to get my Dad a printer to replace his
Lexmark Z57 which finally died. What I would like is good photo
printing but does not have to be quite top notch as he most likely
won't know the difference and probably just as important is decent
text output. Durability is a consideration as well as I am the
main computer support and I sometimes don't visit for several
months. I do not need any LCDs or digital card reading
capabilities etc. I would like to keep the price $150 tops. An
Epson is out of the question as I have a personal vendetta against
them due to too many ink clogging experiences. The only real
experiences I have had with inkjets the past year is the Canon I950
I bought for myself and the HP5550 (I hope I have the model number
right) that I bought for another relative. I think the I950 may be
overkill for his needs although I like the photo quality, speed and
quietness. Things I don't like are the warm up times, price and in
my opinion text quality although not horrible, is kind of so-so. I
never had much exposure with the HP5550 but it seemed photo quality
wasn't too bad and I believe didn't require a warm up time. I
don't recall how the text was. However I remember it being noisy,
clunky, and not real fast.

Am interested in hearing your opinions and recommendations.

P.S. Off subject but I think the individual Canon ink tank systems
is over rated. I don't think I have printed more then 20 8x10
color photos and I have had to replace the photo magenta and cyan
at a cost of $12 each. One more will equal the cost of an all in
one color cartridge.

Click to expand...

geepondy said:

Ed Warburton said:

oh, by the way, i agree with richard on the i860.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

I got my i850 at sams. I really like their extended waranty. I think that it was 15$ for an additional 3 yrs. It claims to cover anything the manufactures waranty covers so 4yrs print head coverage for 15$.

All of the multi-cartrige printers from canon have come with full carts so unless they have recentlly changed something? The carts are clear so I think there would be a lot of irritated people if the carts were only 1/3 full or something. It is easier to do the starter cartrige thing on other brands where the cartriges are not see through.

Fyi, I do not know if this is just in my area but staples has recentlly began advertizing being ink/toner specialists (like office depot has been doing for a while) and claim to have any ink or toner in stock. If he is going to use oem ink though, I would consider ordering online from office depot using online coupons and if possible when they are on sale. It seems that some of the best deals that I have seen posted here that are from a main stream dealer seem to be from od for canon ink. Personally I use inkjet goodies.