I have just been reading the posts on printers and now I dont know what to do there is so much for and against each make,could you please help.I have a Lexmark 1000 printer that came with my pc set up it has been okay for learning but I would now like to have a better printer mostly for photos, as I am thinking of giving up my darkroom, and using digital,so the printer has to give me good quality prints I was going to go for the epson 750 but I am not sure what do you suggest.This is only for my use as a hobby. Catherine

-- Catherine Cochrane (catherine.jean@ic24.net), October 23, 1999

Answers

I'd look at the Epson 750 or the Canon BJC6000. Both look like good bets and the 6000 has individual removeable ink tanks so you only replace the color that's run out. I've seen 6000's going for about $180, with a $50 rebate bringing them down to $130. Sounds like a deal to me. You might even be able to refill the cartridges yourself and really save a lot on the consumables! If you go to Canon's site, there is a link where you can have a free sample print mailed to you. Unfortunately, the Canon marketing geniuses send you a plain paper sample rather than one printed on photo paper... Sigh.

There are a few entries in this forum about the epson 750 and the bjc6000 printers.

Good Luck!

-- Gerald Payne (gmp@francorp.francomm.com), October 23, 1999.

I have an Epson Stylus Photo 750 and love it, except for 1 thing (see my post on the dreaded "pizza wheel" effect). The print is good enough to make most people think it was a real photo print. Quality is excelent on the Epson photo paper, and very good on Great White Matte finish photo quality paper.

You can get special archival quality inks for the Epson line if you really want to put out high quality prints. Go to www.tssphoto.com/sp/dg for more info. They also have archival/photo quality papers and canvases, and may even have ink for the Canon line.

I paid $209 for my Epson on www.buy.com. I reccomend checking them for prices before you buy.

-- Dale R Dankulich (daled01@mindspring.com), October 23, 1999.

This is in part a response the original as well as the first answer. I believe that either suggested printer is fine. However, the part about refilling your ink cartridges frequently does not work properly and if something goes wrong with the printer as a result, it won't be covered by the manufacturer.

Oh, and FYI, I have a Epson Stylus 740 and I am very happy with it. Therefore, I would personally go for the Epson 750.

-- David Erskine (davide@netquest.com), October 24, 1999.

David,

I regularly refill both the tri-color and black cartridges for my Canon printer, and have done so in past for an Epson Stylus Color. Epson is more difficult to do correctly, but it is possible. The advantage of the canon units is that the heads are easily removeable and replaceable. There is also a very simple process that works extremely well for clearing clogged print heads. I had to perform it once when my Canon cartridge dried out and the head got clogged. I've yet to replace a head. Merely adding a small quantity of bleach to very hot water(preferrably distilled) and soaking the head for a few minutes will generally clear any stubborn head. This may have to be done more than once. The trick is to then load in a new cartridge and clean the heads several times in order to get ink into the heads before attempting to print anything. The biggest mistakes most people make when refilling cartridges are: waiting for them to run out, not letting them sit for a day or so after refilling so that trapped air can collect at the highest point(preferrably away from the ink egress), and not ensuring that most of the air gets out of the cartridges prior to refilling. Epson printers seem to have a real problem with air getting trapped in the heads with improperly refilled cartridges. If you do it correctly and don't attempt to overfill them you'll have very little trouble. The current best method seems to be a simple vacuum procedure performed with an aquarium valve and two syringes. One produces a partial vacuum in the cartridge and some tubing and then connects the other syringe full of ink and releases the valve. The vacuum then draws the ink into the cartridge.

Frankly, the "virtual tyranny"[purely for dramatic effect :-)] imposed on consumers by printer manufacturers is quite illegal. I think it's the FTC that says that one cannot sell a product dependant on a particular consummable or null someone's warrantee unless they are willing to provide the consummable at cost or fair market value as I recall. It may interest you to know that the larger printer manufacturers made over half of their incomes last year not from printer sales, but from ink/paper sales... :-) Don't believe me? Look it up. I buy ink in bulk form, by the pint or quart, and pay pennies for a refill that would cost between $15 and $30 as a replacement cartridge. Anyone can do this if they are simply willing to research the process and take a minimal risk with replaceable ink heads that will eventually need to be changed anyhow. However, the bleach trick solved even the tough clogs I had, so who knows?

A little surfing and reading goes a long way on this issue. Practical experience confirms the best of it.

-- Gerald Payne (gmp@francorp.francomm.com), October 25, 1999.