cant decide on printer. epson or hp any pros and cons would be appreciated .

-- Gary Walton (acman@texas.net), January 15, 2000

Answers

Gary:
Yup, plenty of P's and C's for either...
HP makes their older Photosmart and the new Photosmart printers. The older ones are a real bargain right now (if you can find one) and are really excellent printers. It uses two ink cartridges with 6 colors for incredibly accurate and awsome results up to 8 X 10. I print from scanned slides and the results can be literally stunning. They are not Cibachrome quality - but very good just the same.
They have two new photosmart printers that also look pretty good - but I'm not convinced yet. They use 4 color ink cartridges only, but have a much higher DPI (Dot's Per Inch) rating. I've seen the samples and they are good. The new printers use the PhotoRET technology which HP says is superior to the original HP Photosmart - but I was told by someone who was paid to say it...
Epson printer output (the 750 and the 1200) is astounding. It has an edge over the HP's IMHO. Epson makes top quality printers so you really can't go wrong here.
But...
The problem with all inkjet printers is the archival quality of the ink. It fades. You'll either have to keep your pictures in a shoebox, or plan to re-print every 3 years. What a croc...
This is a problem that will have to be wrestled with by HP and Epson in the future. HP has made archival claims that their older Photosmart printer lasts longer than Epson - and some independent tests I've seen bear that out. I've seen no claims on their new printers. You can count on your pictures fading to oblivion in under 10 years.
Alps makes a micro-dry printer that doesn't fade - but frankly the results are less then what should be settled for. Their MD5000 shows visible banding in nearly every photo I've seen larger than 4 X 6, even the samples on display at the store! While the DPI rating (1440) is great - and the inks don't fade - the banding condemns this printer. Rumor is a lot of them wind up being returned. (I guess CompUSA is still making money on the restock fee!).

Des

-- Dan Desjardins (dan.desjardins@avstarnews.com), January 15, 2000.

Gary:
A quick add: There's a web site that's chock-full-o good information and links for printing. Check out the Digital Darkroom Site . The connection for me seems a bit slow - but the wait is worth it if you are looking for printer information!

Des

-- Dan Desjardins (dan.desjardins@avstarnews.com), January 15, 2000.