I want the best photo printer I can buy with a budget of < USD$700. I have heard good things about the Epson Photo 750. What about Canon BJC7100, ALPS MD-1300/5000, or others. Is bubblejet ok or do you need dye sublimation?

-- Chris Wruck (cwruck@primus.com.au), January 20, 2000

Answers

I have a Epson Stylus Photo 1200, It is the big sister to the 750. The photos are really great.

However, it is much noiser than my older HP and a little contrary... if you run out of ink in either cartridge, the printer will not work! After Christmas I ran out of color ink and money about the same time. No printer for two weeks. Epson recommends that you replace both cartridges ever 6 months.... even it you don't use it! Don't even think about printing photos to anything but Epson paper. The color cartridge has 5 color ink and they display a graphic on the screen showing the amount of ink in each cartidge... really impressive ... until you realize that the all the ink drains at the same rate? Read the fine print... it only shows the minimum ( I think, but someone thought it might be a guess in stead of a real measurement) Don't take the cartridge out because you can't put it back either.

The Epson does make super photos but it really galls me they are so cavalier about the supply cost.

The 1200 cost about $450, but save your extra money for the supplies. That's what really cost. I got b&w cartridge, color cartridge and 1 pkg glossy paper from buy.com for about $45. Now if I only print 1x1 inch prints I can get 80 photos per page and ..... :)

Incidently I took over 200 photos over Christmas.

-- Dave Clark (daveclark@mail.com), January 20, 2000.

I would agree that the Epson is probably the best bang for the buck. They are rather noisy and they need cleaning cycles more that my HP Photosmart but the larger than 8x10 format and all the cool paper types are great. You can print large panoramic photos and the Epson Glossy Film, with the right photo, is absolutlely stunning. I dont have any experience with the Canon 7100 and the Alps is just a pain in the ass. I love the dye sub setup but its way to slow and a cranky printer to boot. Oh yeah, Epson will probably have the best support for Mac if thats what you run, and I have excellent results with Ilford paper and my 1520 so your not entirely stuck with Epson paper.

-- Cris Daniels (danfla@gte.net), January 20, 2000.

I also would suggest an Epson printer. I own the Epson Photo 750. It has a very good design , a good exaple being the front of the printer that the paper slids out on folds up into the front, this saves space and helps eliminate dust to enter the front when not in use. The output of this printer is amazing. The glossy film paper gives very good results and Konica paper also works very well too. This is a steal at $250. Not only the best for the money ,but just the best!

-- John Webb (jwebb72@hotmail.com), January 20, 2000.

Epson, Epson, Epson. Any of the 6 color ink system ones - the "Stylus Photo" printers are amazing! I own 5 of them and just bought a model 750 for $200 online.

Use only Epson paper! NOTHING ELSE WORKS! Do not even try. But buy it at Costco for $19.95/60 sheets. Or Mac/PC warehouse for $9.95/20. The pure photo quality is worth it! Their regular inkjet paper, $11/200 sheets, is also excellent for graphics and photos! For text use regular paper.

I print 500 sheets or more a month of large photos. I use a lot of ink! I have multiple computers used for "slave printers" and found that after market ink is excellent - don't need to buy Epson at all!

1) If you buy Epson get the color cartridges for $16 and NOT A DIME MORE! from PC/MAC warehouse. 2) Ebay has several sellers - I know mail order all my Epson ink from Roxie Huffman, kujoe@evansville.net, or www.roxiesplace.com. I pay $11.50 for ones made for European distribution. Her price has free shipping for 5 or more.

So the cost factor has been beaten! Cool, huh? If you really want to knock your socks off - try the Epson photo glossy film. WOW!

Ink fades? Not in my experience (3 years) but anything subjected to UV will fade (including paint, your skin, etc) so us Krylon UV spray on prints to stabilize th

-- Bozo Widget (widmagic@pacbell.net), January 23, 2000.

Epson, Epson, Epson. Any of the 6 color ink system ones - the "Stylus Photo" printers are amazing! I own 5 of them and just bought a model 750 for $200 online.

Use only Epson paper! NOTHING ELSE WORKS! Do not even try. But buy it at Costco for $19.95/60 sheets. Or Mac/PC warehouse for $9.95/20. The pure photo quality is worth it! Their regular inkjet paper, $11/200 sheets, is also excellent for graphics and photos! For text use regular paper.

I print 500 sheets or more a month of large photos. I use a lot of ink! I have multiple computers used for "slave printers" and found that after market ink is excellent - don't need to buy Epson at all!

1) If you buy Epson get the color cartridges for $16 and NOT A DIME MORE! from PC/MAC warehouse. 2) Ebay has several sellers - I now mail order all my Epson ink from Roxie Huffman, kujoe@evansville.net, or www.roxiesplace.com. I pay $11.50 for ones made for European distribution. Her price has free shipping for 5 or more.

So the cost factor has been beaten! Cool, huh? If you really want to knock your socks off - try the Epson photo glossy film. WOW!

Ink fades? Not in my experience (3 years) but anything subjected to UV will fade (including paint, your skin, etc) so us Krylon UV spray on prints to stabilize th

-- Bozo Widget (widmagic@pacbell.net), January 23, 2000.