Recommend a good quality photo printer...

[andyoxon]

...for colour and B&W.  I found the limit of our Epson SX515W all-in-one at the weekend, when I was trying to produce a best quality black and white image.  Even with premium glossy and max dpi etc etc, the deep pure black was just not black enough.  I see that some Epsons have an advanced B&W mode.  I've tried getting b&W prints from the likes of photobox, but they never come back with the right contrast/levels.

Andy

[pcolbeck]

I have an Epson R800 and its excellent but the ink is very expensive. The pictures dont fade either.. I would get a Lyson ink feed kit if I used it more.

[andyoxon]

I have an Epson R800 and its excellent but the ink is very expensive. The pictures dont fade either.. I would get a Lyson ink feed kit if I used it more.

OK thanks.  I've tried third part ink for our Epson and it seems to be fine ( I think)

[Biggsy]

My R800 nozzles quickly clogged with a third-party continuos ink system, and I can't afford to use the original ink (as it takes so many cartridges).  It was a Bad Buy for me - that I'm thinking of selling.  Maybe I should give it one more go though.

If I was starting again I would get one of the best Canons - judging by their reputation + my experience with one of their cheapest printers that works perfectly within its capabilities.  I'll never buy another Epson inkjet.

[pcolbeck]

The R series are very very good printers but the inks is sooo expensive. There are however a couple of firms that sell good ink for them. You don't want the eBay stuff. Lyson is one and their is another who's name escapes me. They both have reputations going back tears in the professional repo business, they provide proper profiles for their ink as well. Loads of good reviews if you search the Internet. Still expensive but these things are relative.

[Biggsy]

The ink I bought was from a company who has been in the business for a long time, and it was claimed to be the best quality German-made stuff.  I reckon the printer itself isn't good enough.  It wasn't quite right even with the original cartridges.  Maybe I got a dodgy example, but anyway it's put me off Epson for life.  I'm not the only one to have the clogging problem.

I know they can be reliable for some users however.  There's a photographer bloke in a shopping centre near me who does portraits and prints while-u-wait.  He uses a similar Epson printer with a CISS, and does good business.

[pcolbeck]

Epsons have a tendency to clog if used intermittently. Its the way the heads are designed. They then use a lot of ink unblocking themselves with cleaning cycles.

[David Martin]

You can, however, get the manuals for a modest fee then dissassemble them to give them a proper clean. This works fine till the mechanicals give up. (DX7400 RIP)

..d

[Gandalf]

I have just bought a Canon MG6140 to replace my HP which had banding problems.  Too early to comment on the reliability or economy but the print quality and speed is astonishing. 

The photos I have printed are, in my opinion, superior to any online services I have used, particularly Photobox whose prints were really anaemic.

[Nightfly]

I have had cheap/medium spec printers from Lexmark - crap threw it out the bedroom window into the garden. Epson printer which started off well but failed to deliver, very expensive inks, that routinely clogged up. Many have complained about how quickly Epson printers drink the inks.

I now have a Canon MP640 printer, scanner, copier thang. It's good. I'm pleased with it. It won a magazine printer supertest in Practical Photographer or such similar last year and also has many excellent reviews with hardly any negative feedback on Amazon, from whom I bought it (25% off £150mrp). As always the ink cartridges could last longer, but you get a fair amount out of them before they run low. The results are very impressive - colour prints. Documents are printed faultlessly. I've not tried printing B&W images although I should as I have a few images that have defied manual printing dodging and burning to my satisfaction. Canon inks are a bit cheaper than others but again not mega cheap if replacing all of them; 2 blacks, cyan, magenta and yellow. I would love the Pixma 9500 A3 printer but it's a bit beyond my means at the moment at £530.00.

HTH.

[David Martin]

If you want good B&W inkjet prints then get monochrome inks and a suitable printer profile. Trying to do it with just one black is never going to give you the best results.