[ricksome]

I just read a review of an Epson Photo Printer over @ Computershopper.com In the review, the writer was talking about high end photo printers that run $1K to $5K. These printer use archival inks and papers. They also take 9 cartridges at one time. All slightly different colors. One Epson cost $1008 for a round of ink. That is not a typo.

Okay, I am blown away. Anyone care to comment?

 

[smeggy]

I've read numerous times that pound for pound, printer ink is one of the most expensive substances in the world by retail cost. It's the biggest money spinning ripoff in the world.

 

[El_Doug]

What's there to comment? There are very nice commercial printers, which use high quality inks and papers, designed for high fidelity images that last for decades - and they cost a lot

 

[chadbang]

I thought I read that Kodak is going to be introducing a line of ink jets that will blow the doors off the overpricing of supplies - by offering cartridges at a very fair price.

 

[NacMacFeegle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chadbang /img/forum/go_quote.gif I thought I read that Kodak is going to be introducing a line of ink jets that will blow the doors off the overpricing of supplies - by offering cartridges at a very fair price.

Heh! I spent the last years of my EK career working on them, so probably should not comment but as they moved the whole division save for 3 lucky (or unlucky, depending on your take) souls to Germany, it would sound a wee bit like sour grapes.
In theory a sound plan, undercut the rivals ink prices, but 'you get what you pay for' rings true here..

 

[gore.rubicon]

When a printer goes on sale i buy two or more...so when it runs out of ink i throw one away, and open the other one...usually when they do go on sale its cheaper than the ink itself

 

[earthpeople]

Well, I think it's safe to say those aren't the kind of printers you'll find in a typical home.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I like to use a B&W laser at home and send the photos out to a lab witht the pricey printers. It ends up cheaper than processing film (I still love film, but rarely use it today) or getting ripped off with frighteningly expensive ink.

 

[atbglenn]

I went from dot matrix to laser printers years ago. Always very happy with them.
Bought a Epson PAL InkJet Photo Printer a few years ago. Although I was happy with the quality of the prints, the ink would dry out after a couple of months of non use. So I paid $35 to print maybe 20 photos. Needless to say, I'm done with inkjets..

 

[brotherlen]

Every now and again you can score a good deal, right now some of the photo stores (B&H and Adorama) are having a special with a canon camera body and a pixima 9000/9500 mark II printer you can get either a 400 or 500 dollar rebate off a printer, so it turns a $450/750 printer to a $50/250 after rebate, very tempting. Since I'm getting a 7d in the next few days.

I printed three pics for a show on specialty paper, got 15-20 off per print and it still cost over $90 USD to get three large photos printed. They turned out great, and were printed on a specialty art paper. So 6-9 prints plus cost of paper would pay for a decent printer.

Printing can get expensive if you print a lot, have it also gives you the leeway to play with prints and compare. Even if you don't it can still get expensive. I think printer turnover isn't very high, so it could be a good purchase like the one listed above,

When you buy a printer new, it's usually only filled halfway with ink. I only know this from working at TigerDirect, they also nail you on the USB to USB-B connectors. A piece of wire for 20 bucks? You can find them online for about 3-5 dollars.

 

[ricksome]

I AALLWWAAYYSS buy brother ink jet printer. The print head is built into the printer. The generic ink cartridges are available on eBay for about $2.00 each shipped in bulk. I have been doing this for years. I take the empty $2.00 cartridges to Staples and get $3.00 store credit on each one.

I do not print pictures at home. I use Snapfish.

 

[ricksome]

I AALLWWAAYYSS buy brother ink jet printer. The print head is built into the printer. The generic ink cartridges are available on eBay for about $2.00 each shipped in bulk. I have been doing this for years. I take the empty $2.00 cartridges to Staples and get $3.00 store credit on each one.

I do not print pictures at home. I use Snapfish.