Willing to spend around 300 or less. We want to be able and print photo store quality pics to frame and put around our home. I've read a little about the dye-sublimation printers. Think this is what I'm looking for, but not entirely sure what to get. Anybody know of a possible best value in a new or refurbished awesome photo printer? Would like to do 8x10 size too. I'll start my researching, but thought it couldn't hurt to fish for a response here as well ....
http://www.amazon.com/Konica-Minolta-magicolor-2300W-Printer/dp/B00008X02A if you can find one of these they go for under 300 they'll shit out 2x 8x10 on a piece of dirt cheap (5 bucks for big box) thin paper used for text that looks as good as a inkjet photo page its a power hog tho and to get the most out of it you'll have to refill your toner carts cleaning them with compressed air before and after color refills is a must but all in all you get alot for the price tag also be aware...it's a beast and you will need two people to get it outta the box unless you're college age lol edit - they have newer models 5xxxDL going for 280-290 so look around but avoid the inkjet hell
Thanks for the tip. I'm looking at the picture of the machine thinking it's too big. And the guy that bought a similar model that's in stock said he wished he'd gotten a newer model that was smaller. He said he used the thing forever and it didn't run out of toner, but when it finally did, it cost as much as the machine to replace and it's so damn big, like you mentioned. So, I don't know about the size. But if it printed awesome photo prints it might be worth stashing it in a closet. What I'm interested in now is the difference between ink-jet, dye-sub and lazer photo prints. I've already got a normal use text all in one. I just want damn beautiful photo prints that somebody will look at and mistake for professional quality. All info is appreciated cause I'm just beginning research.
well the uber expensive wax/heated dye machines are great with photos even better with comic pages with laser being the runner up with the ink/photo paper combo you get a good image but it def. is more spotty than a laser since the laser runs the page through 4 (rgb black) seperate drums of toner you get full coverage of every shade without the need to dither to hell and it doesn't cost 20+ cents a print like quality photo paper would as for the size it's about as big as a 19-21inch monitor give or take squared off and pretty unobstrusive as its meant for office network printing not home use (thus no style or flare lol) the toner is a non issue if you don't mind getting messy with big ass (warehouse club mayo jar sized ones) jugs of toner for each color you could use rubbermaid or a box and some clear plastic garbage bags and a pair of dish gloves to make a toner clean/fill box and so on its a hassle at first but once you get the check roller open refill rescrew cycle down pat its like 10-20 minutes every 4-6 months of heavy text use or 2-4 for photos
Think I'm going to get this Kodak 1400 It's better for pictures and that's all I need it for. Right now it's only 235 with shipping after rebate.
check it out instore first as from what little contact with kodak products I've had (outside of film stock and lenses in projection) its probably too good to be true at the very least check out costco/samsclub or any other place that carries magicolor models if the kodak seems cheaply made and ask some sales reps to show you whatever color lasers they got on hand in your range (honestly for under 5 cents the photos i can print are amazing on plain paper)
I've got the same concerns about quality with almost anything I buy. I'm going to bet on this one though and hopefully it's worth the risk. Check out this website I bumped into And Kodak is the brand I grew up hearing most about with photography. They might just make some of the best stuff still. Granted the 1400 might get a different recommendation than the other Kodaks, but it could still work out. That's the kind of thing we're looking for. The cost of ribbon and paper is high, but if it prints nice, it'd be worth it. Worst thing I've read so far is that the paper can get dusty if you don't watch the cover.
I guess I'm old school in respect to laser and wax printing I know 'em in 'n out and the design wear points seem alot simpler when compared to that dye system so unless ya want a less s&h return on the kodak you should get into hobbiest mode 'n compare all the current printer formats from cost per print to parts you can service yourself in the end you'll be much happier with a beast chuggin' away in the corner cuz filling grandma's photobooks with color prints can get expensive as fuck lol as for kodak ... eh they're so so like Sony professional products from 35 and 70mm stock to IMAX grade lens mounts are damn good..but at 3+ grand for a mount it damn well better be lol so like sony you get the media market (sony gets news van markets for monitors/beta decks/ect) shelling out tons on top notch gear while the average joe sees it as the best and automatically buys from them I sorta call it the Blose syndrome after the marketing gods at Bose who to this day still manage to rook morons into buying plastic 'n LDF enclosed paper coned drivers powered by obsolete eletronics at a price tag of over 1200 bucks
yeah, all that is true but the bottom line for us really is that we don't print many photos. We mostly want to print pictures of vacation, nephews, pets, nature and stuff like that. Don't want too many things to frame and give as gifts really. not sure the best stores to visit and compare prints. We stopped in office max the other day and they had some samples, but I couldn't tell if those hp printers were sub dye or not. It just seems from reading on the internet that those printers dedicated to photos are generally the best. my patience is holding out okay for now though, so I'll probably do some more research.