I’m not looking to break the bank here, but are there any photo printers out there that I can get for under $150.00?
I guess I should ask first what the advantages of a photo printer are over a regular printer?
I have a 3.2 megapixel Sony, and it came with some editing software (Pixela Image Mixer), but I don’t like the print options. I’d like a software that I can dictate the print size i.e. 4x6,5x7,8x10 etc., and I can’t do that with the software that came with the camera.
I’m new at this whole digital photography thing, and I just (well my wife) just gave birth to our baby boy, and I want to print out some quality glossies of the little man, but my current hardware and software don’t suffice. Any suggestions for what to look for in a software or printer or recommendations on specific hardware and software would be greatly appreciated.
I’m in the same boat. We just bought a digital camera and photo printer (Epson 6400 all in one). It’s a good printer (and scanner/copier) and it was $199.
Here’s the thing though. It prints good photos, but they still have that “photos that have been printed” look. In fact, I’ve not seen a printer yet that can print photos that look as good as a “real” photo. My suggestion? Take your memory stick (or a CD) to Walgreen’s (or whatever) and have them do it for you. You get all the advantages of a digital camera (erasing bad pictures, editing via software, etc) and they will be a real photo. They are also cheaper. Most photo paper will cost you about $0.30 /sheet. My neighborhood Walgreen’s prints them for you for $0.29 per photo ($0.20 if you have more than 50).
IMHO, you will be disappointed with the photo quality of any printer in a reasonable price range.
Well, a printed photo’s quality depends upon the camera just as much as the printer, but here’s what I use in my office.
I have an HPPhotosmart 720 camera (3.3mp) that prints to an HP photosmart 7350 printer. the photos we’ve printed have been good enough to sell at dances we’ve had at the school (portrait stuff).
The best part about it is the HP software- perfect for photo editing, printing full sheets of pics (like proofs), etc. I belive I got them both for under 500 together…300 for the printer, 200 for the camera, or vice versa.
you might want to check it out. the 7350 also has a direct print option- so you don’t need a pc interface, just plug the camera right in, or transfer over your media- smartmedia, sony memory sticks, etc.
I have an HP 952 which is probably not made anymore but it does an acceptable job at printing photos. There are some advantages to going to the local store or to an online store for printing as its getting pretty cheap and they look good. I would invest in some graphic software like Paint Shop Pro which is pretty easy to learn and you can do a variety of image manipulations. I like to play with the images on occasion and PSP supports layers. You can trial it for 30 days by going here to download.
The HP Photosmart printers are a good choice for what you are doing. They have a 4x6 tray along with the regular paper tray and they have two photo card slots. You can plug the card from your camera directly into the printer and select the ones you want to print, select the size, etc. I have the 1215, but they change models every year, it seems.
Check out the reviews at the link above. I’m partial to Epsons, but HP and Canon make some very nice printers as well. If you want to print photo quality pictures you’ll need a photo quality printer. Read the reviews and decide on which features you need most.
All the printers come with good photo printing software, although there is more general purpose 3rd party software out there. But either are better than using the software that comes with the cameras.
I have a HP 7350 and it does a wonderful job. Make sure you use good quality photo paper and actually use a photo ink cartridge. I haven’t noticed any difference between the photos I print and the photos I get at Walgreens.