Looking for a new Photo Printer - Recommendations please...

[sphinx30]

Looking for a new Photo Printer - Recommendations please...

I am in search for a new photo printer to replace my HP 940c printer. I do a fair amount of photo printing as well as just regular black text printing so I thought instead of buying more ink, I'll just replace the printer. I strolled thru my local Best Buy and here's are the contenders:

$199.95 - Epson Stylus R320 - Res 5760x1440, 5 seperate color inks, plus 1 black. Up to 15ppm in black/color. 4x6" photos in as little as 39 sec.

$199.99 - HP 8150 - Res 4800x1200, 6 colors in two tri-color cartridges, plus 1 black. Up to 20ppm in black/color. 4x6" photos in as little as 27 sec.

$249.95 - HP 8450 - Res 4800x1200, 8 colors in two tri-color cartridges, plus 1 gray/black cartridge. Up to 20ppm in black/color. 4x6" photos in as little as 27 sec. *The 8450 difference from the 8150 is 8 color instead of 6 for what I could see.

As far as refillability for cartridges, the Epson would probably be better as the ink is contained in separate ink cartridges. I've been refilling my own ink for quite some time and have had great success with it. The print sample on the Epson looked great, however the image that HP/BestBuy setup for the print sample didn't represent HP's printing capabilities very well.

All three printers have on-deck card readers on them. Do you think if I brought some digital images from home on a storage card, BestBuy would allow me to print them on each printer to compare with each other? I'm thinking they might if I were to tell them I am very interested in buying one on the spot. Anyone try this before?

Are there any other printers that do a good job with photo printing? I don't care so much on speed as I am for quality. I really would like to stay around the $200-$250 mark for one. Any suggestions would be appriciated. Thank you.

-Michael

 

[penpen]

$199.99 - HP 8150 - Res 4800x1200, 6 colors in two tri-color cartridges, plus 1 black. Up to 20ppm in black/color. 4x6" photos in as little as 27 sec.

$249.95 - HP 8450 - Res 4800x1200, 8 colors in two tri-color cartridges, plus 1 gray/black cartridge. Up to 20ppm in black/color. 4x6" photos in as little as 27 sec. *The 8450 difference from the 8150 is 8 color instead of 6 for what I could see.

...Are there any other printers that do a good job with photo printing? I don't care so much on speed as I am for quality. I really would like to stay around the $200-$250 mark for one. Any suggestions would be appriciated. Thank you.

-Michael

Hope your camera has been working out for you! Sorry, I know I can't be of much help to you in comparing the quality of these printers. I just wanted to be sure that you were aware of the $50 HP rebate that's available to you if you buy either of those HP photosmart printers since you purchased a digital camera >$149. I figured you already knew, but just wanted to be sure. penpen

ps sure you knew this too - the HP photoprinter models you mentioned are currently on sale (hp8150 = $189.99, hp8450 = $237.49).

pps CompUSA has the hp 8450 photoprinter for $249.99 - $20 instant savings = $229.99 (but I don't know if BB will pricematch the price after instant savings or not. Who knows maybe they might and maybe they'll even give you the 110% price difference (although it's not a huge savings, maybe a dollar or so more).

ppps OfficeMax (item 2082-4770) has the HP 8150 on sale for $179.99.

 

[sphinx30]

I'm looking to buy the printer with tax refund money so it'll be a while. I'm just starting my homework now. (BTW: the camera works awesome! We are very pleased with it - takes pictures quick, turns on quick, fun to use, lightweight - even for 4-AA batteries, very good for battery usage, etc.)

Is the HP rebate only good for specific model camera, or doesn't it matter what camera you buy so as long as it's >$150? This might be an incentive to buy the HP over the Epson. I thought I read the $50 rebate and I thought it said something about specific camera ... either that, or I didn't actually "read" it. Also, when does this rebate expire?

-Michael

 

[penpen]

I'm looking to buy the printer with tax refund money so it'll be a while. I'm just starting my homework now. (BTW: the camera works awesome! We are very pleased with it - takes pictures quick, turns on quick, fun to use, lightweight - even for 4-AA batteries, very good for battery usage, etc.)

Is the HP rebate only good for specific model camera, or doesn't it matter what camera you buy so as long as it's >$150? This might be an incentive to buy the HP over the Epson. I thought I read the $50 rebate and I thought it said something about specific camera ... either that, or I didn't actually "read" it. Also, when does this rebate expire?

-Michael

The "HP Holiday 2004 printer/camera rebate" is for ANY MAKER'S digital camera $149 and over (before tax) and a qualifying HP printer (which either printer you mentioned is), and the two items can be purchased separately. They do both need to be purchased between September 26, 2004 and March 26, 2005 (and you already bought your camera in that time frame). The nice thing is they can be bought SEPARATELY. Epson has a similar kind of rebate (buy any price, any maker's digital camera & qualifying epson printers to get a $50 rebate), but the items have to be bought on the same receipt. Not with HP - just buy your printer before March 26 and you qualify since you bought your camera during their rebate time frame.
I called the HP rebate center to confirm this info (I also bought a digital camera this holiday season, and am looking for a good deal on an HP all-in-one w/ memory card slots (e.g. the HP 1350) so that I can use this same HP rebate)
Quality-wise, I've heard from store clerks that in general, Epson printers are good, but HP's are better. I think HP ink cartridges are easier to refill too (I refilled the ink cartridges for my old HP printer, and it was very easy. My current Epson printer has ink cartridges that would need to have their chips reset, and that's too much of a pain for me.)
hth, penpen
ps Glad to hear your camera is working out for ya!