> I am currently on the lookout for a decent printer (to print my scans
> from the Canon FS4000.) I need a reasonably priced solution (i.e.,
> printer and ink both shouldn't be overpriced.)
I have a Canon i960; it's last year's model, the equivalent this year
is the iPixma 6000D which has a builtin screen and memory card reader
(which is great if you like it, but if you don't you can probably still
find i960s around. I paid CDN$189 for mine).
Quality is, finally, good enough that I can't see any dots with the
naked eye. Under 3-4x magnification, just about, but I don't often look
at photos like that -- I'm genuinely amazed at the quality. Comparing it
to prints from a Frontier, the Frontier is better under magnification,
but impossible to tell apart otherwise.
Print costs -- using refill cartridges from inkgrabber.com [1] to
avoid being too gouged, I've done 50 prints and used up 3 1/2 cartridges
equivalent (not evenly, mostly photo magenta/photo cyan), so that's,
say, $10 for 50 prints or 20c per print. Paper can be anywhere from a
dollar a sheet for fancy long-lasting stuff down to 20c for the Staples
own brand I'm using right now, which is a bit floppy but makes great
images.
Summary, then, 8.5x11 -> 50c up to $1.25 depending on the paper you
choose.
4x6s don't seem to be a good bet, they're so cheap to get done at a
lab it's barely possible to come out ahead, but for bigger prints a
printer is definitely cheaper.
-- dan
[1] these seem to be a high-quality third party option, according to
http://www.neilslade.com/Papers/inkjetstuff2.html who's done a lot of
comparative testing, and in my use it seems essentially identical to the
Canon original.
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