New Printer Needed

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

My Canon Pro9000 Mk ll died on me today. Having checked on repair costs I think it is time that I let it retire. I have had it about five years so it really doesn't owe me anything. But what to replace it with? I have done the normal 'Googling' but there are contradictions at every turn. And a very large proportion of printer reviews focus on printer/scanners which I am not interested in.

The Pro9000 was an A3 sized printer but in truth the number of times that I needed to print that size made it more of a luxury than a necessity.

So the basic question is what to buy?

Whatever I get needs to be capable of printing good quality photos which suggests multiple ink cartridges - the Pro9000 used eight - or does it? I am also fairly neutral about wireless connectivity as everything I have at present is ethernet cat6 connected.

So over to you for suggestions. As I am presently printerless I want to get a replacement asap.

[TreeTopsRanch]

I absolutely love the Canons for their quality of photo prints and hassle free paper feeding and ability to use 3rd party ink cartridges. BUT, the last one I purchased, an 'all in one' was wonderful for 2 years then it failed. Googled that failure and found everyone that bought that model had same problem. Class action law suit resulted in a website to ask for a refund. But you had to order a part then send in that receipt to the website for a refund. Too much of a hassle for me. I dumped it and bought an Epson all in one. Very good photo prints but constant paper jams (even tried different paper weights) are causing me to not recommend Epson.

I chose the 'All in ones" because of their scanning ability which are much improved now. So I do not need a separate stand alone scanner anymore.

So that is my rant on printers. My take is that you buy a printer that has good ratings and use it till it breaks then dump it and get another. IF lucky you get two years of service if you use it every day.

[Chuck Engels]

Considering that printers in the UK are sometimes different than those in the US hopefully we can still be of help over here John. I have a Canon MG7520 that just replaced a previous MP990 but both are multi purpose and have scanners as well. Both have 6 ink cartridges which I like and I do buy empties and bottles of ink from PrintPayLess that work great. I have also used and like Epson but they don't seem to last as long as the Canon printers do. Since Canon started adding CD/DVD printing capability here in the US I have been buying their products and like them a lot.

[Bob]

The Pro9000 is an 8 color printer. The Canon PIXMA PRO-100 and subsequently the Canon PIXMA PRO-100S replaced it. If you look around you may find some deals.

Canon also has some 6 color printers in the PIXMA line. All-in-ones are fine for general use, but, for quality photo printing I'd stick with the dedicated printers designed for that purpose. Canon and Epson are both are excellent. Epson has a tendency to clog if your don't use them regularly though. If you like what you've been getting in your prints, I'd stick with Canon.

[sidd finch]

John I took a little bit different rout. I realize that the US has different opportunities but....

I got rid of my color printer and I use Office Depot or Target to do my printing. grated I do not do a lot of printing so it makes sense for me. I just figured that the cost of the printer and maintaining ink supplies was offset with the better machines that those stores have to print pictures. Just a thought.

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

Sadly, Sidd, if such services exist in the UK/Europe I suspect they operate at price points that make them uneconomic for folk other than for businesses users (e.g. professional photographers) who can in turn pass the costs on to their customers.

In the end, and as a stopgap, I plumped for a Canon IP7250. It will more than suffice for now as most of the printing that I am doing at present is 'general' rather than specifically photos.

Maybe when I am back in the UK later this year I will go for a Canon Pro A3 sized printer.

But first I need to upgrade this PC...

Decisions, decisions.

[Chuck Engels]

John, Over here you can get photos printed just about anywhere pretty cheap. Walmart, Walgreens, Office Depot, The UPS Store, Kinkos/FedEx, lots of places. Maybe you should start your own business