Question to ameture photo people

Myself

[wgmalabama]

I purchased a decent network laser printe earlier this year and it’s been great. . It’s been great. Now we have grandkids and I learn that inkjet printers do a much better job of printing pictures. So I am looking for recommendations for network inkjet photo printers. My last one sucked (10 years ago) ate ink and never operated well. I figured there were some ameture photography people that could recommend a good network printer for pictures. The laser will handle everything else. One that works with apple/MS os would be great.

Anyone have a good recommendation that doesn’t just freeze up, eat ink …. Any help would be appreciated. Price in the up to $600 or more is ok. Less is better because wife will be printing like crazy.

It never dawned on me that inkjet would be better than laser at anything. But apparently photos is that one key area.

[wgmalabama]

Any help/assistance/recommendations is appreciated. I tried to put this in misc chat so if I got it in moose biting my sister or.breaking news my apologies.

[BereanBrain]

Dye Sublimation prints are waterproof and have an achival ability.
Ink jets are *almost* as good

[kiryandil]

My last one sucked (10 years ago) ate ink and never operated well.

When people ask me how to fix an inkjet printer [I was printer guy for my IT shop], I always recommend that they throw it away and buy a laser printer. 

I'm now recommending that no one ever buy an HP printer ever again, after they disabled an inkjet printer that I got as salvage, and spent 50 bucks on a black ink cartridge.

The printer worked great with the generic cartridge until I went from Win 8.1 to Win 10.

I'm currently working with a friend's inksh*t that only I can get to work - after waiting for 15 to 20 minutes for all kinds of self-check BS, and fake error messages.

[moonhawk]

I’m not current, but look at photo-specific printers from Epson, and maybe Canon.

Look for the models with the ink tanks you can refill. That is said to be the more “economical” option. Printers are designed to sell cheap, and get you with supplies, so do your research. But I always recommend starting with epson, and refikkabke tanks.

[T-Bird45]

By my most recent experience with an inkjet, they still suck the inkwell dry quickly & the manufacturers have made it nearly impossible to buy from any source other than their own. Good luck in your search!

[kiryandil]

Printers are designed to sell cheap, and get you with supplies, so do your research. But I always recommend starting with epson, and refikkabke tanks.

Right.

Hewlett Packard started with gouging you on the replacement cartridges - now, they've branched out to gouging the IT people and computer professionals for their time.

[brianl703]

I once worked for EDS, HP gouged me out of a job.

[kiryandil]

I put up with their BS for many years, but now I'm done with their trash.

Your experience sounds like par for their course.

[DouglasKC]

I’ve tried just about every color inkjet available including very expensive ones. Unless you use it every single day the ink invariably dries up and eventually makes printer inoperable. A couple of years ago I bought a color laser printer. Pricey, but worth it. I can let it sit forever without printing color and when i need it it works great every time. Maybe not the best quality compared to some inkjets but good for most function i have to do. Anything of a better quality it’s just better to go to walmart and print a color photo on their equipment.

[Mazey]

I’m glad you asked! I’ve been wondering the same thing for quite a while, but thought they cost thousands. I had to go look up prices right away, and came across this article for beginners basic printers, 4 different ones, with lots of info.

I am going to start looking into it more, but thought you might like to see this article too. It is from 2022, so prices have probably gone up, but still all are under the price point you mentioned for the printer, and the inks seem reasonable, compared to inkjet, which always seemed to dry up or run away!

https://jennifermaker.com/best-dye-sublimation-printers/. The rest of the article name is “for beginners”

I’ll check back to see what you find out! I’ve got some fantastic photos of grandkids that I would love to get busy practicing on!

[FamiliarFace]

I have a friend who is an artist. She makes many of her own prints. I’ll ask her tomorrow and get back to you.

[FlyingEagle]

I have always been happy with Canon for photos. Maybe take a look at this one. On sale at BB. They have cheaper but this looks good.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchpage.jsp?_dyncharset=UTF-8&browsedCategory=abcat0511006&id=pcat17071&iht=n&ks=960&list=y&qp=brand_facet%3DBrand~Canon&sc=Global&sp=-bestsellingsort%20skuidsaas&st=categoryid%24abcat0511006&type=page&usc=All%20Categories

[wgmalabama]

That’s why I have a laser printer but the picture printing does have a lapse in death and dolor. I think that is by design. Everything I read says inkjet is best for pictures quality. I love my laser printer, scanner, copying capabilities. But picti[ure quality is just so so. Idk. May be barking up wrong tree.

[wgmalabama]

Thanks will look at it. Needs to be network so we can print from iPhone, iPad and laptop.

[OneVike]

Epson ET-4800
It uses tanks for ink that you can refill at a fraction of the cost of the old inkjet, and they last a long time. Plus the pictures when printed out are as good as gold.
Purchased one two years ago, and have not complained one time. I liked it too much I purchased 2 for my Bangladesh ministry

[wgmalabama]

Appreciate it. Everything I read is real professional or hard core ameture sis inkjet for photos. Laser looks ok but depth is missing. I can live without it but the better half wants a better print solution. Spent a small fortune on paper types. I can’t tell except some have a glossy finish to the same picture. Men - it’s good enough ; women - I want perfection withou knowing what that even means. Rant off.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Save your money. Get your pictures printed at Walmart or Staples.

The ink-jet printer business is an ugly extortion racket. Seriously.

[TomGuy]

Your issue my not be the printer, but the paper.

Inkjets require a glossy paper for higher quality images (photos).

You might try a glossy paper for laser printers before spending money on an inkjet printer.

Do a search on ‘glossy laser paper’.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Tom’s Guide
The best printers in 2024 — our top picks
https://www.tomsguide.com/best-picks/best-printers

PC Mag
The Best Photo Printers for 2024
https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-photo-printers

Popular Science
The best photo printers for 2024, tested and reviewed
https://www.popsci.com/gear/best-photo-printers/

Popular Science
The best sublimation printers of 2024
https://www.popsci.com/gear/best-sublimation-printers/

[Texaspeptoman]

What the Gov said.

What that said though, I bought an Epsom ET-8550 and am very pleased with it. I print intermittently for home use and pictures for the wife when she wants. If no printing for the week, I’ll print a photo on plain paper to keep the jets clean. Also, the plain paper print is pretty good. With photo paper, the print is excellent. For me, the Echotanks printers (Canon or Epsom) are the only way to least expensively create your pictures. I waited for 4 years before replacing a very good Canon cartridge ink jet. Good pictures, but expensive
YMMV.