[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!

[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

[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

[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/

[Bullish]

Printers are one of the worst pieces of tech you’ll ever deal with. I’ve given up on many printers through the years.

Sorry, no real recommendations other than that.

[Organic Panic]

I enjoy my color laser and it is fine for me and makes fine photo prints. I don’t print much so a laser is best. It is a nice Brother I got at Costco. I will never buy another inkjet.

If you need nice prints go to a professional printshop. For home stuff. I would stick with a color laser printer. Costco has good all in ones for 3-4 hundred. You won’t regret the higher upfront cost in multitudes of savings with ink problems. My last color laser lasted over twenty years and photos printed quite well. The new one is great and near photographic quality on proper paper.

[minnesota_bound]

Get a Epson Ecotank printer
https://epson.com/ecotank-home-office-printers

The more colors the better photo prints. They have 4 and 6 colors.
Also you want auto 2 sided printing. Auto duplexing.

Go to Amazon and type in a model and read the comments.
All inkjets will clog but with a Ecotank you have a large bottle of ink to run nozzle check and head cleaning cycles test prints.
Far cheaper then a regular inkjet where the small cartridges are expensive.

They are large printers so look at where you will put the printer.

[trebb]

Cheaper and easier to email them to Walmart for printing than to go through the expenses for inks and special paper.

[Colorado Doug]

I have gone through many printers over the years. I bought my second Epson about two years ago. It is the bulk ink tank style and it is the first ink jet that I can enthusiastically recommend. The whole ink sales rip-off that most other printers engage in is over for me. Whatever you do, don’t buy any printer that requires you to purchase anything but ink.

[linMcHlp]

Canon