Upgrade Me (Printers)

[CyberSteak]

Ok so about 6 years ago I took advantage of a boxing day sale the net'ed me this printer

Epson Stylus Photo RX500
http://reviews.cnet.com/multifunction-devices/epson-stylus-photo-rx500/4505-3181_7-30604037.html

I thought it was time for an upgrade. Also thought that with as many years that have passed, the price point for similar technology (with a few new bells and whistles) would have dropped. So I purchased a Canon MX870 http://reviews.cnet.com/multifunction-devices/canon-pixma-mx870/4505-3181_7-33948680.html . Boy...was I wrong.

I few scans and print offs later (ewwww) and I quickly to assumed I a had a serious problem with the printer (there was that much of a difference from the Epson) and contacted Canon to get a replacement. New printer comes in...same problem. So after 6 hours of phone time (5 hours of being on hold) with tech support at the end of the trouble shooting I mention that my Epson had the ability to scan film negatives and the Canon tech support gently let me know that it was considered a higher end printer compared to the Canon I just bought. UGH. So now I have to rid myself of a bran new printer, and am still looking for a upgrade. Thought it best to ask in dgrin for some opinions.

The Canon rep is recommending the Pixma MG8120. But I wanted to see what opinions on this printer was like and see if there were any other options. Obviously I'll be using it for printing out photos. I need a great scanner also as I frequently make use of my current one for retouching photos. And having the ability to scan photo negatives is ideal as I still haven't actually gotten around to archiving the negatives I have. What I also wondered is if I would be better offer getting a dedicated printer and dedicated scanner vs. an all-in-one.

So...thoughts?

[Zerodog]

All in ones are all in ones. I would get a slide scanner and a nice Epson printer. I am loving my Epson 2880. If I did it again I would get a 3880 for the bigger inks. But the down side to that one is bigger inks and big money for new cartridges. It just depends on how much you print. I got mine on a wicked rebate. And have seen other Epson rebates for the 3880 too. In all of the reviews I read up to getting my printer, I came to the conclusion that Epson rules the midsize printer market. Fast with great detail and colors.

[CyberSteak]

1) I'd still need a flatbed scanner to scan in photos that I'm retouching.

2) How much of a deal did you get the 2880 for? Cheapest I could currently find it is at $500. I'm not "good" enough in my photography to justify the purchase (read: If my wife found out, she'd kill me. She's very supportive, just don't want to find out where the support stops. *lol*)

[Art Scott]

Look at the refurbs.....I got an Epson stylus photo 1400 for less than $150 / w 1 yr warranty + 2 yr extension (less than $60) all for less than $200....only draw back is the small tanks but I am looking at a CLS system....but for now I am ok with this printer as I only use it for custom prints (13x19") that are hand signed.......I will be in the market for a larger format in the next yr or so.....

[Newsy]

Re Scanners

I bought an Epson V600 just before Xmas to start a project of scanning old 35mm slides and old prints.

At the time I also considered the Canon 9000F and the Epson V500. They are are selling for around $200 to $230 CAD in my area. Both the V600 and the 9000F use a LED technology which gives faster scanning (no warm-up time required). The V500 has options for various media that the V600 does not (large 6x6 film). The V500 was discounted to $196 - maybe clearing out but to my mind it is a more "serious" film/slide scanner than the V600.

My main reason for selecting the Epson V600 was that the version of Digital ICE that comes with it can be used with both slides and prints. However, in real world use I'm finding I don't use the Dust Removal feature or Digital ICE at their highest settings or at all as they cause artifacts in the image which are worse than any issues I have with dust/cracks. I think I may have to do a lot of tweaking to optimize this - but I've seen about 10% of my slides have artifacts to date and had to rescan at lower settings.

My best method for dust removal was to use a static charge brush to clean the slides before scanning.

Look here for reviews on scanners.
http://www.imaging-resource.com/SCAN1.HTM

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