[JoTommo]

Hi, without taking a crash course in dpi's and ppm's, I am at a loss to interpret the jargon used to describe printer functions. I just need a really good scanner and high quality colour prints to reproduce artwork from the scanner or PC. Sales people can't explain it to me, yet they are confident of which printer I should buy, which doesn't inspire trust somehow! Thanks for reading this.

[smax013]

Have you at least narrowed it down to what kind of printer you want...i.e. inkjet, color laser, dye-sublimation (honestly don't know how popular those are these days anymore), etc?

Do you have a price range?

How do you want to hook it up? By USB directly to the computer? Or do you want a network capable printer/scanner?

Is letter/legal paper size OK? Or do you need something bigger (i.e. tabloid/11x17 or even something larger)?

Is regular weight paper OK? Or do you want to use heavier stock? If yes, then what weight stock do you want to use?

Do you only need/want printing and scanning (which usually also gets you copying)? Or do you also want faxing (FWIW, I am guessing no)?

It might help others suggest something if you "narrow" down the criteria a little.

[mjd420nova]

JoTommo: Welcome to PCW forums. Searching through the PCW hardware reviews would be a good way to get an idea of what you need to look for and how it would fit into your requirements. I have had very good luck with HP printers and scanners, many are available as standalone units for around $50-60. each. If you prefer, HP also makes a very good and dependable all in one unit, the C-5580 that sells for around $100. They have very good scanning resolution and prints both text and photos with the same ink cartridges. I hope that helps.

[JoTommo]

Thanks for that!

I guess around the $500 mark for price range.

Is inkjet better for colour images? I have been reading reviews and trying to absorb some of the advice articles.

I want to hook it up to my PC.

I want a very good scanner.

I want to use regular photo paper. (A4)

I don't need a fax.

The HP C8180 has been recommended by a salesperson, but dammit, I don't trust those people!

I currently have an epson photo TX 700W (recommended by a salesperson) and it is useless.

Thanks so much for your help.

[mjd420nova]

JoTommo: I guess at that price range, a color laser printer would be more to your liking but they do take more care and cleaning to keep things looking sharp. The unit I had is a copier, scanner, printer unit and works very well. It will scan at up to 2400 DPI which is what's needed to do photos. It does use up a large amount of memory and takes a long period to complete but if you eant to get sharp prints from photos, that's what's needed. Once you have that image, you can reduce the resolution for printing or insertion into web pages or sharing online. In most cases, sharing online or for on screen displays, 75 DPI is acceptable and 100 to 200 DPI is not too unyieldy. For my photos that I scan for either reprints or archiving, I use 1200 DPI. For enlargements from the normal 4 by 5 photos to 5 by 8 or even 8 by 11, I scan them in at 2400 DPI to prevent pixelation and get sharp printouts on the larger formats.

[smax013]

mjd420nova said:

JoTommo: I guess at that price range, a color laser printer would be more to your liking but they do take more care and cleaning to keep things looking sharp.

Not sure I would agree with that completely.

Yes, the price range certainly makes a color laser a very viable option.

As to more to the liking...I would say that kind of depends on the end goal or higher priority.

If color image is the higher priority, I believe that many would argue that inkjets produce more vibrate, better color images for the likes of photos (and I would assume scanned art), while color laser printers would produce better "business" graphics (i.e. color charts and graphs, logos, etc). Of course, a lot of that is "in the eye of the beholder".

If print longevity is the priority, then the color laser printer is likely a better choice as ink can smear (although today's inks for inkjet printers are WAY better than they used to be in this area...it not nearly the issue it was in the past) and can fade due to (sun) light.

[smax013]

JoTommo said:

Thanks for that!


I guess around the $500 mark for price range.


Is inkjet better for colour images? I have been reading reviews and trying to absorb some of the advice articles.

See my other post on this.

Quote

I want to hook it up to my PC.

That leaves you way more options than if you only wanted networked...so it does not really help to much to narrow things down.

Quote

I want a very good scanner.

You will then want a high resolution, but you also will want it to "execute" well. And I am not too much help in the later as I don't regularly scan too much stuff, so I am not real good at determining how well it might "execute" the scan.

Quote

I want to use regular photo paper. (A4)

I believe this might point you towards an inkjet...don't know if a color laser can use "photo paper"...unless you really mean just "regular paper" that you can also print photos to.

Quote

I don't need a fax.


The HP C8180 has been recommended by a salesperson, but dammit, I don't trust those people!


I currently have an epson photo TX 700W (recommended by a salesperson) and it is useless.

I don't tend to recommend specific products unless I really know the person and their uses AND I am truly familiar with the product.

I will offer that in my experience HP printers have always done well for me, but then I am no photo "expert", etc. Plus, I usually hear good things about Canon printers.

[tek101]

For working ...I prefer Laser printers ......You have dig through these to pick out the one that suit your need ...then call factory for more detail info before you plunge in .
reviews.cnet.com/computer-printers/?filter=100021[u10194779[/u]5001701085195001723809665&tag=mncol;dir3]

Get info first ...then search for bargain ...."Try searchalldeals.....: [http://www.searchalldeals.com/] "

All though, I have been using Canon Pixma MP 780 (All in one) color bubbleJet for over two years ...Its great machine....Add to that canon just released a "scan gear port" for Wds Vista , which is so great for business with PDF printing need .

Newer models come with Wireless Network ready ......Its a MAIN & EXTREMELY benefit for business or home .