Photo Printers - Consumer Guide to Buying a Photo Printer

Are you thinking of buying a photo printer? Do you want to know if Cannon photo printers are the best? How about Epson photo printers or HP photo printers? Well, we have the answers. We've done the leg work for you and are here to help you find the best photo printer for your needs.

WHAT IS A PHOTO PRINTER?

Quality borderless prints at the touch of a hand... the biggest obvious difference between a general purpose printer and a quality photo printer is that photo printers have the ability to print on (specialty) borderless 4x4 paper, while general purpose printers do not. Printing photo quality prints up to the edge on the right sized paper is much of what it's all about. And photo printers usually offer much higher print resolutions than general purpose printers; they have to ability to print without computer input, and they can take input directly from a digital camera and all manner of memory card.

There is also the convenience factor. Many photo printers are compact and portable. Take it to a special event and you can share paper photos with friends on the spot. It's fun. Taking it a step further, you can have an amazing benefit speaker who's posing for shots with a small group of donors at the preferred supper afterward, print the picture and it can be autographed on the spot.

So, you want a photo printer? What should you consider when getting a separate printer for your photos? Or do you have to buy a separate printer for general purpose printing and photo printing? Perhaps not. The hard factors are picture quality, functionality, and cost. Now, let's find you the best photo printers.

HOW DO PHOTO PRINTERS STACK UP? LET'S FOCUS ON PICTURE QUALITY...

There is a high degree of subjective personal preference in printer process type as evidenced by the difference and conflict in recommendations from unbiased consumer reviews and other professional reviews. The best class of printers for print quality and print longevity is attributed to dye-sublimation or thermal printers by some, and to inkjet processes by others.

Dye-sublimation or thermal printers use dye on film in 3 colors with variation in temperature to produce greater variation in color saturation and will print in four separate passes, the first three are the colors and the last one is a clear protective coating. Some users feel that this process produces over saturated prints.

Photo Inkjet is pretty much exactly what it sounds like and will use 3, 5, or 8 ink color cartridges on coated photo paper. Each process has proponents that claim true photo quality prints and greater longevity. Dye sublimation gets its longevity from the protective coating and ink jet has preservatives in the ink. Dye-sublimation will always have the coating as part of the process, so it is not something you will see in printers that are multi-purpose or all-in-one.

The 2008 Consumer Reports Photo printer research (CR) gives high picture quality marks to the HP PhotoSmart 375 printer ($242.87), an inkjet printer that will connect directly to a digital camera and also has ports for a large number of memory cards. The PhotoSmart 375 has Bluetooth and a maximum resolution of 4800 x 2400 DPI.

Consumer Report & Viewpoints members also give high photo quality marks to the Epson PictureMate photo printer ($125.16 - $158.72), another inkjet printer. However, Viewpoints members have complaints about ink drying or running out at different times while only being available for purchase in multi-packs.

Finally, Consumer Reports gives lowest photo quality marks to Kodak Easyshare Plus ($182 - $262.00) photo printer (see further discussion below) and Canon CP330 ($83.00 - $333.00) models.

Most photo printers are geared toward small prints; e.g. 4x4 prints. But, if you are looking for a high quality photo printer that will also make larger prints, the Canon i9900 photo printer ($425.00 - $581.00) will go from 4 x 6 up to 13 x 19 and this printer is reviewed well with 100% recommended results on Viewpoints.com. It has color resolution of 4800 x 2400 dpi resolution and 8 color ink cartridges.

A NOTE ABOUT ALL-N-ONE PRINTERS

Though not generally thought of as a photo printer, Hewlett Packard markets a series of All-n-one printers (L-series) that offer some if not all of the same functionality and features that single-purpose photo printers bring to the table. The HP Officejet L7680 AIO ($249.95 - 563.99) for example offers 4x4 photo printing, memory card input, up to 4800 x 1200 dpi print quality, and direct photo printing from a digital camera.

ARE YOU TRYING TO SAVE MONEY PRINTING YOUR OWN PHOTOS WITH A PHOTO PRINTER?

Every printer lists specifications with the cost per print and the conditions under which those costs are accurate. The estimates can vary on the inkjet type printing because the level of saturation in the test photos may be different from that of the ones you print. Read the specifications carefully to consider whether they are likely to be accurate for your use.

Costs per print will not vary on the thermal prints with saturation for this process. The box will tell you exactly how many prints you will get. If you are comparing the cost per print for the printer you want to the cost per print if you let someone else do the printing make sure the your comparisons are between like process and materials.

SAVING MONEY BY THE MODEL

If price is a big factor, you may be looking at the Kodak EasyShare Printer Dock Plus because it has the lowest cost of those popular models discussed. It has an instant correct button to adjust exposure and can print from memory cards. It receives mostly good reviews on Viewpoints.com. Kodak printer docks allow you to place a Kodak EasyShare digital camera right on the printer to generate 4x4 borderless prints.

Kodak does have other EasyShare Printer Dock options; such are the EasyShare G610 Printer Dock ($79.95), EasyShare G600 Printer Dock ($99.95), and the EasyShare Printer Dock Plus Series 3 (179.95) with 60-second printing, Red-eye reduction technology, as well as wireless and Bluetooth capability. Each of the models mates with different EasyShare digital cameras, so check before you purchase for the one that is right for you.

In addition, Kodak does offer a number of AIO printers at various price points that offer differing feature sets and functions. They include the Kodak EasyShare 5500 AIO (199.99), which offers 8.5" x 11" borderless prints as well as traditional 4x6 prints, as well as a 35-page automatic document feeder, and Bluetooth at 9.3 cents per 4x6 print, and; the Kodak EasyShare 5300 AIO ($129.99).

Hewlett Packard also has an impressive line-up of single-purpose photo printers, including the HP PhotoSmart A526 Compact Photo Printer ($99.99), PhotoSmart 7960 Photo Printer ($149.99), the newer HP PhotoSmart A536 Compact Photo Printer, which offers a variety of borderless prints including 4 x6", 4x 12", panorama, and 5x 7", all for the low price of $89.99.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF USING A PHOTO PRINTER? DO YOU NEED TO WORRY ABOUT LONG TERM VIABILITY?

How well the photographs from a given photo printer will stand up over time with exposure to the elements is an important consideration in any paper based product. Because personal printer based processes have been around for less time, the comparison between them and photo process printing must be estimated. There are some promising guesses from manufacturers about longevity.

So, if the jury is out on this subject, do you need to worry about it? Consider this. Many of these studies and articles discuss extremely long photo longevity times. Do you need archival quality paper documents that will last a hundred or more years? While there are times when you might, and the idea of lasting photo prints is certainly more appealing than the idea of temporary photo prints, it is worthwhile to consider what is at risk.

Digital storage is compact, so it is more practical and more likely that a digital image will be preserved than it has been that negatives (which also degrade over time) would be preserved. With original media, new prints are still just a click away. Those prints may last as well as predictions, or maybe not, but as long as the original data is preserved, the work is preserved and for some purposes that can make the photo printer debate irrelevant.

USING VIEWPOINTS TO MAKE YOUR PHOTO PRINTER DECISION

With the variety in advice, making the best purchase can be difficult, but there are ways to avoid making a bad decision. When unhappy is the result, it comes across loud and clear on Viewpoints with many consumer reviews on photo printers. One example is the Dell Photo All in one Printer 942. On some sites it is a little harder to pick the duds, but people do not mince words about the negatives here. 75% of reviewers gave this model the lowest number of stars possible and half gave it a "thumbs down". Perhaps this model tries to be all things to all people? I don't know, but the "don't buy" message is pretty loud and clear!

Conversely, when reviewers are happy about a given product they also speak up; for example reviewers overwhelmingly love the Brother Multi-Function Center MFC-440CN AIO, with all five giving the printer favorable ratings, with one calling it "a great product for a great price."