photo printers - are they worth it?

[Curious Pax]

Having decided on a new digital camera (Fuji S5500 matched requirements and budget, and seems well thought of) Mrs CP has had a further burst of generosity and suggested I should also get a photo printer.

I've had a look at some threads here that talk about such things a little, and I'm unconvinced that it is a worthwhile investment. We have an HP 720c inkjet printer which does moderate printing of photos (partly because it's getting a bit long in the tooth), and of course there is the option of going down to Boots for them to do it if we want good quality.

Epson's seem to be quite well thought of - R200 or R300 maybe?

What is the view of the panel?

[Genghis the Engineer]

Personally I don't think it's worth it - for quick prints a standard inkjet works fine, and for good prints I subscribe to an internet service where I can upload the pictures, and they arrive on my doormat the next morning having cost me far less than the purchase and running cost of a photo printer.

There are many such services, but it happens that the one I use is Photobox (http://www.photobox.co.uk/)

G

[Curious Pax]

Genghis,
Thanks for the info - I hadn't heard of services such as Photobox, but they sound like an excellent idea. I think I'll get the funds redirected to extra memory sticks.

[Binoculars]

Can't comment on English happenings, but I'm sure they are no different to Oz overall. There is now way, NO WAY, that you can print out photo quality prints for anything approaching the price of the big stores who offer the service. Going price here now is 45 cents (less than 20P) for a 6x4 photo from your digital image.

Save your money and get a printer that serves your basic needs. Personal lasers are becoming so cheap it's worthwhile having a cheap bubblejet for the kids assignments plus a bottom of the line laserjet for everything else that doesn't require colour. Works for me!

[spekesoftly]

Totally agree with previous comments. Some time ago we bought an HP photo printer/scanner/copier/fax. It is a very useful bit of kit, and the integral flash card slots are handy, but we rarely use it to print colour photos, because professional digital printing is far more economical.

[Jhieminga]

Quick check on prices gives about 240 euros for a small printer (6 by 4 inch prints only), 8 euros for 20 sheets of paper. That means about 4800 prints before you can match the price of a printing shop selling at 45 cents a print, and note that I'm not yet counting the price of the ink here!! (Couldn't find the price of that) Another assumption is that the printer will not break down during that time :rolleyes: .

I'd say stick to a normal inkjet printer for the occasional print and use a professional service for the bigger jobs.