printing color photographs

[francois]

I am in the process of thinking to buy a printer for printing photograph, in the context of being more active in photography. I am looking on the net but also having some discussions with salesmen in the shops. Its is not evident to reconcile the different opinions. If you have some experience with photograph printing, it would be really appreciated.

1.0 General article on the specific usage of printers including photo printers:
http://forums.cnet.com/7723-10149_102-2 ... -printers/

The major conclusion, is that given the cost of photographs you better have them print online thru a print service. It seems that wallmart does a pretty good job.

2.0 Different point of view on the question of inkjet vs laser color printing are provided in the following links. If you still want to buy a color printer for printing photographs:
http://forums.cnet.com/7723-7590_102-12 ... -printing/
http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001400.htm

Laser is faster, maybe up to ten times faster than inkjet color printer depending on the printers compared. They are also cheaper per page than inkjet, though inkjet cartridge are cheaper to buy. But inkjet definition would be better, though the colors would fade with time. Which is not the case of laser printer. However, laser does the job: you will have the photos with the quality of a picture on a calendar. Though most most laser laser printers are quite voluminous and heavy (hp for sure), some are getting smaller, cheaper and sharper.

Inkjet printers are really lightweight compared to laser printers. Very small size inkjet printer exist which could be a criteria of choice. However, accordingly they produce smaller photographs.

From what I have read and gathered talking with different salesman, in similar cost categories, samsung is producing some of the smallest color laser printers at a very competitive cost compared to hp and it seems with a sharper definition. In addition, its toner cartridges would be considerably cheaper.

An exception concerning inkjet printers is the selphy of canon which uses a thermal process (suggestion of obosan and brokenman), Here the ink is cooked. Contrarily to the usual inkjet color printers this process will produce waterproof and long lasting photographs (claimed to last a hundred years).

With the laser printer, matte paper yields the best output for photographs:
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3098144

3.0 Some specific printers:

3.1 Samsung CLP415NW laserjet printer.
Good review for the color laser Samsung CLP415NW which prints color output at a rate of 6 pages per minute (almost the same a CLP415):
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2409964,00.asp

All I found at my nearby printer dealer is Samsung C460DW. I will look at how they compare and report. The procedure to install the C460DW under ubuntu is here. I will see if it is easy to adapt to slackware or porteus:
- for the printer driver:
- for the installation:
http://askubuntu.com/questions/170880/h ... ng-printer

Its driver installation procedure for be done according to these threads:
http://www.beginninglinux.com/home/prin ... d-scanners
http://www.bchemnet.com/suldr/supported.html

Driver download:
http://www.bchemnet.com/suldr/driver/Un ... .36.tar.gz


3.2 PC magazine on Canon SELPHY-CP910:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2455254,00.asp

The price is really competive at 99$ canadian. Printing a photo takes 54 seconds. However, it is hard to say what I really think, I would have to compare this small printer of yours to other color printers to make my mind. Though the thermal process seems a very good one. They claim that the photography produced can last a hundred years. Which is not the case of standard ink printers which photos fade after a few years.Color laserjet HP MFP M177FW

Inkjet HP7520

Inkjet Canon PIXMA M67120

Inkjet Canon PIXMA IP100

[Obosan]

Salut, francois!

The major conclusion, is that given the cost of photographs you better have them print online through a print service. It seems that Walmart does a pretty good job.

I agree with you, if you consider the running cost of printing photographs.
I wonder whether you have the same kind of service in convenience stores in Quebec.
Please check and see the below mentioned site: A Guide to Convenience Store Copy, Print, and Fax Services in Japan
http://www.survivingnjapan.com/2012/03/ ... print.html
http://www.survivingnjapan.com/2012/03/ ... -at-7.html

Buying a printer for printing photographs, please give us the information how big you want to print photos.
I'm going to write a couple of candidates by maximum printings size.
<Japanese Printer>
A3 format: CANON PIXUS PRO-10 / CANON PIXUS iX6830
A4 format: 9600x2400dpi CANON PIXUS MG7130 / CANON PIXUS MG6530
NEC MultiWriter 5650C PR-L5650C (Colour Laser)
DSC (89mm x 119mm): Photo Printer > Canon SELPHY CP910
Portable Smartphone Printer > Fujifilm instax SHARE SP-1

One concern on inkjet printer is a capacity of print ink cartridge which is less and less in these days.
More you print, more you need to buy expensive ink cartridges.
Therefore, having print through a print service such as Walmart, 7-11 and/or photo developer could be a good idea.

I use HP PSC2550 photosmart which was recognized by Porteus Print Settings without problem.
So Color laserjet HP MFP M177FW or Inkjet HP7520 would be a good choice too.
Bien a vous.

[francois]

Bonjour Obosan,

Thanks for your observations and your suggestions. Can you tell us the pros and cons as you see it to use your actual inkjet printer.The more you give us the better.

Merci.

[brokenman]

Printer ink costs more than gold these days. From working in a photography shop some 6 years ago I can say without a doubt that it is cheaper (and often safer) to print with a large photographic company. Check the quality first and ask about the printing process. The photo you print on your home printer today will not have the same quality in 10 years. Photos fade over time and this is something to keep in mind when printing or reproducing precious photos.

Cost wise, if you are only going to print the occasional over sized print then a home printer could be worth the investment. You can even look into ribbon printers which hold a roll of cellophane type material with 3-4 colours on it instead of ink. These are progressively pressed onto the photo paper with the final coat being a clear coat. These photos are much more durable and cheap in bulk, but again storage is important lest they fade over time.

[francois]

Searching on the topic is not easy. The information is variable. Under Thermal transfer printing (wikipedia) we get:
Thermal transfer printer

Thanks.

[brokenman]

The printer we used was kodak. It was something like this.

[francois]

It is not produced anymore.

[Obosan]

Bonjour francois,

Can you tell us the pros and cons as you see it to use your actual inkjet printer.The more you give us the better.

PSC2550 is an old printer, therefore, I only use it to print post cards and some photos of goods for my clients.
I usually use 7-11 print service or DPE (Development - Printing - Enlargement) shop in order to print color photographs for my album. The 7-11's Fuji/Xerox printing quality is not bad at all and cheaper & faster than HP photosmart.

DSC (89mm x 119mm): Photo Printer > Canon SELPHY CP910
brokenman wrote about Thermal Transfer Printer. This is a good choice too in my opinion.
Canon SELPHY CP910 is a thermal printer and it is the best seller at present in Japan.
If you don't mind about the printing size, I think it will be good for you. When you need larger size of photographs, you may go to DPE shop (DPE is Japanese English) or use Web Print Service for the enlargement occasionally.
Que'est-ce que vous en pensez?

[francois]

Merci pour l'information (translation: thanks for the information). Sorry, I did not came more rapidly on this thread. I just came back from holiday a few weeks ago. Sadly, I had to get back into the work saddle.

PC magazine on Canon SELPHY-CP910:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2455254,00.asp

The price is really competive at 99$ canadian. However, it is hard to say what I really think, I would have to compare this small printer of yours to other color printers to make my mind. Though the thermal process seems a very good one (as brokenman pointed out). They claim that the photography produced can last a hundred years. Which is not the case of standard ink printers which photos fade after a few years.

There is no info as for the price and use (output) of the cartridges.

Do you find it cheap to run?

[francois]

Updated first post to integrate additionnal information.

[Obosan]

Bonjour francois! How was your summer vacation?

There is no info as for the price and use (output) of the cartridges.
Do you find it cheap to run?

Canon SELPHY-CP910 costs CAD 99 (JPY 9,427).
The price of the cartridges (Color ink / paper set) are as follows:

DSC / L size (89mm x 119mm):
KL-36IP3PACK (108 pieces of paper) costs CAD 24 (JPY 2,292). @22.2 cents

Post Card size (100mm x 148mm):
KP-72IN (72 pieces of paper) costs CAD 20 (JPY 1,900). @27.8 cents

There are Card Size, Card Size Seal and Petit Seal/Sticker Size too.
I also found Canon 3115B001 KP-108IN Color Ink Paper Set at Amazon.ca
which costs CDN$ 41.80/108 pcs. @38.7 cents
For more information of SELPHY Ink/Paper Cartridges, please check
http://estore.canon.ca/shop/en-CA/catal ... cartridges

Brother MFC9330CDW (CAD 280) and Brother HL3170CDW (CAD 150) are popular too
when you consider the Color Laser Printer.
I am not sure whether you can find NEC MultiWriter 5650C PR-L5650C in Canada, but this one
is also popular in Japan.

[francois]

They were fantastic. I went to see the whales. The I went to see the Gulf of St-Lawrence. Being with the whales on the water, kayaking. Then traveling with a bycicle in the country. I have met very nice new people.
When you will come to Canada. I will take you to the whales.

I have just purchased the selfy printer thru staples, I am going to give it a try and at the same time I am going to tes the samsung too. Maybe the selfy will be quite enough for my use. I will try to estimate the price per sheet with comparative measure and give some qualitative measure of their output.

[Obosan]

They were fantastic. I went to see the whales. Then I went to see the Gulf of St-Lawrence. Being with the whales on the water, kayaking. Then traveling with a bycicle in the country. I have met very nice new people.
When you will come to Canada. I will take you to the whales.

@francois Bonjour! It sounds very fascinating and marvelous experiences.
Sea kayaking is one of my future projects, so I wish I will come to Quebec to meet you and the whales.

By the way, I would like to know whether you are satisfied with the printing quality of Canon Selphy?

[francois]

こんにちは obosan,

I have the printer. Too busy to work on it now, but I am coming soon. I have to choose photographs to compare the printers outputs.

[Obosan]

こんにちは obosan,

こんにちは／今日は／コンニチワ！　Wow, I didn't know that we can input Japanese Hiragana, Kanji, and Katakana in this forum. We have three different style of writing in Japanese, as you may know.
We write your name, francois, as フランソワ in Katakana. I hope you can read this on your computer.
I wonder why you can input and read 2 bit fonts under the occidental computer without having those Japanese fonts and IM on the system.
仏蘭西和(フランソワ, francois) 仏蘭西 is France and 和(wa) means peace & harmony. This is written in Kanji.
I hope you like it.

Waiting for your review of photo outputs.