PhotographyBLOG Article: Finding the Best Photo Printer

I’m pleased to be able to bring you a new PhotographyBLOG article today, courtesy of Phil Baker, who amongst other things writes a regular technology column for the San Diego Source newspaper. Phil’s article is called “Finding the Best Photo Printer”, in which he tries out some of the latest models of color ink-jet photo printers from Canon, Epson and HP, including the new HP PhotoSmart 8150 (pictured).

Website: Finding the Best Photo Printer

Published: Wednesday, November 10, 2004

Reader Comments

1. I'm surprised the reviewer didn't wipe his butt with the prints and compare the results.
   
   More responsible reviewers have noted the HP inks take a full 24 hours to dry. At that point, their archival qualities reportedly rival pigment-based inks.
   
   We all have to do our own homework on the web, but I don't think photographyblog.com does us any favors by publishing uninformed reviews like this.
   
   Your mileage may vary,
   
   Chris Butler

   Chris Butler at 05:10pm on Wednesday, November 10, 2004

2. The prints were tested 48 hours after being printed.

   Phil at 06:00pm on Wednesday, November 10, 2004

3. Walt Mossberg has been quoted as saying:
   
   "Hewlett-Packard hasn't yet created a way to produce prints that are both water-fast and fade-resistant; you must choose paper for one feature or the other. The company says it is working on a solution to this problem."
   
   http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/solution-20041110.html

   Mark Goldstein at 04:52pm on Tuesday, November 16, 2004

4. I would be very interested in knowing the file sizes of the images printed. It would make the print speed comparison more meaningful.

   David Dietz at 03:20am on Thursday, November 18, 2004

5. The file sizes were as follows:
   
   Word 35KB
   Excel 51KB
   PowerPoint slides 715KB and 723KB
   Color images ranged from 1 to 2MB

   Mark Goldstein at 08:46am on Sunday, November 21, 2004

6. Thanks for this thorough review. You have helped me in making a decision! Obviously your first reviewer must work for HP. Regardless that will not be my choice.
   
   Thanks!

   Gina T. at 04:24pm on Saturday, December 18, 2004

7. I been photo printer shopping the last two weeks.I read your article just in time, had planned to purchase a HP photo printer.I am using a HP Officejet v40xi,photo`s not very good. I think i will buy the Canon Pixma ip5000 since reading your article.Thanks for helping me make a better choice

   Elihue Tate at 03:31am on Thursday, January 20, 2005

8. I am confused. I have a Cannon i960 and the prints are not water proof. A drop of water on the print, weeks after printing, and the ink smears. A friend has an Epson 800 and we ran it under water with no impact on the image. He gets the permanence using Kodak or Epson -- and presumes it would be true for others.
   I do not see water resistence in most reviews. Here there is a discussion of it, but the suggestion is that the Cannon did not smear with a damp rub??? Help.

   Tom Duffy at 08:09pm on Wednesday, February 09, 2005

9. canon is a great choice

   astro at 03:43pm on Tuesday, March 22, 2005

10. Thank you for your information. I have always purchased HP printers and scanners in the past, but as the years have passed I am getting increasingly displeased with HP - especially now that my Photosmart 7350 broke and after spending nearly 5 hours with "help" and $30.00 later they decided it was irrepairable I have given up on them. My question now was between Canon and Epson. My only problem is that I have well over $200 worth of HP inks and paper, but a kind Office Depot has offered to take it back and let me exchange for whichever brand printer I buy (from them of course - but it's still a good deal for me). Thanks for your article, it was very useful to me!

    Stacy Ozer at 02:41am on Sunday, April 10, 2005

11. Any results for black & white photo printing on these machines.
    
    I get dark brown results on both a Canon i960 and Epson 925. Or, poor resolution if I print black only.

    Bill Meserve at 01:16pm on Wednesday, May 04, 2005

12. Just a passing remark on the HP Photosmart 8150. If you happen to make the mistake of using 4x6 print media without the tear-off tabs, the printhead will dog ear the print just before it ejects the print. Don't plan on using cheaper plain cut paper like Kodak paper, only the expensive HP tabbed paper will do.

    Wayne Gungl at 04:56am on Wednesday, May 11, 2005

13. Interesting article. But what about Dell printers? I just bought a new Dell system including a three in one printer and am amazed at the quality of the photo prints I get.
    
    But having never used another digital printer system I have no basis for comparison. Are there systems reasonalby priced better than Dell?

    BOBO at 07:33pm on Sunday, August 21, 2005

14. Thank you for such thorough information. It shed light on the three printer manufacturers I am considering.

    George Howard at 03:48pm on Saturday, November 26, 2005

15. I may have misunderstood your test configuration but it seems you p[rinted the HP image using the tricolor (95/97) cartridge with the all black cartridge. Although this is correct for the text printing tests (word Excell etc.) for photo printing you must replace the black (96) cartridge for the photo color cartridge (99) for photo printing you need the 97 and 99 cartridges, for B&W;printing you need the 97 and 100 cartridges, for office use the 97 and 96 cartridges.
    
    My experience is that if you try this you will find the the HP 8150 will give you stunning photo prints.

    Paul at 04:10am on Thursday, January 26, 2006

16. Cheers for this straight talking review
    I will be purchasing an Epson now as was debating between that or a hp
    Thank you

    JON at 05:31pm on Monday, January 15, 2007