A colour printer just for Photographs.

[BML]

I have an impatient wife who is never willing to wait for digital photographs to come back so I would like to buy a colour printer specifically to print her photographs.

My experience with colour is limited other than to say that the Canon Pixma iP 6000 I have is a heap of rubbish. Having said that I wonder if it’s possible that its performance could have been affected by a very infrequent use? Anyway, I doubt it will ever work sufficiently well to produce a decent photographic reproduction.

I know not the difference between Laser and Ink Jet so I am asking just what sort of machine I should aim for and would irregular use affect its performance.

 

[Printman]

There are quite a few really good printers to be had. It depends on what you want to do with them. For really professional printing of photos etc. it would be wise to get a high quality commercial setup. However. If you are like most of us, you can hardly tell the difference in the comparison of one printed with a hi end printer and a normal everyday use type.
I have several printers and have gone through dozens in the past. At present, I have 3 printers which does a very good job. I personally like the Epson Artisan 1430 as it will print up to 13 inches wide and 19 inches long. It also prints directly on dvd s and cd s. This was a requirement when I purchased this printer as paper labels cause data loss after a few years. I lost quite a few from paper labels and not one photw since I have been using direct professional looking direct printing. As long as you use a good quality ink, the photos are very good. I would suggest a bit of editing prior to printing such as making sure the size matches the paper selected for printing. The printer or programs can do great wonders with the set functions but sometimes they don't get the subject part that you may want if it is near the edge. I usually crop down to near the size I want then finish the exact size with Adobe.
Good luck on getting a good quality printer if you haven't already purchased one.