What is the best printer for photography lookbooks

[Missy]

I need to buy a printer and due to a regular need for lookbooks and photography printing I would like to know which is best. I would be printing from a iMac. I need to be able to print on a range of paper thicknesses up to 200gsm and preferably on transparent as well as paper and envelopes. It doesn't need to have fax.

Any recommendations would be very helpful!

Thank you

 

[l_d_allan]

It'd be helpful to get more info from you ...
* budget for printer and ongoing supplies, including whether you will use OEM ink and OEM paper
* paper size (is letter/legal sufficient?)
* fade resistance (pigment has better archival qualities)
* printing volume (print speed may matter, and the "duty cycle" on entry level SOHO printers may be inadequate for large volume)
* color accuracy expectations (CMYK may be fine, but high expectations may call for more ink cartridges like Red, Green, Photo-Light-Magenta, Photo-Light-Cyan, Gray, etc).

My observations ... YMMV ...
* Canon generally has the best reputation for photo printing with entry-level printers, but most venders have gotten better over the past several years, so the gap may not be significant
* Older Canon printers are also generally friendlier to cartridge refilling than other brands, if that is an issue (most new printers are increasingly hostile to refilling)
* Most (all?) printers don't care if you print from Mac or PC
* Most printers can easily handle 200 gsm
* I don't have any experience with printing on transparent media