Advice needed on photo printer

A new hobby has entered my life! As my kids get older, I have realized that time is running by way too fast for me to remember everything. There are memories that I want to keep forever and my handy camera is helping me achieve that now. I have a gazillion pictures in my computer but now I would like to print them. I took a trip to WallyWorld and had a few printed but I would like the convenience of doing this from home.

Do you have a recommendation for a photo printer? I would like to be able to print size ranges from 4x6 to 7x5 inches.

Please...if you have one or know of one drop me a comment.

Update: I have been researching and I have found 2 that are good options. Do you own one of these? What do you think of them?

HP Photosmart A626

Canon Pixma Mini320

The Canon prints at 9600 x 2400 dpi. The HP 4800 x 1200 dpi. The HP seems to have tons of options to add borders, text and other stuff, but some of the reviews say that the colors look a bit too saturated, not true. The Canon is fast and according to specs prints more dpis.  What do you think?

Comments

[Connie]

We have the HP Photosmart C6100 which I love. It's big as it's a scanner too. We also still use the one we had before that and it's great as well. It is the HP Photosmart 7350. I don't think you can go wrong with the HP's.

[Julie]

At least at my house what seems to work is having camera, paper and printer all the same brand thus I have canon cameras (Rebel XT and Elph) a canon pixma iP8500 printer and I use the Canon photo paper as well. That combo gives me photo shop quality prints.

[Tracie]

I don't know about the Mini320, but I have a Canon Pixma iP5000 that I love. The photos always turn out great, as well as just about anything else I print. I use a Sony camera.

[Elena Murphy]

Howdy. My two cents; compare the price and life (how many sheets will it print) of the ink cartridges. That is where they really get you. I have a printer at work that has cartridges that cost $50 a pop. Thank goodness I don't have to pay for them. But it's a basic HP printer, nothing fancy so I was sort of surprised when I saw what they went for.

Elena

[Jeannie]

I agree with Elena. You need to factor the price of the toner cartridge, and how long it will last into your decision. Those cartridges can be pricey, and some of them last longer than others.

Also, go to a store that has them on display (Best Buy, Staples, etc.) and ask to see a sample print on each of them.

Huggz!

[Elisabeth]

Whatever you decide you need to think about how long you want your photos to last and what kind of papers and inks you will get that will be able to do that. It does mean buying more expensive ink, but if you don't want your kiddoes pictures to fade away it is very important.
A couple of the kinds of inks that are considered to have a long life are HP Vivera Inks and Epson Ultrachrome Inks. They aren't extremely cheap.
The best paper I know of for printing on is Ilford Gallerie Paper. It is also more than what you normally get.
(The HP papers do not last well--I wish you could be up here in MN and see this fade test that my dad and I put together with a whole bunch of different kinds of inks and papers (since we do printing for people, we had to test all sorts of options) and found that the Epson Ultrachrom ink on ilford gallerie paper has not faded at all-at the time we did the test the HP Vivera inks were not available at the time we did the test, but we have heard good things about them-it used to be that HP ink was awful)
Anyway email me if you have any questions and I will try to help. (you don't want your kiddoes pics to all of a sudden disappear or turn all green in a year or two)

[Heather W]

We were gifted the HP PhotoSmart 375 years ago- we've never used it. We have some awesome photo editing software and have always emailed our photos to the Walgreens that is within walking distance of the house. Even larger size prints are inexpensive. There are times, though, that Walgreens is closed but we want/need a photo. So we've printed them out on HP premium photo paper with our HP OfficeJet 7410. They have been fine- although I've never done any fade tests and, without checking, I am not sure of the ink type that is currently in the printer. I'd guess one of the more premium inks, though.

I will say that we've hardly ever had a problem with any of our HP products over the years. And, the few times we've needed help or had a problem, their customer service has been EXCELLENT.

[tali]

I don't have that particular HP printer, but I've always owned HP printers and absolutely love my photo smart printer. The inks combined with their paper produce beautiful photos that will last a long time. I used to think that it didn't matter what kind of photo paper one used, but they really do turn out better and don't fade as much when you use theirs. I haven't read anything about Canon being archival quality--but HP's are.

[Jana]

Isela,

I use HP because it does have the best in quality, all of my pro photographer buddies also use HP. I use Photoshop and it is not only good paper, but Callibration on the computer that makes a print special..it is important to have your screen callibrated to avoid saturation and other problems that may exist in the print. Many people forget and wonder why their prints look like they have to much contrast or to little. If you have any questions the guys at B&H Photo Video are awesome, and they will help you choose the best and I am on your Yahoo Groups if you have any camera, printer or software questions.

I have always purchased with them because not only are they the cheapest, the really know what they are doing. B&H is awesome..

www.bhphotovideo.com

I hope this helps.
Jana

[karen mentzer]

I have not tied either but just recently got the Epson Printmate240 and am happy with it. I have had several Epsons in the past so I would check into them too. For me the only drawback is none of the stores locally have the cartridges so I HAVE to order online but then I can probably get them cheaper online too. So check out Epson's website too.

[Christi B]

Isela,

I've used the Epson Picturemate printers in the past and don't recommend them as I've had too many problems, but I love my new Epson Color Stylus Photo 1280. However, it's more than you're wanting to go I'm sure since it prints up to 13x19. Great quality, but not a cheap printer. As others have said, most photo printers are going to cost you more per print than having them printed professionally, especially if you're willing to wait for prints. If you're willing to wait for mailed prints, I recommend either buying a pre-paid pack from Shutterfly (with prints being as low as $.09 per print with pre-paid) or York Photo which is $.10 per print. For pick-up photos though, I watch for specials like Walgreens had recently for $.10 each. But for quick at home prints, I either use my Epson, or if I'm on the go, my Pixma from Canon...