Hard Copy
I've been thinking about getting a good photo printer for awhile and finally went for it yesterday. For the most part a lot of the stuff I've done I display online. But I've been having more of a need for making prints lately. I wanted something where I can get a good idea of what an image is going to look like in hard copy before I invest the money to get a really large print done. I did some research, c-net, e-pinions, etc and decided to try the Canon iP8500.
I just got it up and running today and I'm very impressed so far. At first I thought there was a problem with it because the prints didn't look that great and I could see a few small white lines in the output. It turned out the problem was just that I hadn't chosen the right paper and it was printing in draft mode instead of high quality. Once I figured that out I was off and running. It is pretty easy to use and the results are amazing for 4x6-8x10. This is going to save me a lot of time and potentially some money in having to send photos off to be printed. So far I would recommend this one. It does cost more than some of the lower models but reading the reviews and specs on them all I felt like this was the one for me to start with. I always like to invest in something a little better if at all possible. This one also has the ablility to print onto a CD as well which I think will be really handy for the compilation discs I like to make for people.
I've closely examined many prints so far and I cannot tell any loss in quality over one printed say from kodak or other digital printing services. Its really great to get that instant feedback when I'm trying to see what something is going to look like in print. I didn't do as many prints before because it was just a pain to have to upload them and wait for them in the mail or go pick them up somewhere. Also, you never know exactly what they're going to do with color correction. Now I can get the color correction the way I want it myself, and if I want a larger print done I can have it sent off somewhere and know what its going to look like as long as I can tell them not to mess with it.