Photo printer for grandkids - suggestions??

[GRHazelton]

Last Christmas we gave our granddaughters, Audrey (9 yrs old) and Sofia (11yrs old) each a Kodak PIXPRO FZ 43 camera, one in black one in red, plus a AA charger, many NiCad cells, a lens cleaning pen, and 2 pouches to carry the cameras. The kids have really enjoyed the cameras, and have taken many good shots. They are using PhotoShop or Elements for some creative manipulation. We've been pleased with the care they've taken with the cameras.
We think that a printer might be in order. I use a Canon Pixma Pro 100, but that might be overkill for the kids, both in price and size. I think something which would print up to 8 x 10 photo quality - of course! - and moderate operating cost would be in order. (All too often the cost of carts soon exceeds the printer cost!) Any thoughts out there??

 

[NedL]

My wife is a primary school teacher and she has an HP "photosmart" printer ( I can't remember which model number it is ). It's shaped like a small toaster, and makes 4x6 or 5x7 prints. The prints look great and it even has a battery so she can use it in her classroom w/ a small digital P&S camera.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

This is what I use.
https://epson.com/For-Home/Printers/Inkjet/Epson-Stylus-C88+-Inkjet-Printer/p/C11C617121
It takes any paper and very cheap inks from Amazon. But as with any inkjet, you have to print once a week or so.
I just doubt kids of these days are capable of anything consistent rather than phones.

 

[4season]

Around the office, I pretty much gave up on Epson and HP inkjet printers, because even with daily use, they clog more often then they should. Too bad because I had high hopes for those Epson models with big ink tanks.

OTOH, I had some Canon Pixma IP8500s which had been in storage for at least 3 years. I didn't have enough ink left in those cartridges to attempt a cleaning cycle, but surprisingly, one of them worked pretty good on the first try - this after sitting idle and unplugged all that time.

I haven't tried Brother's inkjets.

Though limited to 4x6, you know what's great about Canon's Selphy? Dye-sub is pretty archival and it doesn't clog so there's very little waste! Now that I've created an ICC profile for mine, output is a very decent match for what I see on the screen. It can also be used as a standalone device but I haven't tried that.

 

[Sal Santamaura]

...I use a Canon Pixma Pro 100, but that might be overkill for the kids, both in price and size...

In size perhaps, but at $150 net after rebate, the price seems right.

 

[jim10219]

Yeah, the Canon Pixma Pro 100 is the printer I'd recommend. It's reliable. It's cheap (the printer anyway). The ink cartridges aren't cheap, but I've found that with printers that do have cheap cartridges, you can only print about 1 or 2 8x10's before the cartridge runs out. So in reality, the larger, more expensive cartridges actually cost less.

If you really want to save money on ink, there are several third party ink sources on the web. My experience with them is that the ink looks alright. But they tend to run out quicker (or report being empty even when they're not) or clog if you let them sit. They also arrive DOA a lot more often than brand name cartridges. So you still might be paying more in the long run. It's a gamble, and sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. They don't like to sit inactive for long periods of time, so if you do go this route in an effort to save money, I'd suggest doing a bunch of prints at once, and try to drain the cartridges in one sitting.

I've owned about 20 office type inkjet printers in my life. They all have the same issues of not lasting long, expensive ink, and constant clogging. These days, I buy them at the thrift store (I can usually find one for a dollar) and load them up with cheap ink. Then when they die, and they always do, I just repeat the process. And I only using them for printing documents and shipping labels. They're too expensive to print photographs from. In the long run, the Pixma Pro 100 is the cheapest option for most people who want a color printer. It's a bonus that they actually can do a decent size and have better than average color!

 

[Billy Axeman]

I have a small Canon Selphy CP820 dye-sublimation printer for 150x100 mm format prints. It works thermically, and the 'ink' cartridge is included with the paper. No clogging of ink, it always directly works after a long pause of inactivity. There are various models for the features you find important. I use mine to make picture postcards from photo's.

 

[GRHazelton]

Many thanks for the posts! It seems that there are several printers at our price point (under $100) with the cost of ink being the real kicker! IIRC smaller HP printers integrate the print head with the care. My Canon Pixma Pro 100 has a replaceable head, my old Epson R1800 doesn't. Anyone know whether the small Canons have user replaceable heads?

 

[removed account4]

I use an all in one Epson Expression 640 purchased from an office supply hut, with a 2 year extended warrantee for less than 100$; if it dies for any reason at all within the 2 years they replace it no questions asked (just save your receipt !): Its an all in one, has a slot for a memory card, or takes a card reader, will do all sorts of fun stuff, and works great !
If you didn't need 8x10 I'd suggest an HP that is portable like a A536 Photosmart. Its small, has 1 ink cartridge and gets rave reviews. ( I was gifted one recently and haven't had a chance to plug it in and use it but I'm confident it works great ). They sell on Ebay "as the crow flies" ( cheap-cheap ) .