[Rock Da Bass]

Hi all,

My Epson R300 printer arrived today (£80 Amazon ).
It's still to be unwrapped but I'll get stuck into it later.

This seems a popular printer with members of this forum, so I was wondering if any longer term users could recomend which photo paper gives best results with it to save me going through a trial and error process.

I'm new to photo printing so any tips appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

RDB

[Astaroth]

I have found Epsons own premier paper has given very good results - often very expensive but Maplins have 2 packs for £7.99 at the moment (1/4 the price of WHSmiths)

Did try some Kodak paper but the images came out a little softer imo

[simon100]

Stick with Epson's own premium glossy photo paper. Not cheap but gives stunning results with Epson's own ink. I have had some good deals from Partners and PC world. Just keep your eyes open and purchase a batch whilst on special offer.

[SeaneyC]

Also recommend "print and go" photo weight paper (comes in a red packet, actually looks more like card with a coating on one side) whilst initially going for it because it was cheap, gives very good results on my old Epson 1270. Certainly quite close to the epson high quality glossy film, which was almost £2 a sheet! (not that i paid this, office company clearout love it!)

[Rock Da Bass]

Thanks for the replies. The printer came with 10-off 4X6" Epson Premium glossy paper. Tried it out and well impressed. I think I'll stick with it.

BTW Absolutely amazing how good a printer you can get so cheaply these days compared to even just 4 or 5 years ago.


RDB

[SeaneyC]

Wait till you have to start buying new ink for it.....

[Astaroth]

it is almost as cheap to buy a new printer than original inks at the likes of PC World - may actually be worth buying the printer as a cheap online deal, taking the cartridges and then flogging the printer without inks on ebay

[LV426]

Jessops (camera shop) have also had twin packs of 4x6, 5x7 and A4 Epson Premium Glossy recently. They may still have. The 5x7s were GBP6.99 for 2x50 IIRC.

[Rock Da Bass]

Originally Posted by SeaneyC

Wait till you have to start buying new ink for it.....

LOL...trying not to think about it yet....just enjoying my new toy

You're right though. I bought my new R300 for £80 when needing new ink for my old Lexmark. Buying new B&W and colour ink cartridges would have cost nearly as much as the new printer

On the plus side, at least the Epson has seperate coulor cartridges which should help a bit.

RDB

[LV426]

Going rate for genuine Epsons is about a tenner each. That makes the hardware worth GBP20! They are a bit cheaper direct from Epson, and a bit cheaper still if bought in pre-packs of three of the six required colours. Of course there are plenty of cheaper look-alikes about.

[SeaneyC]

Originally Posted by Rock Da Bass

On the plus side, at least the Epson has seperate coulor cartridges which should help a bit.

RDB

True, i think after 5 years of Canon doing it, they finally twigged that people would buy the ink instead of a new printer

Still, can't complain, always just order my 5 colour cartridges through the office manager, just like she does!

[mansell]

I've bought a view new inks from http://www.valueshop.co.uk for £7.99

these are genuine epson inks

[balders]

I think new printers tend to come with lower capacity/ half filled cartridges. I seem to remember this was the case with my R200.

Ebuyer and 7 Day Shop now do Epson compatible versions of cartridges for the R200/R300. I got a full set for around £15, and so far can't tell the difference.

Balders.

[Astaroth]

My R300 stated it came with full sized/filled cartridges but it had to do a full charging of the jets which takes a considerable amount out of them but they say you will only ever have to do it once - so same size but wont last as long due to this.

[mattym]

i wouldnt use kodak paper, i bought a couple of packs but the prints looked like Scrumple glaze when it came out the printer, i got hold of Kodak, who sent me a detailed list of setup details, followed them all but still have rubbish prints. the free pack of paper they sent is no good to me, so not impressed at all!

Is home printing really worth it? Commercial processing is much cheaper in South Africa - works out at less than the cost of the consumables alone. One minor issue - some shopping mall outlets are starting to use automatic "image correction" software during processing. I just avoid them, and stick to the places that print as is, or ask if you want the auto editing service.

[dejongj]

I'm with you MartynK. Last week I had 63 shots printed via an online service that doesn't correct if you don't want to. Costed me £7.09 home delivered in 48 hours @ 6x4 format. And a lot less of my time...

I know tend to use my home photoprinter only for individual copies, odd one-off sizes etc...

[tomson]

I agree. My colour printer (canon 865i) has been relegated to printing the occasional invoice or colour map. All my pics get printed at Photobox - far better results, cheaper and less hassle.

[Astaroth]

Short of burning to CD I dont have a realistic way of sending any more than one or two of my photos to an online printers but given that I only print a very small number of my photos I am happy to do it at home - so far I am fairly impressed with the life span of the cartages in my epson (esp given they are the first set so you get less out of them) but my opinion may change when i come to have to buy replacements

Saying that I am considering getting 1 photo printed onto A3 ish sized paper (though concerned about how small their recommended pixal sizes are) and would like to get something on canvas but dont think I have the right shot yet.

[Rock Da Bass]

Argos leaflet arrived through the door today. Good timing as they are doing BOGOF on Epson Premium Glossy Paper.

£9.99 for 50-off 6x4 or 20-off A4.

With BOGOF that's a fiver a pack which seems quite good.

RDB

[Oakey]

Originally Posted by Rock Da Bass

On the plus side, at least the Epson has seperate coulor cartridges which should help a bit.

RDB

I have to disagree, I find with my R200 that the ink all runs out around the same time.

Single cartridges are a rip off in my opinion.

At work I have the R200, and at home a Photo 810. The R200 takes 6 cartridges in total (5colour, 1 black) and my 810 takes one colour cartridge (containing 5 colours) and one black.

1 x Epson 810 colour cartridge holds 46ml of ink and costs £16.

1 x R200 colour cartridge holds 13ml each and costs £11-£12 (£55-£60 for a full set)

That means compared to the Photo 810 cartridge, you get an extra 19ml of ink with the 5 single carts but at three times the price

Still think it's a better deal? I think it's disgusting how much ink is costing and as stated, would be cheaper to buy a new printer, keep the carts and ebay the hardware

[Rock Da Bass]

Originally Posted by Oakey

I think it's disgusting how much ink is costing

I do totally agree with you there. I saw a comparison once showing costs of various commodities and per litre printer ink is one of the most expensive commodities on the planet.

Not entirely sure how the seperate cartridges will work out but I found on my old printer, one colour tended to run out first, leaving a decent amount on the other colours. Just depends what you're printing I suppose.

I'll only be using the R300 for 'occasional' printing. If doing a big batch, I think it's probably better to burn a CD (or fill a flash card) and get it done elsewhere.

RDB

PS Can anyone tell me very roughly how many 6x4 prints to expect from a single set of cartridges?

[Astaroth]

So far mine has done 70 6*4 and 10 A4 and still going strong - of cause that means it will now run out the next time I try and print but still

Can't really comment on the single/separate cartridge issue. My old HP inkjet just gets an occaisonal work out if I need a hard copy business document with colour, but I usually communicate with clients by email or give them a CD, which most of them prefer. Think I last replaced the cartridges about 2 years ago, and I bought refills. I think the home colour printing story started in the 1990s, when it first became feasible/affordable, and a lot of us were quite amazed that it was possible! This was long before digital cameras came on the scene. The manufacturers found the perfect marketing angle - offer the printer at cost/close to cost or bundled with a PC - and make the profits from consumables. Separate cartridges came later, as the technology improved. This was quite clever too, because it coincided with a lot of consumers complaining that one colour always ran out before the others, and you had to replace the whole cartridge, so the manufacturers cashed in by satisfying the "demand" and making even more money. Best way to get customers to buy anything is to get them to sell it to themselves. I'll certainly fall into the trap if Nikon offer an 8 - 10MP D200, with a good viewfinder/MF system, and full compatibility with manual lenses at a sensible price! Oh well, I live in hope.