Hi - I know that printing at home is not really economical in the long run, but I like the control it gives me even with my very modest entry-level Pixma. My ideal printer would have several black/gray cartridges to have as much control as possible when printing B&W, would accept all sorts of paper (heavier than 300g/m²) and up to A3... which seems to leave only the higher-end like Epson R2880 et al. Right now I'm looking at the Canon 9500 Mark II, but I wonder if there are cheaper options ?

B&H after rebate $249.95 for the Pixma 9500 MKII. Received my rebate (AMX cash card) couple days ago. Not sure if that cost is within your price range, but relative to MSRP on this printer & the quality of the printer it's at a decent price right now.

Thanks for the tip - sadly reserved to US citizens... but yes, at this price it would be well within the price range !

I have a Canon 9500 MKII, and I am quite pleased with the results. The prints equal or better my old Epson printer which cost 5X+ more.

G

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"Everywhere you look there are photographs, it is up to us photogs to see them."- Gary Ayala
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Critiquing my images is welcomed and greatly appreciated.

I have the Epson 1400, which I paid $200 for direct from Epson after an Epson $100 discount. The printer prints up to 13 x 19 prints and does an outstanding job. It is a dye printer, so if you really want a pigment printer, look elsewhere.

As far as keeping costs down, I've been using MIS inks in re-fillable cartridges. The initial set of cartridges, refill kit and inks cost about what one set of Epson cartridges would have cost and the MIS ink bottles are good for about ten refills. Refilling is a very simple process. The colors are very good and I have had no clogging, banding or other issues (beyond what you would normally expect and head-check/cleaning always solves any issues).

I've also been using Red River paper, which is very high quality and about half the price of Canon/Epson/Kodak paper of equivalent grade. Recently I tried out their Fine Art White paper and love it. It prints nicely in color and black and white with a surprising range of color depth and detail in a non-gloss finish.

If you want good prints, you owe it to yourself to get a good printer setup and stop hoping the drugstores can ever get it right. There is a learning curve but the results are well worth the effort.

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I really enjoy using old primes on my m4/3 camera. There's something about having to choose your aperture and actually focusing your camera that makes it so much more like... like... PHOTOGRAPHY! http://remononaz.blogspot.com