Don’t Buy!
Don’t Buy the Cheapest or the Newest Model and NEVER BUY A PRINTER BUNDLED WITH A COMPUTER
Remember that all printer manufacturers make a range of printers. Pay as much as you can afford for your printer. Don’t go for the cheapest one in the range if you can help it. Don’t buy the latest newest model either. The chances are that there will not be any cheap cartridges available for it for several months. Beware of “Bargains”. Guess why?There have been many cases recently of printers (usually Lexmark) being sold at prices that are the same as (or less than) the cost of the cartridges they contain.
Don’t buy a printer that uses “permanent” ink unless you want to leave your photos in the sunshine. Permanent inks use pigments that ire insoluble. If you get a printer that uses permanent inks and the printhead dries out with lack of use, it is unlikely that you will ever get the printer going properly again. Ordinary dye inks do not suffer from this problem.
They will last for years if kept in the dark and won’t fade noticeably in typical room lighting.. If you want an archive print of a very good picture, arrange to have a Cibachrome copy made of a fresh dye inkjet print. The Cibachrome process is used in photo booths that produce passport photographs. Alternatively arrange to get a colour laser copy made. Then you won’t have the possible expense of replacing a pigment ink printer.
Beware Expensive Cartridges!
