Any tips for a good photo printer ?

If you want quality prints, then use a commercial printing service. You e-mail them your file and a few days later your prints arrive.

In regards to home printing, the Canon Pixma Pro series and the HP Photosmart Pro are good choices. However, when you consider the cost of doing it at home vs a commercial service, you will not beat the price and quality of a commercial printing service.

If you want to make your own prints, then right now the best deal is in the USA on an Epson Stylus Pro 3880. With the rebate it's under $900.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bn...i=rev#costumerReview

These printers are said to only last 3 to 5 years before the print heads clog or fail in some manner. It seems to work best when used intensively or frequently. But right up until they fail it is said to be an excellent printer, even for B&W. It will print up to 16 X 20 inch paper, since it will take 17" paper.

If you only print very occasionally then a good pro printer service, as Opus1 says, is probably a better way to go. In Paris there are Picto and Negatif+, both being very good. Picto's online service is sort of in English and you can download directly from their site ICC profiles for each type of paper or medium you would want to use.

http://online.picto.fr


Negatif+ does most of the same things as Picto, but photographers who still want to shoot film tend to go there, since they still sell and develop film in almost every format. Unfortunately, they don't have an "almost English" version of their web site.

https://negatifplus.com/mon_panier

The print quality from one technology to another is considerable. Of course every printer manufacturer uses their proprietary technology and therefore each technology delivers a different quality print.

Same with the commercial printing services. Their quality varies depending upon the technology used. One thing for sure is, the commercial printing services are using the best technology possible to achieve their results. Something that a home printer attempts to mimic, but cannot duplicate.

Below is a comparison of several US services and you will find a big quality variance between them. Fortunately if you are relying on a commercial service for your prints, you can always quickly change who you use without making another large investment. With home printers, not so much.

Commercial Printer Comparison

I have had good results with a Canon Pro9000 Mark II. It prints up to 13" x 24", I believe (canvas included). But I have only printed 8x10's so far. It's an older printer, very heavy, and takes a lot of room on a table. It uses 8 ink cartridges, which cost around $17.00 each.

For people who print a few large photos each month, this printer is just about perfect. Regardless of which printer you buy, keep an eye on discounts or manufacturer rebates. Some can be quite expensive.