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Tough decision on deciding between two printers. Need Help!

DaftUnion

DaftUnion

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 22, 2005
689
0
Wisconsin
I am buying a new iMac G5 20 inch next week :) and I have the option of getting $100 off of a new printer from the Apple store. However, I am stuck in a root. The one I want from the Apple store (the printer with the light blue tone to it - HP Photosmart 8150) is $150 minus the $100 rebate would only cost $50 for me. It does have a little better print quality then the other printer from the reviews I read, and would cost me less, but the other printer (HP Photosmart 8250 - the light silver color $200 no rebate) looks better and more Applesque with the iMac, has the fastest print speeds currently (world's fastest 32 black/31ppm color) and actually supports Tiger right out of the box with the software included--no drivers need to be downloaded as is the case with the other printer.

Money is not too much of a concern, so it comes down to: A. should I buy the 8250 which better fits in with the iMac, is newer, has faster print speeds, but a little less print quality then the other one OR

B. Buy the 8150 which would cost me only $50 in the end, has better print quality overall, and is less Applesque and doesn't fit as well with the iMac.

Any help would be appreciated. It's a tough call with the whole issue over design/cost/quality. :(
 

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i would say neither, go for an epson or canon, have you checked how much replacement ink cartridges cost for hp? i think it's something like 30$ each, epson/canons are <4$ each for generics.
 
DaftUnion said:
Any help would be appreciated. It's a tough call with the whole issue over design/cost/quality. :(
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Neither.

If I were you, I would go with a Canon photo printer instead.

The Canon will give you better quality prints, and print them a lot faster than the HP as well. And if that wasn't enough in it's favor, it uses separate ink tanks for the various colors, unlike the HP, so when one color runs out, you only replace the empty cartridge, so your long term printing costs will be a lot cheaper too.

I have the Canon i960, which although discontinued, you should still be able to find for under $100.

Otherwise you can go with one of the newer Canon printers, like the Pixma iP4000 at $150....

http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=117&modelid=10239

or the Pixma iP5000 at $200....

http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=117&modelid=10439

If you do a search for printers on this forum, you'll see that most of us that are into good quality prints prefer Canon.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.
 
zeeko said:
i would say neither, go for an epson or canon, have you checked how much replacement ink cartridges cost for hp? i think it's something like 30$ each, epson/canons are <4$ each for generics.
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I thought I would post this picture also since most people would make a comment about ink cartridges. This has 6 seperate ink tanks and are anywhere from 7.50 to 9.99 at the max per cartridge.

Also, I did some research on the Apple store and the Canon printers are only eligible for a $20 rebate.
 

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I'm going to look into the Canon and Epson printers from unbiased sources, and also from HP. I want to make an informed decision, as I don't want to buy another HP (since I've had one of their all in ones for 4 years) just because of good luck if Canon and Epson are better on their printers.

Dan

I'll keep you up to date. Thanks for the quick replies.
 
I would be intrested in what you choose for a printer, since i am also looking for a Inkjet. However, i was last looking at an Epson Sylus Photo R300, currently Epson is offering $25 iTunes gift card, plus a $20 Rebate.


It has individual ink tanks, and can print on CD/DVDs.
 
sw1tcher said:
Between the HP 8150 and the HP 8250, I say go with the 8250.
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Unfortunately David didn't do any direct comparison's to any of Canon's (or any other printer for that matter) offerings.

This review of the HP 8150 doesn't sound to great too me, especially when you factor in the cost of the additional cartridges - Black/Photo-Gray etc.

http://www.dcresource.com/specials/HP_PS8150/index.php

Here's an excellent review of the Canon i960...

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/canon_i960.html

And one of the Canon iP4000...

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/canon_ip4000.html

Maybe someone here who has compared the HP 8250 to one of the aforementioned Canon's can post their thoughts.
 
I have a question, if you were to buy the 89 dollar printer, would you get 89 dollars back in rebate or for some reason get 100 dollars? I doubt that you would make money off of this, but I wanted to ask.

Thanks
 
DaftUnion said:
Also, I did some research on the Apple store and the Canon printers are only eligible for a $20 rebate.
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Really!! When did this change!

I bought a mac not to long ago and got a 100 dollar check back, not a 20 dollar check.

Maybe it has changed since i bought my iMac in May.

Oh, And my suggestion would be to get a canon. I have the MP760, which is an all in one and it works great. Unless you have a scanner already then i would say get the all in one. The onyl thing i wish is that i had the MP770 which can print onto a CD. The software is great and the printer was recognized as soon as i pluged it in.

My vote is for canon!!
 
I agree with all the Canon people.
HP printers.. I've given up on them.

HP printer = $ BUT makes me feel like I'm on windows again.
HP Cartridges = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$...x3

Canon printer = $$
Canon Cartridge = $. (like $8/color @ office max or refill it yourself.)

I love me the Canon! I have an ip3000 hooked up to my airport express and it's allll goooood. :p

It prints pretty quickly, and the quality is groovy. :)
 
DaftUnion said:
Also, I did some research on the Apple store and the Canon printers are only eligible for a $20 rebate.
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That's not what the online store says...
 
MacVM said:
That's not what the online store says...
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The main page under the Apple store says $100 rebate on all qualifying printers, but when you click on the "more info" link under each of the printers the Canon printers only say this:

Purchase a Canon iP4000 Photo Printer between February 1, 2005 and September 30, 2005 and receive a $20 rebate by mail. See rebate form for details.

And there's a seperate rebate form (http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/Coupon_70wPC_FINAL.pdf) for the $20 rebate only. I'm pretty sure I'm right on this issue.

As for the iP4000 and the 8250, they're both a close call. If I were to decide on printers it would be on these two. The 8150 got a little higher rating on photos (from pcmag.com, yes I know, but they usually give good unbiased reviews on everything, including all thing related to Apple products) but this choice has pretty much been eliminated on the ink cartridge issue and general design. The 8250 and iP4000 are both editor's choices on the site and both got good reviews so I would probably just shell out the cash for either of them--the $100 rebate doesn't seem to be an option which is fine.

Dan
 
The_Man said:
I have a question, if you were to buy the 89 dollar printer, would you get 89 dollars back in rebate or for some reason get 100 dollars? I doubt that you would make money off of this, but I wanted to ask.

Thanks
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You would get what you paid back for it ($89) minus sales tax. It says somewhere on the Apple site that you get the printer free up to a maximum amount of $100.
 
So I decided to go with the 8150 because of the $100 rebate for the printer for buying a new Mac. Although a lot of Canon printers were listed under the $100 rebate and many suggested I should buy a Canon printer, most only had a $20 applicable rebate, and I don't print things too much, so ink cartridges isn't that big of an issue for me.

On a more important note though, I finally ordered the iMac G5 20" with 1gb 3200 DDR SDRAM (1 DIMM), 400gb hard drive, APP, and a 6gb iPod mini silver, along with the Photosmart 8150 printer of course. My first Mac, and first iPod. It's supposed to be here 25th of August. :D :D

Thanks for all the input though. I seriously looked at all the suggestions that were given to me.

Dan
 
DaftUnion said:
On a more important note though, I finally ordered the iMac G5 20" with 1gb 3200 DDR SDRAM (1 DIMM), 400gb hard drive, APP, and a 6gb iPod mini silver, along with the Photosmart 8150 printer of course. My first Mac, and first iPod. It's supposed to be here 25th of August. :D :D
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CONGRATULATIONS!
You're going to love your new machine!
I really think the current iMac line is one of the best values in the Apple line.
Did you go with the BT keyboard/mouse as well?
Good luck and try to remember that you still do need to sleep...
 
Nope, I didn't get a BT keyboard and mouse. I figured start out with the basic for now, spend the 50 for a 6gb iPod mini instead, and upgrade down the road to possibly wireless, or maybe just a Mighty Mouse sometime.

Nonstop checking of the Fedex site doesn't seem to make the package get here any quicker either. :rolleyes:
 
zeeko said:
i would say neither, go for an epson or canon, have you checked how much replacement ink cartridges cost for hp? i think it's something like 30$ each, epson/canons are <4$ each for generics.
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Go with Canon. Epsons are cheap and have very good quality but you can't replace the nozzles, once they block you have to get another printer. Also cannon has great features such as transparent ink cartiges so you can see how much ink you have.
 
Well, I seem to have had the opposite experience with epson printers. Useless chunks of junk these are everytime Ive brought one!

They always print horizontal banding, always slow, always clog, and the inks have about 6ml in them and cost £20!

Cannon have served me well in the past, but Ive recently changed my printer and went for the HP Businessjet 1000 - a very big but sturdy beast of a printer. The inks are not too expensive but contain no less than 70ml in the Black's case. I figured that this would last me some time!

The moral is in my case, that if you buy a cheap printer (sub $130-150) you're going to get a printer that prints fine, but will print five pages and then die on you (i.e. needing a complete cartridge re-fit). This is how the companies make their money on cheaper printers. Pay a little bit more, and you get a good quality printer worth its value- and ill bet it will cost you less to run than the cheaper model.
 
which one has a better print quality? I'm thinkng of getting the 8250...or i might get an all in one...HP PSC Photosmart 2610 All-in-One or HP PSC Photosmart 2710 All-in-One or HP PSC 2355 All-in-One
which one will give me better quality prints when printing from my nikon 8800. i want to use those 8 megapixels to the fullest ;)
 
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