Best of the Rest

Epson, the industry leader, dominates the Best Value Photo Printers. Epson also dominates the Best of the Best Photo Printers. The Best Value photo printer is the Epson Stylus Pro R380 that can output images up to 8.5 x 11 inches. It uses the same Ultrachrome K3 pigment based ink set that is used on the Best of the Best photo printer, the Epson R3800. Every other printer reviewed in the best value category uses dye-based inks. While they are not archival quality, there have been advancements in the technology of dye-based inks to resist fading.

There are two types of inks available for ink jet printers, dye and pigment-based ink. Every one of the free printers that comes with a new computer system uses dye-based ink. Dye-based inks mean that they are water soluble, might have a slightly higher color gamut than pigment inks, but they are not archival in nature. In addition, dye-based inks tend to lose their color more quickly when exposed to sunlight. Laser or solid ink printers are not archival either and are more suited for high volume color or black and white printing. I recommend you stay away from the free printers offered with a new computer and instead look to a printer that is designed to reproduce photos.

In addition to the best value Epson R800, two other best value printers have memory card slots so you can bypass your computer. Yes, you can print directly from your memory card and even do some image editing. I like the unique editing and viewing features of the Hewlett Packard Photosmart D7460 with its 3.5-inch touch screen LCD. The HP D7460, the Epson R380 and the Canon iP-4500 all reproduce text very quickly making them ideal candidates for an all-in-one printer.

When selecting your best value photo printer, you will want to select a printer with the highest amount of separate ink cartridges. This ensures you will only replace the ink colors needed. In addition, I recommend a resolution of at least 1,440 dpi. This means that only the second number listed under a printer’s resolution is accurate. Also, try for a droplet size (measured in picoliters) as small as possible. This allows for sharper images and faster output. Many of the best value printers are in the 1.0 – 1.5 range. Dye-based printers are great for sharing with friends and family, but they might fade. This is another reason why I selected the R800 as the Best Value printer.