DSF

JNMann wrote:I see the R285 is no longer made. Do you think this would be a suitable alternative.............

http://www.oyyy.co.uk/product.php/96412/epson-stylus-photo-p50-colour-inkjet-printer

I'd expect any sub-£100 Epson printer with 6 inks to produce comparable prints these days. Back in the old days, Epson had three ranges of standard A4 printers (the 4xx, the 6xx, and the 8xx). They all produced comparable prints, just at different speeds. It'd take some doing for an Epson printer to *not* produce good photos. They may not have good economy modes and may not be the fastest in the world, but they should all do decent photos.

Personally, I wish I could afford the ink for my R1800. Made excellent prints in its time, and they'd last forever.

JNMann wrote:Davids Home Goods - Has anyone ever ordered form them? Only reason I ask, they seem cheaper than everywhere else, even the likes of Oyyy.co.uk who I find cheap, free shipping as well. I like to see who I'm dealing with, I know a lot of scam sites were set up before Xmas. When you look at the contact section etc. on this site it isn't working.

Maybe me being paranoid!

The domain was registered in July, so they're a very new outfit. They may be okay (we all had to start somewhere), but it's wise to be wary if they don't offer things like PayPal.

If you order an item for over £100 on your credit card (not debit card) you will be covered under section 75 if you buy as a consumer (not a business) and if the single item cost is over £100 (not the total order cost and not including postage).

Otherwise, take all precautions you'd normally take when approaching a new retailer. Personally, the inability to take PayPal and lack of contact details pushes them well down my list. With the domain having been registered six months ago, I'd expect those blank web-pages to have be filled in by now.

Personally I would go for one of the printers that uses the Ultrachrome inks as they are an industry standard for long life. Some of the smaller Epson printers use the K3 inks and the profiles are available online for the more common fine art and photographic papers. The other alternative is to find a printer that uses the Lyson inks and go that route. If you want a printer that will give you a reasonable print but will probably fade after a few months then there are cheaper alternatives. Just my 2 cents worth.

Ultrachrome inks definately, these are used widely in the professional photography industry. We have been using one in our shop for over 4 years now, they produce beautiful colours and has the longevity that you need for them not to fade.

Are there any Ultrachrome A4 printers these days?

I'm not up on Epson's latest range but, time was, the only A4 Ultrachrome printer was the R800. When the R1800 (A3) was replaced by the R1900, they didn't renew the A4 version did they?

As I understand it, Ultrachrome was produced in two flavours - "K3" to produce neutral greyscale (R2880) and "High-Gloss" to overcome the gloss differential issue of pigment inks (R1900). Not wanting to diminish the high-end market, Epson brought out an inferior pigment ink (DuraBrite) which had issues. This resulted in them returning to dye-based inks with Claria (to produce better photo quality than DuraBrite by sacrificing the longevity of pigment inks).

In the sub £100 price range being discussed here, Ultrachrome is probably out of the question.

Apologies...missed the first bit in the thread which said "don't want to spend a fortune".....would recommend contacting Marrutt.com and having a chat. The printer range in the sub £100 arena seems to change almost weekly