What is the best photo printer offered?

What are the best photo printer options for me?

• I am a scrapbooker who wishes to print photos in more customized sizes than what are offered at retailer photo centers. I am looking for a printer with superior quality and durability without spending an arm and a leg to refill/replace the ink cartridges. Can you give me some advice on which printers would be best for me?

• Answer:

  As someone who was in the computer hardware business for years (though I rarely sold printers since I couldn't compete with the crazy rebates) I have always recommended Epson. The print quality is excellent, even on plain paper. I have photos I printed on a 640 about ten years ago hanging in my office which still look good, though not as good as the ones from the CX8400 on glossy paper. The warranty is excellent. For a year, Epson will express-ship a replacement and pick up the old one. I had one customer who needed this. He called one afternoon and had the replacement two days later. Another client bought a Canon. It needed two repairs within a few months. Each time it was taken to the repair center, then picked up a few days later. This client runs a specialty printing business and this really hurt. They have since bought an Epson CX5000 and have had no down time since. All name brand ink is expensive, but you can get cheap new replacement cartridges for Epson (not refills which I never recommend) for under $5 at http://ccs-digital.com/ink.asp I have been using these for years. The CX8400 scanner/copier/printer was on sale at circuitcity.com for $60 with free shipping. It uses 3 colors plus black. The RX595 scanner/copier/printer also prints on DVDs. It uses 5 colors plus black and has even higher photo quality. It's on sale for $80 after $55 instant rebate. http://www.cheapstingybargains.com/54342/epson-rx595-stylus-multifunction-photo-printer-copier-scanner/