My next major purchases will be printers, and I'm looking for solid resources that will help me make an informed decision. I've been wanting a laserjet for a while for my everyday printing, and with my photo collage project I'll be needing a quality color inkjet (assuming there isn't another technology I should be looking at). I've been doing without a color printer because I figured if I ever wanted color prints I would go have them professionally done on the few occasions that might come up, but with as many photos as I want to print out for that project, it makes more sense to just buy a printer. I would greatly appreciate any links you may have to recent reviews and comparisons that will dictate my purchases. Personal opinions are welcome, too. Thanks!

Charles, you might study the ConsumerSearch site . Maybe the most reliable direct sources would be Consumer Reports and PCMag. At least Consumer Reports(December '08 tests)should be in your library and possibly back issues of PCMag as well.

Also take a look at the PCMag site .

What ever color printer you buy, make sure it specifies that it uses "pigment" inks, if it doesn't say, it'll be using dye based inks, and they fade--rather quickly.

Thanks for the heads-up, Chris.

And thanks, John. I'll check those sources first.

How much are you looking to spend? Pigment-based inkjets are definitely the way to go. We have an Epson Stylus Photo R-series printer at work that I've spent a lot of time getting calibrated properly and it puts out some superb prints.

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=63075040

Charles, generally any of the pigment-based printers from Epson or Canon are good choices. The one Peter linked to above has a good reputation, but you may not need something that big (13" wide capability).

I still think that if you're going to be making less than 30 big prints or so, you would do fine at a camera store lab.

I have a lot more than 30 potential images, and having my own printer will allow me to play with sizes and what not a lot more.

Peter, what goes into calibrating a printer like that? As for how much I'm willing to spend, that printer's price isn't out of the question. I figured I'd have to spend around that much.

You might also want to do some calculations on ink costs based on the number of photos you plan to do. Some cheaper printers are equal to the price it costs to refill them with ink, making them almost a disposable item.

I can't speak for the suggestions above but you will want to compare ink prices to photo store pricing and weigh that with your capital cost for the printer verses the convenience of being able to experiment with photo results and tweaks on your own.

For people printing snapshots, I normally recommend photo stores if that is their only printing need but if you are doing serious photo work, as you will be doing, you can't beat staying in control of the results.

I can't wait for the official Axiom collage.

I really only have experience calibrating on Macs, but I'm sure the process is pretty similar. The first thing I do is calibrate the computer monitor. There are various free tools to do this on the Mac. Then I install the vendor-supplied color profiles for the printer. I do all color-critical work in Photoshop, since it allows you to use various color profiles so that the screen will simulate the colors of your output device and media type -- e.g. Epson with semi-gloss photo paper or Epson with matte photo paper will have difference color characteristics.

I send a bunch of test prints with various color settings until I find the best match between what's on screen and what comes out of the printer. Then I write down these settings and/or take screen shots of the settings so that I can duplicate it easily.

It's pretty tedious, but once you have everything dialed in, the work pays off.

Another consideration is separate color ink tanks. Stay away from anything that has a single combined color tank. As soon as one color runs out, you have to replace the whole thing ($$$).

Definitely. I think all the higher-end printers have gone this way due to consumer demand. I know the Epson Stylus Photo series has at east 8 separate tanks.

Charles, I'll suggest that you don't necessarily need to use pigment-based ink. If you get an inexpensive unit that does well with pictures, e.g. the Canon MP620, and that uses the manufacturer's recommended dye-based ink and photo paper, you'll have prints that should last for decades. Check this report from Wilhelm Imaging Research, recognized as the leading independent authority in this area. Inks vary enormously in their permanence, as shown, but good dye-based inks are fine.

And it will produce no audible difference when you rattle the paper either.

Sorry, John, I couldn't resist.

I don't know, those plasticky "photo" papers not only look unnatural, but also sound nasty when rattled.

But Ilford Gold Fiber Silk, mmmm.

Oh, yeah, favorite kinds of paper for printing to would be nice to know as well. I'll check out the Ilford.

Can anyone tell me what paper I'm thinking of? It's been a while since I've had a color inkjet, but there's this one kind of paper I bought that stands out in my memory simply because it was super-strong. Like, I couldn't rip it. The big guy at work was able to rip it, but only after really trying. It's really slick on one side and textured on the printing side. What kind is that?

Tyvek paper?