Best printer under a grand?

May 13, 2009 4:17 PM

What's the best printer for under a 1000 dollars that can print up to 17 x 22 inches?

Not much else to add apart from that. The Epson Pro 3800 is up for consideration, but I'm wondering if there are cheaper options that could offer relatively similar quality.

Thanks for any tips.

P.S. If it helps, speed of printing is not important.

posted by fantasticninety to Computers & Internet (1 answer total)

Best answer: I gather from your mention of the Epson that you're using it for graphics and/or photo stuff? If so, then you're on the right track.

I switched from an Epson Stylus Photo R1800 over to the 3800 last year. I was printing about 20 prints or so a week. The thing I noticed was how much less effort and expense I had to put into the 3800. Even out of the box, it printed color quite accurately. There were also no clogs to waste ink cleaning. I left it on for a week a couple times with no activity and have yet to worry about clogs. The inks cartridges hold about 80 ml each vs. the R1800's 15 ml. When dealing with the clogs on the R1800, I almost always ran out of one cartridge or another in the middle of a head cleaning. As I usually work at night when all the shops are closed, this could be quite bad.

The downside is that you can't just schlep over to Office Depot when you run out of ink. You'd need to have a photo supply store nearby. Either that or work it out so you order online when you see yourself running low. The indicator on the 3800 is good for that, as it'll give you a percentage used. So you could, say, order when you're at 20% or so, depending on how much printing you do.

As for cost, I got mine for just a little over $1000 at Calumet when they were having a sale. Shop around online and at brick and mortar stores. You're bound to find a good deal.
posted by arishaun at 8:13 PM on May 13, 2009