I want to buy a printer for sis

[MamaMia]

Its her birthday in a couple of weeks and I wanted to surprise her with a printer for her computer. I thought I would order one from on-line. Like me, she has very limited space. She would only need to process photos and print letters and copy off typing paper sized things.

My brother said that he would get her whatever she needs to make copies of photos and process the snapshots that she takes with her digital camera. She and I both have that memory stick Sony. Right now we both just take it to the store to be developed.

Which printer is the smallest that would best suit those needs?

[TopDaugIn2000]

are you looking at getting a 3-1 (copy, print, scan) type, or just a printer?

also, I am a fan of Epson cause they do the 3 individual color ink cartridges instead of all 3 colors in one. that way, if you run out of yellow, you ONLY replace the yellow one. I think HP has finally caught on to this as well.

just my 2cents

[BajaOklahoma]

Mom, the cameras should have come with software to let you downlaod the pics from the camera. Since I don't have the camera info, look on the Sony website for the download specific to your camera.

Be sure to save the pictures in your computer and on a disk. The lifespan of pictures printed on a home computer is still unknown. And you don't want to lose those pictures.

And I agree with TD on the individual color cartridges being more economical in the long run.
Another avenue is to have them printed by an online service. They will cost about the same as doing it at home (Ink and paper) and tend to last longer. I think you can even email them to the local Target or WalMart and pick them up later.

[MamaMia]

are you looking at getting a 3-1 (copy, print, scan) type, or just a printer?

also, I am a fan of Epson cause they do the 3 individual color ink cartridges instead of all 3 colors in one. that way, if you run out of yellow, you ONLY replace the yellow one. I think HP has finally caught on to this as well.

just my 2cents
I'm getting the printer for her and it has to be small. My brother is going to get the photo stuff. So the best small printer that has the seperate color thing is called Epson? Can you order them on-line?

[OCUDad]

Epson and HP are popular, small, inexpensive, and easy to find ink refills for. You can get them online at almost any reputable electronics store. Just be sure to warn sis that refill cartridges for even the least expensive inkjet printer can be a strain on the pocketbook. Change cartridges twice, and you've equaled the cost of the printer in some cases. If she's going to be printing photos as well as text, I suggest you look at Epson Stylus or HP Photosmart models.

[MamaMia]

Mom, the cameras should have come with software to let you downlaod the pics from the camera. Since I don't have the camera info, look on the Sony website for the download specific to your camera.

Be sure to save the pictures in your computer and on a disk. The lifespan of pictures printed on a home computer is still unknown. And you don't want to lose those pictures.

And I agree with TD on the individual color cartridges being more economical in the long run.
Another avenue is to have them printed by an online service. They will cost about the same as doing it at home (Ink and paper) and tend to last longer. I think you can even email them to the local Target or WalMart and pick them up later.
Thanks for the tips. :)

[GottaHavePride]

Check newegg.com - you can search through their selection of printers according to what you want it to do. They have detailed specifications and customer reviews. For instance, if you primarily want it to be able to print photos, look at this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16828103166

Epson, very highly rated by people that bought it, small (10" by 12"), and has a built in memory stick slot (and it will accept a whole lot of other types of memory media too) so you can even print photos without going through the computer. All for $90.

[TopDaugIn2000]

so you are getting her a regular printer, and your brother is getting her a photo printer? you all should just go in together and get her an "all in one". that will be cheaper in the long run, and you only have one machine to find a place for instead of 2.

I have one similar to this (http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=56291070)

this particular one has a small display that will show what picture you are going to print, and it DOES have a slot for Sony memory sticks

check around online at places such as newegg and you might find an even better price. The individual color ink cartridges are about $12, which is better than having to buy the "tri color" ones at $35 a pop every time ONE color gets low. Black ones are about $30.

it is also handy to use a just a copier. just put your document in the scanner bed and hit "black and white" or "color" copy and DONE! My mom and aunt both have an HP very similar to this and they love it. They are very easy to use.

and NEVER NEVER buy those "off brand" or "refiled" cartridges. They are NOT WORTH the savings and I've had them ruin a printer before.

[GottaHavePride]

The only thing is that generaly an all-in-one printer/scanner/copier thing isn't going to be all that great at printing photos. You can't usually get a high enough resolution on them to make the pics look good. I'd get two printers, one inkjet just for photos and a small laser printer for everything else, like this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16828102189

$139 dollars, pretty good reviews, no fax function. If you want one with fax capability you're looking at $250-$800.

The laser is going to be a lot cheaper (and faster) if you do a lot of printing and copying of black & white paperwork, and then you can get a photo printer that will actually print good-looking photos. Also, if you print a lot of black & white stuff on the photo printer those things switch to "composite black" when they run out of black ink - meaning they keep printing black by mixing all the colors together, which eats your ink like crazy.

[PrideTuba]

if you want an all in one look at the HP Photosmart 3210, it has a scanner, copier, and printer. It also has a ethernet port in the back so you can print wireless from a laptop. The only downside is its kind of big, not huge, but big so if you are wanting something small this might not be great. I will say, it is a fantastic printer, the pictures are incredible. If you are wanting something smaller check out the HP Photosmart 8250, it is the exact same printer as the 3210 but without the scanner. So its a little smaller and lighter, I cant say enough for these printers. They both have seperate ink cartridges, they have 5 color and 1 black and they run aobut $10 for the color and $15 for the black (the black cartridge is bigger). Oh and both printers have a small screen so you can view photos and they both have a card reader that I believe does take the sony memory stick (double check for me) The 8250 should run for about $150 and the 3210 is around $275-$300.

I own the 3210 and I use the 8250's at school, and im in school for graphic design so I print a lot. These printers are fast, the quality is great, and they are super easy to use. I would highly recommend these to anybody wanting a really nice, and fairly inexpensive printer.

[MamaMia]

Thanks for the suggestions. Appreciation speks for the house. :D

[OCUDad]

and NEVER NEVER buy those "off brand" or "refiled" cartridges. They are NOT WORTH the savings and I've had them ruin a printer before.True, true, and true again. Spek.

[Petro-Sooner]

if you want an all in one look at the HP Photosmart 3210, it has a scanner, copier, and printer. It also has a ethernet port in the back so you can print wireless from a laptop. The only downside is its kind of big, not huge, but big so if you are wanting something small this might not be great. I will say, it is a fantastic printer, the pictures are incredible. If you are wanting something smaller check out the HP Photosmart 8250, it is the exact same printer as the 3210 but without the scanner. So its a little smaller and lighter, I cant say enough for these printers. They both have seperate ink cartridges, they have 5 color and 1 black and they run aobut $10 for the color and $15 for the black (the black cartridge is bigger). Oh and both printers have a small screen so you can view photos and they both have a card reader that I believe does take the sony memory stick (double check for me) The 8250 should run for about $150 and the 3210 is around $275-$300.

I own the 3210 and I use the 8250's at school, and im in school for graphic design so I print a lot. These printers are fast, the quality is great, and they are super easy to use. I would highly recommend these to anybody wanting a really nice, and fairly inexpensive printer.

Do these all in one dealios only print 4 X 6 or can they print up to 8 X 10? I'm about to buy one and was wondering.

[Whet]

Just remember, most printer manufactures are in the ink selling business. So, before you purchase, take a look at the cost of the replacments cartridges!!

Also, most all-in-ones do not have the greatest quality, as compared to a stand-alone scanner/copier or photo quality printer.

[Petro-Sooner]

I'm mainly getting this machine for the printing, copying, scanning functions. Figured while I was at it try to find one that prints a decent picture.

[OCUDad]

Do these all in one dealios only print 4 X 6 or can they print up to 8 X 10? I'm about to buy one and was wondering.Most of them will print both 4x6 and 8x10 - depends on the model. I don't recommend an all-in-one unless you absolutely need all three (or four) functions and have very little space to put separate machines. They tend to be jack-of-all-trades, master of none.

[Petro-Sooner]

I really dont need the thing but I'm buying a printer for my brother to use at my house for school work and thought at some point I might need/want these features sometime down the line. I've read good things about Hp's. Heard that Dell has horrible customer service. Ususally end up talking to Jugdish half way around the world. :mad: