where to buy printer paper for cheap? (1 Viewer)

[felix_suwarno]

i just got an epson stylus photo 2200, and i want to print lots of pictures with this behemoth. please recommend me a place where the cost of epson printer paper such as premium luster paper is cheaper.

thanks in advance!

btw, this printer rocks. not fast by any means, but the print quality on premium semigloss paper is OUTSTANDING.

 

[Todd Hochard]

Costco sells a 100-sheet pack of Espon Photo Paper (8.5x11" glossy) for under $20. That's as cheap as I've seen by far.
It works pretty well for us (HP printer).

Todd

 

[Mathew Shelby]

I would take Todd's advice and then do what I usually do: I cut them down myself to standard photo size (4x6). The day I bought my photo printer, I bought a pack of pre-cut 4x6 photo paper for $8.99 for 20 sheets. Damn, I wish I had known better.

 

[Rob Gillespie]

Hey Felix, I was considering buying the UK version - the 2100 (which is the same except that it includes direct-to-CD printing).

What kind of work do you do this printer? It sounds very promising but at that price I'm concerned about it being overkill for my usage.

 

[felix_suwarno]

rob, i use the printer to print my family pictures, thats all. it sounds overkill, but i dont care : my family deserves it. this thing prints pictures as beautiful as the real thing! i have tried printing on both premium luster and premium semigloss, and i am really happy with it.

so far i only use it to print only the best pictures i have ( taken with canon powershot g1 ). i am going to use it to print on bigger paper in a few months.

to tell you the truth, if epson had a smaller version of 2200, i would have purchased the smaller one, but as far as i know after reading lots of printer reviews, 2200 is the only one that uses the new ultrachrome ink that would last a looong time. yea, this printer is overkill for me, but i had no choice. besides, i am perfectly happy with it since it prints verrry good prints. you cannot differentiate it with photos printed in the lab.

i dont know about england, but currently almost nobody has the printer in stock here. i bought it from cdw at chicago, and i was soo lucky that they have one in stock!

get it if you need to print on bigger paper, otherwise perhaps you could find a better alternative. but let me say it again : this is a great printer.

 

[felix_suwarno]

damn, there is no costco in chicago. i just checked their website. besides, i want epson premium photo paper, not the regular photo paper.

thanks for the suggestion though.

 

[Todd Hochard]

That's too bad, because I was about to suggest Costco for digital prints, too. Their one hour booth does digital prints- 0.20 for 4x6, 0.75 for 5x7, and 1.49 for 8x10. I've tried most of the online printing services over the years (since summer 2000), and this exceeds every one.

At .20/4x6, that's cheaper than I can do at home (factoring paper and ink costs), and the quality is nicer.

 

[Rob Gillespie]

Felix, if longevity is your goal then I would check the specifics of the paper you're buying. I read through a detailed review of the printer on www.normankoren.com and he seemed to think that using Epson's own paper gave the best resutlts. However not all paper is created equal. I know their ColorLife paper has a much longer lifespan but it's also more expensive and is not moisture resistant like their Premium Glossy and Premium SemiGloss papers.

 

[felix_suwarno]

thanks rob. yes the goal is longevity. thats why i prefer the premium series. i have read lots of reviews saying "dont use 3rd party papers for this printer". if i am not mistaken, the premium paper would last about 30 years.

 

[Todd Hochard]

If longevity is your goal, don't forget to back up the full resolution source files onto CD-R, and move them to new media every 10-15 years, or so. That way, they can be reprinted.

 

[Rob Gillespie]

I think Premium Glossy is rated at ten years if the print is kept out of sunlight and behind glass. However I think that is will conventional dye-based inks not the pigment types used in the 2200/2100.

I've tried nearly all of Epson's paper on my Photo 890. I wasn't that struck with ColorLife. Just something about the colour reproduction I wasn't that happy with to be honest and you really cannot touch the printed parts of the paper because of the lack of moisture resistance. Premium Glossy looks great but I think my favourite is still the Premium SemiGloss. Matte Heavyweight is also quite nice.

 

[felix_suwarno]

i actually am using the premium luster. hope it has a long life.

 

[Rob Gillespie]

I imagine it's the same as what is sold as Premium Glossy over here. It should do well. Apparently the main reason for colour-shifting with ink-jet prints is not light damage but pollutants such as ozone. This is why they recommend keeping the prints behind glass or in an album.

I've found the single biggest problem to be matching what I'm seeing on screen to what comes out of the printer. I've got a reasonable match now but some hues are still way off really (and if change them other colours go). I try and get a good 'subjective match' to the screen image and not worry too much about exact reproduction. I didn't really want to go down the route of using Color Profiling because it needs to run throughout the entire work chain and demands tight control over lighting etc - i.e. it's for professionals.

You find however that each paper has it's own 'look'. Glossy, SemiGloss, Matte Heavyweight and ColorLife all have different colour reproduction and I've had to make my own settings to compensate.

 

[MikeAlletto]

Your office's supply closet. If they don't have any find out who orders the supplies and request some.

 

[John_Bonner]

I've had good luck with Atlantic Exchange
Great prices on catridges and paper.

 

[tim55]

Felix,

There is a costco at the corner of diversy and clyborn. Also many in the suburbs.

 

[felix_suwarno]

thanks guys.