PC Peripherals Need to buy a new printer and scanner

[Deathdart]

Hey,

I'm planning to buy a printer and a scanner (or an MFD) and have done some research, but am confused about what to buy now... I am a graphic designer and amateur photographer and hence need to print a lot of things on heavy papers, such as 250gsm or 280gsm ones. I also need the printer to be of a high quality, esp. for printing fine details and text on uncoated papers. I need a scanner as well to scan sketches, illustrations and small paintings at a decent speed.

I will be using the scanner occasionally and the printer for maybe 10-15 sheets per week, mostly full color, not standard office documents.

Preferences:

4 separate color cartridges for CMYK (definitely not 2, preferably not 5 or 6 either)

High quality photo and flat color graphic prints

Good quality for fine details

NO color-casts or fringing

Support for upto 250 or 300gsm papers (coated and uncoated)

Decent print speed

Wi-fi connectivity preferred but not required

Low cost of ink cartridges

Both, separate printer and scanner or a single MFD will do

I want to go for an inkjet because of the low price. My budget is upto Rs.15,000 total.

These are the ones I like, please mention better alternatives, if any. Prices given here are taken from the respective official websites.

Printer:

Canon PIXMA iP4680 -- Rs. 8,155 (Current best choice I feel)

http://www.canon.co.in/p/EN/113-Inkjet-Printers/720-Photo-Printer/284-PIXMA-iP4680/

HP Photosmart D7268 -- Rs. 8,300

HP Photosmart D7200 Printer series specifications - HP Home & Home Office products

HP Photosmart D5468 -- Rs. 6,500

HP Photosmart D5400 Printer series specifications - HP Home & Home Office products

Scanner:

Epson Perfection V30 -- Rs.5,000 (Final)

EPSON Perfection V30

MFD:

Epson Stylus Office TX600FW -- 15,000

Epson Stylus Office TX600FW

I'd appreciate it if anyone could give some kind of feedback on the print and scan quality from these products, the service provided by the company, overall cost of printing etc. Also please suggest some better alternatives, if any. Again, my budget is a max of Rs. 15,000.

 

[Deathdart]

First time I've had to bump a thread on TE No info on printers? Anyone?

 

[Deathdart]

Bump again... :|

 

[..:: Free Radical ::..]

I have the Epson Perfection V30. I purchased it for 4500 locally after careful deliberation. I whole heartedly recommend it :hap2:

 

[Deathdart]

@Free Radical: Thanks a lot for the feedback! Could you tell me --

- How long have you had the scanner?

- Any problems with it or with Epson's support?

- How's the scanning speed and quality?

 

[..:: Free Radical ::..]

I have it for 3 months now. Scanned some study material and photographs. No problems as yet.

Scanning speed and quality is the best in its class and price range. There is no way an MFD scanner can approach the finesse of the Epson Perfection range. I mostly scan documents in 150-300-600 dpi in Professional mode. Photo scans are hugely scalable. You can use it to enlarge a standard photograph manifold at the 1200dpi res in Full Auto mode or 12800dpi in the Professional mode (it would fill up a small hard disk at that insane res and take a more than a couple of hours) The drivers are great but could have been better. Didn't test it in Win 7 but works fine in XP and Vista although people have reported problems with the drivers in the latter. the sensor could have been better but hey, this is a low end product.

But you surely can't go wrong with it at the price at which it retails.

 

[Deathdart]

Alright, thanks a lot for the feedback! I had almost definitely decided on this scanner before posting here, but you've given me even more confidence in it hehe Repped.