I am new to all of this and just recently purchased an Epson PhotoPC 750Z - which I love. Now I am looking into a printer and the appropriate software for the images. (Have just been using a $20 version of Print Shop for the software.)

Printer - I am very, very interested in getting the highest quality images printed that I can, of travel shots, family shots, collages, etc. Any ideas? I am thinking of going as high as $700, but would prefer $400 - $500 range.

Software - PrintShop? Something else?

Thank you very much in advance.

Margo.

-- margo kimball (mbkimball@compuserve.com), August 13, 1999

Answers

The Epson Stylus Photo 750 printer is really popular. I'm happy with the one I have. It's well within your price range. It goes up to 8.5 x 11 typically but has a banner/panorama capability to I think 8.5 x 44. Per reputation it's pretty much the best of it's type. There is also a larger carriage model but the number escapes me. The camera will probably not create pictures that will be satisfactory if blown up past sizes printable on the 750, but you may still have uses for the larger output capability. It's also within your range. There is also loyal support for the Alps and the HP photo printers. Be sure you go with a photo printer, there are other general purpose/ inkjet printers that can do photos but not to the level of the ones optimized for photo use. I'd suggest going with the software bundled with the printer and/or camera at least at first. I've got Adobe Photodeluxe with my scanner and several others came with the printer that I haven't even begun to explore yet. I've been real happy just playing with them and they were "free."

-- Craig Gillette (cgillette@thegrid.net), August 13, 1999.

I use Paint Shop Pro. It works very well for working with your pictures. You can get a demo version at www.jasc.com good for 30 days to try out. If you get interested, join the PSP user group (free), then order it by mentioning the PSP user group and it will only cost $68 including the shipping. I use an HP PhotoSmart printer that I like very well. It produces prints that look like glossy photos. It currently is only $150. I also use Photo Asistant 98 Light for doing my printing as it allows you to gang many photos of different sizes on a sheet of papar and also fill up the page with prints. You can get a demo version at www.easytec.com. The demo version has all of the features, it just puts the word "DEMO" in the middle of each print.

-- Robert Johnson (rjjohnson@silverlink.net), August 15, 1999.

thanks so much for your two responses.........

Can anyone tell me the advantages, disadvantages of the three printer lines mentioned: Epson (750 or 1200) HP (don't know the model number) or Alps (don't know the model number).

Also, is there any difference between the Epson 750 and the 1200 - other than the later can print banners/posters. I.e, is there any difference in image quality or in the software that comes with them?

Am I really simply fine if I go with a photo quality printer from either Epson, HP or Alps? (have never heard of alps by the way)

Thank you in advance.

margo kimball.

-- margo kimball (mbkimball@compuserve.com), August 15, 1999.

The only difference between the Epson 750 and Epson 1200 is that the Epson 1200 is an A3 printer whereas the 750 is a A4 printer. The quality and technology used is the same. I'm actually currently using the Epson 700 and am very happy with the results I'm getting (the 750 isn't out in Australia and I didn't need an A3 printer).

Don't know about the other brands.

Re: Application - I also use Paint Shop Pro as it is provides you with a lot of editing utilities for its price.

-- Warren Mak (warren_mak@hotmail.com), September 08, 1999.