Adobe Community: Please help me buy a printer and a scanner.

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40. Neil_Keller,

Apr 26, 2008 9:08 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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James,

You did the right thing by waiting to set up equipment. Do it when you are not tired and have time to concentrate on it without distractions or having to worry about the time. Set up should not be difficult (it's largely plug 'n' play), and there's generally a "quick start" sheet which should get you started.
>possible black and white HP LaserJet for $100 (also available on the HP site). But, I think that there is a problem with drivers.

Be careful here. Although HP has a bunch of similar looking small laser printers, some of them do not come with drivers for Mac. Make sure that Macintosh and your OS are listed on the box in the specs. And remember that some of the sales clerks in the mass market electronics stores don't know squat about what they're trying to sell you -- they just want the commission checks to keep coming (as far as I'm concerned, "sales associate" and other fluff job titles don't make these guys more knowledgeable). Apologies to the few who really know their stuff.

Neil

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41. (James_NYC),

Apr 28, 2008 6:47 AM in reply to (James_NYC)

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Hi, Neil.

Through their site, I wrote to HP help regarding the LaserJet that I mentioned above. Even though it was a weekend, I eventually got a reply that I should avoid that printer because of the driver issue. He mentioned a few models that do not have the proper drivers for Macs. I personally doubt that they will bother upgrading but I am guessing and could be wrong. It is probably is not all that cost-effective for them, perhaps. A $100 laser would be a good price for me. I have only printed a few things so far with the Epson printer and when it came to my resume, as crazy as it might sound, the printing of plain text was better with my old Canon bubble jet. With the Epson, the black print seems too rich. Almost like it is all in bold. I can probably remedy that with a different font choice, maybe. I was using plain Times New Roman.

I set up the scanner on Saturday and the printer yesterday. It was easy to set up the scanner and the printer should have been as well, but I made a silly mistake that Im too embarrassed to write about. Im sure some people enjoy setting up electronics, but for whatever reason, I find it frustrating. A lot of it has to do again with my lack of space and the struggle to make things fit.

My experience with scanners is limited to working in advertising agencies on a freelance basis and using their machines. This is the first scanner that I ever owned. Things seem fine, but I really dont have much for comparison. What made me feel a little funny is that the auto scan seemed to produce better results as compared to when I would try the advanced mode and have more control over the settings. This is using the Epson software; I havent tried making adjustments with anything in Photoshop yet. What did seem strange is if I access the scanner through Photoshop, the image would show up considerably largernot sure as to what is going on and I only tried it once or twice. (I hope that I did not hurt the machineI was on the phone and while trying to make adjustments on my computer, the phone cradle fell on top of the scanner, leaving some light scratches. It bothered me because it is so new and I always try to take good care of my possessions.)

I only printed a few graphics things and as to be expected, it is far better than the old printer. It is now up to me to learn printing profiles and color management. This is something that I have not had the opportunity or inclination to do before. I have some Epson photo quality glossy paper and the printout looked nice to me.

I now wonder if I made a mistake thinking that I could print my own business cards. While the printing itself might not be a problem, I wonder about the cutting. A copy center near me will charge about one or two dollars a cut and can cut about 100 pages at a time. However, it seems to me that it might be very difficult, even when using a bleed, to have every image or card (8 or 10 to a page) aligned with the next sheet. In other words, the question is how accurate is the printer regarding the images being on the exact spot on each page. (I hope that Im being clear.) I dont have a cutting board and I have found those difficult to control.)

I clearly have gone long again.

Thanks for your help.
James

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42. Allen Wicks,

Apr 28, 2008 9:47 AM in reply to (James_NYC)

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> As far as avoiding non-Epson papers goes, is that strictly in regards to producing the best print quality? Im asking because I have a bunch of old paper around (there are some Epson Photo Quality Glossy paper) that I would like to use up. This includes some HP 26 lbs. Premium Inkjet Paper and lots of Great White 24 lbs. inkjet stuff.

Basic non-gloss off-brand paper will usually work fine for low quality jobs like correspondence. If print on a plain paper looks bad, simply do not use that paper any more. However for anything high quality or anything gloss do not put any non-Epson paper in the printer unless the specific paper has been recommended here. You can (I have) had ink fail to stick and gunk up the printer using Kodak glossy photo paper for instance.

Epson tech support has always been worse than useless, and the Epson person directing you to zip-lock bags is typical useless Epson tech nonsense. Epson inks already come in heavy sealed plastic, so additional benefit of a ziplock is nil. FWIW I live in a tough environment for inkjets and due to long ordering lead times and sporadic high volume rush print jobs, keep enough spare cartridges that some have gone years before use; no problems.

I used to print my own cards. Unless you need to vary cards weekly it is by far best to let a print shop print your biz cards. By the time you get done doing it less well yourself it ends up costing too much DIY.

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43. John Joslin,

Apr 28, 2008 10:20 AM in reply to (James_NYC)

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I think Ann mentioned once that Vistaprint is available in the US. They are perfectly adequate for all but the most exotic business cards.

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44. Neil_Keller,

Apr 28, 2008 3:32 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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James,

Unless you just need a handful for a meeting, just let a quick-print shop run out your business card files. And you can run standard 3.5"x2" cards 12-up (3x4) on 8.5"x11" sheets. And you can get a good, safe rotary paper trimmer at office supply stores -- always a good idea to keep a moderate size one around.

HP makes marketing decisions on which printers they want to write Mac drivers for. As for HP LaserJet models that should run on the Mac (double-check first to make sure that they're available for your OS), look at:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/store/product/product_detail/CB411A%2523ABA ?jumpid=se_r1002_fp_usen_hho (P1006 $99 after instant rebate)
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF06a/18972-18972-3328059-1463 8-3328066-3435674.html (P1005)
And there are others as well.

Try some of the online "usual suspects" for purchase: amazon.com, buy.com newegg.com, zones.com, macmall.com -- even HP directly -- and I'm sure some of the other folks here can make recommendations, as well. They might be cheaper and even offer free ground shipping and (at least for the time being), no local sales tax.

Neil

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45. (Larryr544),

Apr 28, 2008 4:35 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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James - If you want to show off your graphics / photo ability on your cards take a look at the Avery 8386 (double-sided, full bleed matte postcards) and avery 8373 (glossy full bleed cards), and Avery 8865 (two sided matte cards). There are others depending on your needs. You can knock out 100's of postcards or business cards in very little time.

Why do this? While a printer is less expensive this gives you more quality control especially when you are using your cards as a sales and marketing tool. The printing looks great in the R1800.

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46. (James_NYC),

Apr 29, 2008 3:56 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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Neil (and everyone), regarding a possible low cost laser printer ($100), here is a copy and paste of what I was sent from HP. I inquired through their site about the HP P1006 printer that you mentioned:

Hello James,
Thank you for contacting HP Total Care.
There will be a driver available for Os 10.5 ...but there is no release date as of yet ...if you are running an Intel processor then I would not recommend this series of printers (p1005,p1006,or p1505) at this time as there is an issue printing from Office due to the Rosetta software.
You may receive an e-mail survey regarding your e-mail support experience. We would appreciate your feedback.
For information on keeping your HP and Compaq products up and running, please visit our Web site
at: http://www.hp.com/go/totalcare
Sincerely,
Eleanor
HP Total Care

I have already had trouble with my new Epson V500 scanner. I was experimenting with a photo, trying different settings, etc. and while scanning at 600 dpi, the left side of the photo ended up partially melted. It stuck to the glass. Luckily, it was not some treasured photo, however it is disconcerting. Also, after that the scanner would not work until I turned it off and then back on. So, I called Epson tech support (Allen, what you wrote above is correct) out in California (actually the Philippines) and spoke to someone (you should have heard him, he talked and sounded just like HAL the computer in the movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey). I was eventually given a reference number for the Epson store and they are going to send me a replacement.

I have never heard of this problem with scanners. Of course, I have never had one of my own until now. I am going to be scanning and retouching some very old and precious photos and I am worried about doing some damage to them. Has anyone every heard of this? The Epson support person said that it could happen. It was so hard to talk to himwhenever I call Epson there is always this annoying delay in the connection.

Allen, the Epson guy suggested putting the ink tanks in zip lock bags if the tanks have already been opened and I am not going to be printing for a while.

Maybe I am being foolhardy in wanting to print my own business cards, but I have investigated some other possibilities and I thought it would be better to do it on my own. This copy shop near where I live is certainly not expensive, but I was not impressed with the heaviest weight that they offered. I think it was 100 lbs. or maybe 110 lbs. They would use a color laser printer. I know that with Staples, their max is 110 lbs. I wanted something more substantial. I am the first to admit that I dont know too much about paper and their weights, etc. That is the advantage of my finally getting a decent printer; I now have a reason to learn. Im guessing that I should still print in RGB mode.

One time while walking on the far West Side I came upon this huge, what I call a hard-core, printing establishment. I asked for an estimate and I was told hundreds of dollarsI dont remember how many cards would be printed, maybe 500.

I am also under the impression that in a place like that, the more colors you have the greater the costmaybe because of the use of more plates. My business cards involve artwork that I have done in Illustrator. They are very colorful with gradients so I figured that it would be cheaper to print my own. I dont see that I am gong to need a great deal of them. I was going to print a variety of designs and maybe have about 20 cards. I did print them on a sheet of Epson photo paper and I was pleased with the colors of the new printer.

Larry, I do have the Avery 8373 Ink Jet Business Cardsbought a package a long time ago. Maybe I am going overboard with all of this. I will look into your other suggestions. And John, for some reason Vistaprint sounds familiar. Maybe I can Google them and find out more.

Anyway, thanks very much for your helpful posts.

James

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47. Neil_Keller,

Apr 29, 2008 4:37 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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James,

Sorry about the setbacks. At least HP is being forthright about this, and you can either look into other brands (I have no particular recommendations -- maybe someone else does) or wait.
>Has anyone every heard of this?

Never. Not that it can't happen. But the exposure is with a fluorescent tube which should never get that hot. If the electronics are getting that hot -- don't use the scanner. It could be more than just hazardous to your photos.
>I think it was 100 lbs. or maybe 110 lbs. They would use a color laser printer.

100# text or 100# cover? There's a big difference in thickness. Normally, 80# cover or (if coated cover) 12pt is fine for business cards.

Neil

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48. (James_NYC),

Apr 30, 2008 2:00 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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Neil, I dont know what is meant by lbs. of text or lbs. of cover. I always thought that the weight of paper meant the thickness; I did not know that there is some variable called text that also refers to weightdont understand. One of the Epson people that I talked with said the R1900 could print up to 255 lbs. (if I recall correctly).

As far as business cards go, I have many cards from all kinds of businesses and some are substantially thicker than others. I want to print thick ones. Also, I might prefer more of a matte look as opposed to glossy, but I am not sure as to how my artwork will look on such a card. I guess it will involve trial and error.

I am supposed to get a new scanner from Epson tomorrow. I thought that I made a good choice with the V500, however I now have to wonder. One of the reasons I bought a scanner is to preserve and retouch very old, treasured photos from as far back as the 1920s and 1930s. Hopefully, there will be no damage involved. I wish that I could just negate the purchase. I wonder if using a higher resolution somehow makes the machine hotterit does not make any sense to me. I was at 600 and the machine can go significantly higher than that.

Ill probably wait for a while before again looking into a black and white laser printer for basic correspondence.

Thanks.
James

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49. Neil_Keller,

Apr 30, 2008 7:17 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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James,
>I always thought that the weight of paper meant the thickness;

No, it means the physical weight, as in a ream of 20x26 sheets (cover) or 25x38 sheets (text); similar for grams per square meter. There are additional weight standards as well for business papers, tag stock, etc.

Paper is also identified in caliper (thickness), when defined in points, such as 10 pt stock, often associated with cast coated sheets and card stock.

For more information, pick up a copy of International Paper's "Pocket Pal". See: http://www.internationalpaper.com/Paper/Paper%20Products/Pocket%20Pal %20Home.html

BTW, EVERY designer who does design for print should understand paper and should have a copy of this invaluable resource. EVERY such designer needs to know that there is a wealth of papers beyond "80# coated" or "24# bond" stock and understand what they can do. Paper mills also provide free swatchbooks of their different lines, printing demonstrators and much more.

Neil

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50. Neil_Keller,

Apr 30, 2008 7:27 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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James,
>I wonder if using a higher resolution somehow makes the machine hotterit does not make any sense to me. I was at 600 and the machine can go significantly higher than that.

No reason for the scanner to get more than comfortably warm in use, regardless of resolution or number of scans.

Neil

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51. (James_NYC),

May 2, 2008 12:41 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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Neil, thanks for reminding me about Pocket Pal. I will dust off my old copyforgot that I had it. Have tried to read it before, but couldnt handle the excitement! Seriously, I appreciate all of your help (and all of the other posters). Again, this is the first time that I have owned a printer that is capable of anything.

I got a replacement scanner from Epson, but I have not set it up as of yet.

Thanks again.
James

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52. Neil_Keller,

May 2, 2008 2:40 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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James,

You're welcome. Please let us know how the replacement scanner is after you set it up.

Neil

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53. (James_NYC),

May 5, 2008 9:03 AM in reply to (James_NYC)

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Neil, I finally set up the scanner late yesterday. I have not done much with it, but so far it seems to be fine. I am not sure as to what happened with the previous scanner. It turns out that I could have gotten a refund after all, but after much vacillation, I decided to try Epson again. I dont have the energy or mindset to start the process of looking again. I did see a Canon scanner in about the right price range for me, but if I decided to upgrade to Leopard, I would be in trouble. So, it made sense for me to continue with Epson. Not that I have a great deal of experience with scanners with which to draw upon, but this scanner seems good to me. I have not put it through the rigors of the previous one as of yet. I did get conflicting opinions from Epson support, one saying that overheating can happen and the second person claiming that such a thing never occurred before. Of course, I dont know whom I should believe.

I really have not tried much with the printer yet either. I did print this stock photo that I have and while it certainly is good quality, the brightness and colors are not what I see on the screen. (I know that on screen I am looking at light.) I did follow the color profile settings instructions that are in the little Users Guide that came with the printer. It instructed to use North American Prepress 2 and set to Adobe RGB (1998). Then use sRGB IEC61966-2.1, etc. Unfortunately, not all the settings that are in the instructions seem to be available to me. When I do set the profile the best that I can, the on-screen preview colors are also somewhat less vibrant than the original. I dont know if this is a common occurrence or not.

Anyway, I will start spending more time with all of thisI will have to buy more photo paper first. I dont see that there is a problem with the printer itself. I am happy to have these great tools including Photoshop CS3. I enjoy retouching photos, so I have something to keep me out of trouble.

Thanks for your interest.
James

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54. Neil_Keller,

May 5, 2008 9:51 AM in reply to (James_NYC)

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James,
>I did get conflicting opinions from Epson support, one saying that overheating can happen

Nonsense. Not in a properly working scanner. Warm to the touch is normal. Overheating (and risking original art or film) is not.

Check out G Ballard's Website for more info color management.

Neil

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55. Allen Wicks,

May 5, 2008 3:37 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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>the Epson guy suggested putting the ink tanks in zip lock bags if the tanks have already been opened and I am not going to be printing for a while...

James-

IMO advice from Epson is a waste of air. Half the time they make no sense, so we do not know when, if ever, they are actually giving good advice. I certainly would never remove an inkjet cartridge to try to make it last longer by storing in a ziplock bag. IMO better would be to simply print a full-color print every week or so.

I am not an Epson phone dweeb, but I have personally printed many thousands of photo-quality prints on Epson 12xx (good prints but clogged a lot), SP2200 (excellent, very few clogs) and SP3800 (excellent, very few clogs) photo quality inkjet printers. High altitude, super-dry environment.

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56. Neil_Keller,

May 6, 2008 4:54 AM in reply to (James_NYC)

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>IMO better would be to simply print a full-color print every week or so.

I agree -- this is probably the least expensive way to maintain the inks. Cleaning the heads uses a lot more than one print's worth.

Neil

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57. (James_NYC),

May 6, 2008 3:05 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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Thanks Neil for recommending G BallardI did take a quick look and there appears to be a lot of information. Maybe I wont have to buy a book after all. I also have some notes from a course that I took a long time ago. Epson has some online help as well.

It all does seem complicated with the profiles in Photoshop. When I follow the instructions in the printer manual, the photo actually loses some of the color dynamics or maybe saturation and I find that I like the original better. I find it noticeable when I contrast the original with the preview of the photo to which I gave proper profiles (through Photoshop). But then I saved it as a .psd file and found that in Photoshop it was back to the original look. (I wonder if I selected "Don't color manage.") When following the manual, the colors ended up looking a little duller but perhaps more realistic. I tend to like bright colors so maybe that has something to do with my feelings. I also did an adjustment layer and fooled around with the levels and in my opinion improved it a little. Actually, it is a good photo to begin with.

It may be hard to believe, but I have never calibrated my displaynever felt a need to. I have an Apple Cinema Display and have always found that the colors were fine. Maybe that is part of a problem. I have always been afraid that I would screw something up.

Allen, I appreciate the good advice regarding printing a photo once a week. I will do that if Im not going to be printing for a while. I was not aware that cleaning the heads would use so much ink.

Thanks very much, gentlemen.
James

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58. Lundberg02,

May 6, 2008 3:57 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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Please read g ballard thoroughly, you do not have a clue about what you are doing.
You don't know whether you scanned properly, printed properly, used Photoshop properly, or what the preview (which preview?) showed you.

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59. Neil_Keller,

May 6, 2008 5:37 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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James,
>It may be hard to believe, but I have never calibrated my displaynever felt a need to.

And it's Step Number One to successful color calibration.

Neil

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60. Ramón G Castañeda,

May 6, 2008 9:26 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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James,

You're just burying your head in the sand if you work with an unprofled monitor.

Calibrate and profile your monitor regularly and often, at least once a month.

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61. (Ciana_Syanelle),

May 7, 2008 6:37 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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Lexmark X2550 is the better one, it has 600x12 Pixel Per Inch which is very good, 36bit depth which is how detailed the image will be the higher bits the more detailed it will be, the other is 1200x2400 Dots Per Inch which is also very good, but 16bit depth so i would go for the lexmark one.

Good day
[commercial link deleted]

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62. Neil_Keller,

May 7, 2008 7:09 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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Ciana.

You cannot post your commercial/advertising links in these forums. They will be deleted.

Neil

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63. Lundberg02,

May 8, 2008 12:42 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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Do not buy Lexmark anything. Quote from a Staples employee.

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64. (Carol_Prendergast),

May 20, 2008 12:43 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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Thanks James. I have the exact same questions and am trying to find the right printer to buy. Now, thanks to you, I am getting the Epson R1900...
do you like it?

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65. (taylormarie),

Jun 5, 2008 2:28 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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i cant seem to get adobe to recognize my scan snap s510 scanner.
can anyone help?

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66. Neil_Keller,

Jun 5, 2008 7:27 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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taylormarie,
>cant seem to get adobe to recognize my scan snap s510 scanner.

First, welcome to these Forums! I hope you'll become a regular. Now, to get the most mileage out of these Forums, please understand that "Adobe" is a software development company; not a product. And Adobe makes literally thousands of products for several platforms. So you're going to have to be specific. We have no idea from your post which software product, version, operating system, hardware and peripheral models, etc., etc., making it impossible to reply with any accuracy.

To get started, please go to: "How To Get Help Quickly" digest the information there, and then post back here in detail.

Also know that if you use a lowercase "i" as the first word in your post, the "i" gets dropped and the rest of your post appears in harder-to-read italics. Please use initial caps.

Thanks.

Neil

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67. Paul Cutler,

Jun 5, 2008 8:49 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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Neil - you are the nicest guy in the 49 states - sorry Buko

pbc

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68. (James_NYC),

Jun 6, 2008 2:11 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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Carol, I do like the printer (sorry that I didnt see your posting sooner). Due to having to deal with a lot of other things, I have not had the chance to spend as much time with it as I would like. It certainly eats the ink, especially the Gloss Optimizer, which is undoubtedly why an extra tank comes with the printer. However, I do not regret the purchase.

Much more importantly, it truly makes me feel good that someone as nice as you benefited from my posting. Unfortunately, I dont know if you will ever see this responseMay 20 was a long time ago. I had abandoned this thread, but out of curiosity I came back to find out if people were still posting. Someone above, through the safety of cyberspace, took the opportunity to be condescending towards me and I really dont have time or need for such garbage; I found it to be a turnoff. Anyway, I do hope you end up seeing this and will know that I wish you the best with your new R1900!

And, yes, Neil is a good guy.

James

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69. Neil_Keller,

Jun 6, 2008 2:21 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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Paul, >Neil - you are the nicest guy in the 49 states Which State did I miss? <g> Neil

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70. Neil_Keller,

Jun 6, 2008 2:22 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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James,

Thanks for posting back.

Neil

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71. Ramón G Castañeda,

Jun 6, 2008 4:33 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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>Which State did I miss? <g> I was wondering about that. Maybe Paul was not counting the state where he lives. :D

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72. Paul Cutler,

Jun 7, 2008 5:33 PM in reply to (James_NYC)

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Confusion?

pbc

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73. joan_fox,

Dec 21, 2011 7:25 AM in reply to (James_NYC)

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Hi James,

You can try to buy HP LaserJet-1020, it's very good and cheaper printer. I use it last 1 years. In that time i refill my printer cartridge 4 times and 1 time i change cartridge to refurbished cartridge. All cartridge refill kits and other printer supplies i bought from http://inksalenow.com/hewlett-packard-printer-cartridge.html

All refill kits comes fith 2 full refills and detailed manual, it's help you refill your printer cartridge without any problem. This online store give you exclusive coupon and offer free shipping.

Joan

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74. Tai Lao,

Dec 21, 2011 9:46 PM in reply to joan_fox

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joan_fox wrote:

Hi James,

You can try to buy …

Joan,

The post to which you replied this morning is from April of 2008. I sincerely hope James_NYC has bought his scanner and printer by now, three and a half years later.

____________

Wo Tai Lao Le

我太老了

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Please help me buy a printer and a scanner.

Apr 18, 2008 8:57 AM

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