I decided to put the best first in this lineup. I must say that Canon is doing a great job quality wise on the photo printer market.
This printer is so quiet, you might not know it’s printing.
This printer works with the Mac, and I thought to put it in that section, but it’s photo quality is so good that I had to put it here.
I’m seeing these for about $150, which is cheap for the instant gratification you’ll get by not having to go to the lab anymore. And if instant gratification is a high priority, rest assured that this printer will get you your photo the quickest.
Epson Stylus Stylus C66
If you’re looking for something a little less expensive, but still want to get some good quality, this printer may be exactly what you’re looking for. It does use the DuraBright ink which is water resistant. And for $70, it really is a good deal for the budget minded, especially as a gift. It has very fast B&W printing at 17ppm, but when you’re printing quality color photos, you’ll get a speed of around 6-9ppm. If you’re budget minded and just printing pictures to show the family, it’s as good a choice as any. Personally, I’d save my pennies until I could get the HP featured next.
Hewlett Packard DeskJet 5740
I tried to keep all these printers around $100. This printer is going for right at that. And the photo output is nearly good enough to match an actual digital photo printer, though a bit slower. Even on text, it has excellent quality output. If I had $100 and needed a printer, I’d probably buy this one. I will say again though, it’s not a speeding bullet, the Epson would finish printing much quicker. You have to weigh quality output vs. speed.