In rec.photo.digital SMS wrote:
On 8/21/2012 3:39 PM, Ashton Crusher wrote:

snip

I took it back and returned to an HP AIO. Good luck with your
search!!

All the rantings about HP are not because of the print quality, they are
because of the business practices of what has essentially become an ink
company.

I find an HP AIO to be ideal. The print quality is excellent. I buy the
replacement color ink cartridges from monoprice.com for as low as $8.
The price of HP ink cartridges does not affect me.

The key is to look at consumables first, and then select a printer based
on the availability of after-market consumables. Even if it means
finding a used printer.

I happily used one of the allegedly better quality EPSON-compatible
inks for a few years. Not the cheapest, but a good reputation on the
web. My own tests had shown me only slight differences in colour, not
worth paying all the extra for unless I wanted to do some exhibition
quality prints. Which I sometimes did. And so sometimes I ended up
doing a few of my family snaps with EPSON inks, and most with the same
good quality replacement ink.

My wife pinned those she liked best on the kitchen wall, carefully
choosing a position the sun never reached. Nevertheless after a year
all the replacement inks had browned off like old masters, whereas the
EPSON ink snaps were still bright and colorful. After two years the
compatible prints looked like fading sepia prints, whereas the EPSON
ink prints still looked newly minted.

So now I stick to the printer maker's inks. Have you tried any
lightfast fading tests on your 3rd party inks?

--
Chris Malcolm