Printer for postcards

[Kohaku]

So my dad has recently gotten into digital photography after doing traditional for many years. He's great with a camera, but like many out there his age, he's not so tech-savvy.

He's really driven toward the idea of printing his photos onto postcards lately, and he came to me for printer help. I know a bit about tech myself... but printers are always hard... it's like buying a car. Everyone has a different opinion.

Anyway, he wants a printer that's simple enough to use, is good quality, can print on matte and glossy cardstock, has a scanner, and preferably one that can print double-sided (postcard style).

His range is up to about $400.

If anyone has any experience, tips, or just ideas, it would be SUPER helpful.

 

Thanks very much!

[AkiraDaarkst]

10 minutes ago, Kohaku said:

So my dad has recently gotten into digital photography after doing traditional for many years. He's great with a camera, but like many out there his age, he's not so tech-savvy.

He's really driven toward the idea of printing his photos onto postcards lately, and he came to me for printer help. I know a bit about tech myself... but printers are always hard... it's like buying a car. Everyone has a different opinion.

Anyway, he wants a printer that's simple enough to use, is good quality, can print on matte and glossy cardstock, has a scanner, and preferably one that can print double-sided (postcard style).

His range is up to about $400.

If anyone has any experience, tips, or just ideas, it would be SUPER helpful.

 

Thanks very much!

Canon makes some nice all-in-one type of printers that can also do some photo prints.  However $400 will not get you one that can do double side prints automatically, definitely not for photos onto photo paper.  Look at the Canon Pixma printers.

[.spider.]

Look for a service which prints postcards could be the cheaper and more reliable option.

[Velvet Revolver]

Pretty much all printers are the same. Double sided printing is a feature not all printers have. Look at the specifications, and see if it can do the things you list. $400 should get you a nice printer, but the expensive part is the ink.

[Velvet Revolver]

8 minutes ago, .spider. said:

Look for a service which prints postcards could be the cheaper and more reliable option.

Like Walmart.

[AkiraDaarkst]

2 hours ago, Kohaku said:

 

Check out these two printers:

https://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/pixma-mg7720-black-wireless-printer

 

https://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/pixma-mx922

 

They are capable of printing photos up to A4 size, but as I said earlier double sided printing for photos may not be possible.  It's because photo paper is not as flexible as normal typing paper, so in a small form factor printer there just isn't enough room for the printer to either have dual sets of print heads (one above and one below) or have the rotating mechanism that will rotate the paper for double sided printing (I mean for thick hard paper like photo paper, double sided printing with typing paper might be possible if the printer model has that feature).

 

Both of the models I mentioned costs under $150, which saves your dad about $250 to spend on using a printing service if he wants better quality prints.

 

If he wants very high quality prints, an external service will be cheaper and I would never recommend an all-in-one type of printer for photos.  The CYMK ink is just too limited for producing high quality prints.  The photo printers I have at home and my studio uses 11 ink cartridges.

[WkdPaul]

7 hours ago, Kohaku said:

*snip*

Thread merged, please don't make multiple threads about the same topic.