Kodak Professional 8500 Dye Sublimation

Overall there has been very few things that I have been this impressed with since I have been involved in photography. The only thing that I have been this impressed about was my Canon EOS3. Totally neutral B&W's and great colors. Set-up takes a cautious user 20 minutes to print the first photo. I noticed that the first two prints had some spots, due to dust during setup. I have used this on a Semi-Formal business function and every customer was VERY IMPRESSED with the quality and speed of recieving their prints. Most have had to wait for them to arrive in the mail, this time they got them on the spot

Very high quality prints Fast Neutral B&W's & great color Per sheet cost is reasonable No mess, clogs, multiple cartridges etc. Simple controls

Big investment at first, (I spent $2100.00 total for printer and enough paper & ribbons) Software is lacking, you get a driver disk and Photoshop Elements (I think most people buying this probably have a full version of Photoshop), I just figured you would get an automated calibration tool or something.

HP 895CSe "Photo Printer"

Not needed yet or hopefully ever.

I needed a fast, high quality printer, and ended up looking between the Epson 2200 and the Kodak 8500. I do some event photography, and the Kodak's speed was a definite plus. Also, I don't print daily. With my previous Epson's, unless I printed the whole cartridge set within a week, they clogged - some so badly I had to use an ENTIRE new cartridge to clean the heads. Quality-wise, the Epson wins HANDS DOWN! With the included software I printed the most neutral B&W photos I've ever seen without a rip or special inks. I can print as many or few photos as I want at a time and NEVER clog the heads, it's wonderful. Yes, the per-print cost is about $1.50, but at an equivalent quality, it's a wash between this printer and the Epson. That is, unless you include screw-ups. Inkjets band, it's a fact of life at some point. Once I set up the Kodak, it's printed with the same incredible quality since - no streaking, banding, or clogs.

FAST Great quality Never clogs Per-print cost less than inkjet in longrun It sounds dumb, but customers LOVE seeing "Kodak Professional" on the back of their archival prints, much nicer than "Epson". Similar quality to Lightjet - makes excellent lightjet proofs for when you need to have stuff printed VERY big

Very expensive initial investment Limited to one paper type - but, I kept my Epson for the chance I'd need to print on watercolor paper. Limited to 8x10 - if I need bigger, chances are I'll be going REALLY big on a Lightjet

Haven't needed it