printers able to cope with 350gsm card

[jbennett]

Hi everyone,

can anyone recommend a printer able to take 350gsm card with reasonably priced inks? I currently have 2 printers, an epson which is great for up to 160gsm (ink is quite reasonable), and also a HP which will take up to 250gsm but the inks are really exensive.

thanks xx:)

[Deborah Lauder]

I don't know if I can help you or not, but I'll have a go :D

I have always used Epson printers, mainly the Stylus photo ones but the original cartridges are mega-expensive in my opinion. Although I don't know what gram card I've used in the past I have successfully printed on very heavyweight card with it.

Depending on your model, do you have a lever control for the paper feeder. On mine there is a switch/lever which governs the amount of space allowed from the feed into the printer. If you're not sure, have a look at the manual for it or find the manual online that should point you in the right direction.

Just remember if you do change it to thick paper to put it back once you've finished, otherwise you'll find when you want to print out a letter it will drag about 10 pages through at once ;)

Hope it works for you, it's got to be worth a look before paying out for a new printer.

For ink cartridges - try this link http://www.inkredible.co.uk/ it was given to me by Elaine on the forum. They are so cheap by comparison and the cartridges last just as long as the Epson originals, hopefully it will be the same for the HP. Excellent service, I received mine a day after ordering.

Hope you manage to find what you're looking for :)

[Ali]

My tip is nowhere near as technical as Debbies, and probably isn't advisable, but it works for me, so I thought I'd share it! :funny: If I need to print onto heavyweight card, I just give it a 'helping hand' to get it to feed....(it doesn't work by iteself!) I simply 'push' it in (gently of course! :001_huh:) until it gets picked up, then it readjusts itself to beging printing in the right place! :well done:

As I said, not an official tip, and certainly NOT one you'll find in a manual....will probably find out I'm doing irreparable damage to my printer by doing this! omg:funny::funny:

Ali x

[Tina]

i have a kodak printer, prints on card fine and the ink is really cheap, in the shops original ink is £19 for 1 black and colour and after a bit of surfing have found 2 packs for just over £20 for original ink

[gillwithag]

Thanks for the card tip, I have struggled on my inkjets, I will try that.
Yes inkredible are .... incredible, but I bought a new epson SX425 and this won't take the non brand inks, so after some cleaning and code buying to reset the counter we have set up the old S20 and it works a treat with the cheaper ink.
The moral of the story is, don't give away your old printer until you know for certain the capabilities of your new one! I speak as an owner of 3 printers including a laser but I still use the little S20 with cheap ink the most!
Inkredible have the 4 packs for £19.99 back on today.
Gill x

[mermaidx]

Iv got 3 printers on the go A Hp al in one that i hardly use now as inks too expensive so i just keep it for copy and scanning with ,i have a Canon pixma which wil take thicker card no probs but the colours are not so good as from My Epson old printer S20 i lov that liccle printer and iv used W.H.Smiths white card of 220 tackles that ok but nothing any thicker ,but have to agree inks are a bargain for the epson ,iv not noticed any lever on my model S20 Epson but will have a look at that

[Dawn]

Hi, I have a Brother MFC 235C Printer which copes okay with heavier card! It did take a few goes to get it to work & it made a bit of a noise to begin with but seems quite happy now! The cartriges I use come from Buy Supplies www.buysupplies.eu (http://www.buysupplies.eu) on ebay, ebay@buysupplies.eu they're fairly cheap & seem good

[Elaine]

I have an epson sx405 which takes card up to 290gm, can't let you know about heavier card because I've never found any over here!
The only problem I have with mine is it sometimes takes the card right through without printing - and then tells me the printer is out of paper. Usually I threaten to throw it through the window - that works every time :funny:
I don't know of any printer designed to print on thick card - I usually have to replace my printers because the feed rollers have stopped working properly. But that could be because of my lack of choice over here. It's a 3-in-one printer or nothing !!

[joannabrum]

Do the Kodak printer print well. I was going to replace mine with one of those when I needed to change it

[Katiep]

I bought a Kodak as the inks are so much cheaper but the quality is not as good as my HP - it's ok for text but any colour printing is not vibrant IMHO :eyes roll:

My HP takes 300 gsm card easily.

Kim

[YMunn2]

I have a Canon printer which doesn't like thick card but the print quality is fantastic so I don't want to replace it. My solution is just to print onto ink jet paper/thin card and then run it through my xyron to give it an adhesive coating and then stick it to thick card. It may be something you've not thought of and you may just happen to already have a xyron machine handy? Just a thought. Von

[Katiep]

I have a Canon printer which doesn't like thick card but the print quality is fantastic so I don't want to replace it. My solution is just to print onto ink jet paper/thin card and then run it through my xyron to give it an adhesive coating and then stick it to thick card. It may be something you've not thought of and you may just happen to already have a xyron machine handy? Just a thought. Von

After doing some comparisons Von I think Canon win in my opinion too! I tried the same card/setting on all 3 printers HP, Epson and the Canon Pixma ip4850 and the Canon returned the best result with colours matching the screen and nice and vibrant. Where do you get your inks for Canon from? Thanks. Kim

[Janet Briggs]

Having worked with a wide range of printers, when I was a teacher, HP and Lexmark were my favourites for print quality, for a long time.
However I recently tried a Kodak (lured by the cheap inks), but was disappointed with the print quality, particularly reds, which always had a brown tinge. Not good for Christmas designs.
I then tried a good quality Epson and made the mistake of using compatibles. It lasted 3 months!!! :0( It then froze because of frequent head cleaning and needed a visit from an engineer, which was too expensive. Tried downloading a reset counter patch from the internet, but none of them would work with the printer.
Now have a Canon Pixma MG6150 and absolutely love it. Print quality is super. It takes anything I feed into it. It has a front u bend loader as well as a straight rear paper loader, so will take card of any thickness I try.
Compatible inks are just starting to appear, but haven't tried them yet. When shopping around though I have found original inks which are not too expensive (compared to HP and Lexmark).

[Katiep]

I just bought some of the Canon High Resolution paper and on normal setting it is SO vibrant - I love it! Honestly makes such a difference what media you use. For card the Ryman coated cardstock is lovely and smooth and takes the colour well too.

[YMunn2]

Hello Kim, sorry not to have replied sooner, I've only just seen your post. I only use original Canon inks as I have not had a good experience using compatible inks in the past. I'm not convinced they haven't killed past printers in short order. I keep an eye on ebay all the time and try to snap up any bargains that may appear there. I've also just bought some cheap on Tesco direct who were selling off their BCI-6C/M/Y inks cheap. I've also come across a few bargains on amazon occassionally as they sometimes sell them cheap via their Jersey arm. Prices have gone up a lot just lately, it may be due to the disaster in Japan? I'm not sure if that's where they are made? I have a Canon i9950 which costs me quite a lot a few years ago but is probably old hat by now. I went through several Epsons in short order and vowed never to touch one again. I went back to Canon when I bought this one as our first printer had been a Canon and never gave us any problems. I only got rid of it when my printing needs changed and I needed a wide format printer. It still worked great and I gave it away to a friend. Von

[crystallady]

I've had 3 Canon printers so far and all took / take card up to 300gsm.
Currently have a Canon MP560 scanner and printer and find it is great. I do use compatible inks so it's a lot cheaper than originals. Had to look around for ones that give a good colour but did find them and I am pleased with the colour reproduction.
Must admit I'd go for Canon everytime.