Ok thanks for the advice!
Question tho..... are the Pixma lines considered the
best even over HP's lineup of cheap all in ones?
Seems like I keep seeing a lot of kudos for the Pixma's
in various magazines. Yes?
Pixma is just the name of their consumer inkjet line. You have sub-
budget models which the mx300 falls into. Text resolution will be NO
different than higher end models. However color resolution will be
different. The mx300 for photos uses 3 tanks, cyan magenta yellow.
The drop size is 5pl and 2pl. Newer models feature 5pl and 1pl, and
newest models feature 5pl, 2pl, and 1pl. Most newer models will
feature an extra dye black, which you will notice if you print dark
things on matte paper. Something like the mx300 will get soggy unless
you say "plain paper" where it will use the pigment black for black.
This is rather a moot point for printing maps, since they will be
printed on plain paper I presume, as such only the 5pl nozzles will be
used.
[cost for black text]
AFAIK the mx300 takes the PG-40 cartridge with a 195p yield @ $20 or
10c/page. The PG-50 is larger 300p yield @ $29 or 10c/page
Compare to the mp520 which is closer to 500-525p @ $16 or about
3c-3.2c/page
I wouldn't say pixma is the best. I bought several because
1) Ease of refilling
2) CD printing support
3) Decent text
4) Damn good photos
5) Detachable head
I actually prefer HP for text as a general rule, but I didn't find
them to be as easy to refill.
Mainly I want something small enough for RV use.... to
print maps, directions, general printing, etc
But your application is different than mine, you want to print maps on
the road. In your case, it may make more sense to consider cartridges
with the head on the cartridge if you are going to go for 6 months to
a year without printing.
mx300 17.3" (W) x 18.4" (D) x 6.9" (H)
mp520 14.9" (W) x 17.9"(D) x 6.8" (H)
mp530 18.5" (W) x 18.4 (D) x 10.4 (H)
mp610 17.7" (W) x 15.3"(D) x 7.4 inches (H)
The mp520 is on par with the mx300 in terms of resolution, but takes
full sized cartridges. It's actually slightly smaller.
[hp options]
The HP photosmart c4400 is $75, similar pricemark to the canon when
not on sale.
HP c4400 17.09 x 11.42 x 6.38 in
For black you have a choice
74 - $15 200 pages 13c/page
74XL - $32 750 pages 4.2c/page
Color same deal
75 - $19 170 - 11c/page
75xl $38 520pages 7c/page
The downside is the smaller cartridges cost more per page than
Canon's. The advantage is they actually cost less, so if you're going
to ignore the printer for months on end, and only print 5 maps on a
given cartridge, spending less is good.
The upside is you have a choice between full sized and tiny.
[other HP advantage]
HP tends to use brick power supplies, and an RV is DC unless you have
an inverter. DC to DC tends to be less loss than DC to AC back to DC.
All the canons I know about offer internal power supplies. This is
fab for home use since you don't have a brick to deal with.
So what's on our list of things to consider
[things to consider]
- Main application maps (plain paper?)
- Size (exclusive RV use or swap between home and RV?)
- Photos?
- Head on the cartridge vs separate print head
