[Rob Barron]

We all know that the best printing results come from using the right combination of paper and inks and manufacturers certainly try to convince us that the best is to use their papers and their inks. That may be true or may not but certainly it is by far the most expensive option.

So I thought I'd just see what combos people have found to be good with the printer they use as it might give useful feedback to others still trying to find a cost effective solution.

So, i'll kick off with the following:

I use a Canon i9950 printer which has 8 cartridges, the usual black, cyan, magenta and yellow and then photo cyan and photo magenta. It then has two additions: green and red.

I have found that cartridges I get from printerinks.com are very good quality despite being a quarter of the price of Canon's own. I have tried cheaper ones, some as cheap as a pound a cartridge but haven't been impressed by either the quality or the longevity.

The papers I tend to use are: Jessops own brand glossy for A3+ posters.
For prints on A4 paper, I use Ilford Smooth pearl which is a lot cheaper than most but has a lovely finish and gives an excellent print out with the above inks. They show excellent contrast and detail.

Ok, what about you? I think the three pieces of info we need are: printer / inks / papers.

Cheers,
Rob

[stepheno]

I've been down this route so many times trying to get the right combination. I have a Canon Pixma iP4000 which has 5 inks, black, cyan, magenta, yellow and an extra black for b/w and greyscale. I use original Canon Photoplus paper and compatible inks from Choice Stationery. So far, this gives me the best combo for home prints.

[Dabhand16]

I don't do a lot of printing. I've got a Canon i560 four ink printer, and I'm quite happy with it. It was only bought as a good all-round printer that was good at doing photos too, 'cos at the time I did not print photos at all. I always use Canon ink, and on-line price is about £24.50 for a set of catridges.

Mostly, I print at A4 and I use the Costco own brand 'Kirkland' glossy paper. It is 255g/m2 and costs about £12.50 for a box of 125 sheets. For mono, I like pearl/lustre paper, and Ilford, Agfa and for proofs, PC World (!).

I've got my editing software, monitor and printer all using the Adobe 1988 colour space, but as yet have not been tinkering with colour profiles.

[Fangman]

I have an Epson 1290 and use either the Epson inks to match or Compatables from 7dayshop or Jetec and a Canon IP5200 which is much quicker and quieter up to A4 and only the Canon inks are available. I find the Olmec (ICI) glossy is a good all rounder but needs a little adjustment for the Epson. Recently for "family reprints" got a good supply of Canon 170 gm glossy from 7day at 16.99 for 200 sheets A4 that works well with either printer.

Use Adobe 1998 and no colour control in the printer - let Photoshop control output.

Have ilford Pearl and some matt papers for the odd special!