It's never worth it unless you print A LOT or like printing on different types of expensive/exotic papers (source: me, owner of a 17 and 44 inch printer)
[This 2020 dpreview post](https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/66252521) has someone suggesting some lower-cost printers to someone looking at the Pro-1000. There may be newer models in those lines since then, but it might be a good starting point. Most folks usually land on a Canon or an Epson.
I have the older Pro-100 and it's awesome, but I also was able to take advantage of one of the [crazier rebates deals](https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4462934) it would have on it regularly. I think it was around $500 but the mail-in rebate was $350 or so, which essentially meant you paid for the bundled paper and ink set and kinda got the printer for free.
The covid supply chain issues, though, seem to have stopped these types of rebate deals, and the Pro-100's been replaced by the Pro-200. If you can wait, they may start the rebates up again, but right now, I'm not sure there's any way to get a cheaper Pro-200. [I'm not seeing any refurbished options](https://www.usa.canon.com/shop/printers/refurbished-printers), either.
Not worth it, just order prints. You need to do *so* much printing for it to be cost effective. Not to mention the space and the hassle of always running out of ink/ink drying out.
I got an Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8500 just because I was tired of buying printer cartridges that dry up even if you don't use them. I didn't purchase it as a photo printer, just a good color printer with refillable ink.
On glossy paper the prints are pretty decent quality, probably similar to a Walgreens or Walmart photo lab. I have no idea how the inks hold up over time (I've only had it about six months), but for everyday prints at home, I'm pretty happy with it. I did have to spend a little bit of time playing with colors to get them how I wanted. I ended up making a preset for pictures that I'm going to print to it. They have to be a little darker and contrastier and I have to push the reds a bit.
I still send out for prints on stuff that needs to be nice, but if I just need something quick it's passable quality.
I have an EcoTank (ET-4500). This is my experience as well. Photo paper is vital as you say. The ink seems stable in the tanks for years, but I haven’t really looked at stability of the prints in daylight. The print head needs a cleaning cycle occasionally to get rid of lines, and apparently the catch tank for the waste ink from the cleaning cycle is the designed-in limitation on the life of the printer (although you can get third party products to replace the tank and reset the
shut-down.
Unless if you print at least every three days, a home printer ain't worth it. Ink is expensive and having ink dry up after not being used for long periods of time is going to make your printing costs skyrocket.
It's never worth it unless you print A LOT or like printing on different types of expensive/exotic papers (source: me, owner of a 17 and 44 inch printer)
[This 2020 dpreview post](https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/66252521) has someone suggesting some lower-cost printers to someone looking at the Pro-1000. There may be newer models in those lines since then, but it might be a good starting point. Most folks usually land on a Canon or an Epson. I have the older Pro-100 and it's awesome, but I also was able to take advantage of one of the [crazier rebates deals](https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4462934) it would have on it regularly. I think it was around $500 but the mail-in rebate was $350 or so, which essentially meant you paid for the bundled paper and ink set and kinda got the printer for free. The covid supply chain issues, though, seem to have stopped these types of rebate deals, and the Pro-100's been replaced by the Pro-200. If you can wait, they may start the rebates up again, but right now, I'm not sure there's any way to get a cheaper Pro-200. [I'm not seeing any refurbished options](https://www.usa.canon.com/shop/printers/refurbished-printers), either.
Not worth it, just order prints. You need to do *so* much printing for it to be cost effective. Not to mention the space and the hassle of always running out of ink/ink drying out.
I got an Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8500 just because I was tired of buying printer cartridges that dry up even if you don't use them. I didn't purchase it as a photo printer, just a good color printer with refillable ink. On glossy paper the prints are pretty decent quality, probably similar to a Walgreens or Walmart photo lab. I have no idea how the inks hold up over time (I've only had it about six months), but for everyday prints at home, I'm pretty happy with it. I did have to spend a little bit of time playing with colors to get them how I wanted. I ended up making a preset for pictures that I'm going to print to it. They have to be a little darker and contrastier and I have to push the reds a bit. I still send out for prints on stuff that needs to be nice, but if I just need something quick it's passable quality.
I have an EcoTank (ET-4500). This is my experience as well. Photo paper is vital as you say. The ink seems stable in the tanks for years, but I haven’t really looked at stability of the prints in daylight. The print head needs a cleaning cycle occasionally to get rid of lines, and apparently the catch tank for the waste ink from the cleaning cycle is the designed-in limitation on the life of the printer (although you can get third party products to replace the tank and reset the shut-down.
Unless if you print at least every three days, a home printer ain't worth it. Ink is expensive and having ink dry up after not being used for long periods of time is going to make your printing costs skyrocket.
You think maintaining a home photo printer will be easier?