Printers > Dye Sublimation Printers > Photo Printer > 50 sheets and more

Advantages: Beautiful continuous tone, photo quality prints, great "feel" to prints fun to watch print
Disadvantages: cost, proprietary papers and ribbons, lack of wide color gamut, max-print size 7.64 x 10.146"

While the Olympus P-400, dye sublimation printer makes one heck of a nice photo print with all the look and feel of prints you'd get straight from Kodak, it is one expensive peripheral. It's definitely not for everyone. To give you some idea where I'm coming from in my comparison of this printer to inkjets, I have an Epson 1520 and an Epson 1270 as well as a Okidata laser. I've done actual photo file comparisons between several HP, Olympus and Epson ...
...printers. Anyway, the Olympus printer uses a completely different technology that either traditional inkjet or laser printers, utilizing heat transfer of the color pigment from a ribbon. It does this in a 4 pass process (three color YRB and the final pass puts down a clear protective coat) It's a blast to watch it print. Each full size print takes about 90 seconds (according to the manufacturer, I see it taking slightly longer ~120 seconds per print) ... Read review

Advantages: Excellent quick printing, photos just add icing on the cake
Disadvantages: Paper jams for drafts

...relatively quick speed (depending on settings). But beware of using draft prints as this for some reason causes the printer to jam or crumple through the process. Ink catridges suprisingly outlast any other inkjet I have owned. HP 56, 57, 58 are used in this machine. ... Read review

Advantages: Excellent text
Disadvantages: No letter tray!

...on my previous experience of Canon printers - I opted for a Pixima with FINE technology. I already have a very good photo printer in the shape of the Epson R800, and an Epson 830U which I use for rough drafts as it is on it's last legs. Fact is, I needed a printer to print decent quality letters and the odd mixed text and image sheet. I previously used an old Canon S520 but it finally gave up the ghost, and I have to say the i1800 - at about a quarter ...
...capable machine. It prints in various modes (high, standard, draft and custom) and in high quality mode, the text is as good as any printer I've seen. It's not fast though, so if you print a lot of text you may want to look at a laser. Printing tecxt over colour (a sample web page) was not so hot, but I don't really care! Photo printing is acceptable, though I didn't buy it for that purpose and only printed one quick pic to get an idea. I imagine ... Read review

Advantages: cheap, good for black ink, easy to buy cartridges, "low ink" warning
Disadvantages: annoying software, not so good for colour printing or high quality stuff

...this option from within the Lexmark options screen (via Control Panel), unless you like to hear "Printing started!" in chirpy American every time you press print. Usefully, it'll monitor ink levels and warn you when they get low, with a link to the supplier's website. I get good results generally with black ink, variable with colour (sometimes either the blue or red ink seems to 'cut out'). Occasionally pulls in the paper at a wonky angle, say 1 ... Read review

Advantages: Price, Speed, Volume, Simplicity
Disadvantages: Picture quality

We purchased this laser printer over a year ago now, and it's never let us down yet! It's a nice size, very sturdy and was very easy to set up - pretty much just plug in and use. The real plus here, is the price. For your money you get a simple yet reliable printer. The printing speed really impressed me, much faster than any inkjet I've ever used. It's also a lot quieter than some laser printers I've used, and definitely quieter than any inkjet. ...
...had to replace the toner cartridge once, and changing it was a breeze. I'd say the only downside is the picture quality, not the sharpest. But for document printing, which is what I use it for most, it's perfect. If you're looking for a fast and affordable printer, I'd definitely recommend this model. ... Read review