Canon - PIXMA TS9550

The Canon PIXMA G600 series is a solid choice if you want a bottle-fed high quality photo printer. The PIXMA TS8700 series and TS9500 series are also worth a look. Those top two TS-series machines use individual tank-only cartridges, with a semi-permanent print head, so are significantly cheaper per page/photo than the lower machines which use the combined head-and-tank cartridges. The bottle-fed machines do still have the lowest running cost, but you need to be printing a reasonably high volume before the saving really becomes significant. The PIXMA range are more the photo machines, and the MAXIFY range is more for business document printing (but they can still do a reasonable photo print). The 5 and 6 ink high end PIXMAs will generally always beat the 4 ink MAXIFYs on photo quality. For best photo quality only use genuine Canon ink and print on Canon photo paper, the photo quality is truly excellent if you fully commit to their products. It sounds like your print volume is not particularly high, in terms of pages per month. The PIXMAs are not really intended to be high volume machines (although the G-series machines are suitable for a bit more). The MAXIFY GX-series is suitable for up to about 1,500 to 2,500 pages per month (depending on the model), and higher volume than that really should be using a laser printer.

You should have a close look at the Canon PIXMA PRO-200S. It's cartridge rather than tank, but the Canon PRO printers seem to be quite highly thought of by some of the YouTube photographers. 8 inks, rather than 6 with the tank printers people have been suggesting, so better/wider colour gamut. It will be more expensive per print, but that might be ok if you are going for high quality over high volume, if you can build that into your pricing. Borderless photo printing up to 13" x 19" (A3+). If you're a Canon photographer, it's certainly not a bad thing to have a Canon printer. It's a step down from the PRO, but I love the photo prints I get from my Canon EOS camera on my PIXMA TS9550.

Normally one of the 5/6-ink Canon PIXMAs would be my recommendation for high quality home photo printing, using only genuine Canon ink and high quality photo paper. Canon's own photo paper is excellent and works superbly with their ink, as you'd expect, but some people choose to go with a high end third party brand photo paper instead (Canon even sell some high end third party photo paper alongside their own). With a larger budget, one of Canon's PRO-series machines would be the next step up. The PIXMA PRO-200S is the prosumer/enthusiast model with 8 dye inks. The imagePROGRAF PRO-310 is the professional photographer's A3 machine with 10 pigment inks. The imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 is the professional photographer's A2 machine with 12 pigment inks. There are also large format imagePROGRAF PRO-series roll-fed machines from 24" to 60" width, but those would be beyond your budget and a long way beyond what you describe. You really need good pixels, and a lot of them, to get the best results printing on A3 or A2. I'm sure those machines would do excellent work with a high res photo from an exceptionally good phone, but they really need images from a Canon EOS camera (or a high spec Canon PowerShot), or something equally good, to get the best out of them and perform to their full potential. Now, in all honesty, a Canon PIXMA G500/600-series (A4), TS8700/8800-series (A4) or TS9500-series (A3) can do a superb job with a high quality image. Those are the 5/6-ink machines 1 step below the PRO-200S. I've got a Canon EOS camera and PIXMA TS9550, and the prints I get on A4 and A3 Canon photo paper are excellent. That could be all you need. Sure, the prints I would get from my EOS on a PRO-series would be a step closer to perfection, but I love what my PIXMA can do with a good image on good photo paper, and it was relatively affordable. If you don't already have a good enthusiast/pro level camera, I would spend that $1,500 on one of the Canon PIXMAs a step below the PRO machines and the remainder on a PowerShot or EOS R50/R10 starter kit (don't get the R100, it is still a good camera, but a generation behind on the image processor and kinda the no-frills model to entice people into the EOS ecosystem).

Normally one of the 5/6-ink Canon PIXMAs would be my recommendation for high quality home photo printing, using only genuine Canon ink and high quality photo paper. Canon's own photo paper is excellent and works superbly with their ink, as you'd expect, but some people choose to go with a high end third party brand photo paper instead (Canon even sell some high end third party photo paper alongside their own). With a larger budget, one of Canon's PRO-series machines would be the next step up. The PIXMA PRO-200S is the prosumer/enthusiast model with 8 dye inks. The imagePROGRAF PRO-310 is the professional photographer's A3 machine with 10 pigment inks. The imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 is the professional photographer's A2 machine with 12 pigment inks. There are also large format imagePROGRAF PRO-series roll-fed machines from 24" to 60" width, but those would be beyond your budget and a long way beyond what you describe. You really need good pixels, and a lot of them, to get the best results printing on A3 or A2. I'm sure those machines would do excellent work with a high res photo from an exceptionally good phone, but they really need images from a Canon EOS camera (or a high spec Canon PowerShot), or something equally good, to get the best out of them and perform to their full potential. Now, in all honesty, a Canon PIXMA G500/600-series (A4), TS8700/8800-series (A4) or TS9500-series (A3) can do a superb job with a high quality image. Those are the 5/6-ink machines 1 step below the PRO-200S. I've got a Canon EOS camera and PIXMA TS9550, and the prints I get on A4 and A3 Canon photo paper are excellent. That could be all you need. Sure, the prints I would get from my EOS on a PRO-series would be a step closer to perfection, but I love what my PIXMA can do with a good image on good photo paper, and it was relatively affordable. If you don't already have a good enthusiast/pro level camera, I would spend that $1,500 on one of the Canon PIXMAs a step below the PRO machines and the remainder on a PowerShot or EOS R50/R10 starter kit (don't get the R100, it is still a good camera, but a generation behind on the image processor and kinda the no-frills model to entice people into the EOS ecosystem).

Canon PIXMA G650 for a tank printer, but your print volume may not require that. The size of your photos is a factor. 50 4"x6" prints per month isn't particularly high volume (so the cheaper prints from a tank printer might not be such a great saving in the grand scheme of things), but if you're printing larger (A4 / Letter sized, 8"x10", etc) then 50 per month is likely to be cheaper on a tank. If it's small prints, then take your pick of the Canon PIXMAs. Canon give you photo yield estimates for 4x6 photo printing on the spec sheets. E.g. for my PIXMA TS9550, it's up to about 100 photos from a set of standard cartridges, 200-ish from XL cartridges, and about 350 from XXL; that's for colour photos. The higher end PIXMA machines with individual ink cartridges and a separate head (the spec sheet will show them using PGI/CLI cartridges, compared to the cheaper machines with combined ink & head cartridges using PG/CL) are probably a better choice for that sort of volume, as you replace individual inks as they run out rather than having to replace all 3 colour inks and the print head when only 1 has run out. Ink-only cartridges like that are essentially a step between the cheap inkjets with a combined ink & head cartridges, and the high volume tank printers; it's essentially a pre-filled tank that you replace. As far as clogging goes, just print a nozzle check page on a regular basis to keep the ink flowing, if you've not been doing much printing. How often depends on environmental factors, but a nozzle check every 1-2 weeks pretty much guarantees reliable operation. It only costs you a sheet of plain paper and a tiny amount of ink to print the nozzle check page, and that should be all that's needed to keep the head working well. I've occasionally gone a month without printing and not had a problem, but I recommend 1-2 weeks to be absolutely safe. Weekly can be easier, as you can just get into the habit of doing it every weekend, or every Monday morning, etc; instead of needing to remember when you last printed.

I would say yes, it's worth having a good photo printer as a photographer. I'm guessing you're an enthusiast photographer, rather than a professional, from what you wrote? I have a Canon EOS camera and a Canon PIXMA TS9550, sitting on top of a drawer unit full of different sizes and types of Canon photo paper, as an enthusiast photographer. I'm very happy with those choices. It's not the cheapest setup for photo printing, in terms of cost per photo, but the results are generally excellent and it's also not crazy expensive to run. The TS9500 series are 5 ink machines with individual tank-only cartridges and a semi-permanent print head, so you are replacing individual ink tanks (not replacing all 3 of CMY when just 1 has run out) and not buying new print heads each time. I don't print all that frequently, but have never had a problem with the print head getting clogged and the ink tanks themselves seem to last ok with light use. I use XL or XXL cartridges to get a better cost per page/photo compared to standard cartridges. Photo yields for 4x6 prints are listed on the data sheet for the printer, roughly 200 from a set of CMY XL cartridges (K lasts longer). A CMYK XL value pack costs me £63.99, including 50 sheets of their high quality 4x6 "Photo Paper Plus Glossy II". If I ignore the bundled paper as just a nice bonus (which is pretty much how it works out, since the price is quite close to buying 4 single CLI-581XL CMYK cartridges), that gives me an ink cost of roughly £0.32 per 4x6 print. I can't say I've verified their photo yields from the data sheet, as it's complex to try to audit that when you are printing other sizes and normal documents in addition to photos, but they seem reasonably believable. If I am buying the photo paper, a pack of 100 4x6 sheets of Canon PP-201 Photo Paper Plus Glossy II costs £22.99, so roughly £0.23 per sheet. So, overall, without the bonus photo paper, it works out at about £0.55 per 4x6 photo. I don't consider that low cost, but I feel it's generally not a bad price for excellent photo prints in low volume and with the convenience of printing at home. I just try to remember to print a nozzle check page roughly weekly, if I've not otherwise been printing, to keep the head working well. Weekly is often enough that it doesn't matter if I am busy or forget and skip a week. In 2+ years of having the machine, I've never had a clogged nozzle or needed to run a manual cleaning cycle, and it takes just a sheet of plain paper and a relatively tiny amount of ink for each nozzle check. The TS9500 series are A3/11x17 machines, there's also the TS8700/8800 series for A4/Letter (6 ink machines, but otherwise much the same as the TS9500 seriues). For higher volume usage, there's the PIXMA G500/G600 series, which are 6 ink bottle-fed photo printers, with a much lower cost per page/photo. For professionals (and serious enthusiasts with a desire for a higher end solution), there's the Canon PRO-series photo printers (which are 8–12 ink machines).

You need to stick to genuine manufacturer ink for reliable photo quality. Bottle-fed tank inkjets are pretty much the sweet spot for combining photo printing quality with low ink cost. The machines themselves are expensive (compared to the cheap consumer inkjets), but the ink bottles are cheap per page/photo. E.g. Canon PIXMA G3000/G4000 series, or the G600 series for better photo quality (it's a 6-ink machine, rather than the usual 4-inks). Alternatively, the machines with individual tank-only ink cartridges and a semi-permanent print head are generally lower cost per page/photo than the machines with combined head-and-tank cartridges, but not as cheap to run as the bottle-fed machines. E.g. high end 5/6-ink Canon PIXMA TR/TS-series machines (TR7600 series, TS8700/TS8800 series, TS9500 series, etc). On machines where you have the choice, the XL/XXL cartridges have a better cost per page/photo than the standard cartridges. The 5/6-ink machines also produce higher quality photo prints, compared to the cheaper 4-ink machines.

The MG3650S and G3570 should be quite similar on photo quality, but not quite as good as your old MG5350, as they are 4-ink machines where your old one was a 5-ink machine. The MG3650S is a quite low end machine compared to your old machine. Have a look at the PIXMA TR7650, TS8750, and TS9550a. They are 5, 6, and 5-ink machines, respectively; so have that enhanced photo quality you had with your old machine. They use individual ink tank-only ink cartridges, with a semi-permanent print head, like the type used by the MG5350. That makes them a little cheaper to run than the low end machines with the combined head-and-tank cartridges (like the MG3650S), and you're not replacing CMY when one of the 3 is empty but the other 2 still have some ink left. The bottle-fed tank machines (e.g. G3570) are cheaper per page/photo, but that's only a big benefit if you're printing a high enough volume to get good savings. I have a TS9550 that's a little over 2 years old, and it has been a great machine. Photo quality, printing images taken with my Canon EOS camera, using genuine Canon ink on Canon photo paper, is simply excellent. In 2+ years, I've never had a problem with the machine, zero clogged nozzles, zero manual cleaning cycles needed. I try to make a point of printing a nozzle check page roughly weekly, if I've not otherwise been printing. That keeps the head active to both prevent issues and detect them early before they get beyond being fixed by a cleaning cycle. A weekly nozzle check page costs just a sheet of plain paper and a relatively tiny amount of ink, and it's often enough that it doesn't matter if I'm busy or forget and skip a week.

The G650 is highest photo quality of the tank printers, if lower cost volume is part of the goal. High end PIXMA TS-series with 5 or 6 inks will at least equal the G650 on quality, but might have other appeal if the print volume isn't high enough to make the tank savings worth it (or if lowest ink cost is less of a factor). TS9500 for A3 / 11x17, if you want bigger prints. And for true highest photo quality, the Canon PRO-series. A big jump up in price over G or TS, but the printer equivalent of a Canon 'L' lens.

The high end of PIXMA TS is closer to Canon Pro than it is to "cheap-ass cartridge printer", in my opinion. Separate head and cartridge ink tanks, and individual inks, with 5 or 6 ink machines offering PGBK and an extra colour. Edit: In approximately 2 years of ownership of my TS9550 running only genuine ink, I've never needed to run a manual cleaning cycle. I just make a point of printing a periodic nozzle check page if I've not otherwise been using it, to keep the ink flowing.

At that print rate, the lower ink cost from the bottle-tank printers compared to the cartridge-tank printers is not really going to save you a significant amount. On XL cartridges, a TS9550a gives you around 200 4"x6" photos for a CMYK set of individual ink tank cartridges, which come in a valuepack for £63.99 from Canon (also includes a 50 pack of their 4"x6" Canon PP-201 Photo Paper Plus Glossy II). XL or XXL are about the same cost per print, standard are a little bit higher. It also uses supplemental pigment black (PGBK) in photo printing, which isn't included in that cost, but it's at a very low rate (estimated yield of 3373 photos from a XL PGBK). For the G650 bottle-tank printer, estimated 3,800 4"x6" photos from a set of 6 bottles costing 6 x £13.99 = £83.94. So, it's a significant saving for people who do print in high volume, but a set of XL tank cartridges will pretty much last all year for someone doing less than a dozen 4"x6" per month. Even standard cartridges would be ok at less than a half dozen per month, but the cost per print is higher with them. It works out at about £0.32 in ink per 4"x6" print for the TS9550a on XL cartridges. A pack of 100 4"x6" PP-201 photo paper goes for £22.99, so total cost about £0.55 per 4"x6" photo on the TS9550a using all genuine Canon supplies. If you want bigger prints, a simple approximation is that A4/Letter photos will use roughly 4x the ink of a 4"x6" photo. That's UK pricing from the official Canon UK web store, probably not all that different for most of Europe and North America. That's based on Canon's spec sheet photo yield estimates. You'll get slightly worse ink yield printing very low volume, as the amount used by the printer's automatic periodic cleaning will be a higher proportion of the overall ink usage. I don't know what the shelf life of the ink is, I think it's pretty good. So, for "1-4 prints every \~2 months", it really doesn't matter all that much. You're never going to really see the significant savings from the high volume bottle-tank machine (e.g. G650), over the cartridge-tank machines. N.B. Machines which use a combined head cartridge will be more expensive, but the ink cost for that very low volume still isn't that much.

Canon PIXMA range. For best non-pro quality, with slightly better ink cost, go for one of the higher TS-series models that uses individual 5 or 6 ink tank cartridges (instead of the combined head and ink, and the combined CMY cartridge). E.g. TS6300 series, TS8300 series, TS9500 series. The 5th tank will usually be PGBK (pigment black), giving you deeper richer blacks, and the 6th an additional dye colour for better/wider colour gamut. The ink cartridges for the higher-end TS-series machines are ink-only, the print head is semi-permanent in the machine, so it's half way between the cheap combined cartridges and the inkjet tank printers. Alternatively, if you're doing a higher volume of photo printing, PIXMA G650 tank printer. Or, if your budget will stretch to it, the equivalent of Canon 'L' camera lenses, the PIXMA PRO-200S with 8 inks.

The high end of PIXMA TS is closer to Canon Pro than it is to "cheap-ass cartridge printer", in my opinion. Separate head and cartridge ink tanks, and individual inks, with 5 or 6 ink machines offering PGBK and an extra colour. Edit: In approximately 2 years of ownership of my TS9550 running only genuine ink, I've never needed to run a manual cleaning cycle. I just make a point of printing a periodic nozzle check page if I've not otherwise been using it, to keep the ink flowing.

For art prints and stickers, you’ll want a printer that’s built with photo/graphic quality in mind, not just cheap document output. The key is good color accuracy and the ability to handle heavier or specialty media like sticker paper. In the 200–300 € range, some solid options are: * Canon PIXMA TS9520 (or TS702a if you don’t need scanning) → Very good color accuracy for the price, handles large paper sizes, and works well with sticker sheets. * Canon PIXMA G620 (MegaTank Photo) → Uses 6 inks instead of 4, so you get more accurate colors and smoother gradients. Much better for art than the regular G-series. Running costs are super low because of refillable tanks. * Epson Expression Photo XP-6100/XP-8700 series → Compact 6-color printers designed for photo prints. Epson’s dye inks are vibrant, especially on glossy or coated sticker paper. If you want to compare different printers by color accuracy (important for art), I put together a list sorted by that here: [RTINGS printer color accuracy comparison](https://www.rtings.com/printer/tools/table/176623). Lower “dE” = better, more accurate colors. Bottom line: * For your budget, the Canon PIXMA G620 or Epson Expression Photo XP-6100/8700 are great all-rounders for art prints and stickers. * If you’re okay with a traditional cartridge printer, the Canon PIXMA TS9520 is also a strong choice. All three will give you way better results than entry-level office printers, and they sit right in your budget range.