My most recent printers are HP Officejet 4500 (non-wireless) that I bought for $60 each. They mostly work ok, but I don't print every day and sometimes they need a little coaxing. In addition to print-copy-scan they also fax and that has been very helpful to me. The only thing I really dislike is that it was a totally wasted effort to try and use non-HP cartridges in them. For $100 or less, I wouldn't describe any inkjet as reliable. It either works or it doesn't. In fact, in a year or two anything you buy will certainly be obsolete are mine already are. This post was edited by azinoh on Sat, Aug 3, 13 at 13:38

There are lots of decent photo printers out there. Which one you pick depends in part on how much you want to spend and in part on how large your DIL will want to print. If she's doing photo shoots with clients, my guess is that she'll want to have the option to print big. I have this one, and can recommend it highly. It prints up to 13 x 19". Because of this, the printer itself takes up a lot of room. It wouldn't do for a small desk. The Canon line of photo printers has a good reputation. You might do an Amazon search and check out the different models and reviews. Epson has a good rep, too, but I don't recommend it because of so many reports of ink clogs if the printer isn't used often enough. I had an HP photo printer for years and was happy with it, but I don't know anything about their current line. One possibility is that your DIL might want to print her own occasionally, and for casual photos, but send the pro images out. That's what I did when I was exhibiting, uploading my image files to Mpix.com. They do beautiful work. You sound like a good mother-in-law!

Hi Barb, There are a couple different technologies in use for photo printers. Most consumer grade printers are inkjet printers. The secondary technology which you see particularly in some of the smaller format printers is dye-sublimation. What you need to consider is: 1. Picture quality. 2. Qperating costs. 3. Image stability. The image stability of some of these materials falls into the "don't blink" category -- in other words the prints fade really fast. There are printers out there that make prints that fade in less than a year. At any cost these are a waste of money. So let's start here. Henry Wilhelm is THE authority on the fade resistance of inks, dyes, etc. used in the art world. Avoid buying any printer from a manufacturer that does not cooperate with Wilhelm Research (see link below) in determining the durability of their materials. Look over Henry's site for detailed info on this topic. When you buy a printer you should know what Henry has determined is the life expectancy of prints from that printer. If Henry hasn't determined it you should assume the worst. I've paid attention to Henry's work for years and can give you this quick synopsis: Most of the smaller dye-sub printers available now do a poor job when it comes to image stability. A few years ago Canon was not fully cooperating with Henry, but they have been recently and their newest inks are getting good marks. Epson has taken this issue most seriously and done the most to create fade resistant materials. Many of the re-fill inks available out there fall into the "don't blink" category. Among the inkjets Canon, Epson and HP are competitive in the quality category and lead the industry. All three make beautiful prints. I've been using Epson for years now -- my decision was made earlier on and fade resistance was the tipping point for me. A secondary quality issue is B&W. Most of these printers are designed for color and make gosh awful B&W prints. If you think you want to do any B&W you're going to want to look at the higher end Epson or Canon printers that are designed for B&W. One of my friends (professional photographer) just bought the new Canon printer and is very happy with both it's color and B&W results. Given item 2 above the purchase cost of the printer can be a minor consideration. At $10-12 each for a photo printer that takes 8 ink cartridges we're talking about $90.00 to load it with small quantities of ink. So once you get past quality and stability you want to look hard at the operating cost of the printer. The loser in this category is Epson with the edge to Canon and HP. They all cost too much to run and you need to look at this hard because there's no sense buying a printer you can't afford to buy ink for. Good luck shopping. Joe Here is a link that might be useful: wilhelm research

Yes, they definitely suck you in with the cheap-cheap price on the printer then hit you with the ink cost. Our printer is a Brother, chosen b/c it has separate cartridges for each color of ink. The salesperson insisted the printer would work if one of the cartridges was empty (we hardly ever print colors), but that is not the case. All four cartridges have to have ink. Plus we really hate the printer - it is balky and temperamental (not like my Brother sewing machines!). We keep talking about replacing it but haven't done it yet. Donna