Looking for a quality printer

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glennk

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145
Name
Glenn
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi Guys, Im roughly 8 months into my Photography business. Ive been using a local printer but experiencing a few problems of late. I feel i need to take control of my printing to a certain degree.

If at all possible I would like some advice on printing from home (to sell).

The majority of my images sold are sizes upto A1. My friend owns and highly recommends a Epson SureColor p600. Ive seen his prints and think they would be of a high enough quality.

However i also like to do some more research before buying. All advice would be welcomed. Also if anyone has any idea on cost per unit for prints. For example, how much to print an A3 print on a decent quality paper. Im currently paying my printer £10 for an a3 Print and £15 for a2 and a1.

Many thanks in advance.
 
This is the only rough break down I've seen, also have a read of the thread in general, some happy canon users.
<a href="https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/t...-100-owners-thread.570630/page-5#post-7349254">Canon Pro 1/10/100 - Owners Thread</a>

Keith has some very good reviews. http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/articles.php

I guess you need to figure out how many a2 and above you expect to produce - Epson P800 or canon Pro 1000 might be of interest. There also the canon ipf5100 which can be had for under 1k.

The p600 is easily converted to refillable carts so you can use 3rd party inks or buy oem large format carts and extract.

Hth
 
Ink and Paper cost using an Epson sc p800.... A3 prints come out at £2.50 each or £5 for A2 using something like Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper if you by A2 at about £35 per 25 sheets and either use whole sheets or cut for A3. Sounds very reasonable until you add in cost of printer and monitor and printer calibration and quite a lot of experience to perfect your printing but when you do get the hang of it its really quite reasonable. That is using original Epson inks..........Good Luck
 
Your monitor and printer should both be calibrated if you want to print what you see on screen. Monitor calibration is straight forward enough and for the printer It's just a case of printing a target image and then scanning it to build a profile for each type of paper. Not really that difficult but worth it in the long run. Plenty of info and tutorials available on line. Usually a few hardly used kits on eBay and the like.
 
Hi Glenn,

What type of paper are using using, permajet and fotospeed offer free custom icc profiles. Fotospeed offer it not only on their own papers but Canson, Harman and Hahnemuhle which is pretty good. Might help keep the cost down initially.
 
Hi Ian, sorry I dont know. I just take them to the printers in town and he does them. Its a nice thick paper and Im always happy with the results. But I like to be in control myself as he has a lot of days off etc which leaves me in the lurch if I get an order.
 
I'm no expert but in simple terms a profile is used help get accurate colours to the specific paper\printer\ink. So using for example a p600 and printing a "test" image to 3 different papers will in theory give you 3 different outputs in terms of colour. If you repeat and use a specific paper profile you should have consistent out in terms of colour. Another example, I using 3rd inks in a canon pro 100s. I printed a test image and it looked bad using a profile for paper type & OEM ink. I sent a profile target print off to have a new profile created and repeated using the new profile, now I have a good print.

My previous comment about paper was just suggesting to use permajet\fotospeed papers as you get free custom icc profiles :)
 
You will get free profiles with every paper, just go to the manufacturers site, Here is an example from Epson. You just click on the links and download, they will automatically save to the right page. You can make your own profiles but in the beginning it is just easier to use manufacturers.
 
gerry s said:
You will get free profiles with every paper, just go to the manufacturers site, Here is an example from Epson. You just click on the links and download, they will automatically save to the right page. You can make your own profiles but in the beginning it is just easier to use manufacturers.
Click to expand...

These are generic profiles for that paper/ink and are generally quite good. For the best results you need a profile for your particular printer and paper/ink combination. The best way to achieve that is sending samples off for professional profiling.



The Epson SureColor P800 will give you prints up to A2 so will probably be better for you than the P600. Permajet should be releasing their CIS for the P800 in the near future and already have one for the P600. They will send you free professional profiles for your particular printer on their papers - using OEM ink or their own. You just download the (Adobe) program to produce them, follow the instructions and send them off. They email you the profiles back the day they receive them.
 
I recently got hold of an Epson Stylus Pro 4800 - and they can be had 2nd hand on eBay for very reasonable amounts (less than £300) but they're rare to appear in good condition. It prints roll paper as well as sheet paper up to 17" wide which will do A2 nicely. The 4900 is it's replacement and that's big bucks, but if I had the cash I'd get it in a hearbeat. If you're certain about printing your own A1, then that's very big bucks! @mho might have some more useful advice...

The ink costs seem high - but you're getting huge cartridges. A 220ml cartridge (for the 4800) costs around £80, and checking the Canon Pro 1 (£24 for 36ml) shows that there's definitely better value to be had in the larger tanks. If you're doing a lot of printing, then this will be a factor. Something like the P800 (if you're going new and money-no-object) might suit better. Also consider the footprint of the printer and where it's going to sit. These large format printers are big in a typical home office, but if you have dedicated office space or a studio/workshop then that's not so much an issue.

Paper is also a factor. I like Canson papers, and others here are touting Fotospeed - so there's no clear accounting for taste. Get a test pack of different types and see what you prefer. If you're selling image, you probably want archival qualities for your prints (both with ink and paper). When you combine your favourite properly profiled and proofed image with your favourite paper and get it in a nice mount it looks stunning and costs a fraction of getting a professional to do it. If you like the paper that your printer has used - ask them what it is - or check their website.

Oh - and avoid non manufacturer ink at this level. It's ok for family snaps, but pro prints aren't work the printer repair bills. (Case in point - read the description)
 
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Harlequin565 said:
others here are touting Fotospeed - so there's no clear accounting for taste.
Click to expand...
Not touting anything, I was just trying to save the guy money in stating that if you buy papers such as canson (which I also use :) ) fotospeed will profile it for free. You don't need to have bought it from them as far as I'm aware.

Good point about getting some tester packs, there's a lot of choice.
 
If you could squeeze it up to the p800 you can do A2 and the price per print is just a tad cheaper. Whatever one you get though good luck with it
:)
 
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