Ready to buy a Printer

[Elana]

So I have come up with a plan on how to earn money taking photographs. A couple of photographer friends do daycare centres. Anyway I figured it would be a good start with minimal pressure. One of the things we talked about me getting was a printer. What I want is a printer that prints up to A3 and can do brilliant B/W. Advice now needed on some of the different brands and prices. Also would I be better off spending less money on a printer that does A4 size prints and just keep sending large ones off to the Pro Lab.

Elana

[Redgum]

If you're looking at A3 then the Epson R1900 is good value. Around $800. If that's too much stick with A4.

[Calxoddity]

+1 for the Epson R1900. Got mine about 6 months ago as a factory second from Epson, and I love it.

The benefits (both expected and unexpected)
- no fear of fade (at least in my lifetime), as it's a pigment printer
- ability to print to A3+
- ability to print roll paper for the panos
- a wide range of gorgeous papers of varying textures, finishes and thicknesses to choose from - am mainly using Innova Roughtex 310gsm (matte paper), Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl, and Ilford Galerie Gold Fibre Silk at the moment
- robust construction.

The downside? The cost of keeping it fed with 8 x printer cartridges. If you are doing lots of prints, it becomes more cost-effective to get the Epson 2880 or 3880, paying more for the printer but less for the ink per print ongoing. Mind you, the break-even point requires fairly frequent printing (I think Red River might have had a page where you could calculate which printer was better value according to your print volume, but I could be mistaken...).

Oh, another thought - it's cheaper to print 4x6 at Harvey Norman or other photo printing place than on the R1900. A4 and A3, A3+ is cheaper on the R1900 and you get to play with different papers, as well as directly controlling the quality of the result.


Regards,
Calx

[ameerat42]

Quite a task, but make sure it takes archival inks, though I think the lab would be way cheaper. Printing an A3 would take about 15 min (from memory when I had one), and of course, gallons of ink. (Stray thoughts.) Am.
PS. Just read Calx's reply. OK, it's got archival ink.

[Wayne]

I have been looking and researching myself to find a pro-photo printer than prints large format at reasonable cost, and the problem is not the price of the printer, but the ongoing cost of inks.

If these pro prints are anything like their SOHO/Home counterparts, they will have quite the appetite for inks, especially when printing at 200-300 PPI. A good pro lab by my calculations, works out somewhat cheaper for all sizes up to A3/A0. Printing 6x4's on these pro level printers would be insane given $0.20c is what labs typically charge.

[kiwi]

There is a price on convenience and control though

I have a r290 for urgents up to a4, and all else cheaper at the lab

[AdamR]

my work has one of the pixma 9000. Fantastic results.

[rwg717]

If you're looking at A3 then the Epson R1900 is good value. Around $800. If that's too much stick with A4.

Absolutely the correct advice, 8 cartridge system but a wonderful printer (very big and bulky as you might expect).
Richard

[Bails55]

I guess this depends on your budget and how many A3 prints you're likely to do. I seriously considered getting an Epson R1900 but as I'm at the bottom of the photography learning curve, I couldn't justify the cost. I also feel that something so "flash" for a beginner probably wouldn't be a wise buy at this stage. So I've opted for an Epson TX810FW which I finally purchased today for $329. This was a happy compromise budget-wise and gives me up to A4 prints which is most likely what I will do. It takes 6 inks (rated archival @ 200 years, replacements approx $27 each) and prints a colour 6x4 pic in about 10 seconds. I'm very happy with the results so far (and it's only been an hour!) I haven't done any B+W pics yet but I'll have a go at some by the end of the night.

[Redgum]

Basically printers work this way, 5 tank or 8 tank. CMY + KK or CMY + RGB + KK (loosely speaking). There are other configurations. The five tank models generally come under $200 and the 8 tank models at $700+. There's a huge advantage with 8 tank printers (obviously) and they cost more to run. But the real cost is not only in the supplies but also the quality of ink you use. That goes for the paper too.
In the end you get what you pay for printer wise but if you're looking to do high quality prints they will cost. So, like Kiwi and others have said you need to balance your budget and if your output is low then consider having some of your printing done externally.

[Calxoddity]

Further to Redgum's excellent advice, I've found that shopping around for the ink is really worth doing. I can get a full set of R1900 inks for around $100, where the normal retail is around $177. This significantly changes the cost-effectiveness and break-even point of home printing versus external printing (I guess I should have included this caveat in my previous post, but anyhow...).

Bails' TX810 is one of several very nice dye-based ink A4 multifunction printers on the market, even if Epson are taking liberties on the claimed colorfastness of their inks. As long as you aren't seeking to use heavyweight papers or the more exotic papers, this could be good for up to A4. Just check whether the printer uses black only or mixes other colours for B&W/greyscale images, as this pushes the cost per image up considerably.

Regards,
Calx

[phild]

+1 for the Epson R series, I've got the older R1800, the results and lightfastness are worth every dollar..

[Wayne]

Further to Redgum's excellent advice, I've found that shopping around for the ink is really worth doing. I can get a full set of R1900 inks for around $100, where the normal retail is around $177.

Regards,
Calx

Is this for genuine or aftermarket inks? If that is genuine ink, please PM the details of your supplier so I can then order my new printer

[NikonUser]

There is always the option of the R1900 with a Continuous Ink System (from InkJetFly or one of the others). I was looking into this option before I went with a second hand Epson 3800.

From what I could gather if you print every day then you should have minimal clogging issues and the quality of the inks is quite good. Not sure about their archival life though. Using a CIS could cut your ink costs by 80%.

I've never used one, but that's just an option you could look at.

Paul

[Calxoddity]

There is always the option of the R1900 with a Continuous Ink System (from InkJetFly or one of the others). I was looking into this option before I went with a second hand Epson 3800.

From what I could gather if you print every day then you should have minimal clogging issues and the quality of the inks is quite good. Not sure about their archival life though. Using a CIS could cut your ink costs by 80%.

I've never used one, but that's just an option you could look at.

Paul

For dye inks, I could *possibly* consider a CISS. For pigment ink printers though, it's not so great. Assuming you can get one that does do pigment inks, uneveness of pigment suspension in the larger reservoirs appears to be an unresolved issue, plus catastrophic clogging in some cases. Can't find linky at the moment, but will post again if I do find it.

Regards,
Calx

[phild]

From reading the info on the CIS system, it reads as though you have to buy inks as a complete set, not good as they simply don't run out all at the same time.

[Elana]

Thanks everyone. I'll be putting off the buying of a printer for a few months I think. What I've gotten from all this is that printing at a pro lab is almost the same cost wise and the convenience and control is the main reason for having your own printer. I want one but I'll wait until the business can pay for it.

[Flash Hit]

The Canon Pro 9500 Mark II is supurb!
B&W is the best I've seen. Brilliant A3+ printer (inks $21)

[Mir-Aus]

The best option in my point of view for A3 printer is Epson R1900 , for that printer also you can use CISS or Refillable Cartridge with K3 ink.


Reviews about this printer:
http://www.cnet.com.au/epson-stylus-...-339285568.htm
http://www.photoreview.com.au/review...oto-r1900.aspx
http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/int...900/page1.html

[rafikicat]

I would like people's advice on the Canon Pro 9000 MK.11 and the 9500 Mk.11. My Canon Pixma IP4200 has given me great service for quite a few years, but it's time to make the leap to A3. Is it worth the extra $$$ to get the 9500?