Comparing cost of online printing vs A3 printer

will69

will69

Suspended / Banned
Messages
611
Name
Neil
Edit My Images
Yes
I am trying to decide whether to invest in an A3 printer or use online printers like Togsprint or DSCL for fine art quality prints.

A decent A3 printer will cost me £400 (e.g. Epson R1900)
Good A3 fine art paper about £2.10 / sheet
and ink, estimated about £2 / A3 print
Total £4/print.

I have seen 16" x 12" (roughly A3) prints on sale for between £1/print and £18/print.

Obviously at £1/print, online wins. But at £18/print, an A3 printer could pay off in about 30 prints (maybe two years, or a lot less if I got into it).

Question is, what should I be comparing the quality of an A3 printer on fine art paper against, an £18 fine art print from Togsprint or a £1 print from DSCL?
 
I would imagine you would need to compare it towards the cost of the cheaper prints but not quite as cheap as those. I have seen the Togsprint printer - its massive and would cost a lot more than an A3 type printer, plus they (and probably DSCL) do different types of paper so you are not restricted to one finish.
Its really going to depend on if you want to do just the one type of print or if you want a selection, if you want the one type you could be beter off getting your own but personally I prefer to get someone else to have the hassle of printing my stuff!!!
 
My experience of photo printers is, print 3-4 mmm nice leave for 2 weeks, print 1 hmm banding, heads need cleaning, waste a load of ink and paper get it working, leave for 3 weeks same again.

i'd imagine it to be worse with an A3 printer as it won't get used much
 
INTERESTING, my gut feel is the same, stick to my A4 printer for test prints then send away for the A3s'.

Anyone control freaks in favor of self printing???
 
A family member was recently given a pretty good A2 printer, have to say that I was very impressed by the outcome, definitely better than the el-cheapo print I've paid for online.
 
I print my own upto A3 plus. Never print enogh to warrant doing it online. costs me around £3 per print with my canon pixma ix4000 and it also saves waiting days for prints to turn up
 
will69 said:
A decent A3 printer will cost me £400 (e.g. Epson R1900)
Good A3 fine art paper about £2.10 / sheet
and ink, estimated about £2 / A3 print
Total £4/print.
...
Question is, what should I be comparing the quality of an A3 printer on fine art paper against, an £18 fine art print from Togsprint or a £1 print from DSCL?
Click to expand...

Hey Will

You may well struggle to find an A3 sheet of "good" fine art paper for less than a fiver if I'm being honest. I guess it depends on your expectations of fine art media. It's a massive market and the materials vary and have a large impact on the overall output of the print.

£1 for the DSCL print will get you a gloss/light luster print - not the heaviest paper. The fine art prints we offer range from a 380gsm to 600gsm natural acid free fine art paper. This media is pretty specific as mentioned above and tends to be for photographers/artists who know exactly what they are wanting from the print.

The printing process is likely very different too. The fine art prints we offer are single pass (ie ink in one direction only - not two). This reduces banding which occurs on heavy material - especially that where the grain is very high.

I can personally recommend the Epson R1800 - it's a superb K3 ink printer and handles a lot of media through the standard rip. You're looking at about £4.50 - £5.50 for an A3+ print on these printers. It supports USB and firewire too so spools prints quickly. It's six and two threes - if you can reel off enough prints and justify the spend - then go for it :thumbs:



I know someone who has one for sale too!
 
LeeP said:
Hey Will

You may well struggle to find an A3 sheet of "good" fine art paper for less than a fiver if I'm being honest. I guess it depends on your expectations of fine art media. It's a massive market and the materials vary and have a large impact on the overall output of the print.

£1 for the DSCL print will get you a gloss/light luster print - not the heaviest paper. The fine art prints we offer range from a 380gsm to 600gsm natural acid free fine art paper. This media is pretty specific as mentioned above and tends to be for photographers/artists who know exactly what they are wanting from the print.

The printing process is likely very different too. The fine art prints we offer are single pass (ie ink in one direction only - not two). This reduces banding which occurs on heavy material - especially that where the grain is very high.

I can personally recommend the Epson R1800 - it's a superb K3 ink printer and handles a lot of media through the standard rip. You're looking at about £4.50 - £5.50 for an A3+ print on these printers. It supports USB and firewire too so spools prints quickly. It's six and two threes - if you can reel off enough prints and justify the spend - then go for it :thumbs:



I know someone who has one for sale too!
Click to expand...

Lee there are many papers that offer great quality for way less than a fiver. Permajet have a huge range of outstanding papers for roughly £2 per A3 sheet. Mayby not as heavy as 380gsm but for most requirements I wouldn't need paper that heavy.

I'd recommend an A2 printer like the 3800 just for the larger ink cartridges. I find myself feeding my R2400 too much!!!

Considering a CIS system but not taken the plunge just yet.

A lab will offer the best value for small prints, Larger prints can be cheaper with your own printer but that £400 outlay is a lot to pay for. You need a hell of a lot of prints to make it worthwhile.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top