Event Photographers onsite printers what printers do you use

mho

mho

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I'm just after a bit of advice regarding on site event printing, I'm looking to print 6x4, 5x7, 6x9 or 6x8 on site, and have been looking at the following printer makes

Mitsubishi
Kodak
Ask
Fuji
Sony

I'm wondering what everyone uses and how they find them to operate, also what software you use to sort edit and send to printer.

I have in my mind the Mitsubishi or Sony.

thanks in advance
 
haven't used any but the Mitsubishi does look good
System Insight seem to have a good reputation for supplying and installing
lots of people report that once Insight have provided profiling, the printer is ace
 
like most posts you need to identify your needs -

speed of printing?
cost per print?
ease of use?
robustness?
cost?
support?

i think you need to understand the size issues as well - you print at one width only

hope this helps
 
Fuji printers here.

Try and narrow down your available prints for on the day. Too much choice and people get indecisive!

I use an ASK-2000 and (shortly) ASK-4000 for 8x6/9x6 and 10x8/10x12.

However, I mainly sell 8x6 and 10x8 on the day.

www.photomart.co.uk

Dye-Sub printers :thumbs:
 
I have been looking at the Sony UP-DR150 as I can get those at a very very cheap price, Ideally I would like 2 so I can print 6x4 or 5x7 on 1 printer (I will not be changing just sticking to a size when I decide which) and 6x8 on the other one.

I know the size of them and the weight of them so that's not a factor.

The Sony's are looking the best to me so far as I can get 2 of those for the price of 1 Mitsubishi even though the average street price on the Sony is more than the Mitsubishi.

Profiling isnt a problem as I have all the gear for that as its a service I offer my clients anyway.

thanks for the input.
 
Iv just done a search for event printing and found this old thread..

Iv been asked to shoot a party and thought i might try and do some on-site prints, What would i need other than a printer and a computer?? is there anywhere i can hire a kit??

Or, is it inadvisable without this sort of experience??

Ta..
 
I'd say give it a go, you don't need anything more than a printer and a computer (although I would recommend a second (or more) computer that you use as a separate viewing station)

2 places I know that hire the printers

1) System Insight
2) Photomart (see LeeP's post for the web linky)

Both will also sell you the mounts to make the photos look better value.

I've dealt with both - hired from System Insight and bought from Photomart (although they hire). Both are OK, I believe that Photomart are slightly cheaper.

Personally I have a Olmec OP1000 Dye-Sub
 
thanks for that Simon.. i shall have a look..
 
So far iv found the average price for hire is around £100 for a WEEK.. i only want one for a day!
 
That's probably because most events are at weekends, so they'd have to charge £50 a day and then cope with photographers who wanted to collect at 6am before driving to a dog show at the other end of the country & return the printer at 10pm.

Aren't you planning to make any money out of this job?
 
Would like to hear of your findings because I am also now looking at getting one of those.

So far my mind is set on the Mitsubishi 9800 for it's 6 x 9 capabilities...no advanced cropping and printing actions and more photo space after all the blasted logos have been overlaid
 
Of course im planning on making money, but its not a big event, only around 120 guests and its a friends wedding anniversary. Its also the only even i have planned, so if i could have one for only a couple of days that would be better for me.. AND the profit!! :lol:

Anton, What overlays are you talking about? are these your own or the manufacturer?

Im actually looking to do a course in Event photography, it could well be something id be interested in doing on a regular basis.. we'll see eh. :thumbs:
 
fraggle101 said:
Of course im planning on making money, but its not a big event, only around 120 guests and its a friends wedding anniversary. Its also the only even i have planned, so if i could have one for only a couple of days that would be better for me.. AND the profit!! :lol:

Anton, What overlays are you talking about? are these your own or the manufacturer?

Im actually looking to do a course in Event photography, it could well be something id be interested in doing on a regular basis.. we'll see eh. :thumbs:
Click to expand...

The overlays are my own...logos and text info printed on the image...school rugby photos with the coats of arms, sponsor logos and the final score etc etc.

I used to work with a Hiti printer but it is like watching grass grow:bang::bang::bang: @ 70 seconds to print a 6 x 8

6 x 8 also meant I had to incorporate a 3 x 4 aspect crop into a 3 x 2 aspect image which wasn't a total trainsmash but made for interesting shooting.

This makes me really look forward to buying the 6 x 9 capable machine as (a) the actions are less complicated (and I have to redo them all since my system had to be redone) and (b) there are now another 8 square inches for logos and more space for the photo I'm actually trying to sell.

I dunno if doing a course in this is really necessary...from hard experience I can tell you that you need willing and able bodies, good planning and a printer (or 2) capable of delivering volumes.

Shoot jpeg with camera settings at max sharpness and saturation and you should be fine. Unless you do some serious creative cropping (and there is no time for that at your event, you need shoot no bigger than 6-8 Mp images at most to produce a very nice 6 x 9 print...4 Mp is even enough but I like overkill...;):D

All the best and HTH
 
Thanks for the tips Anton..
 
mho said:
I'm just after a bit of advice regarding on site event printing, I'm looking to print 6x4, 5x7, 6x9 or 6x8 on site, and have been looking at the following printer makes

Mitsubishi
Kodak
Ask
Fuji
Sony

I'm wondering what everyone uses and how they find them to operate, also what software you use to sort edit and send to printer.

I have in my mind the Mitsubishi or Sony.

thanks in advance
Click to expand...

Another thing worth noting is that you might want to consider multiple printers...one printer per size of photo you want to sell.

As I already said earlier I am also looking at getting the Mitsubishi but these machines are all dye-sub AFAIK and the consumables come in a pack of typically about 500-600 for jumbo and about 300-400 for 6 x 8 or 6 x 9.

You don't really want to change these packs unless you can get a near perfectly dust free environment. Your first 2-3 prints often have some dust and other particles on them.

I suppose you could make use of an inkjet printer to run, say, jumbo prints while the big boy runs 6 x 8 or 6 x 9 but once you see how these printers shunt out prints an inkjet would be agonisingly slow, even in Jumbo.

Consider the guarantee too...the Kodak 6850 has a 6 month guarantee down here and the Mitsubishi has a 1 year guarantee. The thermal print heads on these machines don't last forever and you might want to consider a second machine for a backup.
 
Im not sure what Jumbo prints are Anton! :thinking:

Iv not decided what too do with myself mate, i would like to get going in some way or another, Events are just one thing im looking at, its only because iv been asked to shoot an anniversary that its been an issue! i thought about how i could keep the charges down for the couple, as they are friends.. so i though id get a printer for the evening and people can buy of me.. that way i can charge just a small fee to cover the outlay..

Anyway, it's made me think so that's good.. Weddings are another thing im looking at, but not until im happy with myself.

Thanks again for the tips.. its always good to hear from first hand experience..
 
fraggle101 said:
Im not sure what Jumbo prints are Anton! :thinking:


Thanks again for the tips.. its always good to hear from first hand experience..
Click to expand...

Jumbos are what we call 4 x 6 prints...sorry, I thought it was a fairly international term.

Again, most welcome:thumbs::thumbs:
 
It probably is!!:lol:
 
In a effort to help those coming in to events and those already there I have set up a website at http://www.eventphotographersociety.co.uk where you will find a section with all the currently available dye-sub printers from the UK market. Having all the details in one place (except price as this changes regularly) should help anybody wanting to find the printer that is best for them.

Mike
 
A resource for Event Photographers - well overdue.
 
Iv signed up... well, it cant hurt.. can it??
 
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