I 'need' an A3 printer (advice wanted)

Bruja

Bruja

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I sort of want a new printer and think it might be more flexible to get an A3 rather than another A4. I currently have an Epson D78 and an Epson Photo RX 425 and my mate (you know who you are steveinspain :nono:) thinks it would be a good idea too!

But as a tog novice and therefore a printer novice too I've got no idea what to go for. I would think I'm more likely to use it for b&w and to send out for colour (but that may change too). I don't know that I'd do a lot of A3 as I'm an amateur but the option to would be good.

All help appreciated (just not too technical as I've only just found out that some have more than 4 ink cartridges :help:)
 
Do you have a budget in mind?

I have the HP B9180 printer which does stunning pictures in both b&w and colour but costs over £400 to buy!
 
Theoretically I do have a budget but as I don't know how much they cost I don't know what it is yet ......

I guess there is a range of prices as there are with A4s so it's about recommendations really and then I can decide how much I'm prepared to pay. I suppose I'll have to factor in ink costs too.
 
I'm in the same boat as you, currently I'm undecided between the Epson R2400 and the newer R1900. Had some comparison prints made at Focus and the results are too close to call. Problem is the prints were on glossy paper, so that we could compare the print quality side by side. The 2400 scores when using rag based paper and we couldn't try that.

Try this site for some really practical info
http://www.photo-i.co.uk/

The other question is how want A3 prints do you want made. It may be cheaper to have them made commercially and keep your existing A4 printer
 
Just get out and buy one - I am the one who needs to be using it..!
It has to be more fun than scanning..

Chappers - one problem is location, as we are both in southern Spain, so getting stuff sent out takes days, and if it is Bruja's printer, then she'll need to keep the inks topped up for me to use...
 
Come on you lot, any more advice out there (other than steveinspain saying get on with it!!)
 
i have the Epson r2400 and cannot fault it so far.Really impressed with the print quality
 
As a working pro we have used an Epson R1800 in my studio for 2 years and the results are outstanding and fade free. Never had a complaint off customers. Just last week after 2 years of hard use it has given up the ghost. And would get another one tomorrow. There is now a R3800 which i am interested in and Epson are offering a £150 off this printer if you are ugrading from a R1800 so cant refuse the offer.
As far as ink consumption is concerned the R1800 is not bad but the results are amazing.If the new R1900 is now replacing it then go for it.

Hope this helps
 
No idea about printers but, if you reckon you're going to use it a lot budget for a continuous ink supply system rather than rely on replacing cartridges. Others here use them and reckon they are well worth having for heavy use.
 
I've got the Epson R2400. Great bit of kit. Printed +A3 with excellent results. I think they are about £450ish nowadays.
 
Thanks for all the info, I really appreciate it. Now I need to know what the heck is a continuous ink system, how does it work and is it compatible with the printers mentioned?

Told you I know nowt :bonk:
 
I'm told my by most knowledgable friend in the printing business that CISS isn't all it's cracked up to be. Cheap ink and less refilling definitely, but he's had trouble with air bubbles and blocked pipes causing poor prints.
 
I too have the R2400 and it's an astounding printer. I would strongly advise before buying one that you also look at purchasing a monitor calibration tool (like Spyder).

If I had to buy again, I'd advise buying a larger printer with larger ink cartridges as most A3+ printers come with very small capacity cartridges (HP, Epson & Canon)!

THe Epson 3800 is a better bet but is a lot more (although with the ink you get, the difference is actually not that much).

If you can live with the A4 though, better just to send your images to a lab. You save a lot in ink and the capital cost of buying the printer. Think how many prints £400 will buy. And add to that the ink costs and it just does not make financial sense to buy an A3 printer..... although I accept the convnience is a big attraction.

I use mine regularly for personal use but usually send out images clients are looking for - although sometimes I print my own.

I love the lford Gallerie Smooth Pearl paper - a semi gloss lustre paper and the range of papers the Epson prints to is huge.

Great printer but not cheap to run - although that can be said for almost every A3+ printer on the market.

Cheers
JD
 
I Have Heard You Get Problems Of The Ink Drying In The Cartridges If Not Used Regularily, I Dont Know How Serious, Havent Got One.
 
fletch5 said:
I Have Heard You Get Problems Of The Ink Drying In The Cartridges If Not Used Regularily, I Dont Know How Serious, Havent Got One.
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This has happened t me yes. A quick head clean and all was perfect again. It's best if you print at least once a week. - Probably the same for most printers though - especially pigment ink printers.
 
I had a Epson 1290 till very recently. It served me well for about two years. I recently got a HP B9180. The print quality is quite good, but you will need to tweek some of the ICC profiles for some of the third party papers (Innova still does not have a profile for my Cotton Natural white paper), but there is community of people who have done some custome profiles that are actually quite good.

The main reason I went for the HP over an Epson 2400, is that it has larger ink cartrages (though actually costs about the same per page to print then the Epson), and the Ethernet feature was very useful for me (I just have it plugged into my wireless router). If you need roll paper support then the only choice is the Epson 2400.

If you don't need to be selling prints, and are ok using a dye printer, the Epson 1400 seems to produce quite nice prints, and costs much less the either the Epson 2400, or the HP B9180. (The B8850 is still yet not available).
 
JIMC said:
i have the Epson r2400 and cannot fault it so far.Really impressed with the print quality
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The R2400 is a fabulous piece of kit. You wouldn't go wrong with one of these.... :)
 
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