Printer ?

[ruffdog64]

Hi everyone, I`m looking at displaying and hopefully selling some of my nicer images at a local gallery, but my wife pointed out some inks fade over time some can you recommend a printer that`s suitable and sub £100.00 (hope this will be enough) thanks Harvey

 

[EOS_JD]

All sub £100 printers are pretty much the same I'd think. Look for a Pigment Ink printer

 

[martsharm]

Any printer around that price is a false economy. The ink cartridges will be minuscule and cost a fortune to replace. If you look at another thread about printers you'll see the calculation I did which suggests that an Epson 3880 at £900 is actually a cheaper *printer* than some other consumer model which costs about £250, when you factor in the included ink costs. So cheap printers aren't cheap, basically.

The other point is - if you expect people to buy your prints, surely you should ensure that the product is of a reasonably decent standard in the first place, which a £100 printer almost certainly won't give you. If you buy new. I did kick off my printing career with an Epson R2400 from eBay which was decent enough for a bit. But in reality you'll need to buy a Canon Pro 100 if you're going to be doing prints which you want to sell. That's going to cost a bit more than £100 unfortunately.

 

[EOS_JD]

The Epson R3000 is an amazing bit of kit. I owned the R2400 for a few years too - Another superb printer.

Reason for the R3000 is the superb CIS and inks from Fotospeed. A fraction of the cost of Epson inks. Wanted the 3880 but just didn't have the space!

 

[gerry s]

If you really want to sell your stuff then you really should be looking at longevity and you will not be getting that at sub £100 Im afraid. I agree with martsharm on the Epson 3880, it is expensive initially but you get what you pay for. maybe it would be better to use an online printer to start with then if its a success maybe think about doing your own later on. Successful highend printing needs to be worked atr as well.

 

[viewfromthenorth]

Successful highend printing needs to be worked atr as well.

This^^^^^

Doing printing *properly* isn't just a case of putting some paper in and pressing print. If you've aspirations to exhibit and sell, then it's worth looking into and learning, or alternatively, sending your work to a reputable online printer such as Loxley or Ilford (for black and white).

There's plenty of knowledge and experience on this forum, feel free to ask any questions

 

[LongLensPhotography]

Canon pro 10 is probably the cheapest decent pigment printer, and only for A3. Epsons are a little out of date right now. You will need to print at least once a week (probably once every 2 days) or the head will clog up.

Some "approved" fine art printers here http://www.fineart.co.uk/directory/Category.aspx?CategoryId=425 or something like Loxley may prove better to start with.

Fine art != Cheap

 

[EOS_JD]

You will need to print at least once a week (probably once every 2 days) or the head will clog up.

Are you serious? I use my R3000 verty sparingly. No issues whatsoever

 

[Daryl]

If you wanting Gallery standard prints you should save the hassle and use a Prolab like Loxley or One vision.

Wish our printers were that cheap.... as the 3880. I'd be a euphoric rabbit.

 

[DizMatt]

I use a sub 100 quid printer, canon A4 Ip7850 or something. it's great!
BUT...if I was selling prints and you were looking to provide the best quality for your customers and produce something that is worthy of the term 'art' that people want to cherish...I wouldn't print it on a home PC.
Have you tried the lightspace? they sell a £5 sample pack of prints which means you can tone your prints to your exact paper type to enhance the look you want.
DSCL also have a good rep.
I might use my home A4 PC to print out a test though and hang it to "try on" different crops or treatments etc

 

[EOS_JD]

Actually Matt the best prints are easily printed at home - On a decent printer. Most of the A3+ and better printers are capable of producing the highest quality prints.

Using custom profiles and having a colour managed workflow will improve things even more. AND you have a far wider range of high quality papers to print on.

So home printing CAN provide the best - BUT it is certainly more expensive than using a lab.

DSCL are ok but no way do they provide better quality than my own prints. Mainly due to the profiling. I only use an Epson R3000 and of course they can however print much larger