Small passport/ID Printer ?

Hell on earth

Hell on earth

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Helen
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Don't want to break the bank on one, I get asked 2 or 3 times a week so not a big income
Any suggestions please

Thanks

H
 
Hi Helen,

What I would recommend is just using a normal printer and maybe using 6x4 photo paper etc. Go and buy a trimmer too which shouldn't cost a lot. If you have a tool such as photoshop you can measure the photographs to resize it to the correct size and add cutting marks so you know where to trim.

Hope it makes sense :) this is what I've done and works a treat without breaking the bank! With photo booths like PhotoMe etc they just print out a series of photographs and you still have to manually trim them anyway :).

Thanks
John.
 
Last edited:
jryans10 said:
Hi Helen,

What I would recommend is just using a normal printer and maybe using 6x4 photo paper etc. Go and buy a trimmer too which shouldn't cost a lot. If you have a tool such as photoshop you can measure the photographs to resize it so you know where to trim.

Hope it makes sense :) this is what I've done and works a treat without breaking the bank!

Thanks
John.
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Hi John and thanks
Problem being my printer is playing up as hardly ever print anything myself, just waste ink running it to clean, it's also fairly big and just a pain

H
 
I've seen Canon Selphy CP900 (or 910) recently for £40 in Wilkinson Cameras. It's dye sub, 4x6 only but can be used for what you want and beats inkjet for passports.
 
Thanks Jim I'll have a look

H
 
:plusone: for a little Selphy. Reasonably quick and delivers finished DRY prints for the customer to take away.
 
A second hand Mitsubishi 9550DW is ideal for passports and the odd small reprint.
Media (6x4) will give you about 600 prints for about £70. At £5 retail there's £3000 for the outlay of a few quid.
 
Nod said:
:plus1: for a little Selphy. Reasonably quick and delivers finished DRY prints for the customer to take away.
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Looking as the CP900 it does not have a passport size profile also that £40 was only if you spent over £200 on a camera

H
 
snapalot said:
A second hand Mitsubishi 9550DW is ideal for passports and the odd small reprint.
Media (6x4) will give you about 600 prints for about £70. At £5 retail there's £3000 for the outlay of a few quid.
Click to expand...
Will have a look round
Thanks
H
 
Hell on earth said:
Looking as the CP900 it does not have a passport size profile
Click to expand...

That shouldn't be a problem, you can create a contact sheet in photoshop for passport size pics from A4 photopaper or 7x5 :)
 
TG. said:
That shouldn't be a problem, you can create a contact sheet in photoshop for passport size pics from A4 photopaper or 7x5 :)
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Hmm I'm not so sure reading this

dye-sublimation printers use a ribbon that's permeated with a solid dye. As the paper moves through the printer, the ribbon above it is heated, causing the dye to sublimate (become a gas without first becoming a liquid) and re-solidify on the cool paper, forming an image. This takes place in four quickpasses beginning with yellow, then magenta and cyan to complete the image, then finally a clear protective overcoat.

Supplies for the CP900 come in matched packs of ribbons and paper, so the 36-sheet KP-36IN supply will print exactly 36 6x4in prints, for example. You can even use the prints as postcards thanks to address and stamp markings. Other formats, including sticker packs are available, but the printer can't handle anything larger than postcard size.

H
 
Photoshop can create the image to have the contact sheet etc. for use on any printer.
But it is then up to the printer to be able to be able to handle the paper.
You are right, the dye-sub can only do a certain maximum size, which isn't A4.

You could go the other way, a large high-quality printer, I have the Canon pro9500 Mk II, can be LEFT ON, for long periods of time, without being used. Every so often, it vibrates its ink tanks to keep them mixed, and in theory shouldn't waste much (any) ink in this. It can print at A3+ (13 inches by 19 inches), and has archival quality pigment inks.
With the correct setup (you have the colormunki) and paper, it produces very nice results. It would allow you to print images for your clients 'quickly' (well, it is quoted at 7 minutes something for A3+ full res), faster than DSCL anyway.
 
Wouldn't suggest using inkjet for passport photos. There are a couple of inexpensive programs for formatting passport photos and also have a link to the UK passport site for requirements.
 
haggis said:
Wouldn't suggest using inkjet for passport photos. There are a couple of inexpensive programs for formatting passport photos and also have a link to the UK passport site for requirements.
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Any particular reason? (I think I have have had all of my 'recent' (20 years?) ID and passports done on inkjet).
 
Passport office recommend against it and you don't want to give them any excuse to delay! There's also the risk with inkjet of it smudging if it gets wet between printing and them sticking it in the passport.
 
Helen, it's an easy job to create a 6x4 canvas with six passport size copies of the same shot on it then print off an enprint on the Selphy.
 
Thanks for all the replies
coldpenguin

A larger printer in not the way I want to go ATM but thanks for the heads up on that £500+ is a lot, what is your per print cost ?
I notice they do the 100 model for about £350, anyone got this ?

Think I'll look out for the Selphy for now

H
 
Heads up, Argos are doing 36 ink/paper set for the Selphy half price £7.99

H
 
No local stock. Closest is 12 miles or so away and that's a gallon or more of fuel (in Mrs Nod's car) for the round trip so not a bargain! Cheers for the heads up though. If they had more than 1 pack in stock, I might have talked her into taking me up in mine (well under a gallon!) but for a single pack, not worth the effort.
 
Nod said:
No local stock. Closest is 12 miles or so away and that's a gallon or more of fuel (in Mrs Nod's car) for the round trip so not a bargain! Cheers for the heads up though. If they had more than 1 pack in stock, I might have talked her into taking me up in mine (well under a gallon!) but for a single pack, not worth the effort.
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Well I have not found anywhere in London with it instock, one place where it says they have 1, when you tried to book for collect it's then out of stock, think they are playing games

H
 
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