Thinking about getting a wide format printer.

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Hi all

Been a amature photographer for nearly a year now and loving it.


I have always wanted to get some of my work printed and I have a lady already asking me to print 2 canvas prints of her cats that I took photos of 5-6 months ago.

I also have an elderly family member wanting a wide panoramic print of the Derbyshire Dales to put up on her wall.

So I could just go to the local printers and get them to print it but I also have a few people I know having trouble finding places to print their work, their work is not very SFW if you get what I mean. So I am currently talking to some of them to see what they want printing to get an idea of the market.


So from what I gathered already I have a bit of an opportunity to get some work.



So I have been looking for a wide format printer now for a while.
I wanted at least A1 so would need a 24" printer.

When looking around I found the HP DesignJet 130nr. Does everything I need (I think) and is quite a good price second hand and opened but not used on eBay.

It has good and bad reviews so don't know what to think of it.



Anyone got any advice for me or suggestions for printers/ink?

Thank you.
 
What you have to consider most of all is not only the printer but the price of ink and media (paper, canvas etc.) too.

We have an Epson 7900 24" printer that produces stunning results but at quite a cost to us which forces the retail of prints to quite a high level.
Ours is an 11 ink system plus maintenance tank. The smallest refill (150ml) cost over £50 each and they don't last very long.
 
Hey Snapalot.

Yer the supplies are a big consideration when buying the printer.

What I have seen is that the Continuous Ink Flow Systems dramatically reduce the cost of the ink as it would be buying bulk?

I am trying to find a good supplier of ink though.


As for paper and canvas I would have to test bits from different supplies and types of paper. Though I am up for suggestions from people.

So year looking to do good quality stuff really.
 
Have you had a look at the Epson 3880 it will only print to A2 but has some good reviews and has large ink carts.
For ink take a look at ink express
http://www.inkexpress.co.uk/index.php?p=Home&gclid=CIP3z57h17cCFTMRtAodGHcAxw
I used them on my old Epson 1400 and never had any issues with them.
If you are after good quality paper then look at Canson Baryta Photographique; Canson Platine; Ilford Fibre Silk; Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308 and Canson Rag Photgraphique 310.
Dave
 
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Been thinking about this more and talked to a mate who said it is probably not worth getting the Designjet 130 as it is quite a few years old.

Any suggestions for the type of printing I would be doing?

Thanks
 
We bought the 3880 when it was first launched and paid about £1200 for it.
I believe they are available for about £900 now and are well worth the investment.

It doesn't take long to get your money back if using the correct inks, we only ever used genuine Epson inks and Epson paper plus Ilford Galerie which was amazing.

The only glitch was sometimes Photoshop wouldn't load the profiles properly and we would have the odd bright magenta picture but don't know to this day if it was Epson Software or Photoshop.

All in all a cracking printer that will produce excellent pictures for your own pleasure or to retail to others.
 
I still use the Stylus PRO 7800 and its fantastic. Yes its more expensive than some of the online labs but I have total control.
 
The question you have to ask yourself is would the printer make you your money back above what you're investing. If it's not being used regularly then the nozzles can get clogged and then need to be cleaned and this uses ink. The cartridges aren't the cheapest. If you have a demand then go for it. If you print sporadically and then the printer will sit idle for a while I'd think carefully before jumping in.
 
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