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Thread: Printer recommendation

  1. #1
    Raffay's Avatar
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    Printer recommendation

    Hello,

    Any good printer recommendation, in the same league as epson 4990 scanner, price wise. Also is it a good idea to print at home?

    Cheers
    Raffay

  2. #2
    Hack Pawlowski6132's Avatar
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    Re: Printer recommendation

    Bad idea to print at home.

    Too expensive and complicated

    Printer Obsolescence
    Paper
    Ink
    Computer and Hardware Upgrades
    Software and Software Upgrades
    Profiling
    Color Profiling

    Uggggh.

  3. #3
    Raffay's Avatar
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    Re: Printer recommendation

    What about paper, these labs just use one kind of paper and is that suitable for b&w?

  4. #4
    Jim Jones's Avatar
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    Re: Printer recommendation

    I print at home for convenience and for quality control. My Epson 3800 has produced 5200 prints, large and small, over nearly 7 years with practically no trouble. It may help for reliability and longevity to use only Epson ink and paper. They work equally well for both color and B&W.

  5. #5
    Kirk Gittings's Avatar
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    Re: Printer recommendation

    I print at home unless the size exceeds my printer capability. Then I work with a service who I supervise closely. If I had the room I would print everything at home-much more cost and time effective. I can get the quality I want out of a service but it is very time consuming going back and forth to look at proofs.
    Thanks,
    Kirk

    at age 73:
    "The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
    But I have promises to keep,
    And miles to go before I sleep,
    And miles to go before I sleep"

  6. #6
    Raffay's Avatar
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    Re: Printer recommendation

    What the cost like, I mean I heard that cartridges of some printers are very expensive. I am not sure how many prints I can get from one fill.

  7. #7
    Kirk Gittings's Avatar
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    Re: Printer recommendation

    Too many variables to give you that number like how many proofs you do to get a good print etc. But you realize you are going to pay for your ink through a service too. Right? They don't give the ink away. Its worked into the price.
    Thanks,
    Kirk

    at age 73:
    "The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
    But I have promises to keep,
    And miles to go before I sleep,
    And miles to go before I sleep"

  8. #8

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    Re: Printer recommendation

    If I was in Pakistan I think I would have to print at home.

    Lenny
    EigerStudios
    Museum Quality Drum Scanning and Printing

  9. #9

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    Re: Printer recommendation

    I recently bought an s/h Epson 4880 Pro A2 printer for £325 (< $500), it uses Epson Ultrachrome K3 Vivid inks. I was advised by an Epson Engineer to just use OOD inks as there is virtually no degradation of the inks with time provided the cartridges are still sealed. I buy OOD 220ml cartridges from ebay for less than $50 each (when they become available) and now have 2 full spare sets of inks (I am still on the Original inks supplied with the machine and they were less than half full when purchased and all but one was a 110ml cartridge.

    The Ink/Paper profiles supplies by Epson, Hahnemuhle and Permajet for the 4880 are excellent right out of the box, but I still use my Spyderprint Colorimeter to fine tune the profiles. The only issue is that changing from Matte to Gloss Black ink is a bit of a ballache and wastes a lot of ink. I am waiting for a similar printer to come up for sale that is a) not too far away from me and b) a good price, and I will then have one each for Matte and Gloss Ink.

    I am also considering changing my Epson 2880 to a CIS system and using Jon Cone's Piezo Inks with it to give me the very best Mono Prints, but am put off by the horrendous costs of shipping, VAT and Custom fees on top of an already expensive set of inks. If I was in the US and only wanted to print mono, this would be a no-brainer.

  10. #10
    Jim Jones's Avatar
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    Re: Printer recommendation

    Quote Originally Posted by Raffay View Post
    What the cost like, I mean I heard that cartridges of some printers are very expensive. I am not sure how many prints I can get from one fill.
    I estimate the ink cost almost $1 US per square foot of picture area. Not cheap, but reliable. The Epson 3800 came with a full set of cartridges, not the little starter cartridges that perhaps some printers have. I've never had a cartridge fail, even when used long past the "use by" date.

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