Printer advice please

Shaun Haselden

Well-Known Member
I need to buy a new printer for a possible commercial outlet for my prints. I used an Epson 2100 many years back that was a good solid printer but then moved to HP that turned out to be next to useless. Should I buy Epson or Canon..? What would any of you recommend..? Or, should I mail my print data to an agency and let them do it..? My work will be A4 or A3 in colour, I doubt that there will be much in the way of monochrome. I will be printing onto Somerset Enhanced Velvet paper to maintain a more 'arty' appearance which will then go off to be framed. Pigment inks are essential.

Many thanks in advance for any help and advice.
 
Although I have read good reports of Canon pro printers I have no personal experience. However, I have used Epson printers for some years and currently have one medium format and one large format printer. Although they are knocking on a bit now they still produce exhibition quality prints and have proven reliable even when used intermittently, sometimes with long intervals between uses.

For formats up to A3+ I use a 4900 - which is an A2 printer. The current equivalent printer is the SC-P800 and the review at Luminous Landscape was positive. However, the SC-P600 can print up to A3+ and one assumes it will be similar in quality. My largest printer is a floor-standing unit with 24" capacity and takes up a fair bit of space. The 4900 and the P800 / P600 are desktop models, but make sure you have the space for them and a sturdy desk as, especially the larger units, take up much more space than you expect - the feed and output trays are large - and they are heavy.

The other factor to take into account is the cost of ink: those cartridges are expensive (the last set for the 7800 cost £800). And to get the most out of the printer (and to save endless frustration) you need to be rigorous with colour control in your workflow and so may need to invest in a spectrometer that can also work on the prints.

If you have the volume of work for these units they would pay for themselves fairly quickly. However, you've only got to have a few mis-prints for your margins to be impacted and I think I'd be tempted to use a bureau / agency as you can then be certain about costs and margins and they will work with you to help standardise your workflow.

I hope that helps.
 
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