Recommend Printer up to A4 size?

[Rob MacKillop]

Most of the 'quality' printers by Canon (pixma 10, 100, etc) and Epson are huge beasts. We are short on space, so A4, regular printer size would be max. I'd like it to do good black and white printing as well as colour. Any suggestions? Must be able to take different thicknesses of paper - archive quality, rag, etc.

 

[David Mitchell]

Cyanotype

 

[Larry Bolch]

Not much choice. The pro-level printers are not compact. About the only compact photo printer is the Epson Stylus Photo P50. I have a much earlier version of it as my utility printer, and even though it is just six inks, photographs look quite good when printed at the highest quality settings. A century of longevity if framed under glass. There are also some compact all-in-one models with the basic photo ink set. While it will produce pretty decent results, it is not at the level of the pro-photo printers. You get what you pay for.

Epson Stylus Photo P50 - Epson

My photo printer has finally worn out, and I have been vacillating between the R3000 and 3880. I really was impressed with the 4900 until I realized that I would need to pour more than 4 litres of ink through the thing each year, and would need to hire a fork-lift to get it up to my third floor apartment. Oh, and it is even bigger! I expect that the R3000 will be my choice, and I may add the P50 as well, since my utility printer is also nearly worn out. The R3000 is strictly a piece of photography equipment and in no way general-purpose.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Thanks (again!) Larry. The price is quite reasonable in the UK, although inks are expensive. So far it is the front runner.

 

[Larry Bolch]

While inks are not cheap, over-all the digital darkroom has saved me a lot of money when compared to the fume-room. When I was printing a portfolio print back then, it was routine to go through a whole box of colour paper and the chemistry to process it, as well as blowing away a whole day to make the perfect print. Many of my colleagues spent much more time and teased me about my lack of perfectionism. Now if I print a snapshot for a friend, they get the same quality as is in my portfolio, but I nail it first print every time. Both in terms of supplies and valuable time, the cost of printing has diminished to a trivial level, while quality has if anything increased.

The bigger the cartridge, the cheaper the ink. When the cost of ink that is included is considered, the 3880 hardware costs little more than that of the R3000. The larger cartridges are substantially less costly per ml, for a further savings. Of course there is the immediate gratification of being able to make a print that is all your own work, any time the spirit moves you.