Recommend a decent photo printer?

[Mad Dave]

Hi Guys,

My brother has just bought a £300 Camera + Printer package from Currys. The printer uses 'ink film' so for £28 he gets 105 sheets of 6x4" photo postcard stuff, plus enough ink film to print 105 photos of that size. I've looked at the quality of the images it produces and I have to say i'm very impressed.

Now, i'd like to print my own shots too - BUT - they have to be at least A4(ish) in size, so that I can mount them and frame them. Being able to print smaller or bigger would also be a bonus, but not essential. Can anyone recommend a really good printer for this? The quality has to be near comparable to a photo developer as I want to sell these prints. Recommendations for printers, plus an idea of cost for the paper + ink etc would be great. Also, which is better - inkjet printer with cartridges or this 'ink film' stuff?

EDIT to add that i'm after one that is standalone, operating either from a CD/Memory card or via internal memory capacity, rather than having a laptop plugged into it. My budget is preferrably not over £200!

Thanks guys

Dave



>> Edited by Mad Dave on Tuesday 15th November 15:13

[beanbag]

I'm a little baised due to the company I work for, but the HP Photosmart printers are excellent in terms of quality and performance albeit a little expensive on the ink side of things.

Check out their range as they have a lot to suit all budgets:

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/ho/WF02a/5043-5

[406tm]

The printer you mate has is a Dye Sublimation printer. It has a 4 colour film - CMYK - that it put down in 4 passes - 1 pass for each colour. If he pad a print with just a dot in the middle of the frame it would cost the same to print that as it would a full coverage 6x4. I recommend you go for an Epson R300 as this has card slots. If you can find the R300M, that has a small monitor so you can pick your prints. Others on here may have other recommendations.

HTH

Dave

406TM

[simpo two]

IIRC the Epson R300 came overall top on The Gadget Show recently.

[Mad Dave]

Thanks guys. I'll check out that link.

Dave> You are correct, that's exactly how it works. Is this a good process? How resilient are the results to fading? Not bothered about the ink coverage problem as i'll only be printing full page prints - landscapes and the like.

[beanbag]

Just a quick follow up. I went down to the customer labs and checked out some of the new photosmart printers. (I've never been there before, but it's quite cool )

Anyhow...this number might be what you're looking for (£162 inc VAT):



http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/ho/WF05a/5043-5

I'd check out the quality yourself by asking for samples from HP or from your local distributor but in high quality, it is amazing. Really is very very good, plus the speed of the printout is exceptionally high.

Additionally, it includes a card reader and screen so there is no need for you to have your PC on to print out any photos.

Anyhow, check it out! I hope this helps!

[406tm]

Mad Dave said:

Is this a good process? How resilient are the results to fading?

Before Ink Jet printers got so good, Dye Subs were used by almost every repro house. I remember in 1994, a Tektronics Dye Sub A4 printer was over £5000. The consumables were around £170 + VAT for the CMYK transfer roll and you only got 50 A4 prints out of each roll

Dave

406TM

[Mad Dave]

406tm said:

Mad Dave said: Is this a good process? How resilient are the results to fading? Before Ink Jet printers got so good, Dye Subs were used by almost every repro house. I remember in 1994, a Tektronics Dye Sub A4 printer was over £5000. The consumables were around £170 + VAT for the CMYK transfer roll and you only got 50 A4 prints out of each roll Dave 406TM

So they're quite good then?

Beanbag - Many thanks, that looks like a promising suggestion

[simpo two]

HP are fine but the ink is a bonkers price - and I've never had any luck with refilled ones.

[chris.mapey]

My quick calculation is that you will be paying 26p per image plus the cost of the printer.

Photobox / pixaco / etc are all at less than 10p per picture for the same size (yes, OK, plus p&p), but with no start up cost.

Photobox will usually be with you next day.

The online companies will also not crop the images as well. All the photo printers I have looked at have failed to print the full image.

Also don't forget that you will be tied to having your photos in one size only....

So to sum up, don't waste your money use one of the online services that tend to be better & cheaper...

Chris

[Mad Dave]

While you are correct I'm sure, there are a few reasons why this solution may not be ideal for my circumstances -

a)I do not have broadband, so uploading my images would be a problem
b)I plan to sell (or try to at least!) images at craft fairs and the like, so being able to print the image there and then, instead of carrying a huge stock of images that may not sell, outweighs the obvious financial benefits of using a mail order company



Thanks though

Dave

[rude girl]

Must admit that I'd been thinking what chrismapey posted. But then again I've only got an inkjet printer, and there's no comparison in quality between that and pro-prints.

As a matter of interest (ie I'm not trying to be provocative), do these fancy printers turn out the same quality image as people like Photobox? If I buy a photo, I want a photo not a picture of a photo (if you see what I mean).

And also (since this is more in my field), if you're selling at exhibitions, don't people pay a premium for perceived exclusivity? I think that if the price tag on an A4 print was say £25, and when I coughed up I was watching it churn out of a printer on the stand, I'd feel a bit short-changed.

I'd be much more inclined to cough £30 for what appeared to be a one-off in a mount tbh.

[simpo two]

I agree. Being able to say 'These are real photographs, not inkjet prints' adds a lot of kudos; takes it to a higher level than what they can do at home. It's a perceived value thing.

BTW RG, at £30 a mounted photo you really must pop into the gallery one day (when I get the display set up) and buy them all :ching:

[docevi1]

we have the R300 and the quality is very impressive indeed. I have no hesitation in recommending it!

However, if it were my money I'd hesitate in that it's cheaper to get them photobox or the like (even Asda do cheap printing now - 100 plus a CD for £10).

[rude girl]

simpo two said:

BTW RG, at £30 a mounted photo you really must pop into the gallery one day (when I get the display set up) and buy them all :ching:

Indeed, but not until I'm working again Simpo. There's a few of your pieces that I don't think I could resist if I saw them in the flesh.

Ooer missus!

[vipers]

Mad Dave said:

Hi Guys, My brother has just bought a £300 Camera + Printer package from Currys. The printer uses 'ink film' so for £28 he gets 105 sheets of 6x4" photo postcard stuff, plus enough ink film to print 105 photos of that size. I've looked at the quality of the images it produces and I have to say i'm very impressed. Now, i'd like to print my own shots too - BUT - they have to be at least A4(ish) in size, so that I can mount them and frame them. Being able to print smaller or bigger would also be a bonus, but not essential. Can anyone recommend a really good printer for this? The quality has to be near comparable to a photo developer as I want to sell these prints. Recommendations for printers, plus an idea of cost for the paper + ink etc would be great. Also, which is better - inkjet printer with cartridges or this 'ink film' stuff? EDIT to add that i'm after one that is standalone, operating either from a CD/Memory card or via internal memory capacity, rather than having a laptop plugged into it. My budget is preferrably not over £200! Thanks guys Dave >> Edited by Mad Dave on Tuesday 15th November 15:13

Depending on how many you think you may want to print, may be worth looking at on line printing like Jessops, cant think of the prices now, but I have had excellent results to date, albeit the biggest being 7 x 5 for I think £1.10

[zetec]

simpo two said:

IIRC the Epson R300 came overall top on The Gadget Show recently.

Another vote for the R300, very pleased with the A4 results from mine

[steve11]

R300

[Mad Dave]

rude girl said:

Must admit that I'd been thinking what chrismapey posted. But then again I've only got an inkjet printer, and there's no comparison in quality between that and pro-prints. As a matter of interest (ie I'm not trying to be provocative), do these fancy printers turn out the same quality image as people like Photobox? If I buy a photo, I want a photo not a picture of a photo (if you see what I mean). And also (since this is more in my field), if you're selling at exhibitions, don't people pay a premium for perceived exclusivity? I think that if the price tag on an A4 print was say £25, and when I coughed up I was watching it churn out of a printer on the stand, I'd feel a bit short-changed. I'd be much more inclined to cough £30 for what appeared to be a one-off in a mount tbh.

I was led to believe that the quality would be just as good as a pro print, if it isn't then I wouldn't even entertain the idea of using one!

re Churning out of a machine - can be sly about it, mount the one they pick from the folder, then replace it from the printer once they've gone

[ErnestM]

Epson R1800. Does loads of different formats at a relatively good price.

ErnestM