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Subject: Large format printer?

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mikec@pols

Posts:877
05/29/2008 7:34 AM Alert 

I'm thinking of investing in a large format printer, but I have no idea where to start and what to look for in one...any ideas?

Thank you,

Mike
"You either grow or regress...nothing stays the same...." (unknown)
"A man may fall several times in life, but he is not a failure until he says that he was pushed..."




www.portraitsoflifestudio.com
Kassie

Posts:298
05/29/2008 11:21 PM Alert 
Hi Mike,
I have a Cannon 9900 which I use to do prints of my paintings. Paper is sold 13 x 19" in matt, gloss, high gloss and satin. I love satin when I can find it. It costs the most. 2nd choice is gloss. I like my printer. I have had it for 3 years.
An art friend bought an Epson at the same time I bought my printer. She found linotronic paper on the Web and prints out pictures up to 13 x 40. She even splices them together for 13 x 60" pictures. (She has found that people like the long pictures  at the shows she sell at.)
The Cannon won't print past 24" even if you have a longer paper. Ink comes in 8 cartridges so you only have to replace the colors that run out.
Both the Cannon and the Epson use up a lot of yellow.
I print from an old copy of photoshop and I usually have to increase the hue and take the contrast up a bit to get a really good print.
(When buying paper watch out for so called ink jet watercolor paper. It only prints on the untextured side.)
Hope this helps you.
Kathy a/k/a Kassie
mikec@pols

Posts:877
05/30/2008 5:50 AM Alert 
Thanks, Kathy! I appreciate the help...I will look into the Cannon. I REALLy need to educate myself on these, but it's nice to hear from someone that actually has one!
Mike
"You either grow or regress...nothing stays the same...." (unknown)
"A man may fall several times in life, but he is not a failure until he says that he was pushed..."




www.portraitsoflifestudio.com
Daffy69001

Posts:86
06/02/2008 7:38 PM Alert 
Here are a couple of web sites that may be of help:

http://www.wide-format-printers.org/Fine_Art_Giclee_wide_printers/Giclee_Fine_Art_wideformat.html
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/printers/hp-comparison.shtml
Rick Givens
Posts:29
06/03/2008 3:30 PM Alert 
Mike,

You didn't say how large of a printer you're looking for or what your budget is. If you plan on doing much printing, you really need to get out of the desktop printer (13" x 19") size range and consider getting a professional series printer. With printers, the consumables are where you really pay for the machine. Desktop printers have cartridges that hold around 13 ml of ink. Pro models hold anywhere from 80 ml to 220 ml (or more if you get into the big machines) and the cost drops significantly when you're dealing in the larger volumes. For example, we use an Epson 9600 in our giclee printing business and we pay about $85 each for the 220 ml ink containers, or around $0.39 per ml. The cartridges for the Epson Stylus series will run you about $13 each for 13 ml, or $1.00 per ml. That difference adds up quickly and will easily pay for the difference in cost of a machine in short order.

Both Cannon and Epson make great printers these days. I highly recommend the folks at Lexjet for product information on printers and paper. Check out their website at www.lexjet.com.

There's a lot to learn about printing and color management, but you can wade through it if you've got a reasonable amount of computer savvy.

Good luck.

Rick
mikec@pols

Posts:877
06/03/2008 5:16 PM Alert 
Daffy, thank you! I will check these sites for info!

Rick, thank you also! You are always so informative and helpful. I greatly appreciate it!

Mike
"You either grow or regress...nothing stays the same...." (unknown)
"A man may fall several times in life, but he is not a failure until he says that he was pushed..."




www.portraitsoflifestudio.com
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