Which Printer for Onsite Prints?

[maroark]

Iv'e recently accepted a job offer consisting of photographing 7

scholastic/social events spread over 2 semesters at my university. It

is required that I be able to print onsite for guests to purchase

photos (all of the profits from print sales are mine woohoo!). I am

looking for suggestions on a printer in the $150-$300 range. I have

heard good things about the Epson PictureMate inkjet printer (4x6

limitation is fine). Biggest considerations are the usual;

reliability, durability, portability, ease of use, quality of print

and cost of investment. I will be printing from a pc (athlon 2200 w/1

gig ram) and shooting with a D70. This will be my first experience

with printing from a home based printer so please point out any

details I have missed.

 

Any recomendations on other products or experience with the Epson

PictureMate would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks, Mike.

[todd frederick]

Epson PictureMate. I've printed a few thousand proof prints, the ink last longer than the paper, and I have yet to do a head cleaning.

 

The first model is now $200 and the new model with a screen is $250.

[rich_dutchman1]

I've used an Epson 2200 (too slow, too big, too much ink), and now a Kodak 8500 (this generation of thermal printers actually makes lasting prints). The 8500 prints slower than the advertised time, but takes half the time of the 2200.

 

More importantly, what's your pricing scheme?

[maroark]

I'll be charging roughly $15/4x6. Prints will also be available through collages.net or similar service after the event. The school will be paying me an hourly rate as yet to be determined. The head of the department that is hiring me said that the previous photographer was getting roughly $200 per event (2-3 hrs). I will probably charge something like $75-$100/hr with a minimum of 2 hrs. The first couple of events I will just make back my investment (printer + another CF Card), but after that it will be mostly profit. Thanks for the help and btw what do you think about the usability benifit of the new model with screen and have you ever printed straight from a CF card with no editing?

[jason hinds - columbus, oh]

Go with the Epson PictureMate. I use them all the time at weddings and other events, as well as just printing some pictures at home. You can't beat the quality for the price. You won't be disappointed, and neither will your customers.

[lightbugged]

I encourage you to take a serious look at the dye-sub printers from HiTouch Imaging. I saw them at both Imaging USA and DIMA in Orlando and they really bought me.

 

Although I still dont own one, it's worth contacting them for samples. With the money you'll be making they should pay for themselves halfway through the event. I would be pressed to choose dye-sub over ink jet. I saw the prints and they look really good. You cant tell the difference from wet printed ones. Your budget discards the high ends Kodak's (ML-500 and 9810) and Mitsubishi's (CP-9000DW) "on-location" thermal printers.

 

The cost per print on the HITI runs about $0.40 cents per print. You will cover the cost of the printer in around 20 prints ($300 / $15 per print) plus the cost of the consumables.

 

You should check this product at http://www.hitouchimaging.com/. IMO these are one of the most affordable, portable, with low cost per print printers out there.

 

Keep us posted about your decision and experience.

[todd frederick]

What we're talking about here, if I understand correctly, is finding a reliable printer with as little fuss as possible to make good 4x6" prints to sell at an event.

 

Some members here are suggesting huge units that require major computer systems to operate.

 

The last thing I would want to try to carry, set-up, and operate at a wedding or event is something like that.

 

This is the reason some of us suggested Epson's PictureMate. Simply inset the jpeg memory card, and out chugs the prints....a lab sized unit would require an assistant. These small units can be set and left to themselves, and produce fine archival prints.

 

Just be sure you have a good jpeg image to start with.

 

Make life easy on yourself. Less is more!

 

My PictureMate is one of the best investiments I've ever made!

[richard_hoover]

I have heard and read nothing but good things out of the picture mate, specifically the latest model with lcd screen.

 

Out of curiousity,what type of scholastic/social events are you talking about - alumni reunions, recitals, etc. Just curious as to what other "university" type of events would a "photo market" exist for aside from concerts and sports.

[todd_k.]

Inkjet prints last a long time when stored in a dry dark box where know one can see them. If you care about your clients and you reputation, then you will want to provide a more durable (light, and water resistant) print. You should not even consider anything other then a decent dye sub. Of course if you dont plan on staying in the same area, or in business for very long, then an inkjet printer should do just fine.

[davidmadsen]

If you are going through a computer you might check out the Canon CP400. It is a dye-sub printer that fits in a handbag. No built in card reader but does have USB to computer and PictBridge to many cameras. Great prints for a TINY printer under $200.

[Ed_Ingold]

The system you use for on-site printing should be as simple as possible, but no simpler.

 

Inkjets are OK, but slow and sometimes don't travel well. A dye-sub printer is ideal for this application, and gives exceptionally good-looking results, quickly. The Hi-Touch printers are in your price range, and are perfect for 4x6, full-bleed prints that look as good as Crystal C prints, in about 90 seconds. The power requirements are modest - less than 50 watts peak, well within the capacity of even a 12v converter.

 

The COMPUTER SYSTEM required consists of a laptop. If you want to simply plug a chip into a printer, the images must be in JPG format, and there are limited options for adjustments. I prefer to shoot in RAW mode, t0 use Adobe Camera Raw to perform most of the adjustments and to print from Photoshop (perhaps after using the highlight/shadow tool). My post-processing for this type of photography is under 30 seconds, including load and save times.

[brian_pepper]

For the price range you are looking go with the HiTi. They can be found at hitouchimaging.com I have 4 of of the 730's and spool them together..Works Great!! If you can invest in something more made for commercial printing... kodak 6800 or Mitsu 9500. $2000 range.