my first digital printer needs to be a good one

[glenn_owens1]

I'm thinking of switching from film to digital for my photo sales business. My

requirements are printing up to 200 prints in 2 1/2 hours (5x7).The quality i

need must match iso 200 color film developed at a hour one photo that keeps

their machine clean and change chemicials when needed. I get a volume discount

currently for around .45 per pic. I know digital is going to cost me more(you

dont hear that very often) but i want to start doing minor touch-ups and

reject poor photos before they print which i cant do with film. Im wondering

if i should buy 2 printers or one fast one. I dont know anything about digital

printers so all advice is appreciated thank gleno

[mahonri_moriancumer]

This does depend on your budget but Epson, Canon and HP all have some really good photo printers with inksets that are supposed to last.

The 13 and 17 inch printers allow you to gang print your 5x7's on larger sheets of paper and then cut down using a good cutter. This will work well and is easy to get set up. Get a RotatrimII cutter and you only stock one size of paper and have more flexibility when you do want to go with some larger prints.

[tibz]

Who? Dye sublimation is a great solution which is cheap for 4x6 ($100). It has a fixed cost for each print (you can't save ink, in separate panels) something like 25 cents for a 4x6 including paper + ink. You can get those radical inkjet printers with "vividlyness" inks that can spit out a print in mere seconds (think 14 secs as opposed to 1 min). Your minilab prints are fixed at 300 DPI so you should look for that magic number when shopping for printers in terms of maximum quality. ISO will be irrelevant for a 4x6. These days they're all the same-they stick in a cartridge and replace it when it runs out. Not much variation except in contrast, white balance, operator specific things.

 

I can get 4x6's for 10 cents each. If you go to the minilab and hand them your digital files they can probably do it faster, better, and cheaper than you can do at home. That or dye sub which is what those digital photo kiosks use. Avoid inkjet unless you want to print on canvas because 1 they fade (faster than minilabs), 2 they're blatantly obvious, 3 they smudge with water.

 

They can be fast for 4x6's...your choice.

[tibz]

I despise inkjet as you can tell.

[jimstrutz]

"1 they fade (faster than minilabs), 2 they're blatantly obvious, 3 they smudge with water."

 

Yes, I can tell you despise inkjet.

 

1) A good printer that uses pigment based ink on decent paper will not fade within the next 100 years if treated well. Not that that 100 years equals Fuji's claim for Crystal Archive. 2) Yep, you can usually tell, but most clients can't, and neither do they care. 3) Again, pigment based inks on good paper won't smudge with a little water. Not to say that dropping it in a bucket is a good way to treat ink jet prints.

 

Horses for courses. Sometimes inkjets are the best plan.

[Spearhead]

<i>I despise inkjet as you can tell.</i><p>I love inkjet, but I started in the darkroom when I was 12, have graduated from high school, so maybe I have a bit more experience. <p>I found that an open mind was my greatest asset as a teenager, I would try everything and despise nothing. You might think about that.

[iancoxleigh]

Glenn, while I am not the best person to answer all you questions as I am not printing on the volume you are printing. But, I do have a few questions for you that I think will help you with your decisions and will help others give good advice.

 

1. Do you have a maximum size you will NOT be printing beyond?

 

2. Do you intend to print to only one paper only? Or, do you intend to print to only one paper at a time but use differing types? Or, will you be swapping between papers?

 

3. If you do intend to swap papers, will you be going from a true matte to a glossy very much?

 

4. Have you considered the pros and cons of roll feed paper versus sheets in a cassette?

[KenPapai]

<i>I despise inkjet as you can tell.</i>

<p>

A silly statement, that. Well printed inkjets from archival quality photo printers (Epson R2400 was the first) and top papers, are as good as, or even better than "non inkjet" prints.

<p>

Like Jeff, I was in the darkroom around 13 years old, don't have half his talent, but no reason to despise something with as high a quality as inkjet printing. Maybe you don't know?

 

<p>Glenn, the answer for you is at least the Epson 3800. But then, the volume you are talking about, maybe not.

[mitchfalk]

200 5x7's in 2 1/2 hours seems like a lot, you also have to consider the speed and memory of your computer. Why don't you just post process your shots at home and burn them to a disc and bring it to Cosco. It will probably come out cheaper between the printer, paper, ink and time consumed.

[roger_smith4]

If I were you I'd get a printer for proofs at home and then do volume at a lab with a Fuji Frontier. I don't know of inkjets meant for that quantity of production- maybe the dye-subs mentioned above?

 

Re: inkjet fading, Wilhelm puts the Frontier at around 40 years, Kodak Edge Generations at 20 something and Epson Ultrachrome on Epson glossy papers in the 60-120 year range depending on ink and papers.

 

I print with Epson R1800 and R220 printers and they don't smudge or run if wet, I have a Frontier "matte" print next to an R1800 Epson Premium Semigloss print and can't tell the difference except that the Epson print has darker blacks. Matte prints do get soggy, but really - no picture you care about ought to get soaked in water.

[glenn_owens1]

Thanks everybody- I only need to print 5x7. If different i can mail the photos and have them processed elsewhere. I guess i want the best i can afford- maybe $1000 for the printer and around .75 per pic or less would be great. The better the print the more i will sell. I had real good luck last year with film and the frontier printer at Walgreens. They could run my up to 12 rolls of film in about 90 minutes. There is a lot of black in my evening photos and i prefer it to be crisp. Then as mentioned above the average joe will not see the quality that i like.

[roger_smith4]

I'd give your digital photos to Walgreens and tell them to run through the Frontier with "no corrections." That's the cheapest, easiest and possibly best quality way to go.

 

I'd be wary that inkjets tend to foul themselves printing borderless- with my Epsons there is some overspray that ends up in the printer and eventually on your prints. There also aren't a lot of paper choices in 5x7.