di_darby Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 <p>Hi guys I am hoping you will come up trumps for me again with some advice as you all have done in the past. I have had a few enquiries recently about covering events and printing on site which up till now I have tried to avoid( we generally upload to a gallery and let people purchase) I have decided to bite the bullet and invest in a not too expensive printer to take on location. Can anyone reccomend one that is good enough but not too expensive. Ideally I would like images to be bigger than 5 x 7 and would like to print in b+w if required. Do I need separate software for the printer editing and what type of printer would do the job?</p> <p>Thanks in advance</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristina hill Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 I have and use the canon selphy for this. It'd lightweight and cheap, but it only prints up to 4x6. It's a dye-sub printer and the quality is awesome. I have my asst. pop the memory card in and print - no computer, no software. I originally set out to do 5x7, but after much research on image quality and price - i found the selphy to be my best option. I look forward to hearing what others say! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Laur Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 <p>Di: This comes down to logistics and budget. Will you have an assistant doing all of the printing, and the cashiering, etc? Are you expecting to print a couple dozen prints, or a few hundred? Can customers wait five minutes, or fifty seconds?<br> There are very different classes of printers for these gigs. The Sony SnapLab series (not inexpensive) is a great stand-alone solution. Their more modest solutions will do 5x7's easily, but not larger. That gets expensive quickly.<br /><br />Dye subs are the way to go in terms of speed and nice lab-looking output.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
di_darby Posted October 9, 2009 Author Share Posted October 9, 2009 <p>Hi<br> I will be having an assistant doing the printing and I am sure the<br> clients will be happy to wait five minutes. My initial jobs are for between one and two hundred children(parties) but I also want to take the printer to weddings(evening receptions) so could be about 300 guests. I was hoping initially to spend not much more than £5oo.... Do you find that generally people are happy with 7 x 5 or do they want a bit bigger?</p> <p>cheers guys for the replies so far. Will look at the ones suggested and will check the price of the replacement ink(lol)</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picturesque Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 <p>Do a search on this topic. There have been several previous threads where you can get more specific printer suggestions.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aimee_pieters Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 <p>I do lots of events where I print on location. I've been using the SONY SnapLabs for about 3 years now. These are dye-sublimation printers that use NO ink, but rather a ribbon cartridge where the image is transferred to the paper and fused with heat and a print takes less than 20 seconds. When I load up my 4x6 media, I don't have to add any supplies for 200 prints and there's no waste. Also, the prints come out exactly 4x6, so no cutting and they're completely dry. There's NO WAY I'd use ink again. The best part is that a 4x6 costs less than 20 cents TOTAL. The SnapLab can also make 5x7 prints, but I don't use them. The reason is that I sell a ton of photo novelty items depending on the event that I get from my friend Ted at Neil Enterprises. <br> Most people won't buy more than one print of their child, BUT they buy a frame and a stainless mug or a mouse pad. My sales from events are great. Let me know if you have other questions........-Aimee </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben_goren Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 <p>di,</p> <p>You do realize that five minutes times 300 prints is over one day of non-stop printing time, don’t you?</p> <p>Cheers,</p> <p>b&</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aimee_pieters Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 <p>300 prints can be done on a SnapLab in about 1-1/2 hours and they come out dry and cut to size.....-Aimee</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffdr_rasouliyan Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 <p>I also do multiple events annually that require over 300 prints per event. I have tried so many different ways to print to try to keep up. Even with 5 printers going I could not keep up with the pace. None of my printers are Dye-subs either. I also have to hire one more person to help my 2 assistants. For the sake of speed, I would not print bigger than 4x6. Also, I'm not sure what you can get with your budget of 500.00. For lower quality of prints you can always turn to single HP printers like the HP photosmart 716. Good luck, although a big headache, you can make a good profit. v/r Buffdr</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg jansen Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 <p>A pro quality dye-sub is the only way to go. I have done quite a few events like this, and the good quality dye-subs are the only printers that can handle the speed and quality.<br> A good used dye sub is better than any new ink jet for the reasons stated in the above posts.<br> I like the Mitsubishi 9550, which was replaced last year with the 9800. There are quite a few of those out there, and you may be able to find one used for $500 or so.<br> My favorite is the Sony Snap Lab. It's light, fast, great quality prints. It can print up to 6x8. I almost always print 5x7 from it, then put the images in nice folders.<br> Think of your first gig as an investment. Apply the money from it to a good printer, then make your money on future bookings.<br> I've had my Snaplab for about 5 years, and it has performed flawlessly at maybe 30 or 40 events over the years.<br> Last year I started using Lightroom, with a watched folder and the camera tethered. Nice. Take 2 or 3 of each couple, large images on screen make it easy for an assistant to select the best one, then send it to the printer. Smooth.<br> Once you get your settings for shooting and printing set, it's easy to get through the event without any fussing or glitches.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandiegojoey Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 <p>Greg and Aimee, which Snaplab are you referring to, the CR10L or the CR20L? I have been researching these things to death lately and am finally a self described expert, albeit without actual hands on experience. The CR20L is double the price and I'm not sure it's worth it to get matte finish, slightly faster prints, and larger media capacity. Is the matte finish that big a seller? <br> Here's a great printer comparison chart for the top dye-sublimated printers <a href="mhtml:{D788DB20-370E-4CEB-B46B-BAACDA2B486E}mid://00000092/!x-usc:http://www.imagingspectrum.com/printer-comparison-chart.html">http://www.imagingspectrum.com/printer-comparison-chart.html</a></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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