high quality digital book printers

[ian_whitehead1]

<p>Happy holidays,<br>

I am asking for experiences you have had or know of someone having with a short run or even a single book printing. There are other listings in this topic but I am asking other large format photographers because I feel we aim for the highest of quality. I currently drum scan all of my 4x5 images that make it to my collection. I am not interested in something like lulu, I am looking for top notch printing of photography, I'd rather pay between a hundred and two hundred dollars for something that can match my print quality than some 40 dollar pile of ****. Something in the 12x12 or 11x14 size would be better than an 8x10 size. I have been shooting large format for ten years now and it's time I put together a book of the southwest. Any help is greatly appreciated.</p>

[mike_earussi1]

<p>I've already checked with and had samples made of my file of virtually every short run digital press out there and was very dissappointed in the quality compared to a good offset press. The best quality is to do it yourself on your own ink jet printer. No press on the market, even the very best high resolution six color offset press can equal the output of even a relatively "cheap" ink jet printer (I have the Epson 1400).</p>

[ian_whitehead1]

<p>Thanks Mike,<br>

I have wondered if this is the case. If running photos off my Epson, what do think about the durabilty of these prints, smudging, fingerprints or just rubbing together vs. the commercial digital bookprinting printers that you mentioned? What about paper choice? I do like the look of gloss, but is this the best way to go for durability?</p>

<p>Ian</p>

[john tonai]

<p>Like you, I've been looking at many book producers, although I've been especially concerned with the binding in addition to the printing. While I can, and do both the binding and printing, I would rather send the work off if someone is willing to pay for it. The best book producers I've found so far is Book Smart Studios. http://www.booksmartstudio.com/</p>

<p>They have a couple different types of books: Catalog Edition (This is their production book-expensive) and Fine Edition (custom hand built-really expensive but oh wow!!)</p>

<p>I first saw their work at a SPE conference and to rub things in, they were just down the row from Blurb.</p>

[mike_earussi1]

<p>I've tried a lot of different papers but the standard Epson Professional Photo Glossy still looks the best, is waterproof and smudge free and is rated for at least 100+ years in dark storage, which is what a book is. As for a binding, the easiest, and most durable, is the spiral binding that Office Depot can do for you for a few $s. But if you don't want that, any good printer can put a regular book binding on it for you. There are also some printer papers that can be printed on both sides which are usually matte (but Red River makes some glossy ones and will give you free samples) but their quality is nowhere as good as the standard Epson PPG paper.</p>

[shawn_oneal]

<p>I've made a few books on a Canon C1+ that will image to 1200 dpi. That's the highest resolution of the digital presses the photobook places run. The images are impressive comparatively but not quite what you'll get of your inkjet.</p>