Professor Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 Anyone have recommendation for color printer? Would like to purchase one for printing high quality color stills (8.5 x 11 is fine, but 11 x 17 would be nice). Wondering what others recommend and are using? I assume Laserjet is the way to go? Input is appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amer abidi Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 I might be wrong here, but I assume LaserJet is NOT the way to go! LaserJet will give you speed, but InkJet will give you resolution, quality and optimal paper options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 How serious a printer do you want? An Epson R1900 or Canon Pro9000 Mark II are amazing for printing in color but more expensive. Something in an Epson model with Claria ink is almost as good but less expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted November 16, 2009 Author Share Posted November 16, 2009 Thanks for the input. I didn't realize Inkjet was higher quality than LaserJet. That's good info, hence why I made the post. AJLynn - Thanks for the specific printer recommendations, I'll check them out. My wallet would like to stay around $500, not sure if that is realistic or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 I think there's a huuuuge printer recommendation thread on here somewhere, do a search. I have an epson Stylus 1400 (around $350) and I recommend it highly. Ink is expensive though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rddimension Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 Hey Skeet, For A3 prints we use the Canon i9950. Great quality prints and decent speeds but tends to drink the ink. Hoever we have just started buying the compatible cartridges and wondering why it took us so long! Very difficult to tell the difference in the prints but the prices are amazingly better. I can't recall what are A2 printer is but will post tomorrow (not in the office now). Great quality again and great on the ink too. Regards Nick 3rd Dimension Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Nelson Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 I've always had good results with Epsons, and would probably only buy them in the future. The main thing you need to get right, no matter what printer, is that you are properly calibrated with the proper paper and printer profiles. I actually haven't set mine up in a few years since I don't do much printing in-house. But I'll tell you, you will never be satisfied with your prints unless you set everything up properly. Another option would be to send them out to an on-line service. Find one that doesn't adjust your color & contrast that much, since us types usually like things just the way we make them. I used to send files to Ritz Camera and then pick up locally, and they were perfect. Now they've shut down the local stores, so I'll need to find another arrangement. I liked them because I could get them in my hands in just a couple hours. The drug stores here that offer prints from digital files are just horrible. I also tried some prints through Snapfish and wasn't too impressed. Anyways, you are probably more interested in in-house printing, so like I said, Epsons are good, as long as you take the time to dial it all in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Nelson Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 I tried some generic inks in the past for printers and the difference was horrifying. This was a few years ago, so I suspect the quality now is much better than it used to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahorela Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 I've got the epson r2880 a3 inkjet and it's a dream. We have an equivalent Canon in the main office (can't remember the model) and it is also pretty good but the epson has the edge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 I've always heard mixed results from people using 3rd party inks. I think if I'm going to have a $400-500 printer I'm not going to screw up by getting the wrong ink. Also, they say the quality of the stuff varies a lot and if you get the wrong stuff the particulate is not fine enough and it can cause printhead-killing clogs. As for the particular - well, I also prefer Epson and the R1900 is clearly the best 13x19 printer for color glossy and satin because it's using ink slots for gloss optimizer and photo black. The R2400 and R2880 are clearly the best if B&W printing is more important than perfect glossy. But in some instances - matte is important and blue/green gamut is a priority, you are displeased with the issues of color handling with Epson drivers and OSX 10.6, and/or you don't care that paper length is limited to about 23 inches (this was a dealbreaker for me) the Canon Pro 9000ii is a very strong contender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy L Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 I also know that one company defies the norm by making a reasonable profit on the printer itself but then provides ink at a knockdown price compared to the rest. I forget the brand though. But if you are going to be doing alot of printing it may be cost beneficial. The majority of printer manufacturers break even on the printer just to make (stacks of) money off the ink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted November 18, 2009 Author Share Posted November 18, 2009 Thanks for all the comments. All great input. I appreciate it. Now if some of you could give some feedback on my High Definition Laser Scanning thread that would be cool. I haven't gotten much response on it. Mainly just curious how this interacts with our industry, positive or negative or maybe not at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Jeff Mottle Posted November 18, 2009 Administrators Share Posted November 18, 2009 I use an Epson Stylus Photo R2880 and it produces phenomenal color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinb Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 (edited) The price of ink goes down as the size of printer goes up my favorite printers are the epson 4000/4800/4900 range the higher numbers have slightly better red colour gamut. they all take sheet and rolls (up to 17") older models are cheap ($300? ) and could be used with best quality 3rd party inks. A nozzel test should be 100% good before buying second user. Edwin Edited November 18, 2009 by edwinb english! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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