it sure is fun to own a wide format printer!

I made these signs using Photoshop and Illustrator and coffee related photos that Peggy and I had taken in various coffee growing countries. The paper waterproof sticky backed vinyl paper and the backing material is that standard 1/8" thick stuff you see signs made out of.

It sure is fun to use all the PS skills and my printer for the Coffee Co.
These signs are at Multnomah Falls.

The sign on the other side of the cart.

To get these four signs designed and printed by our Ad company would probably have cost me close to a grand. Now, not including my wages, they cost maybe a hundred bucks total.

lookin' good!

Very cool.....I am guessing they will be there for the summer "tourist season"?

May have to run up and take a look

We send hundreds of pounds of coffee to Multnomah every week. They use it in the restaurant and in the espresso cart. The cart is out there every day, year round, I believe.

I just did the Multnomah Falls/Fairy Falls loop last weekend and admired your photographs while resting after the hike--very nice.

Thanks, it's funny, after being here at a photo web site, reading all the posts about quality and how big you can print from an X mega pixel camera, and of course this is a different focus, but some of those photos were taken hand held with a 5 mp point and shoot.

That printer paid for itself real fast then didn't it

Sweet Mark...really nice. I am going to need a banner made for my upcoming shows, I will employ your services!

Cool stuff there Mark. It's nice you can use that printer for your photography and coffee business. I remember making a 24x36 print from my old 4 megapixel D2H. Though I found the amount of detail really dictates just how much you can blow it up.

So, Mark (and others), I've been reading a lot of comments about "make me a big print", and had figured that generally meant a true photographic print. Are you doing large, art-quality prints in an ink-jet printer? I always thought that quality of printing to be out of reach for individual photographers (in terms of affordability). It sounds like I need to take another look at printers..?

I've had a couple of fairly inexpensive, general purpose "photo printers", but have been discouraged by the print quality (compared to conventional photo paper) and the cost of ink and paper. It never seemed to pencil out. I did like the ability to print weird sizes.

Tom

Tom,

I have an Epson 7800. I can print 24" wide by a hundred feet long. To me, photography is all about control and being able to control the final print, finishes the circle. Too many times I sent prints out, and paid fifty/sixty bucks, only to get them back and them not be exactly how I wanted them. Now I can do that.

Lucky for me, I have a job that pays my bills and my photography only has to buy more photography for me. If "Mark Hudon Photography" doesn't make any money, it can't spend any money. If it does, it can.
Given that I'm not a real gear weenie, I have pretty much everything I need except paper, ink, mat board and frames.
I've also supplemented my photo income by doing prints for other photographers. The advantage for you is that you can sit here with me, we can print a test print, adjust it accordingly, and then print out the final size print. I get a fair price and you get a print to your specs.

Here are my prices.

The easiest way for me to figure out what to charge for prints is to charge by the smallest piece of paper the print will fit on. That way I don't have to go through all sorts of gyrations figuring if the square inches of your print deserves this price or that price. I'll look at the size of the print, print it on the smallest piece of paper it will fit on and charge you accordingly. Done deal.

8.5 x 11 $20
11 x 17 $20
13 x 19 $30
17 x 22 $30
18 x 24 $35
20 x 30 $40
24 x 36 $40

Not including shipping.

Don't forget that an i.e., "17x22 print" doesn't fit on a piece of 17x22 paper. I can't print edgeless so a photo this size would have to be printed on the next size larger piece of paper.
Each photo is charged individually. (i.e., you can't send me a file with four 8.5 x11 shots positioned to fit on a 17 x22 piece of paper and expect to pay only $30)

I use Moab Entrada 300 Mat paper exclusively.

And when was the last time a photo lab offered you a beer while you're waiting for your print?

Sitting here sipping on a cup o Hood River Coffee I am quite pleased to see and enjoy your ongoing success Mark!!

And Tom I would encourage you to go ahead and check out your local Pro camera shop to see the latest offerings in inkjet printers. I am printing on an Epson 4800 (17 inches wide versus 24 for the 7800) (also on Moab Entrada 300 mat paper) which is the printer just below the 7800 that Mark and a few others have. As a background note I come from an old school background of printing in a wet darkroom so my level of expectations for an inkjet printer are quite high and I am TOTALLY happy with the results I get!!! Photo quality inkjet printers have clearly come of age and so has the digital darkroom er lightroom!!

Thanks Mark and Rick - so Rick's post answered my next question, which was whether ink-based prints have "arrived" and are considered to be on a par with emulsion for image quality and archival longevity. My other question is what happens if your printer runs out of ink mid-print -- my guess is that high-end printers are designed to avoid wasting a giant piece of quality print paper, and somehow stop or warn you when that's about to happen?

Thanks for the perspectives on this - looks like I need to evolve a bit... again..!

-Tom

When my 7800 printer runs out of it, it stops, mid print, I take out the old one, stick in the new one and printing continues. Pretty slick, eh?

That is pretty slick - my crappy printer likes to run out verrrry slowly, so that over the course of a print, you realize that a color has gradually dropped out, and burned through all the other inks in the process. I sort of figured it was an Epson conspiracy to sell more ink. But I've also got an older, consumer-grade printer, so I'd expect better on a high-end model! Thanks for the info, Mark.

-Tom