Posted by Mark sellings on August 4, 2009 at 4:46 AM
Hi guys/gals,
I've been asked by a Widlife charity for advice on a printer:
"As you know we are a small wildlife charity with limited funds but we are getting increasingly frustrated with the quality of photos our various printers produce. All of them are Hewlett Packard inkjets.
We are looking for a reasonably priced (not too cheap but also not costing hundreds) printer and if you print your own photos if you can recommend one.
I realise that as a professional photographer you can afford to spend more on the cost of re-producing photos but the quality we produce on our 4 inkjets is very inconsistent and dependant of paper and ink.
We mainly add a photo of one of our Barn Owls on certificates and struggle to get a good picture."
I was hoping someone would be able to recommend a decent printer - good spec/lowish cost - last one I brought was the Epson R800 a few years back so don't know whats a good model these days.
I'll then try and help them out with calibration etc.
Hello Mark
The Epsons take some beating, and you can sometimes pick up a decent 1200 on e-bay.
Best wishes
Phil
Posted by Chris Lloyd on August 4, 2009 at 5:56 AM
I've got my R1800 printer and my mum and dads in Devon and that hasn't missed a beat. I'm not sure what the replacement model for it is but it is hard to beat quality wise.
the most frequently asked oxymoron - a good printer not costing hundreds of pounds!
I think their main issue is their paper - trying to print pictures on certificates sounds like they are trying to get photos on bulk matt inkjet paper rather than using matt photo quality paper. Also cheap inkjets use miniscule volume ink cartridges, what they potentially save in the cost of the printer they lose long term in consumable costs.
I would investigate what consumables they are using and intend to use before recommending a printer, using cheap paper and non OEM cartridges will result in the same quality issues no matter how good the printer they are using
You don't say what size paper you need it to be, a4, a3 etc, if only a4 is required then a canon ip4500 if you can find one would be good, it has 5 separate ink tanks, 2 blacks one for text and one photographic. If you can not find one the 4600 is the new version but the ink tanks are slightly smaller.
As for paper, ilford galerie classic is excellent, or for 6x4 prints 7dayshops own brand is good and cheap, cheapest ink supplier I can find is also 7dayshop, anyone know anywhere cheaper please post it here.
Discussion
4 repliesI've been asked by a Widlife charity for advice on a printer:
"As you know we are a small wildlife charity with limited funds but we are getting increasingly frustrated with the quality of photos our various printers produce. All of them are Hewlett Packard inkjets.
We are looking for a reasonably priced (not too cheap but also not costing hundreds) printer and if you print your own photos if you can recommend one.
I realise that as a professional photographer you can afford to spend more on the cost of re-producing photos but the quality we produce on our 4 inkjets is very inconsistent and dependant of paper and ink.
We mainly add a photo of one of our Barn Owls on certificates and struggle to get a good picture."
I was hoping someone would be able to recommend a decent printer - good spec/lowish cost - last one I brought was the Epson R800 a few years back so don't know whats a good model these days.
I'll then try and help them out with calibration etc.
Any advice gratefully recieved,
Thanks,
Mark
The Epsons take some beating, and you can sometimes pick up a decent 1200 on e-bay.
Best wishes
Phil
Chris.
I think their main issue is their paper - trying to print pictures on certificates sounds like they are trying to get photos on bulk matt inkjet paper rather than using matt photo quality paper. Also cheap inkjets use miniscule volume ink cartridges, what they potentially save in the cost of the printer they lose long term in consumable costs.
I would investigate what consumables they are using and intend to use before recommending a printer, using cheap paper and non OEM cartridges will result in the same quality issues no matter how good the printer they are using
As for paper, ilford galerie classic is excellent, or for 6x4 prints 7dayshops own brand is good and cheap, cheapest ink supplier I can find is also 7dayshop, anyone know anywhere cheaper please post it here.