Photo Printing.

You know it seems many people here are the DIY type. What I'd like to know is how many people print their own photos? Used to be people use a darkroom and develop their own photos. But now it seems the dark arts of the darkroom have now moved into the mainstream of just pressing print, then using inks that cost more than human blood.

And since many people are the DIY type I'd like to here what kinds of printer setups people have for their photos. I personally use an Epson Artisan 50 with a generic CISS system, used to be Canon but they've lately become so user unfriendly that I just can't stand to use them. If you own a newer Canon you know what I mean with the inane startup and wasteful automatic "cleaning" cycles.. I really like it because it basically makes the cost of printing just the cost of the paper. I use Kirkland so a 4x6 costs me about 8 cents to print. With a color profiler like Profile Prism that I use the colors are actually better and more accurate than the photo lab because it's custom profiled for my paper, ink, and printer.

I'll also let you in on a little secret. The dye inks Canon and Epson use aren't really that much higher quality than decent refill stuff. I ran my own tests on various media and honestly they all fade at about the same rate. The photo paper makes more difference in print life than the ink if using dye inks, pigment suffers far less from fading.

I'm also a member on the nifty-stuff printer forum. Lots of good info there. Just thought I'd post and see what kind of responses I get to people's frustrations with their printer and how they deal with it.

I've owned the Epson R800 for the last 5 years and I reckon the quality is better than anything I've seen from the print shops. It uses pigment inks BTW. The printing costs are astronomical though. I don't print photos regularly so probably waste more than half the ink in the cleaning stage. Not to mention it's a real PITA to have to print nozzle check test sheets every time. Perhaps dye sublimation printers are the way to go?

Dye sub the costs are just as astronomical. Real dye sub printers use plastic film with ink that is heated by the printhead so it gasses out into the print surface. If you're thinking dye sub transfer ink for your R800 it's only really if you're thinking of doing print transfers to like coffee mugs. In that case it doesn't have the fade resistance of pigment ink and you're better off converting to standard dyebase ink.

Epsons are really nice printers to convert because they use piezo printheads which never burn out. So with that said for most people what I'd recommend is getting a much simpler Epson Workforce 40 or Workforce 610 if you want an all in one, or Workforce 1100 for wide format. These printers use 4 inks only so they're much less hassle. Convert it to CISS and get Profile Prism. This will make the ink conversion have the correct color. Then you can print all you want, print quality will be excellent, and just choose the right paper to get maximum print life. One caveat though is you have to print something every few days or so to keep from clogging the print head which can be a nightmare to unclog. I end up having to use a spare CISS cartridge filled with windex and a syringe attached to the hose to pump windex through the offending cartridge to bust through the clog.

I remember ~25 years ago the first B&W laser printers were 100dpi, 6 pages/minute and cost >$5,000. A few years later they were 300dpi, 8 pages/minute and down to below $500. Now you can get a COLOR laser printer for a fraction of that.

Color laser printing isn't as anywhere near as good as ink yet (AFAIK) but one day the quality will get there. That will surely bring down the price per print.

qwertyydude said:

Dye sub the costs are just as astronomical. Real dye sub printers use plastic film with ink that is heated by the printhead so it gasses out into the print surface. If you're thinking dye sub
transfer ink for your R800 it's only really if you're thinking of doing print transfers to like coffee mugs. In that case it doesn't have the fade resistance of pigment ink and you're better off converting to standard dyebase ink.

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I'm thinking of an actual dye sub printer e.g. Fuji ASK 4000 but less expensive. Printers seem to have reached a peak over the last few years so hopefully won't become obsolete any time soon. What appeals to me is the fact that you can not use the printer for a year, switch it on and whack out a full size print in 1 minute.

With the R800, this would involve several nozzle check test sheets with cleaning in between and then OH NO! some cartridges are low! Replace those, printer goes through cleaning again, OH NO more cartridges are low! AAAAA!!!!! In all, the photo will take 1/2 hour to print with much frustration.

I run fairly large batches of prints 1 or 2 times a week. I use the Epson 4880 for my smaller prints and an Epson 9900 for larger prints and large gallery wrap canvases. Both great machines but need to print weekly to stay clean and in good shape. Print quality and color gamut out of the 9900 is astounding ;-)

Most of my home printing is reserved strictly for fine art B&W because I simply can't justify the PITA of color refills over the absurdly low prices my pro lab charges. While I prefer the feel of a color landscape printed on high end paper like Exhibition Fiber, once it's mounted and behind glass it doesn't make that much difference. However, for the best quality B&W you need to make those yourself.

Then again virtually all the color work I sell is on metal, and I can't do that at home anyways.

I use a 64" wide Epson printer with "archival" inks and a huge variety of paper and cloth surfaces. In every case, people need at least one test to make sure the image will turn out as they wish. Its really not an easy job and i do like to prefer some professional to do that.

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I bought one of those Kodak Sublimation printers ( 4 x 6 inch only ) a few years back. Very expensive per print, but does a really great job.

The rest of the time I use an HP photosmart inkjet printer. This does an OK job. Any prints I want to preserve, I put a coat of clear acrylic on.

will said:

I bought one of those Kodak Sublimation printers ( 4 x 6 inch only ) a few years back. Very expensive per print, but does a really great job.

The rest of the time I use an HP photosmart inkjet printer. This does an OK job. Any prints I want to preserve, I put a coat of clear acrylic on.

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http://www.inkjetsuperstore.com

i am still looking for that Kodak sublimation printer till now, talk about doing a great, i find its print outstanding and i really like it more than HP or Canon.. I do agree that it is expensive.. It's color ink cartridges has a whooping price too..