budgeting for a printer

[august]

hi all. i am putting together a business plan to make a go at being one of them there fancy photographers. i have selected the canon d40 as my weapon of choice and ab800 lighting for the studio... and i am wondering about printing.

a. what is the best starter printer for making fine art prints up to 11x17 in size.
b. if i havent made a decision on which printer to buy, i still need to set aside an amount in my proposal...any idea what a good number might be?
c. i want to use good quality paper. any suggestions on how much paper i would want to start out with for the studio, a good number for what that might cost and/or what kind would be best paper for fine art works.

my goal is to begin with limited edition batches of 100, but i plan on printing most of them on demand so i don't have to roll them all out at once.

hope this isn't too confusing...

any suggestions that you have would really help and will be greatly appreciated.

i are teh noob.

[brian.austin]

Most professional studios in this area don't do their own printing. The overhead is too high and the workflow requirements don't see the ROI an off-site service can offer. You might be surprised at how little prints can cost for a studio with one of these services.

[august]

unfortunately, the closest professional printing establishment is a 30 minute drive away and they seem put out when i make special requests. that and it's a big hassle to get out there...i would really like the ability to control the output of my work. it's the closest thing that i have found to a darkroom.

also, many the prints that i want to make are probably going to look best on rag style paper and they don't offer that.

[aam1234]

Brian probably meant online printing too.

[august]

i like to work messy and then tighten up tight. it's how i like to work.

i want to put them through. start to finish.

it's the purist in me i suppose.

i need that option.

best i can say on the matter really.

[Tom Swaman]

August,

How nice to find someone who asks questions first to avoid problems. I, for one, think you have come to a great place to get some answers and also some ideas.

I think it is important for you to list the criteria in more detail than you have. For example:

1 ) Is there any chance you want to print larger than 11 inch X 14 inch?

2 ) Do you want your prints to have archival properties?

3 ) How will your prints be displayed and/or stored?

4 ) Do you intend to print in color? In B&W? In both?

5 ) Do you intend to print on heavy paper or canvas?

6 ) How often do you intend to use your printer and for what periods of time?

7 ) Is printing speed an issue?

8 ) Is printer space or weight an issue?

9 ) When printing, do you plan to be at the printer all the time or are you looking for a more or less automatic printier?

10 ) Are you looking for an introductory printer or one you can keep and use for an extended time while you grow your printing skills?

11 ) Do you want to print on precut paper sheets or on roll paper?

12 ) Do you intend to use your printer for other than photographic printing?

13 ) Do you intend to let your printer do your color management or your editing software do your color management.

14 ) Do you want your printer to support your business or your avocation?

15 ) Will you do your printer maintenance or will this be done by others.

16 ) Do you plan to purchase your printer via mail order or from a nearby dealer?

17 ) Do you intend to make average prints, excellent prints or unique and possibly exhibition prints?

18 ) Is initial cost a major issue and if so, what is your desired budget?

19 ) Is use cost a major issue?

August, you may want to pose some of these criteria as individual questions to get feedback on which printers fit your bill and your bills. Printing is fun and rewarding if you own the printer rather than the printer owns you.

Tom

[Mr. Pickles]

If one needs to ask and answer all those questions, they should take the images to a "lab" and print them.

[Paul Shields]

August, I'm like you - I need control and like to make my own mistakes (and occasionally wonderful prints) and have complete control.

There are a number of 11x14inch printers out there (here in the UK they're referred to as A3 printers). I know this as I've just spent the last few weeks asking myself the same questions.

As I'm still waiting for mine to turn up (an HP B9180) I can't comment on how well that one performs, but the criteria I had in mind were that they were relatively cheap to run (i.e. reasonable ink cartidge sizes, no wastage when swapping from gloss to matte paper), were also low maintenance, and used pigment inks (for their longevity and more naturalistic colours).

However, Tom poses some very useful questions that you should ask yourself. There probably isn't one printer that would cover every base, but this is a useful checklist that would help to narrow down your requirements.

[Tom Swaman]

.....Or stop eating pickles, answer the questions, get the right printer and enjoy!

Tom

[Mr. Pickles]

What?

[Paul Shields]

I think a key point raised by August is that he's looking at printing at batches of 100 at a time. It would seem a roll feeder would make sense for that type of volume (even if it's on demand to start with). Are there many 11x17 printers with roll feed capabilities? Maybe it would make more sense to go for a wider format printer with roll feeder, which gives you more economical print costs due to larger ink cartridges, and the option of even larger prints should demand grow in the future?

[brian.austin]

Originally Posted by aam1234

Brian probably meant online printing too.

Actually, I was referring to ONLY print labs with online capabilities. Local studio friends of mine use Miller's (mpix to us consumers) and work only in the electronic medium. Their color correction is always spot on and the studio management software that the studio uses supports direct image uploads to Miller's servers, including order number, references, etc.. Turnaround time is usually just a couple of days. Costs for them were surprisingly low.

If you want to print your own, though, go crazy. Cost per print, though, is going to be higher than someone like Miller's, not even including the increase in workflow time (which is another associated cost).

The other option is to try one or two print labs and, if not satisfied, THEN move to your own printing. Controlling all elements of an image to output is a nice thought but if there are no differences between your own output and the labs...what's the point? All you've done is either increased costs (hopefully passed on to your customers) or lost shooting time...or both.

[august]

excellent feedback and questions guys.

i definitely think that this forum is a great source to come to for information and i have been utilizing it alot to make the best business plan that i can. (i am working on taking out a small business loan to do this so that i can just get up and running without the lollygag.)

i think paul nailed it on the head as to the why's and hows of what i am envisioning. it's not the only way that i see myself printing, but it's something that i don't think that i can afford to be without, given my tendancies and my general hands on nature. heck, i printed a batch off of small hp 5 color printer last week and have sold a few prints just doing that.
(granted, at that quality i am unable to charge as much...and i have expressed that they are early batches to buyers.)

the only concern that i have about a roll feeder is the need to have to chance out rolls each time i make a shift in the type of output...thinking ahead, i can't see anytime in the next six months where i would need to go over 16x20 so that is about the extent of my range at this point. is it difficult to swap out paper with a roll feeder? does the cost benefit make this a better idea?

in terms of quality, i am seeing this as a stepping stone. i want the highest quality prints possible but without going over the deep end. i need to see some return before i invest too much.

would anyone have any suggestions concerning their own experiences or places that might have some good side by side comparison data that i might go to?

thanks again all. most helpful.

[Mr. Pickles]

If you are going to roll feed 100 prints of a bigger size (like 13x19 or so), then I would look to Epson, as they seem to be the only ones that have a ink tank system capable of doing a batch like that without risk of getting a "no ink" print.