Best home printting and framing options

[fossil fox]

First I'd like to know what is a economical way to go about home printing?

Second: What do I do about matting the prints? (Like what do I use to mat them)

[Songman45]

For home printing: What sizes will you be producing? The carriage width is going to create a major monetary consideration.

Matting: Boy there's an art all unto itself. For me matte cutters are very expensive. There are a number of suppliers for matte board.

I think some of your consideration should take into account if you are doing this as a hobby or if you are wanting to do this work as a business or part of another business.

Steve

[fossil fox]

Originally Posted by Songman45

For home printing: What sizes will you be producing? The carriage width is going to create a major monetary consideration.

Matting: Boy there's an art all unto itself. For me matte cutters are very expensive. There are a number of suppliers for matte board.

I think some of your consideration should take into account if you are doing this as a hobby or if you are wanting to do this work as a business or part of another business.

Steve

Yes I want to do this as a business.

I'm not sure what size to do.

[Songman45]

How about discussing what you want to do as a business? Are you currenty in business as a photographer? There are a number of levels involved between taking a picture and hanging a peice on the wall. There are photographers who use a frame shop to mount, matte and frame his work. There are photographers who handle all aspects and other's who don't so much as print. Most frame shops have mounting options, matte options and of course frames. A good frame shop can handle custom sizes because they buy the mouldings and build their own frames and they offer ready-made frames in standard sizes as an option.

I don't recall ever seeing a business that did custom prints and mattes only. A few labs offer a selection of mattes and frames.

Deciding what equipment to buy is best determined by having a business plan and model for what the purpose of that business will be. Frankly, I'd love to have a relationship with a custom framer who I could depend on to work with me. I wouldn't expect that a framer would also be skilled at custom printing as well. This because highly skilled people tend to be specialized. Like my general practioner doctor doesn't do heart surgery.

So, what kind of business would you like to be in? That will tell you more about what your equipment needs are. The quality, size and durability really will be guaged by what you are going to do. I use an Epson R800 printer on location and it provides me more than acceptable prints for the kind of customer I serve. Most of my customers purchase 8X10s. The footprint of this printer fits my work space. Its now discontinued. When it dies [and it will] I will probably move up one notch [currently the R1900] and get the 13 inch wide carriage. If I were printing an appreciable number of 16X20's I'd consider the 17 inch wide model but that puppy jumps up in price and its really larger than I need.

I have associates who are sold on thermal dye sublimation printers. Their opinon is based on comparisons of much older style ink jet printers. Dye sub prints are fine, don't get me wrong. But ink jet works better for me.

Steve

[R. House]

You can start small, 5x7 and 8x10. Inkjet printers are pretty reasonable as far as initial cost and I would only buy one that uses individual cartridges. That will save some money. Calumet has very good photo paper in their Brilliant and Museum series at very good prices. You should use acid free matte board. If you cut a matte for an 11x14 from with an opening of 8x10, the section you cut out with give you another matte for an 8x10 frame that you can use for a 5x7 photo. I use a Logan Freestyle Basic matte cutter. You will need a thick metal 24" ruler for best results as this is a manual (Hand held) cutter. Always mark and cut the matte from the back side. I like the price and quality of frames from cosco (pre matted) and I also hit the thrift shops for frames. Michaels craft store also sells frames and precut mattes at good prices. Don't expect perfection without some trial and error. I also use a sheet of 1/4" plexiglass with a self healing cutting board to cut the mattes on. If you go this route and need some guidence with particulars and problems...post your questions or email me. Best regards, Ray

[fossil fox]

I'm so lost here. Do to the fact I don't know about some of this stuff.

[R. House]

OK, lets take it one thing at a time. What is the first thing you want to know about that makes you feel lost?

[Songman45]

Originally Posted by R. House

OK, lets take it one thing at a time. What is the first thing you want to know about that makes you feel lost?

There ya go. That journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. How do you eat a dozen doughnuts? One bite at a time.

Steve

[fossil fox]

Originally Posted by R. House

OK, lets take it one thing at a time. What is the first thing you want to know about that makes you feel lost?

What type of printer should I use or should I pay someone to do it.

[R. House]

I would get a printer with pigment ink sets. I have always bought Epson, but Canon and HP are also excellent. It is cheaper to buy individual color cartridges than to have one cartridge that holds all colors. Next, you need to consider the size of prints you need. Letter size printers are very inexpensive and will print 8" wide. Large format will start at 13" wide.
You can certainly pay someone to print for you (many people do) and that may be a good way to start. There are some great labs but I can't recommend them as I do all my printing myself. Lets wait for somebody with experience in that area to chime in. Does that help? One more question...what kind of computer are you using.

[Songman45]

I'm going to chime in again. I print on-location at events and fulfill onlne orders. The majority of orders are for 5X7's and 8X10's and my current printer is an Epson R800. Its limited to 8.5X11 paper. I do offer larger sizes but the volume of requests for larger prints is very low, not enough to justify buying a wider printer. At one time I would have teamed the R800 with its big brother the R1800 since they both use the same ink tanks. Both have been discontinued now and I don't feel compelled to get a wide carraige printer with totally different ink sets for obvious reasons.

For sure, no matter what width you choose, you'll want one with individual ink tanks. There is no predicting which color is going to run dry and no point in tossing a lot of good ink simply because one color has run out. I won't suggest a printer brand because my experience has been limited to Epson. I've used the R1800/R800 extensively and love them. I do feel they are designed with an engineered life span. One day a message will pop up on the monitor informing me that the printer has reached the end of its life and must be replaced. If that happens tomorrow, I'll be replacing with the R1900. Its 13" wide but I've not seen a 8.5 width to equal its quality. Who knows what improvement might be unveiled day after tomorrow.

I think you have to know what the largest size print you want to make. I just looked at a 64" wide Epson and the MSRP is $24K. So its a pretty good bet that you'll not want to handle every size "in-house". You'll have to do a little cost analysis to determine if printing yourself is cost effective. You may also have to consider the investment in learning, depending on what you are printing. I get great results for the kind of prints I make. Mom's buying pictures of kids racing motocross or kids showing horses are not as discriminating as clients buying fine-art gallery peices, brides or senior portraits. When I have print projects that exceed my skill level I job those out to a professional lab right along with the prints too large for me to print at home.

I'd love to have a printer that is 17 inches wide so I could handle 16X20's and I'd gladly invest all that it would take for me to do fine portraits up to that size. Until I grow into selling large wall prints on a regular basis, I'll stick with printing the small stuff and sending out the large.

Steve

[LeeF]

Another side:
I rarely print mine own and then it's only up to 8.5 x 11. I download to the lab and then pick them up - virtually any size up to 20 x 30. My average print is 12 x 18. I tack them to a piece of mat board and stick them in a clear bag. Sells for $35.00 at art / craft shows. Cost = $5.00. Large prints sell for more, smaller for less. I usually put out 2-3 print bins. People love to look through print bins!

I do cut my own mats and do my own dry mounting and framing. I use a Logan 750 (about $249 on line) which cuts full 20 x 30 sheets. The mat cutter paid for itself within a month. You can get 25 mats from Dick Blick for close to $100 delivered. That's 100 16 x 20s!

I bought a dry mount press on EBay for $250. It paid for itself after ten prints. No more wrinkled pictures!

I normally dry mount and double mat a few images and stick them in a clear bag. People will buy a matted print they like. Then they can buy a frame that will go with their decor. You can lose a lot of sales if the frame color doesn't suit their style. Don't get me wrong, I do use some frames but not many.

I started at real small shows and have moved up from there.

BTW: I also offer greeting cards to make a quick buck on those who don't want a large picture.

Give it a try and remember to HAVE FUN.

[wolfden]

Originally Posted by LeeF

Another side:
I rarely print mine own and then it's only up to 8.5 x 11. I download to the lab and then pick them up - virtually any size up to 20 x 30. My average print is 12 x 18. I tack them to a piece of mat board and stick them in a clear bag. Sells for $35.00 at art / craft shows. Cost = $5.00. Large prints sell for more, smaller for less. I usually put out 2-3 print bins. People love to look through print bins!

I do cut my own mats and do my own dry mounting and framing. I use a Logan 750 (about $249 on line) which cuts full 20 x 30 sheets. The mat cutter paid for itself within a month. You can get 25 mats from Dick Blick for close to $100 delivered. That's 100 16 x 20s!

I bought a dry mount press on EBay for $250. It paid for itself after ten prints. No more wrinkled pictures!

I normally dry mount and double mat a few images and stick them in a clear bag. People will buy a matted print they like. Then they can buy a frame that will go with their decor. You can lose a lot of sales if the frame color doesn't suit their style. Don't get me wrong, I do use some frames but not many.

I started at real small shows and have moved up from there.

BTW: I also offer greeting cards to make a quick buck on those who don't want a large picture.

Give it a try and remember to HAVE FUN.

Interesting about the framing info. I struggle with framing, but it makes sense not to offer one and let them get their own frame. I've made my own frames and I've purchased them. I do like dick blick site very much as they offer so much for the DIY person.

I do about the same thing as you, use a lab instead of messing with ink, printers, calibrating and paper. The wait time from the lab has never been an issue for me.

I haven't a clue what this dry mounting is, but a quick google seems like a good thing. More to learn I guess.