Large Format Printer???

[Robbie Tighe]

Hi all,

Robbie here from the Green Muck that is Ireland,

As a result of business increasing and more and more output being required (outsourcing to other printers)

i have decided to make the bold step and purchase a wide format printer,

i have already worked out my costings using the prices for the epson 9800 as a base price it is worth my while in purchasing one, both financially and mentally ( you know what i mean)

im just wondering if there are any problems or opinions of anyone here on the board, having looked and the Hp 5500, will be looking at the new hp Z3100 44"

Just wondering what the personal opinion is of those who use wide format printers,

Many thanks,

Robbie

[Albacore]

Hi Robbie

I am using at work a Epson 4400 with its 6 black tanks as well as the normal colours at the moment for proofing and the output is great if not slightly expensive as well as HP Designjet I think it is the 400 model which our manager encourages to use as it is cheaper to run. Both models produce great quality of work fairly quickly with the HP working from a roll with 110gms weight paper and it would be the Epson I would choose for quality and the HP for ecconomy.

However if your are just wanting something to print SRA3 why not take a look at the Phasor 7400 DN I think it is which is a laser your running costs will be much lower as the paper is cheap and you will get more copies for your euro's. Thats the way I have gone for mmy own work at home and it is only £2000, he said quickly, and you can also lease them Xerox with HP also offering a "try and then buy" to make sure you get the right printer.

[Robbie Tighe]

many thanks albacore,

i understand what youre saying but my work to print is so varied i would be better off having both,

i worked out that what i spent in time and traveling in the last 6 months alone would've paid for one of these machines,

many thanks for your info,

regards,

Robbie

[RTK]

Robbie,

Never heard of the printers you mentioned, so I went Googling...

The initial reactions on preview sites (the printers are not out yet) could be summed up with: EXCITEMENT.

The HPs will be using a new pigmented ink that will have the highest lightfastness of any ink currently on the market (+200 years!). It will also have some sort of auto profile feature that basically sets up the printer with any kind of paper you slap in there! From what I gather - the 12 ink tank HP will be slightly more expensive that than the Epson 9800. The HP will also have a tank with a medium that will supposedly make glossy prints better than ever.

If you are into Fine Art - "having the longest lasting prints on the market" - could be used when you market your products.

If it was me - I would wait buying until the HPs are out, to see what people say about them.

When they come out - look for reviews at: luminous-landscape.com and dpreview.com.

Risto

[Robbie Tighe]

Impressive aren't they?

Xerox have a pretty sweet one too

Xerox 8160 and 8142

So much to choose from!

[RTK]

Forgot...

I use an Epson 2200, which uses the same UltraChrome inks that is available for the Epson 9800 - and the colour range is quite amazing (the print durability on the best papers is supposedly in the 100 year range).

Epson has also recently introduced a new ink system UltraChrome K3 which introduces one additional black (Light Light Black) which is supposed to improve the quality of black and white prints - as far as I can tell, it's available for the 9800.

Looking at the prices... The bigger HP will probably be ~$1500 more expensive than the Epson 9800.

Again, I would wait to see what the HP printers look like in terms of print quality and price.

Risto

[Robbie Tighe]

It is available for the 9800 and it does do a great job for the B & W prints,

i'll just keep rooting around and see what i can find.

Regards,

Robbie