Serious 8x11" Inkjet Photo Printers?

[jsrockit]

I haven't looked into ink jet printers in a long time. I was thinking a I wanted a printer that was really good, but had a small footprint. I was shocked to see that these no longer exist in a small size. Any serious printer is a lot larger and accomodates 13x19" paper and at times larger. Am I missing something?

 

[mfunnell]

I haven't looked into ink jet printers in a long time. I was thinking a I wanted a printer that was really good, but had a small footprint. I was shocked to see that these no longer exist in a small size. Any serious printer is a lot larger and accomodates 13x19" paper and at times larger. Am I missing something?

Perhaps not. For anything up to US 8x11 or rest-of-the-world A4 there are great many very good (and probably equally good) printers; but only if you want gloss papers and dye-based inksets.

I haven't looked lately, but I suspect you have no options (that I'm aware of; at all) if you want good output from pigment inks and the option to get good results from matte paper and also want a printer small enough that it won't print to A3+ (13"x19"). Those larger ones are the only pigment-ink printers I'm aware of, and they make for a big lump of printer (eg. my Canon Pro9500).

Mind you, for bold and striking colours - and good print life, these days - dye-based printers do a very good job. Pigment printers are harder work, but for more subtle colour printing and (to my taste) for decent B&W work, pigment inksets are a must - so if I'm stuck with a big printer then so be it. I also like a decent-sized framed print on the wall, from time to time, and 13"x19" works well for me there so I am glad I have one, even if it rather shrinks my available desk space.

...Mike

 

[lynnb]

One factor to consider is running costs. Small printers often use small ink carts, and the running costs per print can be significantly higher. A larger footprint can be an acceptable price to pay for cheaper running costs - it was for me...

 

[mfunnell]

One factor to consider is running costs. Small printers often use small ink carts, and the running costs per print can be significantly higher. A larger footprint can be an acceptable price to pay for cheaper running costs - it was for me...

Sensible advice.

And I say this as someone who is possibly on the wrong end of Lynn's equation.

On the other hand, I'm not silly enough to buy printer cartridges here in Oz (where the cost is often 6x as much as the US) and have avoided the modern wonder of region-coded chipped inks and printers, so I don't think I'm doing that badly.

...Mike

 

[jsrockit]

Thanks guys, that's what I figured. I just had some 5x8" prints made on a Epson Stylus Pro 11880 for a show I'm in and they are beautiful. I would love to be able to make small prints at home sometimes without that huge printer taking up space. I love living in manhattan, but not when I need space.

 

[mfogiel]

I think you could look around for a pro lab that will let you download their profiles for colour and B&W, then if you have a well calibrated screen, you will be able to soft proof the prints on screen, and after correcting, send the files directly for printing over the internet. Make a test and see if you like it and how much it costs, then figure out how many prints you do in a year, and do your math between the lab and buying the printer, paper, ink and renting a bigger apartment...

 

[jsrockit]

I think you could look around for a pro lab that will let you download their profiles for colour and B&W, then if you have a well calibrated screen, you will be able to soft proof the prints on screen, and after correcting, send the files directly for printing over the internet.

As I've stated in my previous post, this is already what I've done. I'm no stranger to printing in analog or digital form, just have chosen not to for the last few years at home. For the prints I just did for an upcoming show at the Aperture Gallery, I used: http://www.printspacenyc.com/ They did an excellent job and made me think I want to start printing at home again. I was interested in something high quality, but small. These don't exist, so I'll either keep shipping out or I will buy a bigger printer.

Make a test and see if you like it and how much it costs, then figure out how many prints you do in a year, and do your math between the lab and buying the printer, paper, ink and renting a bigger apartment...

Bigger apartment isn't due to price...I can afford bigger, I just like a minimal lifestyle. This leads me to not want to buy a lot of things that take up a lot of space.