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Photo Printer

B

ben chi(f4)

2[H]4U
Joined
Mar 4, 2008
Messages
2,340
I have the Canon Pixima MP500 and although I love the photo print quality, I'm thinking of upgrading once I start getting more clients that want prints. I know that I'll have to outsource the 11x18 prints, but I always feel that there could always be something better than what I have. Also, my ink doesn't seem to last that long either, but I print my photos on High of course. I don't like lines in my photos.

I was newegging and came up with this beast. Anyone have personal use with it?
 
Epson R1900 would be my personal choice for color prints and Epson R2880 for black and white. you can request a print sample from the Epson website for the R1900.

on the other hand, i use WHCC for all my prints and am very happy with their service.
 
I like MPix.com. I just can't see myself spending another $700+ wide format printer to get any print jobs done. Another $100 on the ink alone.
 
it really comes down to how many photos you print and what you do with them. if you only print about 10 pics a week for personal use, then obviously, getting a $500 printer is.... stupid. the benefit of getting a dedicated printer only makes sense if you print a lot. and if you don't care about the quality, a simple inkjet printer is fine for most people.
 
I have the R1900. It makes wonderful prints up to Super B size (13x19). Goes through ink like mad at that size though and the carts are not exactly cheap. I figure each print costs me about $10
 
Very good info - thanks!

I need to start printing a bunch of photos soon, and was considering a new printer as well. Planning to decorate my new place with a few dozen black&white prints of various sizes. Currently I have a cheap HP photo printer (photoSmart 6950 or something like that) that will do full bleed on 8.5x11, but not sure what I'll do for larger prints. I will definitely try out MPix and WHCC to see how they do on the larger ones.
 
madFive said:
Very good info - thanks!

I need to start printing a bunch of photos soon, and was considering a new printer as well. Planning to decorate my new place with a few dozen black&white prints of various sizes. Currently I have a cheap HP photo printer (photoSmart 6950 or something like that) that will do full bleed on 8.5x11, but not sure what I'll do for larger prints. I will definitely try out MPix and WHCC to see how they do on the larger ones.
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I like Mpix and makes sure you select Metallic paper. More glossier than your standard photo paper. Crop in a specific aspect ratio though such as 3:4 or 4:3. If not, your print will come out with some unwanted crops. There is a flat rate overnight delivery regardless the numbers of prints. Their framing is too expensive. You better off ordering the frames somewhere else, unless you want their fancy frames.
 
Interesting - does the metallic one screw with the colors/values in your photos at all? I would have thought it would only be for brightly colored stuff that you want to look kindof funky. Do you get a lot of glare or silvery tones in the whites etc? If it's just an extra-glossy white paper I might consider it.

I would love to get all my prints (at least the ones I'm hanging in my house) on those thick canvases or 1.5" foamy boards, but that stuff's crazy expensive, so I probably won't. Have you ever tried getting prints on the canvas texture? I think that might look cooler for the black & white style I'm going for.
 
madFive said:
Interesting - does the metallic one screw with the colors/values in your photos at all? I would have thought it would only be for brightly colored stuff that you want to look kindof funky. Do you get a lot of glare or silvery tones in the whites etc? If it's just an extra-glossy white paper I might consider it.

I would love to get all my prints (at least the ones I'm hanging in my house) on those thick canvases or 1.5" foamy boards, but that stuff's crazy expensive, so I probably won't. Have you ever tried getting prints on the canvas texture? I think that might look cooler for the black & white style I'm going for.
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They are pretty close to what I am seeing in the monitor. I have so far ordered 20 prints from them. Very satisfied with the result. Just makes sure the shot jpeg you summited is the largest size. Save them in sRGB format. My prints are mainly birds and family shots and wasn't looking for anything to look artistic.
 
madFive said:
Interesting - does the metallic one screw with the colors/values in your photos at all? I would have thought it would only be for brightly colored stuff that you want to look kindof funky. Do you get a lot of glare or silvery tones in the whites etc? If it's just an extra-glossy white paper I might consider it.

I would love to get all my prints (at least the ones I'm hanging in my house) on those thick canvases or 1.5" foamy boards, but that stuff's crazy expensive, so I probably won't. Have you ever tried getting prints on the canvas texture? I think that might look cooler for the black & white style I'm going for.
Click to expand...


Foam board? Yes, tried them. However, they do flex and bend. So, somewhat pointless. I would rather frame them in a glass frame. The only issue I have with these prints is that I am really have problems finding the right size frames. I can only get them, the size I want, from Adorama or BH. Let's just say I have to "stock up" if I am going to order another set of prints next month.
 
Yeah, I wasn't really considering the foam mount option - mostly wanted comparisons of the metallic paper vs regular vs canvas options etc.

I used to work in a frame shop, so I know well the headache that is dry mounting. Looked like the "raised-mount" or whatever they were calling it was actually something more than that, but if that's all it is, I would definitely steer clear. There are all kinds of things that can go wrong before and after the mounting process on those, depending on the quality of the materials they use, that can drastically reduce the "wall-life" of your prints.

k... think I just talked myself into printing and framing the old fashioned way. Time to start another thread on framing I guess. ;) My hope, when I am ready to start hanging photos and later when I will hopefully be ready to start selling them, is that I can just find a cheap local source for the materials and frame everything myself. I would suggest checking around at local independent art/frame shops (not Blick, Micheal's, or Hobby Lobby, etc) and try to get them to order you the framing and glass in bulk.

I haven't looked for online sources of framing materials - still a little paranoid about shipping that much glass; if it breaks in transit can be a huge pain. There's got to be some good bulk framing sites around though. Pretty sure you wouldn't want to use a photo gear site like BnH, as all the stuff they have is going to be the pre-packaged stuff that gets crazy premium pricing.

...googling - will post back if I find good framing site.
edit: yeah, there are tons of 'em. :) of the top google listings, this one is my fav so far - seems to have good selection and a fairly intuitive interface for ordering pre-cut frame lengths. cool stuff - after this, you just need a good/cheap source of glass, matt and backing-board and you're good to go.
 
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Yep, there are tons... not sure why I thought these might be hard to find. :P How did we survive before google?
 
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