Selling photo prints - please help!

[downhiller80]

I'm going to be selling prints at sizes upto 8" x 10". As such I need the following from a printer/ink/paper combination.

1) Long life (at least a few years)

2) Waterproofness

3) Outright photo quality


Which inkjet does this suggest? I thought the Epson but have been reading bad things about "orange-shift" the last few days. Everyone says HP's quality is not up to that of the Epson & Canon... help!

- seb

 

[ToBeMe]

I would beg to differ from the opinions you have recieved about HP's quality.
I do a LOT of photo printing, and I mainly deal with VERY old pictures some dating to the 1840's! While your photo suite can do wonders, of course, for any pics, through my own testing I have found that my two current printers do the best job of ANY I've owned to date and those include Epson, Cannon, & HP.
I currently use an HP 1220Cxi for all my wide format photos and a 970Cxi for most everything else. These have the highest quality photo printing of any I've used......and that's not only MY opinion, but also my customers!
As for your other specs, I can't really say much for any of them as far as longevity as I've only had the HP's for about 6 months, but I do know that through my use, the Cannon's and Epsons didn't impress me.
As for Waterproof, as I'm sure you know, that depends upon the paper......but to be honest, I wouldn't trust what any of them claim!

 

[downhiller80]

Thanks, that's kinda what I wanted to hear! I've always been an HP fan and would hate to think that Epson is the only way forwards for photo prints! Am I right in thinking that ANY 9xx printer offers the same print quality, just with added functions/speed/carriage size etc?

And yes, I am aware of the waterproofnedd being a paper thing, I just wondered what people recommend. I've just tried some "TDK Pro Quality Heavy Glossy Photo Inkjet Paper" (what my local shop had) and I've submerged the print entirely (printed on my 710c) and it didn't run at all! Even with rubbing! Very impressed.

- seb

 

[ToBeMe]

Yes, I'd agree that most of the 9XX series will provide the same quality......just check for the "PhotoRetIII" insignia! If you just really getting started, I'm sure you'll find, as I did, that the wide format printers are very usefull when working with pics......I wouldn't be without one, but, they run about $450 now and some people don't want that large initial investment.....

As for the waterproffing...LOL! I agree, and have tried most! The thing I find, is some tend to "yellow" within a few days of testing. Actually, I'm more concerned now with long term quality as it seems some "cheaper" papers tend to turn rather quickly!

Just stay with high quality paper and you'll be fine from both considerations!

Good Luck, and hope I helped!

 

[downhiller80]

Damn you! I want a 1220Cxi now! £320 in the UK... A 990Cxi can be had for £225. Decisions decisions.

- seb

 

[Blain]

I thought that PC World magazine had a good feature on "Desktop Darkroom".
I don't know very much about the topic. But I've got a Fuji FinePix 1400 and a "need to know"
I read the printed magazine though. That's because reading "online", I have the attention span of a 6 year old.

 

[downhiller80]

Can someone confirm if the canon s800 has any orange fade problems or not?

- seb

 

[downhiller80]

Hmmm, just bought an Epson Stylus 790 (780 in the states) and am thinking I may have wasted £120. No visible grain, but horrible colours compared to my HP 710C. I want to buy an HP 9xx now but it seems a bit silly to have THREE printers!

- seb

 

[pulse8]

If you're selling the prints and depending on how much you're charging, get a dye-sub printer over ink jet. The quality is fantastic and very photo-realistic, but they are much more expensive. If you're going for ink jet, though, I recommend the Epson Photo series. With a negative scanner and one of those babies the quality is unlike any I've seen from an ink jet.

 

[downhiller80]

Yes I have considered that pulsate. The one I've got my eye on is the Olympus P400, which retails for about a grand. Will do 8" x 10" prints.

If anyone's interested I've printed comparisions between the HP 710C output and the Epson 780 output below:

HP snap 1 (124kB) link
Epson snap 1 (70kB) link
HP snap 2 (342kB) link
Epson snap 2 (147kB) link

All were scanned at 1200x1200 dpi.

SP780 printed on epson photo paper at 1440x720
710C printer on HP photo paper at 600x600

- seb

 

[ToBeMe]

LOL! You asked for Inkjets......I could tell you about some machines I've used that go for several thousand dollars if you're going that route!!!

As for Inkjets though, stay with HP! HP's new stuff outclasses Epson by far according to all the photo pubs. and mags.! I've got the Neg. attachement to my 7000 series scanner I use here at home.......you can't be without that!