I

If you go on Epson's website you can order a free sample printed on the R1800 - and you can upload your own photo for printing to give a better idea. That said, I'd be surprised if you could tell any difference between it and the R8xx except for the size of the prints it can do, and there are usually samples off these in shops.

Quality of HP printouts is great, major drawback is the cost of the replacement cartridges - they always tend to be very expensive, and if you're printing out photos onto A3 they're not going to last long either!

Which leads onto the point about bringing the cost of prints down...no, it won't make it particularly cheap, unless you're nifty with a syringe and don't mind buying your inks in litre bottles...or you could get a continuous system, but they're usually the same price of the printer.

Seeing as your an "independent trader", you could register as a Costco member, and use their award winning digital print service - and that's based on price *and* quality... You loose some flexibilty, but for something like 150 7x5s I think they'd be hard to beat...

Rob.

Oooh good thinking about Costco Rob, I

One of the reasons I want to but a quality printer is I would like to make some larger prints for hanging and giving to friends and family. I currently have about 11 prints I

Of course, I suspect that deep down you want a large printer and somehow a good enough reason will be found...

Rob.

Hmmmmm, OK I give up, you read my mind:rofl: .

Seriously though, I would like to print some A3+ pictures (I think they would be big enough to hang as they are a little bigger than standard A3 aren

Do you have the R800 printer perchance and if so are you going to the mini meet on Thursday??

I only have the R220 - I don't really use it for photos that much, tend to use either a 6x4 dye-sub printer or (if I want larger) the good folks at Costco. The R800 is considerably better *but* it is still an amateur/semi-pro printer, so (IMHO) the results aren't up to professional printers.

Is probably just a matter of where you draw the line on quality...

And yes, A3+ is a couple of inches larger than A3, but it's still not all *that* big...A2/A2+ would probably be better...have you considered the 4800? :rubchin: :sofahide:

Rob.

I print at home using a mixture of a canon inkjet and a canon dye sublimation printer. Works out a little more expensive than the shops in the area but i enjoy the ability to tinker and print the odd single print. Dye sublimation is excallant and if you wanted to photo print a lot I would strongly recomend it, that said this does mean a dedicated photo printer.

I only have the R220 - I don't really use it for photos that much, tend to use either a 6x4 dye-sub printer or (if I want larger) the good folks at Costco. The R800 is considerably better *but* it is still an amateur/semi-pro printer, so (IMHO) the results aren't up to professional printers.

Is probably just a matter of where you draw the line on quality...

And yes, A3+ is a couple of inches larger than A3, but it's still not all *that* big...A2/A2+ would probably be better...have you considered the 4800? :rubchin: :sofahide:

Rob.

I see you wisely decided to hide after saying that. I could have bought a Vrs with all the knobs on instead of my Elegance for the amount of one of those!

On a related subject, does anyone know how long some of these printers can be stood still and not suffer from head blockages? Some of the pigment cased printers have to have the inks shaken if they stand for any time. My problem is during the summer I work away a lot and the printer would probably stand unused fro at least 2 months.

I print at home using a mixture of a canon inkjet and a canon dye sublimation printer. Works out a little more expensive than the shops in the area but i enjoy the ability to tinker and print the odd single print. Dye sublimation is excallant and if you wanted to photo print a lot I would strongly recomend it, that said this does mean a dedicated photo printer.

Thanks for your advice. I

On a related subject, does anyone know how long some of these printers can be stood still and not suffer from head blockages? Some of the pigment cased printers have to have the inks shaken if they stand for any time. My problem is during the summer I work away a lot and the printer would probably stand unused fro at least 2 months.

My canaon has to be used once a month to keep the heads clear according to the brochure

My canaon has to be used once a month to keep the heads clear according to the brochure

Is it a big one so to speak? A3 pr A3+ perhaps?

Lady E, if you need A3 prints just sent them to me and I can print them off

on my lazer printer at work....

Save your money for a cheap A4 printer!

Don't even think of refilling ink buy it from here

PhoenixDirect UK - We Deliver Quality Inkjet and Toner Cartridges Free

It's cheap and it works....been using it for 4 years with NO problems

and have a epson R300 A4 printer ..can't fault it

Lady E, if you need A3 prints just sent them to me and I can print them off

on my lazer printer at work....

Save your money for a cheap A4 printer!

That

Don't even think of refilling ink buy it from here

PhoenixDirect UK - We Deliver Quality Inkjet and Toner Cartridges Free

It's cheap and it works....been using it for 4 years with NO problems

that

Hi

Dont know if you read this last night:

Hi Amanda

I use a Canon S9000 for A3+. I usually stick to Canon Photo Paper Pro PR101. I am not sure if the Canon can handle canvas. Nearest I have seen to that is iron on transfer, but not in A3+.

You might try ICI Olmec Ultra Heavyweight Artist Paper (310gsm) Also known as Artist Matt 310gsm. This is a matt paper textured like canvas for the production of watercolour effects and gives a very pleasing finish for more pastel shots. Works a treat with dense dark shots as well. Warehouse express do 20 sheets of A3 for

Hi

Dont know if you read this last night:

Hi Amanda

I use a Canon S9000 for A3+. I usually stick to Canon Photo Paper Pro PR101. I am not sure if the Canon can handle canvas. Nearest I have seen to that is iron on transfer, but not in A3+.

You might try ICI Olmec Ultra Heavyweight Artist Paper (310gsm) Also known as Artist Matt 310gsm. This is a matt paper textured like canvas for the production of watercolour effects and gives a very pleasing finish for more pastel shots. Works a treat with dense dark shots as well. Warehouse express do 20 sheets of A3 for

that

I did thanks Chris but appreciate the extra info in this post:thumbup: . Micro banding eh? Sounds uncomfortable. As you can tell, I

Hi Amanda

Will give it some thought and post in a day or two. Knackered ATM.

Chris

thanks Chris, but don't worry I'm not going to make a snap purchase. Well I don't think so anyway.

On a related subject, does anyone know how long some of these printers can be stood still and not suffer from head blockages? Some of the pigment cased printers have to have the inks shaken if they stand for any time. My problem is during the summer I work away a lot and the printer would probably stand unused fro at least 2 months.

I know Epson's have a little "sponge" that the heads park against when you turn it off, so as to stop them drying out and blocking - so it should be alright, you might just need to run the nozzle cleaner when you start it up again. I haven't really done enough with Canon/HP/Lexmark to know if they have the same thing, but I can't imagine it's something that only Epson would think of.

I would however, recommend using Epson cartridges if you are going to do this though, so that if worst does happen and it does block then you've not stuffed the warranty on a

How good are the inks against fade?

I have found over time prints from HP, Canon and Epson all fade to a noticeable degree.

Not a problem for albums but it is when they are on display.

Alice just sent a batch (approx 600 prints in all!) off to Pixmania including a couple of huge prints (larger than A1)

The results are better than any of the high street processing places and cheeper (so she tells me)

Andy

I have found over time prints from HP, Canon and Epson all fade to a noticeable degree.

Not a problem for albums but it is when they are on display.

Unprotected inks fade surprisingly quickly, and it's another area where dye sublimation wins out.

Rob.

Thanks Rob, if I need a babysitter for my new printer (assuming I get one) I

big 3 manufactures all do long life inks ranging from 100-200 years guaranteed resistant to fade etc.

Though you do have to wonder how they test this accurately, and whether it's not just a marketing bluff...

Rob.