Lost in PrinterLand

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Old Timer

Greetings: I have been looking at posts here and in rec.photo.digital
for months now, and haven't yet been able to decide on what printer,
even what TYPE of printer to use.
My wife and I are semi-retireed, so we have but SOME, not a lot of free
income to devote to a printer setup.I am interested in digital
photography, and she in Tarot-type cards she makes.
We need a printer that makes both longlife color prints to sell in
galleries ( nice to get a print life exceeding my present life
expectancy, about 40 years ), and that can print true-to-color images on
card stock.
We may even print our own entire decks, or small children's books in
limited numbers.
I would LIKE to keep the cost under $5000. Is there a system ( we use
Windows and Photoshop ) I should think seriously about , or a direction
I should be heading?
Currently it looks like Dye Sub is the way to go, but frankly I am LOST
in this cyber wilderness.
Thanks for any help on this. Sorry to be so vague but the older I get
the harder it is to keep up with this newer technology. And the number
of opinions about digital photography is staggering. Sometimes I get
truly mindboggled.
 
Old Timer said:
Greetings: I have been looking at posts here and in rec.photo.digital
for months now, > Thanks for any help on this. Sorry to be so vague but the older I get
the harder it is to keep up with this newer technology. And the number
of opinions about digital photography is staggering. Sometimes I get
truly mindboggled.
Click to expand...

Old age is not an excuse -and from your post procrastination is the cause.
Go for a Canon i560 upwards and with your proposed budget consider one of
the pigmented Epson's as well: C82, 2000 etc dependant on sizes needed.
That way you can balance longevity and lightfastness for the task in hand.
Recently here in the UK PC-Pro dissected the myths of digital printing and
came out with a cost from Photobox of 27 pence for a 6x4 print of Fujitsu
Crystal paper and a comparable cost of 78 pence for the Canon and 80 plus
for the best dye Epsons'.
Wilhelm Research has established that Canon and Epson prints can last 70
years - albeit under ideal conditions.
So, hedge your bets with pigment and dye and some maybe to the nearest Boots
or Photobox Lab as needed.
regards Tony
 
Why dye-sub??

Ink jet printers are now a very mature technology, with a wide range
of inks and papers---including archival.

For one snapshot of the range of possibilities: (clipped from an
earlier post)

Here's the link to Epson archival info. If this does not work, go to
Epson site, click on Paper and Media. Then click on any of the paper
types, and click the link that say's "Print Permanence Ratings"

Caution: long URL:

http://www.epson.com/cmc_upload/0/000/019/143/Print Permanence on Epson Papers.pdf

Do you mean $5000 for just the printer---or the whole setup?

One thing to consider is having two printers---one with dye ink for
snapshots and general utility, and one with archival (pigment) ink.

Here are some sites that have useful information:

MIS (inksupply)
Mediatstreet
Lyson
InkJetArt

Greetings: I have been looking at posts here and in rec.photo.digital
for months now, and haven't yet been able to decide on what printer,
even what TYPE of printer to use.
My wife and I are semi-retireed, so we have but SOME, not a lot of free
income to devote to a printer setup.I am interested in digital
photography, and she in Tarot-type cards she makes.
We need a printer that makes both longlife color prints to sell in
galleries ( nice to get a print life exceeding my present life
expectancy, about 40 years ), and that can print true-to-color images on
card stock.
We may even print our own entire decks, or small children's books in
limited numbers.
I would LIKE to keep the cost under $5000. Is there a system ( we use
Windows and Photoshop ) I should think seriously about , or a direction
I should be heading?
Currently it looks like Dye Sub is the way to go, but frankly I am LOST
in this cyber wilderness.
Thanks for any help on this. Sorry to be so vague but the older I get
the harder it is to keep up with this newer technology. And the number
of opinions about digital photography is staggering. Sometimes I get
truly mindboggled.
Click to expand...

**************************
Mark Herring, Pasadena, Calif.
Private e-mail: Just say no to "No".
 
Mark said:
Why dye-sub??
Click to expand...
Do you mean $5000 for just the printer---or the whole setup?
Click to expand...

I should have been more clear. I meant for the entire setup.

I will need a good monitor also, but I have my eye on one, a Sony that
looks very good.
Expensive, but good.
Right now the two printers I see that look good are the Epson 4000 and
the Canon 9000.
But the cost of ink looks rather high. I am wondering now just how long
these ink carts last, at maximum, best quality printing. More research
is needed, I guess.
Thank you for the tips, I appreciate it.
 
A friend once asked how mush it would cost to get into digital
photography. My answer: "How much have you got?"

One thing to look into is continuous inking systems. Will save you a
BUNCH of money if you do a lot of printing. Most places that sell 3rd
party ink have them

I should have been more clear. I meant for the entire setup.

I will need a good monitor also, but I have my eye on one, a Sony that
looks very good.
Expensive, but good.
Right now the two printers I see that look good are the Epson 4000 and
the Canon 9000.
But the cost of ink looks rather high. I am wondering now just how long
these ink carts last, at maximum, best quality printing. More research
is needed, I guess.
Thank you for the tips, I appreciate it.
Click to expand...

**************************
Mark Herring, Pasadena, Calif.
Private e-mail: Just say no to "No".
 
Old Timer said:
But the cost of ink looks rather high. I am wondering now just how long
these ink carts last, at maximum, best quality printing. More research
is needed, I guess.
Thank you for the tips, I appreciate it.
Click to expand...

Things become a little clearer. PC-Pro (UK) printed this month a complete
study across most popular printers. They range from 27 pence per 6x4 to 78
plus pence.
The cost of course is where reputable compatible manufacturers such as our
JetTec come in. I believe there is also a study by PC- World naming the more
unjet compatible snake oil merchants, where Wilhelm Research gave up on
several apparently guaranteed substitutes.
Tony
 
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