Best choice for most economical high quality printing?
AmbientMike Offline • • • • • • [X]
p.2 #1 · Best choice for most economical high quality printing?
chiron wrote:
I am looking for advice on the most economical way to get high quality printing.
I recently purchased a Canon 310 ImagePROGRAF printer, which I am using several times a week to print images ranging from 4 x 6 to 8.5 x 11 and occasionally larger. I am delighted with the quality of the prints, but I am beginning to feel eaten alive by the cost of constantly replacing cartridges. I am wondering if I should have chosen a different printer.
I am considering printers that use ink tanks rather than cartridges, expecting that these would be more economical to operate over time. The two options that occur to me at this point are the Canon 1100 ImagePROGRAF printer and the Epson 8550 printer.
I prefer pigmented inks, which inclines me toward the Canon 1100. But I have not heard anyone talking much about the ink tank system on the 1100 being particualrly economical. I do hear people saying that the Espon 8550 is economical to operate and that they love the prints--but they are dye-based rather than pigmented.
Is the Canon 1100 an economical way to get very high quality printing? Or is the Espon 8550 a clearly better choice?
One other question: there will be times when I don't print for 2-3 weeks. Is either printer likely to have more of a problem with clogged nozzles, ink-start-up usage, or other problems when there is a period of not printing for several weeks?...Show more →
I've used epson ultrabrite ink printers for years. I used to print a lot and came up with $2 /~8x10, at the time CVS charged that for 8x10 so it seemed fair.
But it also means you need a new ink cartridge every 8-12 prints or so. I see people complaining about needing to replace ink cartridges all the time , I dont want to either, but it's not really an unreasonable cost imo. You might try to calculate ink cost to see if its really too expensive
I think it was red river paper that did a comparison high volume printer (3800?) vs less economical more amateur printer and came up 60 cents vs 90 cents per 8x10. Not sure how they paid so much less than i did, but its not a huge difference either. And the Canon 310 is roughly 3800 sized and may already be as economical as 1100.
p.2 #2 · Best choice for most economical high quality printing?
AmbientMike wrote:
I've used epson ultrabrite ink printers for years. I used to print a lot and came up with $2 /~8x10, at the time CVS charged that for 8x10 so it seemed fair.
But it also means you need a new ink cartridge every 8-12 prints or so. I see people complaining about needing to replace ink cartridges all the time , I dont want to either, but it's not really an unreasonable cost imo. You might try to calculate ink cost to see if its really too expensive
I think it was red river paper that did a comparison high volume printer (3800?) vs less economical more amateur printer and came up 60 cents vs 90 cents per 8x10. Not sure how they paid so much less than i did, but its not a huge difference either. And the Canon 310 is roughly 3800 sized and may already be as economical as 1100....Show more →
Yes, I link and discuss the Red River cost results up thread. In their carefully done results, there wasn't a lot of difference in the costs of a pigment print on a Canon 300/310 vs a Canon 1000/1100.
