A little help please

[coops]

Hi,
There probably is a thread somewhere but I wondered if you coulld tell me what printers you use for artwork and photos.
I am wanting to treat myself to a good decent A3 printer for printing off some paintings (just for myself) onto canvas paper and art paper.
Need something fairly simple to instal and use as I am blonde and dont mind admitting it lol.
Your help and information would be greatly appreciated.

[Alexandra]

I am with you on this Katie. I would love to have a notebook with acid free sleeves holding the art for family and friends. My last two printers I was told made great photo and art prints, but it wasn't so for me.

[fraser_paice]

I've got a Canon IX 4000 not sure if it's still available but there will be an updated model if not. It works fine for me. Most modern printers will do a great job but I would say don't be tempted by cheap compatible ink only get the genuine stuff. Not only will it invalidate your warranty but they are cheap quality and it's a lottery whether they work at all. I'm sure people will disagree but I used to own an IT Services company and found that the majority of 'broken' printers brought in were fixed by putting a genuine ink cartridge in.

[Twaager]

Most inkjets will do what you want. Like Canon or Epson or more brands. I have used a HP for many years and I am satisfied. My friend got a brand new Canon PIXMA iX6550 and he recommends it. Separate inks is a plus for this printer. I agree, use branded inks only. They are just a little more expensive but lasts longer and are tested on lightfastness. Lightfastness is important for printed images on display, bad ink will quickly fade if exposed to sunlight!

I now others that use Epson inkjets and they think they are the best. Epson is very expensive compared to the rest, but maybe they are better.

One thing before you buy is to check what kind of paper you can use to make printouts, does the printer carry more than ordinary paper?

Also compare how many professional made printouts you get from a printshop for the price of a printer. Compared to an Epson printer it will be a whole lot of high quality prints on watercolour paper, canvas or museo matte...

[GRSArts]

i am also interested in this. I have am Epson 1400 and wonder what kind of watercolor paper would work with it. I just sent my first painting (in the gallery/Tree of Life) to get a Giclee printing. It would be interest to see what it looks like. i would like to be able to do my own, ink for the Epson is very expensive. One thing is nice. By doing digital art, I can save on paints, paper, and somebody scanning a large picture/painting.

[hypotaxis]

I have a HP Officejet Pro 8000 and I like it. I can get good A4 prints from it and the inks come in separate tanks which I think is essential. It will print on waterclour paper up to about 200gsm. The results tend to be a bit unpredictable but interesting. I have tried Epson printers and for whatever reason I seem to have had bad luck with them, so I use HP. Always, of course, it is the colour management that is important - the soft proofing as it's called.

I sort of figured it out and in the end I thought that an A3 printer wasn't worth it. There is a big jump in price and as Twagger says you can get a lot of printing done in a commercial shop for the extra money that you would spend on a good A3 printer. Epson make the best A3 printers by reputation, but as I said I have had no luck with them. Giclee printing is not that expensive here (Giclee BTW is just a fancy name for high quality inkjet printing ) so that's what I do.

Hope this helps a bit.

Brett

[semd74]

You might want to consider a laser printer...more expensive but you would probably be more satisfied with the results

[Twaager]

If you read photo magazines over here, Fuji often wins tests on best photocopies and photobooks. Their photopaper is very good and their inkjet photoprinting tech is the very best, according to the tests. Maybe test them for a photocopy and see how you like it? Quality guaranteed. Very quick and reliable online service here, I guess all over the globe.

An ArtRage painting on ordinary Fuji photopaper size A3 is about 2 € (3 USD) here in Sweden. On mounted canvas it is about 30 € (50 USD) for the same size. Photopaper is glossy, but mounted behind a matte acrylic glass it is good for show.

So why print on canvas and why buy an expensive printer? I dont't know. Photocopies are of very high quality and lasts just as long as canvas prints.

[Steve B]

I have an Epson Workforce 1100. It's been very good to me so far (about 9 months). Prints up to 13" x 19" (or longer paper). Easily findable-- I got mine at my local Office Max. You can use normal 140 lb watercolor paper (300 g) too. I've not had problems with streaking or jamming either so far. Uses waterfast inks too, which is great, so you can watercolor directly on top of the print from Artrage, or just dunk the whole thing in a tub if you want. !!! It's been a very nice printer so far, and is very reasonably priced at about 100-150$. I actually found it because some watercolor artists print things then use the prints to paint on top of. Found some reviews, etc. about that aspect, and have been very happy-- particularly considering the price.

For a while I also had an Canon Pro Mark II-- a very nice oversized printer that runs around 400-500$ brand new. The truth is that the Epson Workforce prints look just as good when done on watercolor paper. Perhaps photos would look different? Whatever the case, I sold the Canon, and kept the Epson. So that's my vote.

[coops]

Thank you all for your kindness in replying and all the help you have given. Still makling my mind up as what to do but I thank you all for taking the time to post your thoughts.