I'm curious many of you who are professional or non professional photographers use which photo printers? 
I just got a Canon Pixma Pro 100 printer!
I just got a Canon Pixma Pro 100 printer!
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
What is your fave Professional photo printer?
- Thread starter Badrottie
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I'm curious many of you who are professional or non professional photographers use which photo printers?
I just got a Canon Pixma Pro 100 printer!
I'm just an over-keen enthusiast, but have found that if you pair one of these with the ColorMunki Photo, you have got a winning formula for a cheap entry point into home based printing! Selection of papers is a purely personal thing, Ilford's Gold Mono Silk is proving to be a favourite for my black and white printing at A3+ sizes.
Having a calibrated system from capture right on through to print is the important part and was the key to success for me.
Have fun with it, Badrottie!
For up to A3 sizes, the Canon Pixma Pro-1. It uses pigment ink and can do fantastic B&W prints due to the multiple gray and black inks. Plus the Chroma Optimizer levels out the surface for a very smooth appearance. I got out unit new on ebay for half of list. I also get the Canon ink on ebay for less than at B&H.
I must say, I'm surprised, McAsan! I would have pegged you as an avid Epson 2880 or 3000 user! From all the research I have done, Epson is better for this level of machine (with pigment) and is used at Universities and Colleges around the world as the standard to train and be trained with.
I'm still mighty chuffed with the lowly Pixma Pro-100.
Best yet!
Despite the lack of a gloss coat/enhancer and the matte/gloss black changeover my Epson Pro 3880 has proved to be my favourite print thus far. After approx. 10 tries with others over the last five years or so.
Detail/colour/mono and probably most important for me 'ease of use'. Too many hours tearing my hair out with HP/Canon. Especially HP Z3100
Funnily enough it (Z3100) came v.v.v.v. highly recommended from well known photography sites but I just did not get it to work for me £2500 completely wasted.
Still my quiet, smooth, easy to handle and immaculate image 3880 sits by my side printing what I tell it to. LUVVVERLY
Despite the lack of a gloss coat/enhancer and the matte/gloss black changeover my Epson Pro 3880 has proved to be my favourite print thus far. After approx. 10 tries with others over the last five years or so.
Detail/colour/mono and probably most important for me 'ease of use'. Too many hours tearing my hair out with HP/Canon. Especially HP Z3100
Funnily enough it (Z3100) came v.v.v.v. highly recommended from well known photography sites but I just did not get it to work for me £2500 completely wasted.
Still my quiet, smooth, easy to handle and immaculate image 3880 sits by my side printing what I tell it to. LUVVVERLY
I must say, I'm surprised, McAsan! I would have pegged you as an avid Epson 2880 or 3000 user! From all the research I have done, Epson is better for this level of machine (with pigment) and is used at Universities and Colleges around the world as the standard to train and be trained with.
I'm still mighty chuffed with the lowly Pixma Pro-100.
I never liked Epson or Nikon. For the many years the wife and I did DSLRs, we used Canon. When we got the Pro1, we gave our 9500II to our niece. It is still going strong.
I've used Epson's and Cannon's. The most important part is to make sure you calibrate it and use the correct paper profile.
I use a ColorMunki Photo on my canon Pixmar at home, but mostly I print on Epson's at work because it's free!
Currently have a 4900, 7900 and d3000 sure lab.
I use a ColorMunki Photo on my canon Pixmar at home, but mostly I print on Epson's at work because it's free!
Currently have a 4900, 7900 and d3000 sure lab.
Wow...some expensive printers in use. I'm sure the quality is outstanding but how many prints do you guys do to make it cost effective and what do you do with the prints?
$1,000 printer + paper + ink = ?
I can understand the cost if you have a business selling prints and can write-off the print costs. But I'm wondering (as I've been thinking about a printer as well)...for the hobbyist is there that much of a difference between top of the line printing at home and, for example, a $15.00 16x20 print from Walmart?
~ Peter
$1,000 printer + paper + ink = ?
I can understand the cost if you have a business selling prints and can write-off the print costs. But I'm wondering (as I've been thinking about a printer as well)...for the hobbyist is there that much of a difference between top of the line printing at home and, for example, a $15.00 16x20 print from Walmart?
~ Peter
Who spends $1000?
I got our Pro1 new and delivered for $575. I get my Canon ink on ebay for less than B&H. I usually get my Canon and Moab papers from B&H. Remember, this is for printing art prints. We have color laser printer for routine print jobs.
Without your own printer you do not have total flexibility on paper. No online service will have available ever paper and size commonly available. So you have to trade off flexibility for up front capital investment.
Indeed calibrate your monitor and use the profiles for your printer and paper. Do some test printing on smaller sizes of paper to see if you need to fine turn the brightness and contrast in your app or in the printer driver. I usually increase brightness and contrast by 10 in the Lightroom Print module.
I got our Pro1 new and delivered for $575. I get my Canon ink on ebay for less than B&H. I usually get my Canon and Moab papers from B&H. Remember, this is for printing art prints. We have color laser printer for routine print jobs.
Without your own printer you do not have total flexibility on paper. No online service will have available ever paper and size commonly available. So you have to trade off flexibility for up front capital investment.
Indeed calibrate your monitor and use the profiles for your printer and paper. Do some test printing on smaller sizes of paper to see if you need to fine turn the brightness and contrast in your app or in the printer driver. I usually increase brightness and contrast by 10 in the Lightroom Print module.
Who spends $1000?
I got our Pro1 new and delivered for $575. I get my Canon ink on ebay for less than B&H. I usually get my Canon and Moab papers from B&H. Remember, this is for printing art prints. We have color laser printer for routine print jobs.
Without your own printer you do not have total flexibility on paper. No online service will have available ever paper and size commonly available. So you have to trade off flexibility for up front capital investment.
Indeed calibrate your monitor and use the profiles for your printer and paper. Do some test printing on smaller sizes of paper to see if you need to fine turn the brightness and contrast in your app or in the printer driver. I usually increase brightness and contrast by 10 in the Lightroom Print module.
I did a quick check (not taking the time to bargain hunt for sale prices) and the Canon Pro-1 is approx. $950 + tax = $1075 (in Cda) and the Epson Pro 3880 that realitystops is using is approx. $1200 + tax = $1350 (in Cda).
Having said that, your other points make sense MCAsan...thanks. Any idea what your cost per print is for something like a 16x20 on a good quality paper?
Nope. Compared to the cost of a good camera and lenses, the cost for a few prints is basically zero. Having your own printer is about flexibility of paper selection, image size, and when you need to print. This is not something to do to save money.
We usual print 11x14 images on 13x19 (A3+) paper because that is the largest standard mat opening for a 16x24 frame. Most of the exhibits and competitions we enter want framed images around that size. The price of a print is much less that the mat, frame, and glass.
$699 at Adorama. http://www.adorama.com/ICAPRO1.html...=34589025571&gclid=CNuvgdrA_78CFeRj7AodiE8Aww
I outsource all my printing to The Print Space in London. It saves me money on hardware, ink and paper as I don't do a huge amount and generally find I make too many mistakes and throw away too many prints if I try to do it myself. I send it to the experts who are flexible to do almost anything I want without size limitations and I also prefer the look of old fashioned C-Type prints to inkjet Giclees. The added bonus is a nice empty desk
You can get a Canon Pro-100 for $98 after rebate with a free pack of 13x19 paper at B&H. Bam! Outstanding printing capability for under a hundy. Nothing to lose there. Barely more than a cheapo inkjet.
Warning, ink kit is $99 but I have read many are getting a lot of printing done on a set of inks.
Warning, ink kit is $99 but I have read many are getting a lot of printing done on a set of inks.
All true and I'm one of those who has spent a great deal on camera equipment but certain expenses just seem to stick in my craw especially when I know that I could pick-up a nice Tissot watch for that price.
Thanks. I do shop online at B&H or Adorama for anything I just can't get here but by the time I pay for shipping, customs and brokerage the cost does add up - way up! All a good reason for a road trip across the border I love NYC.
Thanks. I do shop online at B&H or Adorama for anything I just can't get here but by the time I pay for shipping, customs and brokerage the cost does add up - way up! All a good reason for a road trip across the border…I love NYC.
You know my situation, Peter, with having to feed three ravenous teenage boys and survive on a low income, through a mixture of choice and a hand that life dealt me a few years back when my mental health challenges surfaced. Frugality, is a state of existence here.
I got mine brand new and unused, with its full ink set, off fleabay, from the US, shipped here to Oz, for under $250! Many of these printers are given away in promotions by Canon US, when folks buy a new camera. They take the rebate and then flog them off for a few bucks. I get my inks off fleabay also for substantially cheaper than direct from Canon even!
I don't buy into the pigment Vs dye-sub inks debate, that was over quite a few years ago for printing up to A3+. Here comes the caveat... Unless you are selling to galleries, that demand a certain standard. My ink set is guaranteed to last for about 100 years on the Ilford paper I use. That's plenty long enough for my peace of mind at this stage of the game. It's not at day one of year 101 suddenly going to start disappearing, it just doesn't have the archival guarantee of the extra forty to a hundred years that professional printing does. I don't consider the Pixma Pro-1 a professional machine, it's built for serious hobbyists, even if they charge money for their wares!
The frame and glass play just as big a part to the whole printing game and are muchos expensive!
Keith Cooper over at Northlight Images has an amazing array of detailed articles covering the rabbit hole that is modern printing. This one covers the minimum of what is needed to calibrate for your paper and printer. You really shouldn't just calibrate your monitor and then use stock ICC profiles for your paper, if you want the best from your images, that is. It's a one-size-fits-all approach doing that and I can't take all the time and effort to plan and capture an image, edit it for screen and print delivery, then apply a universal fix to it! :roll eyes:
I also go further and add extra swatches of colour samples to intensify the accuracy of the profiling of my printer and paper mix. It's really simple with the ColorMunki Photo. You basically take an image and the program works out a series of fifty more colours or shades for me as I only print in black and white. I've added nearly three hundred extra shades to the mix now and have superb tonal matching from screen to paper! As much as I would have loved to have gotten the big brother to the ColorMunki Photo, the i1-photo-pro2, I couldn't warrant spending that much extra $$$ for it.
Anyone printing and profiling their papers that use optical brighteners, (what Macasan mentioned about his printer evening out the surface) needs to be using the i1-photo-pro2 for profiling their papers and ink sets as the ColorMunki Photo can't deal with that extra layer properly!
As I mentioned, it's a heck of a rabbit hole once you start investigating it properly and it all depends how far you want to go with it.
Phew... Time for breakfast, have a good one all.
Do you run your own business or just for hobby?
For me just for hobby and I take pictures of myself (modeling) mostly. In the past, I used Canon Powershot A610 camera and printed out 8 x 11 from Canon Pixma iP4000 this photo is awesome!!
----------
I'm just an over-keen enthusiast, but have found that if you pair one of these with the ColorMunki Photo, you have got a winning formula for a cheap entry point into home based printing! Selection of papers is a purely personal thing, Ilford's Gold Mono Silk is proving to be a favourite for my black and white printing at A3+ sizes.
Having a calibrated system from capture right on through to print is the important part and was the key to success for me.
Have fun with it, Badrottie!
Thanks... I will check it out.
Thanks... I will check it out.
You're welcome, Badrottie. If you want a book to read that covers the entire maze of image printing, check out "The Digital Print: Preparing Images In Lightroom and Photoshop for Printing" by Jeff Schew. It's about $30 for purchase as an ebook and comes as a epub, pdf and mobi formats for download and reading on just about any device. There's also some great video tutorials on Lynda, KelbyOne and CreativeLIVE about printing and colour management processes. I got confused early on seeking free advice off youtube, everyone has their own opinions and they all think they are experts, just cause they filmed themselves! That, and most of them are brand loyalists, through and through.
Once again, I am just an over-keen enthusiast.
Wow, you did get a good buy on the printer...well done.
Without doubt, as with anything photography related, there is a lot of reading and research to do when it comes to printing. Thanks for the Northlight Images link looks like some good info Alex.
~ Peter