Printers..but which one?

[nitram4444]

Iam about to buy (max £300) a printer.I use a 30D and am just beggining, I wish to shoot in raw and compete in my photo Soc`s competitions....can you give me some pointers please?

[briansquibb]

Re: Printers..but which one?

Do you have to show in A3?

[paul linton]

Re: Printers..but which one?

For around £239(camrea world) you can buy epson stylus photo1400 that will print upto A3+,Its a printer i use and love it to bits its easy to use gives great results every time.Print colors are very true may need to get newer updated versions if you do a lot of Black and white but for color prints at A3 at this price i think it would be hard to beat.There are 6 inks in all that would cost you around £65 online to replace all 6,my local camera shop stocks them but charges £13 each so best to shop around(just like everything else).
I've always been very pleased with the prints color/sharpness is always there once i've clicked print i know if its right on the screen it will be right in print
Paul

[nitram4444]

Re: Printers..but which one?

Hi briansquibb.."the prints must be mounted and adequatlly backed, mount size 50cm x 40cm, one dimension of the print must not exceed 24 cm" This is a quote from the printed ruless, as I am not sure what size A3 is in cm`s perhaps you do? thank you for your initial reply...M

[nitram4444]

Re: Printers..but which one?

Is this a laser printer....as I think they may be better....any further ideas? thanks M.

[briansquibb]

Re: Printers..but which one?

A3 = 297 × 420 mm
A4 = 210 × 297mm

Brian

[paul linton]

Re: Printers..but which one?

Have a look here at size all in mm but will give you an idea
Paul
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_size

[paul linton]

Re: Printers..but which one?

Is this a laser printer....as I think they may be better....any further ideas? thanks M.

No its inkjet don't know many people who use laser printers for photo prints usually seen in the office printing 1000s of documents ?

[Dave]

Re: Printers..but which one?

Paul's advice re the stylus 1400 is spot on! I had one for a good few years. Sadly it gave up on me recently – probably sheer exhaustion.

[EOS_Jim]

Re: Printers..but which one?

Is this a laser printer....as I think they may be better....any further ideas? thanks M.

Absolutely NOT. Lasers are great for quick prints of text and limited graphics or maybe presentations but not photographs.

You may see acceptable images on the plain or thin glossy paper they print on but for a photographer these are not acceptable quality.

Inkjets on the other hand can produce better than lab quality images!

The Espon 1440 is a decent choice at the lower end of the A3 scale. The only issue is the cost of ink and very small cartridges that constantly need replacing. I've goner to a CIS system from Fotospeed and it's been superb and reasonably priced taking into account the savings on OEM cartridges.

Jim

[nitram4444]

Re: Printers..but which one?

OH knowledgable JIM, what is a CIS system and whom or what is Fotospeed? PLease,tell itin simple language ......Thanks M.

[EOS_Jim]

Re: Printers..but which one?

OH knowledgable JIM, what is a CIS system and whom or what is Fotospeed? PLease,tell itin simple language ......Thanks M.

lol

A CIS system is a Continuous Ink System. Basically on my Epson R2400 I have a set of ink bottles attached to the side of the printer and there are tubes that feed into each of the 8 cartridges. THese provide a continuous supply of ink and thebottles just need topped up every now and again - It's not original Epson ink but does a super job and I've had plenty of comments about the excellent quality of prints - they didn't know it was done on an inkjet!

See here - http://www.fotospeed.com/Printer-ref.../catalogue/22/

[nitram4444]

Re: Printers..but which one?

A3 plus I think ...HELP!!!! m

[EOS_Jim]

Re: Printers..but which one?

A3+ is a good size but I'd like an A2 (possibly bigger)! But that won't be for a couple of years anyway!