A printer with photographic quality, advice please?

[Richard Wills]

I can vouch for the Canon 8400 – 44″, but two generations old. I run exhibition/gallery prints on this all the time. 4000/2000 (24″) last gen, 4100/2100 current. 8400 good for 4pt text

Epson 7570 has glowing reviews, though driver issues. HP z9+, even better potential, but software lacking.

All the above run pigment prints, and are capable of pretty much archival quality (except the Canon x100 series, where they traded longevity for speed. Prints only likely to last less than a century).

I have an old epson 7880 that prints crisp 2pt lettering, though it does take a while.

How inexpensive, how fast, and printing to what size?

[Robert Lambie]

These type of printers really arent my area of expertise, but one that sticks in mind, was maybe similar to what Richard suggests and that was a Canon. I had a demo when I was doing wrap training in Ireland a while back. The quality was excellent and I was considering it for roll-up stands and smaller internal POS stuff as I think it was only 1000mm wide or thereabout, and cost about £4500 i think.

[Richard Wills]

You can pickup the 44″ latest version dual roll Canon for £4300, so either load two rolls, or use it as a take up reel. 12 ink tanks 700ml, itro £200/tank. On quality settings, we’re averaging about £10.00/sq ink metre for photographic output (using older model, but costs pretty similar).

We run a fair amount of repositionable vinyl on ours. With a satin matt UV laminate, can produce pretty durable, gallery quality, temporary results, that we use both indoors and outdoors, with prints looking good 18 months down the line.

I’ve run pop up displays – the output is delicate, but a quick run through the laminator, and all is good

Maintenance is a breeze, the latest model is almost pocket size, though to get the best quality does require a multiple pass. I’m looking at around 20 minutes / linear metre, I believe the latest model is supposed to be pretty much twice as fast.

[Erdy Cem]

Hi Richard, thank you for your valuable information. I was looking at Canon 2100, the review seems good. I don’t need a big machine. We already have HP Latex but it’s not sharp for small text & objects. I was thinking to budget around 2-2.5 grand but if the cost of ink is £10 per sqm then that can’t be an option for me. That’s very very high.

[Erdy Cem]

The smaller one, Canon 2100, is around 2 grand but Richard said the ink costs £10/sqm. I’m not going to use it for expensive stuff, the job will come out very dear.. So I need to think an alternative if this is the case..

[Richard Wills]

I should clarify quality – photographic exhibition / gallery standard, where the papers can be £30/sq metre, where the prints can sell for four or five figures. Dropping down a level, for production work, with carefully controlled profiles, I can get to around £4-5/sqM. Quality is still very good for most purposes, and survives pretty close inspection.

Depends on the paper being used, and the ink load it requires to get good v ultimate quality. On matt bond paper, SAV etc, we’re in the region of £5/sqM, and this machine is a couple of generations old. Our focus has always been on quality above all else – I’m sure that with control of expectations, and aiming at a slightly less picky sector, we could get this lower, but not massively on something like the 2100.

[Erdy Cem]

My customers aren’t that high end profile people to pay more I’m afraid. But need decent prints. I wish I could achieve the desired quality with latex which we have one in house. Thanks Richard.