Bostontom Posted December 22, 2009 Share #1 Posted December 22, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Dear all, Forgive me if this is a reask of a common question. I have a Leica Digilux 2 and a NIkon D80. My wife is using both cameras to take portfolio photographs of her oil-on-panel paintings, and the difficulty of getting proper color and the quality of the surface texture of the art on our lower-end printer has gotten us beat. So -- any recommendations for a moderate price (i.e. six hundred dollars or so, or less) photo printer? I've been reading up on Epson models, sort of zeroing in on the Epson $ 2880 and have received some pointers towards the Canon 9000 serues...but I haven't used any of the semi to pro end machines, so would value any thoughts anyone may have. The other application will be for my amateur-but-aspiring photography, about equally divided between black and white portraits and still lifes, and color street photos. Thanks in advance for any and all advice Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 22, 2009 Posted December 22, 2009 Hi Bostontom, Take a look here Photo printer question . I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
h00ligan Posted December 22, 2009 Share #2 Posted December 22, 2009 What's your current color workflow as far as profiling and calibration? To me that's the first place to start. Second, what size prints do you want. I am a complete newbie at photography however I worked as a manager of IT for two major magazines and am pretty familiar with professional color workflow. Calibration between the computer and printer is going to be absolutely essential... so factor in at least an inexpensive color calibrator to your budget. edit - btw, i personally wouldn't touch consumer HP products with a ten foot pole at this point. Very poor support, very unreliable. If you were in the corporate space - they'd be a great thing.. Have you looked at the Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Mark II - http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRINT/CP9KII/PRO9K2.HTM and the more pedestrian (end user) review at washington post. http://reviews.washingtonpost.com/product/Canon/Pixma-Pro-9000-Mark-II.htm The bad news, as with all ink printers, expensive ink, the good news, long lasting vibrant prints and the unit can be had for $300 which would allow you to budget 300 to ink and paper - which should set you up for quite a while. you could get something less expensive if you only need small prints, absolutely. for the sake of objectivity - here is a review that isn't bad persay, but addresses some other things. http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/review/printers_scanners/canon/pixma_pro9000_mark_ii/326981 - I have found gearguide to be a bit overzealous at times - and personally find zdnet and cnet to have a better end user POV - i would be more prone to trust digital imaging sites than any of them. Finally one great point to consider - think of the money of the unit and the consumables (the last link estimates $4+ per print) - are you sure you wouldn't rather order from a reputable print house (embed your color profile)? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilfredo Posted December 22, 2009 Share #3 Posted December 22, 2009 As long as you don't print on thicker papers such as Epson Velvet Fine Art, the 2880 is excellent. Loading thicker papers is a major hassle, I have one and regret purchasing it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsrockit Posted December 22, 2009 Share #4 Posted December 22, 2009 Look into the HPB8850 ... it is the cheapest printer with multiple B&W inks. However, it is 13" instead of 17" ... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_d Posted December 22, 2009 Share #5 Posted December 22, 2009 The issue of the "quality of the surface texture of the art" not showing up in your prints may be a problem with your lighting technique not the printer. How do you light your artwork? Try taking one of your images to a pro lab and have them make a print for you to compare your results. Depending on how much printing you will doing, paying a professional to do your printing may be your least expensive option and least time consuming. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bostontom Posted December 22, 2009 Author Share #6 Posted December 22, 2009 Thanks to all. Understood re color (or colour) calibration; we will be dealing with this. As for our workflow? It's essentially non-existent; we've been going from camera output to Photoshop to a cheap Canon color inkjet, trial and error (given that the monitor used is a years-old Sony with only a sketch connection to reality). My wife and I with separate applications are now trying to move up several notches in seriousness. We will look into the Canon and the HP; I'm not a fan of the HPs I've had in the past, inkjets, I mean (I'm using two HP lasers for general printing at home and at the office; they're fine there). Re surface texture: we've got plenty in the photos -- the Leica actually pulling out that detail more sharply than the Nikon (though when you dump the long zoom for a 28mm f2.8 lens on the D 80 all kinds of things get better. Boy, though, do I love that 28-90 (eq.) lens onf the D2). Lighting is continuous source side light. Again, thanks to all, and any more thoughts from the forum gratefully received. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
magd0328 Posted December 27, 2009 Share #7 Posted December 27, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) The 9000 mk II would be a good choice, but the Epson 2880 has a superior ink set. It is the Epson K3 pigment ink set, which is the best there is out there at the moment. This ink set includes two shades of grey, so should give superior black and white images (which may or may not be a concern for you). However, as Wilfredo points out, the Epson printers are probably not so easy to use as the latest Canon models. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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