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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Printing on location
Jesse Beals, Photographer
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Tracyton | WA | USA | Posted: 1:40 AM on 04.07.09 |
->> Ok, I am looking at dumping more money into this portrait photography thing since I am having to switch from journalism to portrait work. So my question is this, those of you that print on location what is a great bang for your buck photo printer. I have found this model
Mitsubishi CP-9550DW Printer (CP9550DW)
Is popular but around $1,500 unless you really shop around you might find it around $999.00. Is there a great quality model out there that doesn't eat up ink, but puts out good quality thats pretty much photo lab quality? |
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Luke Trottier, Photographer
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Bath | ME | US | Posted: 11:36 AM on 04.08.09 |
->> We have a bunch of Sony DR-150's, many now have 25,000+ prints on them and they are all going strong.
For 8x10 prints we use Shinko S1245's which I have a love/hate relationship with. The Shinko's are fast for an 8x10 printer and you don't have to worry about running out of paper as they hold 280 prints. However the drivers can be a nightmare to work with. They are also not very portable. |
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Eric Canha, Photographer
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Brockton | MA | United States | Posted: 12:24 PM on 04.08.09 |
->> Jesse I have that printer. Works nice for on-site 5x7's and as Luke says once the printer is loaded you have several hundred prints before having to reload. I've racked up tens of thousands of prints and have only had to replace the cutter once, I'm still on the original print head.
As far as 'lab quality' kinda...... My portraits get printed on luster endura and the quality is far superior. It's impossible to print REAL luster or pearl texture prints on a dye-sub. At best some printers will dither a clear layer to SIMULATE a texture but after having looked at just about every flavor of those, it just doesn't measure up. Also WHITE, real whites, like wedding gowns tend to print with a slight pink or warmish hue. This was also true on the Kodak dye-subs and after several emails back an forth with a Kodak engineer I scrapped the 1400's that I had wanted to use for our portrait business.
If you have to remake a print the COGS compared to a lab print doubles or triples. So for traditional portrait work I wouldn't recommend DIY over a lab unless you were looking at putting in a lot more hardware. One thing that drove me nuts was the need to profile the printers if you really wanted 'Studio' quality work. So I either had the choice of sending targets in to a profiling company or again as Luke states dealing with temperamental drivers, or I could spend a grand on a profiling package.
The bottom line is that if you are working to build a traditional portrait business where you don't need to hand someone a print 10 minutes (45 seconds?) after the sitting, a good quality lab is a much better bet. |
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David Bracetty, Photographer, Assistant
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Allentown | PA | US | Posted: 1:36 AM on 04.20.09 |
| ->> Anyone else have comments on this as I am interested in this myself. I am looking for a dye sub to do some on-site printing off my mac. Any ideas? |
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Steve Violette, Photographer
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Gulf Breeze | FL | USA | Posted: 11:11 AM on 04.20.09 |
| ->> Another Sony printer is the GR700 that does the 8x10's. THe new design allow to print glossy or matt from the same paper stock. I believe they are just under $3K. Samples at the imaging shows look pretty good |
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