Okay - I'm finally at the point where I can print the portfolio. I was going to send it out to a copy shop, however, I think I'd be more at ease if I could oversee and control the whole process myself. Thus, I think I'm going to go out and buy a home printer. Can I get some suggestions on a high quality color printer - under $200?
I'm a big fan of Canon's printers, but beware that regardless of whatever brand of printer you buy, depending on the number of portfolios you need to print, you're going to be shelling out a lot of $$ on ink. Plus, there's the whole issue of color management...
i agree with agfa8x. why buy a printer that you don't want or one that is't really good. If you are gonna buy a printer get one that you want and one you will use after the portfolio is done. The Canon i9900 photo printer is awesome. It prints up to 13" wide and does ok on ink consumption. It runs about $500, however Canon just came out with its replacement (Pixma 9000) and you can probably pick up an i9900 for about $400 now. I have the i9900 and I love it. Epson's are good too though, but I have heard they waste a lot more ink than a Canon does.
I would recommend a print shop as well, especially if you are interested in printing on anything other than photo or regular paper and doing full bleeds.
Failing that, I love my Canon Pixma 5200. Wireless networking and duplex printing. Pretty hard to beat for $200.
So far I've been very happy with my $120 Epson Photo R280 (with Epson double-sided matte paper). Print quality has been very good, and it does full bleed up to 8.5"x11". Also, since I'm doing the printing myself, I have much better quality control than if I were outsourcing it.
Only downside is, as others have mentioned, I'll no doubt be spending more money on ink that I have on the printer and paper combined.
agfa8x - i agree and disagree with you. If you are printing a portfolio then definitely don't use something cheap. a cheap priinter of any kind is gonna look bad. you get what you pay for. if you buy a nice professional inkjet photo printer, which run about $500, you will get very nice prints out of it. You can send your prints off to someone else too but if you are willing to invest a little you can have something very nice that will last a while and produce quality prints for you.
sanofiSYN ,
Have you printed out any test prints at home? I'm asking because in my opinion you can get nice print outs using a printer thats under $100.00. Test out the printer you got at home or even a friends first before deciding to buy a new one.
As long as your images have been saved at a high resolution it's going to look good unless the printer is on its last legs.
Do you need a printer that prints out 13"x19" for your portfolio? Although it is nice to have 13"x19" printer in school for everyday pin-up. I have one and I print out "11x17" all the time. I hate it when other students pin-up 8.5"x11"
Some Walgreens refill injet cartridges at a cost of lot less then buying a new one.
Anyway, I'm skeptical about how much better a highend inkjet printer is then a less expensive inkjet in terms of quality.
If you want to save money in the long run, get a plotter. One that prints out 24" wide. HP makes a couple that are around $800.00 Every project I have had in studio I spend around 150 for final presentation prints. So if you are going to be in school for about 3 years with 2 studios per year thats 6 final presentations. 6 final presentaton x $150=$900 Most studios have more then one project per studio so its even more money. And of course you are going to have other types of architecture classes that you might need to print out a board or two. You can print for other students and even make some money!
Sorry for the long response!
Well. . . thanks for the responses. Maybe I will use a copy shop. I've done a test print on the panasonic color laser printer at work - heavy duty office type. It's super fast, but in terms of quality, it ain't all that. I've seen images for presentations that have been printed on the plotter, but they haven't been that good either. The nice inkjet does a better job. Have any of you tried Kinko's? It's been awhile since I've been there, but just wondering if the quality was good. I have about 40 pages 8.5x11, double-sided, requiring full bleed, and I'm printing 4 portfolios.
Sano,
Kinko's is great, they'll use a color laser printer. I don't like the paper quality however, maybe you can bring your own. Check with them first.
If you're serious about taking control of your production, why this talk about putting it into the hands of someone at Kinko's?
I recently wrote in another thread that this week I bought an Epson printer for $100 and printing on Epson paper gives me really amazing results. I was in the shop only looking at the $400 printers, but when the guy showed me the quality of the cheaper models, I was sold!
These printers do drink ink like you wouldn't believe, but it's worth the price for your portfolio, isn't it?
Total cost for all my portfolios:
Epson photo inkjet printer -- $100
100 sheets of heavyweight double-sided paper -- $20
3 sets of ink cartriges -- $65
total control -- priceless....................!!
Now.. this comes after two good months of testing everything - inkjet, laser, copyshop and professional. I was willing to spend much more, but went with Epson because the final result is the best.
I'm printing on A4, so if you are looking for something bigger, the cost will be higher.
I know money is hard to come by sometimes (believe me I know.), but the amount you will spend on printing your portfolio whether you buy a printer or not, is nothing compared to the cost of an education (in both time and money). I would try my hardest not to make cost the determining factor.
You have to ask yourself:
Can I get the results that I want using a large-scale print house?
Remember, you don't have to pay for crappy prints (I worked at a print house across from an art school and it happened every day). You can tell the print house that their prints are not good enough, and they will (should) redo them. There are also places that will print on any paper you can think of (and many you can't), but they are typically much more expensive. Just remember to ask to look at samples of anyone's work before you use their service. One kinko's to the next can vary a lot, so I wouldn't give away my trust to a franchise, without making sure of the particular shops quality, when it comes to something as subjective and variable as printing.
If you are doing a lot of experimentation with paper types, bleeds, etc. then I would seriously consider buying a good printer.
I studied photography in college, and every professional photographer I have known, who couldn't afford a large format printer, used an epson 2200. My girlfriend printed her M-Arch portfolio (on really difficult paper) with it, and the results were stunning. The ink is expensive, yes, but I have not seen a printer which can surpass it's quality for the money (which isn't cheap). But it is a good investment, if you plan on doing a lot of printing.
I agree with above posts on the Canon printers, their top-line printers are quite good, fast, and the ink is relatively cheaper. My A3 printer works like a dream. Although I still borrowed a color laser printer for portfolio printing, fast and I like the way black spreads look =P
Just need to spend a little time tweaking color settings and calibrating. It's really nice having control over each page if something's not just right, as opposed to giving it to print shops and waiting anxiously for results hoping everything comes out okay.
I am sort of a luddite, but just kidding about the portfolio. I actually considered it, but I'm not near that talented...or patient.
Hey, sorry about giving you a hard time about your project. I just think overanalyzing things that originate from human emotion (play as I understand it) sort of belittles it. I feel this way about a lot of art/architectural historical analysis. Anyway, that's a topic for another thread.
After going back and forth between buying a printer or not, I ended up going out and buying an Epson from circuit city. The guy there said it was just as good as the higher end models that cost a few hundred dollars more, so I'm taking his word. Worst case scenario, I could always return it and use a copy shop, then overnight the portfolios. I love that the Epsons provide for full bleeds!
I've got an Epson Photo R800. I'd recommend it, although you have to buy the ink online.
Printer cost $280 or so. Quality is the best I've seen anywhere - better than any print shop I've seen, too (I am sure there are some super great ones out there, just ahven't seen them).
I've spent probably about $1500 on ink so far (I print a lot of full color images) and another $500 for paper. So far, the printer has been a great performer.
You get what you pay for, essentially.
Oh, if this is for portfolio, forget a local shop. You won't be able to do good tests, which will be essential. There's no way they could touch the quality without you spending tons for a super high quality (forget laser printers).
Honestly, I think it's short sighted not to have a good printer in todays' world. A few hundred bucks and you'll be able to produce anything you need, with great colors (nothing compares to the vibrancy of ink jets).
Dec 10, 06 9:01 am ·
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Home Printers
Okay - I'm finally at the point where I can print the portfolio. I was going to send it out to a copy shop, however, I think I'd be more at ease if I could oversee and control the whole process myself. Thus, I think I'm going to go out and buy a home printer. Can I get some suggestions on a high quality color printer - under $200?
I'm a big fan of Canon's printers, but beware that regardless of whatever brand of printer you buy, depending on the number of portfolios you need to print, you're going to be shelling out a lot of $$ on ink. Plus, there's the whole issue of color management...
for quality, i've found epson to be the best....but hp's last longer, save more on ink, and have comparable quality...
Get it printed somewhere else. A sub-$200 inkjet is not going to give you the results you want.
i agree with agfa8x. why buy a printer that you don't want or one that is't really good. If you are gonna buy a printer get one that you want and one you will use after the portfolio is done. The Canon i9900 photo printer is awesome. It prints up to 13" wide and does ok on ink consumption. It runs about $500, however Canon just came out with its replacement (Pixma 9000) and you can probably pick up an i9900 for about $400 now. I have the i9900 and I love it. Epson's are good too though, but I have heard they waste a lot more ink than a Canon does.
I would recommend a print shop as well, especially if you are interested in printing on anything other than photo or regular paper and doing full bleeds.
Failing that, I love my Canon Pixma 5200. Wireless networking and duplex printing. Pretty hard to beat for $200.
So far I've been very happy with my $120 Epson Photo R280 (with Epson double-sided matte paper). Print quality has been very good, and it does full bleed up to 8.5"x11". Also, since I'm doing the printing myself, I have much better quality control than if I were outsourcing it.
Only downside is, as others have mentioned, I'll no doubt be spending more money on ink that I have on the printer and paper combined.
the worst thing about inkjets is the way they saturate the paper unless you buy mighty expensive stock.
also they always start feeding wonky after a while.
and inkjet prints always look cheap, no matter how much you spend on paper and photo-inks and so forth.
get a cheap inkjet for everyday stuff, but for a portfolio, print elsewhere.
agfa8x - i agree and disagree with you. If you are printing a portfolio then definitely don't use something cheap. a cheap priinter of any kind is gonna look bad. you get what you pay for. if you buy a nice professional inkjet photo printer, which run about $500, you will get very nice prints out of it. You can send your prints off to someone else too but if you are willing to invest a little you can have something very nice that will last a while and produce quality prints for you.
sanofiSYN ,
Have you printed out any test prints at home? I'm asking because in my opinion you can get nice print outs using a printer thats under $100.00. Test out the printer you got at home or even a friends first before deciding to buy a new one.
As long as your images have been saved at a high resolution it's going to look good unless the printer is on its last legs.
Do you need a printer that prints out 13"x19" for your portfolio? Although it is nice to have 13"x19" printer in school for everyday pin-up. I have one and I print out "11x17" all the time. I hate it when other students pin-up 8.5"x11"
Some Walgreens refill injet cartridges at a cost of lot less then buying a new one.
Anyway, I'm skeptical about how much better a highend inkjet printer is then a less expensive inkjet in terms of quality.
If you want to save money in the long run, get a plotter. One that prints out 24" wide. HP makes a couple that are around $800.00 Every project I have had in studio I spend around 150 for final presentation prints. So if you are going to be in school for about 3 years with 2 studios per year thats 6 final presentations. 6 final presentaton x $150=$900 Most studios have more then one project per studio so its even more money. And of course you are going to have other types of architecture classes that you might need to print out a board or two. You can print for other students and even make some money!
Sorry for the long response!
Well. . . thanks for the responses. Maybe I will use a copy shop. I've done a test print on the panasonic color laser printer at work - heavy duty office type. It's super fast, but in terms of quality, it ain't all that. I've seen images for presentations that have been printed on the plotter, but they haven't been that good either. The nice inkjet does a better job. Have any of you tried Kinko's? It's been awhile since I've been there, but just wondering if the quality was good. I have about 40 pages 8.5x11, double-sided, requiring full bleed, and I'm printing 4 portfolios.
Sano,
Kinko's is great, they'll use a color laser printer. I don't like the paper quality however, maybe you can bring your own. Check with them first.
Hmm . . . perhaps Kinko's then. Arri - do you happen to know offhand the price/sheet for their color laser printer?
If you're serious about taking control of your production, why this talk about putting it into the hands of someone at Kinko's?
I recently wrote in another thread that this week I bought an Epson printer for $100 and printing on Epson paper gives me really amazing results. I was in the shop only looking at the $400 printers, but when the guy showed me the quality of the cheaper models, I was sold!
These printers do drink ink like you wouldn't believe, but it's worth the price for your portfolio, isn't it?
Total cost for all my portfolios:
Epson photo inkjet printer -- $100
100 sheets of heavyweight double-sided paper -- $20
3 sets of ink cartriges -- $65
total control -- priceless....................!!
Now.. this comes after two good months of testing everything - inkjet, laser, copyshop and professional. I was willing to spend much more, but went with Epson because the final result is the best.
I'm printing on A4, so if you are looking for something bigger, the cost will be higher.
I know money is hard to come by sometimes (believe me I know.), but the amount you will spend on printing your portfolio whether you buy a printer or not, is nothing compared to the cost of an education (in both time and money). I would try my hardest not to make cost the determining factor.
You have to ask yourself:
Can I get the results that I want using a large-scale print house?
Remember, you don't have to pay for crappy prints (I worked at a print house across from an art school and it happened every day). You can tell the print house that their prints are not good enough, and they will (should) redo them. There are also places that will print on any paper you can think of (and many you can't), but they are typically much more expensive. Just remember to ask to look at samples of anyone's work before you use their service. One kinko's to the next can vary a lot, so I wouldn't give away my trust to a franchise, without making sure of the particular shops quality, when it comes to something as subjective and variable as printing.
If you are doing a lot of experimentation with paper types, bleeds, etc. then I would seriously consider buying a good printer.
I studied photography in college, and every professional photographer I have known, who couldn't afford a large format printer, used an epson 2200. My girlfriend printed her M-Arch portfolio (on really difficult paper) with it, and the results were stunning. The ink is expensive, yes, but I have not seen a printer which can surpass it's quality for the money (which isn't cheap). But it is a good investment, if you plan on doing a lot of printing.
Good luck.
Illbilly
I agree with above posts on the Canon printers, their top-line printers are quite good, fast, and the ink is relatively cheaper. My A3 printer works like a dream. Although I still borrowed a color laser printer for portfolio printing, fast and I like the way black spreads look =P
Just need to spend a little time tweaking color settings and calibrating. It's really nice having control over each page if something's not just right, as opposed to giving it to print shops and waiting anxiously for results hoping everything comes out okay.
I'm not using a computer to do my portfolio. Doing it all by hand.
Metamechanic,
I am sort of a luddite, but just kidding about the portfolio. I actually considered it, but I'm not near that talented...or patient.
Hey, sorry about giving you a hard time about your project. I just think overanalyzing things that originate from human emotion (play as I understand it) sort of belittles it. I feel this way about a lot of art/architectural historical analysis. Anyway, that's a topic for another thread.
Talk to you later.
Hey guys,
After going back and forth between buying a printer or not, I ended up going out and buying an Epson from circuit city. The guy there said it was just as good as the higher end models that cost a few hundred dollars more, so I'm taking his word. Worst case scenario, I could always return it and use a copy shop, then overnight the portfolios. I love that the Epsons provide for full bleeds!
I've got an Epson Photo R800. I'd recommend it, although you have to buy the ink online.
Printer cost $280 or so. Quality is the best I've seen anywhere - better than any print shop I've seen, too (I am sure there are some super great ones out there, just ahven't seen them).
I've spent probably about $1500 on ink so far (I print a lot of full color images) and another $500 for paper. So far, the printer has been a great performer.
You get what you pay for, essentially.
Oh, if this is for portfolio, forget a local shop. You won't be able to do good tests, which will be essential. There's no way they could touch the quality without you spending tons for a super high quality (forget laser printers).
Honestly, I think it's short sighted not to have a good printer in todays' world. A few hundred bucks and you'll be able to produce anything you need, with great colors (nothing compares to the vibrancy of ink jets).
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