11-04-2010, 11:00 PM
[quote name='Pinhole' timestamp='1288830170' post='3950']
Hi,
Just my 2 cents worth: I used to do a lot of printing at home, but I found there was too much wastage and the ink quality did not ensure long life of the images. But since then, printer/ink technology had improved drastically, so I'm sure there are some good options if you are prepared to invest a good amount of money on materials.
Nowadays I can get excellent A3 prints on very good paper for around 5 euros apiece, and when I sell them the profit margin is quite high. If I print larger, I'll go to a truly fabulous local printer who will do an archive quality print on Tetenal, Hahnemühle, Schoeller paper (among many others) within 3 days - the results are guaranteed, and I don't have to worry about any technical stuff or wastage/maintenance etc. For professional customers and for display/portfolio prints, this is the only way to go for me.
Economically, this is probably not the best solution if you want prints for family and friends, but if you want to exhibit/sell your work it's worth seeking out a really good professional printer's and giving them a try.
[/quote]
I fully agree.
Vieux Loup, try for instance http://www.seenby.fr for nice quality prints in all custom-sizes from 10x15cm to 180x300cm. They do lambda print and you can choose from differnt finishings if you want. I sell my fine art stuff through them. Their quality is very good and prices are very cheap for what you get. Even better quality is offered by http://www.whitewall.com for slightly higher but still very cheap prices. Whitewall additonally offers inkjet prints.
Really with these kind of prices, self printing is not worth the hassle. Remember even with the best equipment there is a lot of trial and error and waste of ink and paper involved, as many people told you.
Finally, if you want high quality prints you need to use a software allowing you to soft-proof and fine tune your images. This means you need Photoshop (an older version like CS3 will do). Using Capture NX is less than ideal.
Hi,
Just my 2 cents worth: I used to do a lot of printing at home, but I found there was too much wastage and the ink quality did not ensure long life of the images. But since then, printer/ink technology had improved drastically, so I'm sure there are some good options if you are prepared to invest a good amount of money on materials.
Nowadays I can get excellent A3 prints on very good paper for around 5 euros apiece, and when I sell them the profit margin is quite high. If I print larger, I'll go to a truly fabulous local printer who will do an archive quality print on Tetenal, Hahnemühle, Schoeller paper (among many others) within 3 days - the results are guaranteed, and I don't have to worry about any technical stuff or wastage/maintenance etc. For professional customers and for display/portfolio prints, this is the only way to go for me.
Economically, this is probably not the best solution if you want prints for family and friends, but if you want to exhibit/sell your work it's worth seeking out a really good professional printer's and giving them a try.
[/quote]
I fully agree.
Vieux Loup, try for instance http://www.seenby.fr for nice quality prints in all custom-sizes from 10x15cm to 180x300cm. They do lambda print and you can choose from differnt finishings if you want. I sell my fine art stuff through them. Their quality is very good and prices are very cheap for what you get. Even better quality is offered by http://www.whitewall.com for slightly higher but still very cheap prices. Whitewall additonally offers inkjet prints.
Really with these kind of prices, self printing is not worth the hassle. Remember even with the best equipment there is a lot of trial and error and waste of ink and paper involved, as many people told you.
Finally, if you want high quality prints you need to use a software allowing you to soft-proof and fine tune your images. This means you need Photoshop (an older version like CS3 will do). Using Capture NX is less than ideal.