Wide format Photo Printers

[clee01l]

I'd like to upgrade my PixmaPro 100 to an affordable printer that can print larger than 13"x19". Ideally this would accept paper on rolls at least 24" wide. The only printers I can find are much wider and approach $5000USD. A cost that is hard to justify.

Any suggestions?

 

[Gnits]

I am hoping you get some good suggestions.

I am also keen to buy a new printer. The Epson P900, which has a paper roll option would be my focus. It is an a2 plus printer and does not match your 24 inch roll requirement. It may be a fall back option if your ideal cannot be found. I am nervous of buying the P900 right now as it is getting close to a refresh cycle. A big advantage is that there are separate Matt and Gloss print heads, which makes changing Matte/Gloss a lot less wasteful of ink.

When buying my first photo printer (Epson 3800), I was seriously thinking of getting the much bigger Epson 4800. I am glad I didn’t for 2 reasons. 1. It’s physical dimensions would have been a problem and 2) more importantly… if the bigger unit is not used regularly it suffers from head clogs. They are expected to be worked hard on a near daily basis. If in a dry climate then this becomes even more of a factor.

The big advantage of Canon is the ability to change print heads.

 

[RoyReed]

2) more importantly… if the bigger unit is not used regularly it suffers from head clogs. They are expected to be worked hard on a near daily basis. If in a dry climate then this becomes even more of a factor.

Talking to one of the guys at The PrintSpace (top London photo print shop) he told me not to think about getting a large format printer unless I was going to use it at least several times a week for this very reason.

 

[Gnits]

I had a headclog problem with my 3800, was trying to avoid replacing the head and looking for a home remedy. I followed a lot of discussions on head clogs generally…. and this point was hammered home , …. repeatly.

I eventually got the head replaced through an official Epson agent.

I have access to two world class fine art printers, within a few miles of where I live. I am happy to print up to a2+ myself… anything else… I pass it on to the professional print houses.

 

[Conrad Chavez]

I tend to print in bursts: A big job, then nothing for weeks, then another big job. I’ve managed to almost completely prevent head clogs on my 7-year-old Epson 3880 by making a calendar item that reminds me to do a nozzle check, and that reminder pops up once every week. If a clog is developing, it will show up in the weekly nozzle check and I can run the head cleaning routine to clear it before the clog becomes too difficult to resolve.

The other thing about the 38xx series and others of its generation is the notorious matte/glossy black ink switching system. If not switched regularly, the switching mechanism fails after four or five years and starts leaking black ink all over prints. To prevent this, I have another recurring calendar item that reminds me to switch the black inks once a month. I think the newer Epson pro photo printers no longer need to do black ink switching, improving their reliability considerably.

With those two recurring maintenance reminders in place, the printer stays in good health even if I don‘t print for a few months.