dry lab

[lighthunter]

Hi all
I had a fine arts printing services for 2 years now
I use mainly my hp z3200 44" printer and print on canvas and photo paper I have also epson 3880 as backup I also print photobook s mainly 30x20cm
my clients ask me for 8"x12 prints  and I think large format printers is not sutible bacause the cost of ink and papers and I need to cut photos due to most photo rolls i have is 61cm width
I need I solution fatser and less cost per print
in my city labs (all chemecas)l are sold 8×12"  for .38 usd so it must cost me alot less

[aaronchan]

Depending on how many 8x12 are you talking about.
If you need to print hundreds of them, why not use your 3880 to print it?
You are providing "fine art printing services", not a 1 hr photo lab print.
If someone asks me to do it, I will just ask him to go to walgreen.
If someone who owns a super busy studio and wants to outsource the printing to me, and I'm sure he can feed me well, I will buy a dry lab machine.
Otherwise, why bother.

You can get 13 x 19 paper and chop them up with a table top paper cutter and use them on your 3880

If you have a medium client base who are looking for cheaper prints, get another 3880 and run 3rd party ink.
Inkjetmall makes very good Dye ink, that should fit your budget.

aaron

[Wayne Fox]

in my city labs (all chemecas)l are sold 8×12"  for .38 usd so it must cost me alot less

good luck with that.  Chemical processes for volume small prints are still far cheaper to make than any inkjet process.  And at .38 they are producing at very low margins. 

The closest thing you can get is probably Fuji’s dry lab, Fuji DL 600. Compared to chemical printer/processors, it’s relatively cheap, but it will still set you back around $17k.  Been a while since I ran the numbers, but seems I recall the ink/paper runs around .50/8x10.

[langier]

Different yourself from the wet lab and compete on service, not price. If I tried to compete with all the cheap labs within a few miles of me, I'd be broke. I stress service and quality over price and quantity, though I'll quote a volume price that never reaches the per-piece price of the cheap labs. However, my quality is much, much higher and you get the service and expertise that they can't touch for what they charge.

[lighthunter]

Aha
what about epson surelab d700 and d3000