Luminous Landscape Forum
Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Printing: Printers, Papers and Inks => Topic started by: lagunaalbums on May 04, 2007, 03:12:07 pm
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We are a custom wedding album company who are looking to expand our product line to include a fine art album that is printed on matt paper on an inkjet printer.
This machine will likely run day and night and needs to have good color and skin tones. Durribility of the prints is also important to us.
I have been reading on the site about printers such as the HP Z2100 and the Canon iPf5000.
Any experience you can share with me would be appreciated.
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If you are into production quantities you really must take a close look at the 42inch version of the HPZ6100 with the optional take-up reel for overnight printing.
The printers you have mentioned are not suitable for your task as they are slow and cannot collect your prints after printing in an efficient manner if you are printing day & night.
I have just spent a week at a trade show in the UK demonstrating the HP wide format machines and most of the sales were going to companies with similar requirements to yours - high volume speed and paper handling with high quality photo heads & ink (similar to the Z2100).
The output is as good as the Z2100 but due to a new invention - an integrated camera which adjusts paper feed on the fly - it can run faster without a drop in quality.
Find a pdf here:
http://h41186.www4.hp.com/Data/datasheets/...?pageseq=203423 (http://h41186.www4.hp.com/Data/datasheets/Z6100_us_datasheet_low_res_FINAL.pdf?pageseq=203423)
Good luck!
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I would suggest considering the EPSON 9800 Printer as well. This printer is a proven workhorse and comes with EPSONs unrivaled customer support.
Adam Brown
Osio-Brown Editions
549 Spring Road
Elmhurst, IL 60126
(630) 461-4525
http://www.osiobrown.com/OBE_Index.html (http://www.osiobrown.com/OBE_Index.html)
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My experience is that the words "durable" and "matte" are contradictory. The matte surfaces I've tried mark very easily.
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The Z3100 also has an optional take up reel for about $2k, I believe. You'll get better gamut out of it than a Z6100, but I think the Z3100 is about 1/3 to 1/2 the speed.
If you're serious about durability, then you might consider the eco/light solvents also. We have some customers looking to mass produce for sales to doctors offices and such, so speed and print durability are high on their list. Yet, they still have to look very good (though not excellent). A lot of the eco/solvents out there look horrible from an art standpoint (especially anything with a Xaar print head, like Infinity), but I was extremely impressed with the Mutoh Valuejets and the higher end Mimaki's, the JV5 I think (it was out of our price range). The gamuts are getting better and better with the solvent inks, they last forever and a day indoors w/ decent life outside, and some models like those I mentioned are matching aqueous in resolution. The Mutoh's also have this neat wave print pattern that reduces the effect of misaligned print heads and clogged nozzles, essentially making banding a thing of the past.
You're looking at $15k and up for solvents, I've gathered. The 64" Mutoh runs about $21k, but that includes a take up reel unlike many models.
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The Z3100 also has an optional take up reel for about $2k, I believe. You'll get better gamut out of it than a Z6100, but I think the Z3100 is about 1/3 to 1/2 the speed.
If you're serious about durability, then you might consider the eco/light solvents also. We have some customers looking to mass produce for sales to doctors offices and such, so speed and print durability are high on their list. Yet, they still have to look very good (though not excellent). A lot of the eco/solvents out there look horrible from an art standpoint (especially anything with a Xaar print head, like Infinity), but I was extremely impressed with the Mutoh Valuejets and the higher end Mimaki's, the JV5 I think (it was out of our price range). The gamuts are getting better and better with the solvent inks, they last forever and a day indoors w/ decent life outside, and some models like those I mentioned are matching aqueous in resolution. The Mutoh's also have this neat wave print pattern that reduces the effect of misaligned print heads and clogged nozzles, essentially making banding a thing of the past.
You're looking at $15k and up for solvents, I've gathered. The 64" Mutoh runs about $21k, but that includes a take up reel unlike many models.
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Well My Suggestion would require more info..
What Size album? What Papers? Can you run mulitple Albums at one time ? Do You Have a triming capabilities? Is Speed a requirement?
If you would like to call me that would be fine to..
Every Machine has Pros and Cons..
Cheers
Jim Doyle
[a href=\"http://www.shadesofpaper.com]http://www.shadesofpaper.com (http://index.php?act=findpost&pid=115751\")
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Thank you for taking the time to answer my question with these detailed responses. So much to consider.
I would be producing mostly 10x20 in pages on a toothy paper. The images are then mounted on boards and bound.
The speed of the printer is important for us, but quality of the image matters most ot our customers.
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Thank you for taking the time to answer my question with these detailed responses. So much to consider.
I would be producing mostly 10x20 in pages on a toothy paper. The images are then mounted on boards and bound.
The speed of the printer is important for us, but quality of the image matters most ot our customers.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=117786\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
The problem here is where you say "bound." Inkjet prints are not wet darkroom prints. They don't have that nice clear coat of gelatin to protect the surface. With an inkjet print the image is pigments and the pigments themselves form the surface of the print. There is no protective coating. They are therefore very prone to scratching and scuffing if you handle them as if they are wet darkroom prints.
Many people have tried book making of various types with inkjet prints. Nearly all have concluded that you have to protect the surface in some way, or some ways. Many spray the print with a fixative, then bind it with translucent tissue overlays over each print. Some methods work better than others.
I'm just saying that this bears more investigation on your part -- the printer itself may not be the bottleneck in the process.