Printer sales: when to buy

[seanjkanderson]

I've heard that Canon typically has killer printer sales each year at some point. I've never heard when that exactly is. Is it Black Friday?

I've been thinking about getting a printer but am able to wait for when the price is right. I have some interest in both Canon and Epson models mainly around the 24" size, if that makes a difference.

Does it ever make sense to pick up a used printer? I'm generally open to used gear but I know printers have all kinds of problems making it somewhat more tenuous in my mind to buy it used.

[mearussi]

I've heard that Canon typically has killer printer sales each year at some point. I've never heard when that exactly is. Is it Black Friday?

I've been thinking about getting a printer but am able to wait for when the price is right. I have some interest in both Canon and Epson models mainly around the 24" size, if that makes a difference.

Does it ever make sense to pick up a used printer? I'm generally open to used gear but I know printers have all kinds of problems making it somewhat more tenuous in my mind to buy it used.

I've bought all of my LF printers used and generally have had good luck doing so. The key is to make sure it's in perfect working condition when doing so.

[seanjkanderson]

I've bought all of my LF printers used and generally have had good luck doing so. The key is to make sure it's in perfect working condition when doing so.

Good to know. Are you finding these printers on photography specific sites such as LuLa or places like Craigslist as well? And do you have a specific test print or set of tests that you like to run?

Thanks,
Sean

[mearussi]

Good to know. Are you finding these printers on photography specific sites such as LuLa or places like Craigslist as well? And do you have a specific test print or set of tests that you like to run?

Thanks,
Sean

Craigslist

[digitaldog]

These guys have been around forever, so they are doing a lot of things right:
https://proimagingsupplies.com/Professional-Digital-imaging.html

[dpirazzi]

Canon usually offers instant and mail-in rebates at year's end. At the end of 2020, the 4100 could be had for around $3400 including tax and shipping, after rebates. Considering it comes with $2000 worth of ink, it is a great deal.

[seanjkanderson]

Craigslist

Thanks!

These guys have been around forever, so they are doing a lot of things right:
https://proimagingsupplies.com/Professional-Digital-imaging.html

Thanks for the pointer, Andrew!

Canon usually offers instant and mail-in rebates at year's end. At the end of 2020, the 4100 could be had for around $3400 including tax and shipping, after rebates. Considering it comes with $2000 worth of ink, it is a great deal.

Awesome, thanks for this bit. I wasn't sure when Canon does there sale, so thank you!

[seanjkanderson]

There's a well-kept Epson 7800 that's being given away with ink and paper in my area. The owner is trying to free up space and no longer needs a large format printer.

Any thoughts on whether this printer is appropriate for beginning printer? Are people only doing piezo conversions if they're still using these. It sounds like they last a long time, just not sure if people consider it inferior in certain senses these days and thus not worth taking the time to develop a workflow for.

Thanks!
Sean

[mearussi]

There's a well-kept Epson 7800 that's being given away with ink and paper in my area. The owner is trying to free up space and no longer needs a large format printer.

Any thoughts on whether this printer is appropriate for beginning printer? Are people only doing piezo conversions if they're still using these. It sounds like they last a long time, just not sure if people consider it inferior in certain senses these days and thus not worth taking the time to develop a workflow for.

Thanks!
Sean

The x800 series of Epson printers work fine and produce excellent results just as long as you either print daily or do regular daily nozzle checks and cleanings as needed. Also outdated ink can be readily purchased on eBay usually for 1/2 retail cost and in 220ml sizes further reducing the cost/ml. Just make sure it produces a clean nozzle check before accepting because once those heads clog they are very difficult (and expensive) to unclog.

[dgberg]

The x800 series of Epson printers work fine and produce excellent results just as long as you either print daily or do regular daily nozzle checks and cleanings as needed. Also outdated ink can be readily purchased on eBay usually for 1/2 retail cost and in 220ml sizes further reducing the cost/ml. Just make sure it produces a clean nozzle check before accepting because once those heads clog they are very difficult (and expensive) to unclog.

In many cases for a whole lot less. I get about half of my K3 for about .10 per ml. I have found that lower than .10 is where many start to balk.
I still get a fair amount for .05 which is a really great price. At one point I had 10,000 ml of K3, now down to around 5000. It's out there.

[MichaelKoerner]

There's a well-kept Epson 7800 that's being given away with ink and paper in my area.

Any thoughts on whether this printer is appropriate for beginning printer?

I recently got a third hand 7800. It sat unused for about half a year - works like a charm. Of course I asked for an actual nozzle check before buying it.

I love this printer, it's robust, easy to use, has a great paper feed mechanism. Everybody with experience with this printer I spoke to in the last months told me: "Those are work horses. If it prints now, it will do so for quite some time". Print quality is superb.

Downside: Changing from PK (photo black) to MK (matte black) needs extra ink cartridges (black conversion kit) and consumes some 10 mls of ink.

And: I found it useful to make custom ICC profiles. For example, a canned Hahnemühle Photo Rag profile turned out to be unuseable :-/
For some newer papers there are no canned profiles for such an old printer at all.

That said: I'd highly recommend that machine!

[seanjkanderson]

The x800 series of Epson printers work fine and produce excellent results just as long as you either print daily or do regular daily nozzle checks and cleanings as needed. Also outdated ink can be readily purchased on eBay usually for 1/2 retail cost and in 220ml sizes further reducing the cost/ml. Just make sure it produces a clean nozzle check before accepting because once those heads clog they are very difficult (and expensive) to unclog.

In many cases for a whole lot less. I get about half of my K3 for about .10 per ml. I have found that lower than .10 is where many start to balk.
I still get a fair amount for .05 which is a really great price. At one point I had 10,000 ml of K3, now down to around 5000. It's out there.

I recently got a third hand 7800. It sat unused for about half a year - works like a charm. Of course I asked for an actual nozzle check before buying it.

I love this printer, it's robust, easy to use, has a great paper feed mechanism. Everybody with experience with this printer I spoke to in the last months told me: "Those are work horses. If it prints now, it will do so for quite some time". Print quality is superb.

Downside: Changing from PK (photo black) to MK (matte black) needs extra ink cartridges (black conversion kit) and consumes some 10 mls of ink.

And: I found it useful to make custom ICC profiles. For example, a canned Hahnemühle Photo Rag profile turned out to be unuseable :-/
For some newer papers there are no canned profiles for such an old printer at all.

That said: I'd highly recommend that machine!

Unfortunately for me, someone got it before I did, but good on them:) Thank you all for the insights here. I will keep them in mind as I continue my search and learning about what is out there!

[ZoeSanderson]

The day when there are discounts on the official Canon store changes every year. It's impossible to track this day on the calendar if you want to find out. However, there are many opportunities to learn about it in advance. For example, find an app with a paid subscription to the news. Or subscribe to the newsletter from Canon. However, I would advise you to visit sites like https://www.dontpayfull.com/explore with new discounts on electrical appliances and other equipment. One day you will see the news about a discount on printers.