Best Printer for Proofing Digital Images

[dpphoto_clt]

I'm looking for a small desktop printer that will deliver a good equivalent of my digital images. 

I'm an interior design photographer and quite often I have a client describe the images I've delivered as too dark or light, too cool or warm and so on.  Also, I've provided images to publications both national and local only to have them lack a good black or to loose detail in the highlights.

I calibrate my monitors regualery and feel pretty confident about the image quality I'm delivering but I would like to have proof (to my clients and myself) that the images are going to reproduce the way I see them on my monitors.

Is there a practical printer and paper combination that would be suited to this end?  I'm not looking for fine art printing here - just a good representation of my images. 

Thanks for any andvice!

[kers]

I understand your desire to have a printed proof; My printer is mainly used for that purpose.
I have a large format printer, but a good A3 printer would do well. Than i think of the Epson's and Canon's.
You don't need a fine art printer, but you do need a printer that is reliable and constant in its ouput.
The fine art part is expensive paper- you can use cheaper rc paper. Also pigment ink is not necessary.
But you need a printer that comes with icc profiles for that printer and paper combination.
If you want to have more perfection you can have made a dedicated icc profile made.
( do that if you are sure your printer is working perfectly)

PS you will notice for instance that a printed proof displays banding more clearly and the screen will show grain more clearly.
they both have different sensitivities

[dpphoto_clt]

This is very important to me so thanks so much for your time and reply!

Would you suggest an A3 printer(s) specifically, especially one with a reliable icc that might be used right out of the box?  It’s been a while since I’ve done any fine art printing and I’m a bit rusty at the profile and profile management craft.  (.. or is making a product recommendation frowned upon in this forum?)

 
Thanks again in advance!

** PS. Is the banding in a proof print image a noticeable negative artifact on the printed page (150 line screen).. or should I try a full page proof to see how noticeable it might really be?

[mearussi]

The Canon Pro 200 should work fine for your needs.

[kers]

This is very important to me so thanks so much for your time and reply!

Would you suggest an A3 printer(s) specifically, especially one with a reliable icc that might be used right out of the box?  It’s been a while since I’ve done any fine art printing and I’m a bit rusty at the profile and profile management craft.  (.. or is making a product recommendation frowned upon in this forum?)

 
Thanks again in advance!

** PS. Is the banding in a proof print image a noticeable negative artifact on the printed page (150 line screen).. or should I try a full page proof to see how noticeable it might really be?

Could also be an A4 printer; but you need a serious made printer with custom profiles.. Mostly the larger they are the more serious they are built, and the more they cost.
I am not an expert in this, but you can find lots of information in this forum.

Banding shows up more clearly in print i find, but it can also be a bad printer profile that causes it. Often you don't expect it and there it is: so then you have to find out what is the cause: you can measure in photoshop if there are discontinuities in the digital image.  Also, gradients are difficult for a inkjet printer to do perfect because of its nature to make images with small dots .

[dpphoto_clt]

I'd like to thank you all for your advice and time to reply to me.  I'll use all the info you have shared to find the printer needed and to use paper and icc's in the best way for me.  Thanks again all!

[tastar]

Epson has a new 6-color Ecotank printer, the ET-8550 ($699.00 U.S.) that prints 13 inches wide. Since it's an Ecotank, its ink costs are dramatically lower than a Canon PRO-200 ($599.00 U.S.) or an Epson P700 ($799.00 U.S.). Epson also has a wide variety of papers, so you would have lots of paper choices with driver embedded profiles.

Keith Cooper has done a set-up article on his website, as well as a few YouTube videos about the printer.

It seems like it would be an interesting choice.

Tony

[dpphoto_clt]

Thanks for the advice Tony!  I'll make a decision here shortly and post it.

[John Nollendorfs]

Just remember the main problem with inkjet printers is letting them set idle. They love to be used every day if possible. Worst thing you can do is let them sit for weeks on end unused!!

[JeanMichel]

Hi,
Proofing on an inkjet printer will, at best, only approximate the print on a commercial press. If your files are to be printed in cmyk, you are best to do a soft-proof in Photoshop using one of the standard cmyk profiles. You cannot do cmyk soft-proofing in Lightroom or, as far as I know, any other image processor.

The Epson large format “Commercial Edition” — not Standard Edition — versions printers combined with a spectrographer are a proofing solution, but that may not be necessary if the print quality is to be “pleasant colours” as opposed to “accurate colours”.  In my experience, proofing in Photoshop was quite sufficient. For more precise proofing I relied on the pre-press proof from the printer, or less frequently, when accuracy is paramount and budgets available, on actual press proof.

If I were you, I would start with the on screen proofing in PS.

Jean-Michel

[aaron125]

Just remember the main problem with inkjet printers is letting them set idle. They love to be used every day if possible. Worst thing you can do is let them sit for weeks on end unused!!

That's not entirely true, it's really just Epson pigment printers which have to be used so often or at least run a nozzle check weekly, if not making prints at least that often. Dye ink printers should have zero or nearly zero issues when only making prints every month or two.

Until I purchased a Canon Pro1000 about 2-3 years ago, for 15 years prior I was only using Epson pigment ink printers. They've come a long way since then but the Canon is so much better in this respect. I can use it to make just 1-2 prints per month with zero issues whatsoever. I always perform a nozzle check before making any prints and since I bought the printer I'm still yet to perform any head cleaning cycles as every nozzle check comes out perfect and every print I make comes out perfect.

If you get a dye ink printer you can print as often or as rarely as you please, you shouldn't have any issues at all. Even with a pigment ink printer, unless you live in an extremely dry, hot and dusty environment, there really shouldn't be any problems with the current pigment printers, but to be safe, just run a nozzle check every fortnight at least or every week and that should be enough to keep it clear of clogging problems.

[IPDOUGLAS]

quote "...... and quite often I have a client describe the images I've delivered as too dark or light......"

I can understand this as a clients lighting may vary wildly?   Do you show them prints in a controlled (lighting) station?

Perhaps take a look at the 'Digital Dog's' article as follows http://digitaldog.net/files/21SoftProofing%20and%20WYSIWYG.pdf

and

on youtube   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS6sjZmxjY4

Reading and watching these should give you some useful pointers.