Need some QUICK advice on printing

ndwgolf

ndwgolf

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Neil Williams
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As usual I am jumping into something new without a lot of thought but time is not on my side (I only have a week left before I go back to work) so anyway here we go.
I want to start doing my own printing (for fun) and mainly printing in B&W size A2 but also be able to print in colour. I have been guided into getting a Epson 3880 and plan to buy one of those today if I can find one in stock here in Malaysia along with some paper and ink, so my questions are;
  1. What is the best paper to get for printing B&W
  2. What ink should I get
  3. What paper should I get if I want to print in colour
As usual any help or advice would be much appreceated
 
I use ilford paper for printing in colour, and download the appropriate profiles for the paper. Always been happy with the results.
I've tried premium plus and galerie. Never printed larger than A4.
Never tried B&W though.
My printer is canon, and I always buy the original inks.
I know this probably won't be of much help to you for what you're looking to do. :)
 
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1 You might be limited by what you can actually get in A2 and/or large rolls.
2 Genuine Epson.
3 See 1!

If you have a choice of papers, try some sample prints for each type of print and see what you prefer.
 
That's an expensive printer and not worth the money if you don't mind me saying, i've had a few supposedly 'top of the range' Epson printers over the years, which all turned out to be rubbish, is there a reason you need to print to A2 wouldn't you be better having them printed by a pro lab?
 
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Swissy said:
That's an expensive printer and not worth the money if you don't mind me saying, i've had few supposedly'top of the range' Epson printers over the years, which all turned out to be rubbish, is there a reason you need to print to A2 wouldn't you be better having them printed by a pro lab?
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Glanni I need to be able to print A2 for exhibitions..............I have just heard that Epson has released a new model SureColor P800..........I will wait for one of those to become available in Malaysia
 
Printing your own while satisfying, can be a real money pit and take a lot of time as well. I don't know how much experience you have with printing but there's a lot more to creating a top class exhibition quality print than just pressing print and waiting for a picture to pop out.
As well as getting the printer, I'd really recommend getting some training, or at the very least doing some reading on the subject.
In terms of your original questions, baryta type papers are recommended for black and white. If you're planning on doing lots of printing then a continuous ink system would be worth investing in.
 
The Epson 3880 is not a cheap printer. You can get a lot of prints produced commercially for the price of one of those beasts. However I can understand the desire to print your own. Can I make a suggestion. Opt for a less expensive machine that produces A3 or A4 prints. Get to grips with that first. It'll save you a lot of money as far as material is concerned as you are the bottom of the learning curve. You'll also find out if your own printing is worthwhile option. Whichever printer you choose I'd strongly suggest you stick with the manufacturers recommended inks. This way if you opt for a bigger machine it's a constant.

Choice of paper if up to you. Do you want a dead matte surface, pearl, or gloss. what weight? These are all personal preferences. Sometimes the best approach is to buy trial packs and see which you prefer Using a smaller machine gives you the opportunity to decide, at relatively low cost.
 
John
I have just come off the phone with the Epson rep her in KL and he says that the new SureColor P800 will be in Malaysia in July so tomorrow I am going out to try and buy one of these trial packs you are talking about in A4 and have a go at printing on my HP Photosmart all in one printer
I will let you know how I get on :)
 
Once you've decided on a paper, I'd highly recommend downloading the printer profiles for that printer / paper combo (or getting one made). This will ensure you get print to print consistency, something that is essential if you are exhibiting black and white prints.
 
The Epsom 3880 is a brilliant printer. There is nothing to beat it in its class and certainly nothing will better its B&W. Look up Eric chan advanced B&W printing and you will find virtually everything you need to know including downloadable profiles. It is an expensive printer but if you are serious about printing then you won't regret it. Once you develope a good printing technique its not even that expensive to print. Not worth getting if your only doing occasional printing. It's the ability to finesse and have total control that makes it worthwhile.
 
We had the Epson 3880 and it was used on a daily basis producing stunning prints for our customers.
The price of genuine ink varied between dealers but not by much so printing on the cheap wasn't an option.
As far as the price is concerned it was well worth the £1200 we paid for it at the time and it paid for itself in a short time.
The only drawback was having to use cut sheet paper whereas now we have a 44" twin roll feed printer which is much more economical to use but almost £6,000 to buy!
For exhibition prints the 3880 will take some beating (or whatever the newer model is called)
 
ndwgolf said:
John
I have just come off the phone with the Epson rep her in KL and he says that the new SureColor P800 will be in Malaysia in July so tomorrow I am going out to try and buy one of these trial packs you are talking about in A4 and have a go at printing on my HP Photosmart all in one printer
I will let you know how I get on :)
Click to expand...
So how did you get on?
 
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