Used printers?

[ThePrettyDamned]

I currently print at home using a cheap, but very cheerful, hp all in one photo printer I paid a whopping £30 for. It's actually really quite good, for small prints up to A4 which is as big as it can manage. I currently use any paper I find in charity shops! However, for snaps on the wall I'm happy (although it's certainly got issues with reproducing subtle gradations and lots of colours are not reproducible).

I want something A3+. The canon pixma ip8750 seems perfect new - on budget for me (up to about £200 or so) and reviews well, the grey will give a noticeable improvement in black and white tonality I reckon, and it has icc profiles and can take heavier papers.

However, I noticed some older printers on a well known auction site, such as the canon Pro 9500 which, I think, uses pigment rather than ink and can take yet heavier paper. With luck I could pick one up in budget, or save a bunch and go for a pro 9000 inkjet or even a used ip8750 or pro 100.

Ny questions are, is it worth the risk if I cash on collection with a test agreed, and if there are issues (say, print head clogged, ink pads full) can it be repaired/serviced for continued use?

Hope that all makes sense. I used to send to a lap but I love printing images and it would save a bit of money as well as provide that feel-good you get when you've done the whole process yourself. Thanks for any help!

 

[ThePrettyDamned]

For reference, I'm not professional and prints will not be sold, they are for myself to go on the wall. Prints will range from small square prints up to 1x2 ratio panoramic so being able to load paper longer than a3 would be ideal (but perhaps a "nice to have" rather than a "must have").

I will print probably once or twice per month, in batches, rather than daily. I may print up to weekly.

 

[tijuana taxi]

Bear in mind a full set of inks/pigments for one of the pro printers cost upwards of 100 quid
I use my Pro 10 fairly infrequently and it wastes a lot of the pigment like that
If I were buying a printer today it would definitely be a new ip8750

 

[ThePrettyDamned]

Bear in mind a full set of inks/pigments for one of the pro printers cost upwards of 100 quid
I use my Pro 10 fairly infrequently and it wastes a lot of the pigment like that
If I were buying a printer today it would definitely be a new ip8750

Very helpful to know. I think I'm leaning to the ip8750 in general, but did wonder about these others as there is potentially a lot of value in an older model - but if pigment inks lead to waste and expense, definitely not!

I will avoid pigments - if the cost to replace inks is so high, and with my occasional printing it'll waste it on cleaning, I'll avoid and go for a more consumer inkjwt. Thank you for your help!

 

[Boots]

Good quality printers are not bought by many people, so the secondhand market is pretty thin. I think you would need to think hard about why someone would be selling such a printer.

As for the iP8750, I have one, and am pretty pleased with it, though I could never get Black and White printing right. Prior to that, I had a Pro-1 which was a pleasure to use from day one until it died.

 

[droj]

until it died.

And they do die, don't they. and often after not that long. How many printers are we going to get through in a lifetime, and how much energy & ink are we going to waste? I'm convinced that we can reduce our ecological footprints a smidgeon by not indulging in home printers, and using labs instead.

 

[tijuana taxi]

Very helpful to know. I think I'm leaning to the ip8750 in general, but did wonder about these others as there is potentially a lot of value in an older model - but if pigment inks lead to waste and expense, definitely not!

I will avoid pigments - if the cost to replace inks is so high, and with my occasional printing it'll waste it on cleaning, I'll avoid and go for a more consumer inkjwt. Thank you for your help!

Not only pigments that lead to waste, ink is exactly the same when it comes to infrequent use.
Its all the maintenance actions that the printer goes through that eats up the cartridges.
Helps if the replacement set of cartridges are cheaper, but we all spend far more on a hobby than is sensible

 

[ThePrettyDamned]

And they do die, don't they. and often after not that long. How many printers are we going to get through in a lifetime, and how much energy & ink are we going to waste? I'm convinced that we can reduce our ecological footprints a smidgeon by not indulging in home printers, and using labs instead.

Is something like the canon pro-1 (which, by it's name, implies it's for pros) not repairable? For example, the head must be replaceable, right?

 

[The W]

I bought used Canon Pro-1 with full link (either just replaced or spare to install). A full set of new inks is £250 so I figure I got a free printer! Worked flawlessly for me so far.

I'm not sure how long it will last as it has non replaceable waste ink collection pads (which I expect to be what eventually stops me using it).

 

[ChrisH]

Canon pro 9000 and carts from Inksupply.com wish I still had my 9000 but unfortunately it was destroyed in a fire last year.

I'm going to replace it with a Canon 100s next week whilst I'm off and get refillable inks from https://www.octopus-office.de/shop/en/

Their inks are up to pro standards and are widely used in Europe and the States with very good write ups.

 

[droj]

Is something like the canon pro-1 (which, by it's name, implies it's for pros) not repairable?

Even if that printer can have its head replaced, I suspect that many wouldn't bother & would pour money into a new printer. And whether the head was replaced or not, I consider that a desktop printer is far less likely to be properly recycled than an industrial lab printer at end-of-life.

 

[woof woof]

Hope that all makes sense. I used to send to a lap but I love printing images and it would save a bit of money as well as provide that feel-good you get when you've done the whole process yourself. Thanks for any help!

At least with home printing you're in control of quality and timescales.

I have a love / hate relationship with my printer (Epson R2880) but despite the lows and the expense I wouldn't be without it.

Good luck with this, I hope you find a good printer you can work with

 

[ThePrettyDamned]

Well, I really appreciate the advice. Last night I took a chance on a used Canon Pro-10.

It'll drink a bunch of ink on a clean and calibration cycle when it arrives, but then we're good. I hope I can take good care of it and get some great images out

 

[tijuana taxi]

Well, I really appreciate the advice. Last night I took a chance on a used Canon Pro-10.

It'll drink a bunch of ink on a clean and calibration cycle when it arrives, but then we're good. I hope I can take good care of it and get some great images out

I have one of those, yes it does give a very nice print and the ink certainly does take a hit on the maintenance cycles
Its got a large footprint especially with the rear paper guide fully extended (as it has to be)
Very heavy too so make sure whatever you put it on can take the weight

You might not want to use the Optimiser full page on every print, best suited to B&W
Good idea to order two when you get more cartridges because it will run out before the rest

Not sure what software you use, but the Canon Print Studio Pro is very good and works as a plug in on Lightroom
https://hk.canon/en/support/0200493210/10

 

[AZ6]

I have an old Epson SP 2100 that I haven't used in years. A3+. Does produce stunning prints, but I sadly just never used it much, after I printed out my portfolio (who even does that anymore??). It does cost a lot in inks. Pigment based so prints don't fade and stay crisp and saturated for years. Comparable to some proper high end prints I had made directly from slides. I really ought to dig it out and print some stuff up, that is if the inks haven't all dried up.

£600 that cost me, or thereabouts. Really poor vfm over time. I think such things are only 'worth' it if you're going to use them regularly, and maybe sell some prints to offset the cost. Today, for large format high quality printing, I'd just use a high st printers. The kit they use is far better than anything you can buy in Currys, all calibrated and serviced regularly. Mind you; |I was in a Wex recently, and they had some display prints from printers they had for sale, and bloody hell they looked good. I don't know how much those printers are though; I suspect a few quid more than yer average home all in one job.

 

[ThePrettyDamned]

Thanks for advice - I'm expecting to maybe hold onto this for a year or so to get through a nice backlog of prints, learn some new skills and have some fun. After that, I'll ping it on to someone else for half what I paid and improve that value for money or I'll love it and not let it go in which case I'm already getting that value.

Pretty excited! Noted on the chroma optimiser. I'm intending to use refillable inks, but not sure where to get them (heard precision colours are the ones to get, but not sure of availability).

Noted also on the weight - this will be living on a (sturdy) chest of drawers where it'll have plenty of space and won't get in the way.

Hopefully, anyway. Maybe I measured up all wrong and I'm making an expensive mistake

 

[ThePrettyDamned]

Been doing some reading and honestly, if this printer works, I think it'll be one of the best investments for me. I love prints and do print a lot anyway (either with labs or using a cheap ink jet).

I will post an update on delivery, set-up and first prints, including (hopefully) my first framed larger print - a 20" x 8" pano image.

 

[tijuana taxi]

Been doing some reading and honestly, if this printer works, I think it'll be one of the best investments for me. I love prints and do print a lot anyway (either with labs or using a cheap ink jet).

I will post an update on delivery, set-up and first prints, including (hopefully) my first framed larger print - a 20" x 8" pano image.

Sounds good, will be interested to hear what you think of it, hope it works out well.

 

[Bebop]

Interesting comment on the optimiser. I set mine to ‘overall’ cover, otherwise you can get gaps in the sheen over any white bits. I have a Canon Pro 1.

I don’t think precision inks will supply to the U.K. anymore.

 

[tijuana taxi]

Interesting comment on the optimiser. I set mine to ‘overall’ cover, otherwise you can get gaps in the sheen over any white bits. I have a Canon Pro 1.

I don’t think precision inks will supply to the U.K. anymore.

The optimiser advice was from a Permajet employee at a trade show.

 

[Bebop]

The optimiser advice was from a Permajet employee at a trade show.

I don't find mine runs out any quicker than other inks to be honest, so perhaps the Pro-1 differs from the Pro-10, or perhaps it's to do with how we use our printers.

I realised early on that any whites in prints (like on butterfly wings) end up with no sheen on them whilst the rest of the print does. It just doesn't look right to me. Perhaps under glass you wouldn't notice.