Best Printer For Artists?

[CittyKitty]

Hi Everyone,
I wanted to get some opinions on what the best printer is for artists. I am looking for a general printer for artwork, cards, photos, etc. After much research, I have narrowed it down to the Epson Stylus Photo R800 or the R340. But I would like to get some feedback as to what other artists are using and their experiences with printers.

Thank you,
RJ Romero

[osidianrose]

I agree with those choices.

[howyadoin]

I just bought an R320. I was planning to get an R340, but the rebates on the 320 brought the price down to about half the regular price.

And a photographer friend of mine has a 340. I've used it a bit, and the results are pretty stunning. Especially on the heavy matte paper.

[droll13]

I use an Epson R320 for printing photos and notecards. Overall, I'm pleased with it.

Print quality is quite good, speed is acceptable for an inexpensive printer.

My main complaint (and this probably applies to all inkjet printers) is that you can spend a fortune on ink cartridges. The printer manufacturers don't make much money from selling printers, but they clean up selling cartridges.

The only other negative is that after a massive print job (80 hours printing 35 full-color calendars), I'm getting a message that parts are nearing the end of their life and that service is needed. But nobody (including Epson) can give me a clue what parts are likely to need replacement or how extensive and expenive the maintenance could be. I don't want to spend $200 on maintenance when the same $ will get me a comparable new printer.

I'll probably look into a new printer, one that can handle larger than letter-size. If you won't print photos larger than letter-size, then the 320/340 should work fine for you. But you'll need to decide if you'll want to produce some larger photo prints.

Finally, the 320 (and probably the 340 too) doesn't use the latest and greatest inks designed for longer print life. That isn't a consideration for cards, but might be for photo prints.

[Moonolithic]

I have an Epson RX500 better than any other I've had. I still havent played with all the possible settings though. I got a copy to come out just the way i wanted though, saved the settings, and use that setting for most of my copies.

[kimba]

I've got the R800 and I love it.

[Waltzzz]

I have an Epsom E2400 Stylus - it will do A#+ print and used pigment - it is a Giclée machine. Really stunning stuff.
I'd be Ken to dioscuss all this with others who make Giclée . Is there a thread or Forum for that? New here.

[scoller]

This information is very interesting. Currently my wife and I are wondering what to do with our R1800. She is a Pastelest and our thoughts were that the R1800 would meet our objective of making affordable reproductions of her artwork. There has always been a challenge of getting it to match colors. Recently it has gotten even worse. As the intensity of her colors increase the vividness of the prints has decreased.

Any advice or pointing to a another thread would be appreciated.

[Waltzzz]

Do you use Epsom paper & ink & the exact right setting?

[TMeeks]

I'm able to match colors much better with the Epsons that I have than with the HP's.

The HPs are better general purpose printers; but, I was never really able to perfectly match my Hp's colors perfectly. So, I switched to Epson for serious printing and have been very happy.

I've heard good things about recent Canon printers; but, I've not felt the need to switch.

[scoller]

Waltzz...

Yes Epson papers are being used. The only setting that have been changed are for the type of paper and size. Have tried it using Publisher 2003, Adobe Photoshop, Jasc Paint Shop Pro, and XP's default photo printer.

It seems that some color combinations work okay while others do not. Since these are scans of pastels I'm wondering what needs to be adjusted and how?

[Waltzzz]

I think I get good colour rendering when I have the right profile working for the ink & paper. I use a little app that came with the printer called Epsom Darkroom Printer, it will shop up the right paper only if the right ink for it is installed etc.

So when you change for the type of paper does it actually show the branded trade name?

I have never gone as far as creating my own profiles, but stuck to the manufacturers instructions exactly & that seems ok.

Walter

[betsymn]

I have the same problem with all of the newer Epson printers. I have the R1800, an RX620 and a C84. The best for color is the old (and I mean old) 740. I don't ever have to play with color matching with that one, but it doesn't have archival inks.

[Waltzzz]

Pigment ink is much more specific and needs a profile that works with the specific paper. I have the R2400 (later version of R1800) and was given the advice on purchase to stick to the exact papers & inks, and that has worked wonderfully. I have branced out into some ilford paper & downloaded the profiles - quite tricky to make it work, but I did get there. I also need to change the black cartridge when I go from gloss to matt.

[perianthal]

As others have mentioned, I think a big question to consider is how important is it to you that your prints are archival? Very few of the smaller printers have archival inks available. When you ask "For Artists", I assume you are wishing the prints to be considered seriously, though you can get beautiful images without archival inks and papers, they may not be well received by galleries or knowledgeable collectors.

Epson is clearly the leader in the field, and they have finally offered a large format printer at a much lower price, with excellent reviews, the 3800 is the little brother of the 4800, same 17" x 22" but smaller footprint and much lighter weight.

Maybe more printer than you are looking for, but at $1300 it is a LOT of printer for the money.