buying a3 printer

nickels · 9 Mar 2009 at 20:51

hi,
my brother needs an a3 printer, as his mrs does photography and wants a3 prints...

i have no idea about printers so would like to know what are good makes, models?
budget is £400-£450

any help would be great

thanks
nickels

Cyanide · 9 Mar 2009 at 21:42

I've got a HP B8850 that's served me well so far. Fantastic colours, awesome quality black and whites and the ink seems to be going a long way too. Should be able to pick one up for <£350

greedy123 · 9 Mar 2009 at 22:19

epson R1900 was recommended to me when I was looking

turtle1000 · 10 Mar 2009 at 01:25

The Canon Pixma Pro 9000 and 9500 are worth considering. Both are within budget.

Messiah Khan · 10 Mar 2009 at 09:36

turtle1000 said:
The Canon Pixma Pro 9000

Nice printer but flackey drivers from my experience. I do like the pixma range though. Im currently using a load of Epson 3800 printers and they are great. They are over budget, but you might be able to pick up a refurb or second hand.

Johnny|lucidcomposure · 10 Mar 2009 at 11:47

How many A2 prints can you do on full set of inks?
10/12?

TangoAlpha · 10 Mar 2009 at 12:22

I've just bought an HP8750 off eBay. Arrived today so I haven't had a chance to try it yet. All the reviews I could find say it one of the best price/performance photo printers.

Messiah Khan · 10 Mar 2009 at 12:43

Fstop11 said:
How many A2 prints can you do on full set of inks?
10/12?

On the Epson 3800? Im sure its more than 10/12 Couldn't tell you the exact number though tbh.

Johnny|lucidcomposure · 10 Mar 2009 at 14:06

maybe so. I got around 20/25 A3 prints from the Epson R1800. I am halfing this due to the 2x size increase but then I also guess the cartridges probably hold more than 13ml of ink each.

Trick · 10 Mar 2009 at 14:16

TangoAlpha said:
I've just bought an HP8750 off eBay. Arrived today so I haven't had a chance to try it yet. All the reviews I could find say it one of the best price/performance photo printers.

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this once it's had some use. I bought an HP8250 a few years ago due the the overwhelmingly positive reviews and it's been absolutely dreadful. The photos it produces are great but the paper pickup is woeful (it takes about 20 attempts for it to feed) and it's utterly crap for ink.

Messiah Khan · 10 Mar 2009 at 15:53

Fstop11 said:
maybe so. I got around 20/25 A3 prints from the Epson R1800. I am halfing this due to the 2x size increase but then I also guess the cartridges probably hold more than 13ml of ink each.

Yeah, the cartidges are 80ml each, and there are 8 cartidges in a set.

Johnny|lucidcomposure · 10 Mar 2009 at 16:03

80ml! woah thats amazing for 8x.
I bet there about £35 quid each if not a lot more?

Messiah Khan · 10 Mar 2009 at 16:10

Fstop11 said:
80ml! woah thats amazing for 8x.
I bet there about £35 quid each if not a lot more?

Yeah about £35 a pop. Which makes the 220ml cartridge for the Epson 9800 seem quite cheap at £55

Johnny|lucidcomposure · 10 Mar 2009 at 16:23

Yeah It does actually. although probably £500 for a full ink replacement?
You'd hope your selling work on that bad boy!

Messiah Khan · 10 Mar 2009 at 16:29

Fstop11 said:
Yeah It does actually. although probably £500 for a full ink replacement?
You'd hope your selling work on that bad boy!

Not yet, but I will be.

One of the benefits of being in charge of the large format printers is I have to print out 'test' prints. Ie 44" wide test prints. Muhahahah!

Johnny|lucidcomposure · 10 Mar 2009 at 17:26

Must suck to be you!