A3 Printers

jesta

jesta

jesta

Soldato
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19 Dec 2004
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Not sure whether this is the right section to post but I assume some photographers must have A3 printers or used some. I am looking into possibly buying an A3 printer so I can print presentation sheets for my uni work. I have no idea which printers are good so need help from you fine folks. :p

I am going to be printer banner size prints so A3 height and A1 width, I've been told some printers can not do this, so how do I know which printers can do it? I've been looking at the Epson 1400 which retails around £250 which is pretty cheap as A3 printers go. Has anyone got any experience with this printer? How is it? If its bad what do you recommend?

Thanks.
 
You need to turn the Epson printer on once a week or so to prevent clogging.

I use a 2100, and it makes far superior prints than my Canon (A4). However I use it only for photography and I even never printed on "normal paper" so I don't know how good/bad it would be as a general usage printer...
 
Unless you will need a lot of prints at A3 I would not get an A3 printer. I'd check out the costs of what it is you need from your local kwikprint (or whoever).

Having said that, I do like my Epson 1290S which can handle roll format papers (though I haven't used any), and it is get a bit old now...
 
jesta said:
Not sure whether this is the right section to post but I assume some photographers must have A3 printers or used some. I am looking into possibly buying an A3 printer so I can print presentation sheets for my uni work. I have no idea which printers are good so need help from you fine folks. :p

I am going to be printer banner size prints so A3 height and A1 width, I've been told some printers can not do this, so how do I know which printers can do it? I've been looking at the Epson 1400 which retails around £250 which is pretty cheap as A3 printers go. Has anyone got any experience with this printer? How is it? If its bad what do you recommend?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

To print at A1 length (32") don't quote me on this, but i'm pretty sure only printers with a roll feeder will do a 32" long print. An Epson 2400 would be the starting point, these are around £500.

The 1400 is a good printer, however it doesn't come with the roll feeder so you're limited to cut-sheet media. You MAY be able to find a hacked driver which will allow printing at any length. This will require you to buy roll paper and cut it to the desired length, then flatten it overnight (its a nightmare to feed pre-cut roll paper into the printer)

If size/length is all your really concerned about, then you're probably better off using an online or custom printing shop. If you're after very high quality, finding the perfect paper and getting the colours spot on, i'd say buy a R2400 or equivilent, but its certainly isn't a cheap affair. Bearing in mind for the latter, to make the most of it you'll need to spend £150 on a decent calibration device, and you'll need a good monitor, otherwise you won't reap the rewards.
 
I have 2 HP B9180 Pro A3+ printers and I would change them for the world, but I believe they have one in the £230.00 bracket that's pretty similar.
 
I would do your printing online. Take your time to set up a calibrated machine and learn about printing. Its a far superior way.
A3 Printers can only reall produce about 15 - 20 A3 prints before the ink runs out ( dependant on colors used obviously)

replaced ink for my Epson is £15 per ink. Times that by 8.

Thats £120
I used a CIS which is cost effective but requires good handlying of handymanship to set up perfectly.
 
I used to do my print online too, but was /never/ satisfied with black & whites until I got that second hand 2100. Now I can do really great prints on excellent papers (I use Permajet Mat Portrait mostly) that are a lot closer to what I'd expect of """"fine art"""".

But yes, it is expensive to run, and I hate buying cartridges :D
 
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