Large Format Printer

PiKe · 4 Sep 2012 at 22:58

I'm looking to purchase a large format printer (budget around £2000) which can produce really good quality... well, prints.

Something that someone would happily pay for rather than something that just looks like it's run off on a home inkjet printer.

Obviously consumable cost is a factor but at the same time I don't want to sacrifice quality.

As for colour accuracy, self calibrating or colour picker is fine either way.

TheBigCheese · 6 Sep 2012 at 18:49

Are you looking at new or second hand?

What's the widest width you will be wanting to print?

PiKe · 6 Sep 2012 at 19:12

New, sizes up to say 100cm.

Tomsk · 7 Sep 2012 at 22:19

I looked at HP plotters (DesignJet) a while ago when looking for a large printer.

I did however discover that they can print on a variety of materials including polyester and canvas.

http://h10088.www1.hp.com/cda/gap/display/main/index.jsp?zn=gap&cp=20000^158165_4041_100__

They're not cheap and £2000 might not be enough!

UberTiger · 7 Sep 2012 at 23:31

I love the HP Designjets. I have a Z3100 and Z6100.

Personally I prefer the Z6100 for the speed, ink costs and reliability. The colors are still incredible for an 8 colour printer. It produces really good photo prints.

The Z3100 is considerably slower, however the colours are beautiful. Very high resolutions images look sharper and 'pop' that little bit more, but tbh you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference unless you compare the two prints side by side.

You could pick up a used 24" Z3100 or Z3200 for within your budget, possibly a 42" if you shop around.

You might be able to find a used Z6100 for a good price now that the Z6200 is out. They only do 42" and 60". You can probably get a used 42" for about £3k

I've got a friend who runs a print company who are HP Partners and they often have lots of new and used HP Designjets available. He's a super nice guy and knows his stuff, if you fancy having a chat and want some more advice I can PM you his number.