Best Printer for Fine Art Prints 2024 - Epson SureColor, Canon Pixma, or Plotter Printers??
Summary
TLDRThe artist discusses the importance of selecting the right printer for fine art prints, emphasizing the need for archival quality, cost-effective ink, and durability. After researching various models, they share their experience with Epson printers, comparing the P and T series, and detailing the challenges with ink costs and print speeds. They ultimately recommend the Epson P900 for its quality, despite its slower speed, and suggest considering a used or refurbished P800 for better durability and efficiency.
Takeaways
- 🎨 The speaker's business heavily relies on selling art prints, which account for about 80% of their income.
- 🖨️ Choosing the right printer is crucial for an artist, especially for producing archival prints that won't fade over time.
- 🌈 Pigment-based ink is essential for longevity and archival quality in art prints, as it doesn't fade compared to other types of inks.
- 💰 Ink cost per print is a significant factor for profitability, as expensive ink can negatively impact the artist's income.
- 📏 The printer should accommodate various paper sizes, including custom sizes, and be capable of large format printing, ideally up to 16 by 20 inches.
- ⏱️ Printing speed is vital for workflow efficiency, particularly during peak seasons when hundreds of prints may be needed daily.
- 📚 Durability is key for a printer that will be used frequently, ensuring it can withstand the demands of high-volume printing.
- 💸 The cost of the printer itself is a critical consideration, with a preference for models under $2000 to balance quality and affordability.
- 🔍 Two types of Epson pigment-based ink printers are discussed: the P-series for fine art and the T-series for broader applications like engineering drawings.
- 🚫 The T-series printers, while more affordable, may not meet the quality standards of a professional artist due to limited ink colors and print clarity.
- 🔄 The speaker's experience with the Epson P700 was negative due to slow printing speed and high ink costs, leading to an upgrade to the P900.
- 🔄 The P900 offers similar print quality to the P800 but has an additional ink cartridge, which doesn't significantly improve print quality but affects printing speed and ink usage.
- 🛡️ Epson provides a one-year warranty, which is beneficial for artists as it offers a safety net in case of printer failure.
Q & A
What is the primary source of income for the artist mentioned in the script?
-The primary source of income for the artist is selling art prints, which accounts for about 80% of their revenue.
Why is choosing the right printer important for the artist?
-Choosing the right printer is important because it directly impacts the quality, longevity, and cost-effectiveness of the art prints, which are a significant part of the artist's business.
What type of ink is essential for the artist's archival prints?
-Pigment-based ink is essential for the artist's archival prints because it does not fade and ensures the longevity of the artwork.
What are some factors the artist considers when evaluating ink costs for printing?
-The artist considers the cost per print, the profitability of their art prints, and the availability of ink when evaluating ink costs.
Why is the ability to print on a variety of paper sizes important to the artist?
-The ability to print on a variety of paper sizes, including custom sizes, is important because it allows the artist to offer a diverse range of print options and maintain flexibility in their art production.
What is the artist's minimum requirement for the printer's printing speed?
-The artist requires a printer that can handle printing 100 to 200 prints a day, especially during peak seasons of art fairs, indicating the need for a fast printing speed.
Why is durability a key factor for the artist when selecting a printer?
-Durability is a key factor because the artist prints a high volume of prints daily, and the printer needs to withstand the wear and tear of frequent use without compromising performance.
What is the artist's budget range for purchasing a new printer?
-The artist's budget range for a new printer is between $1,000 and $2,000, as they consider prices above $5,000 to be unreasonable for their needs as an independent artist.
What are the two different types of Epson pigment-based ink printers mentioned in the script?
-The two different types of Epson pigment-based ink printers mentioned are the P series, which is more professional for fine art printing, and the T series, which are plotter printers used for printing engineering drawings and lower-quality posters.
What was the main issue the artist faced with the Epson P700?
-The main issue the artist faced with the Epson P700 was its slow printing speed and high ink cost, which made it unprofitable for their print volume.
Why did the artist decide to switch from the P700 to the P900?
-The artist switched from the P700 to the P900 because the P900 has a similar ink cost to the P800, which they were previously using, and offers a wider range of paper sizes and better print quality.
What is the main concern the artist has about the durability of the P900?
-The main concern the artist has about the durability of the P900 is that the first unit they received broke after printing only 500 prints, raising questions about its long-term reliability.
What is the difference in DPI settings between the P900 and P800 for 8x10 prints using the artist's preferred paper?
-The P900 forces the artist to print at 1440 DPI for 8x10 prints using their preferred paper, while the P800 allows printing at 720 DPI, which is faster and uses less ink.
What is the artist's recommendation for the best printer for fine art prints currently available on the market?
-The artist recommends the Epson P900 as the best printer for fine art prints currently available on the market, despite its slower printing speed compared to the P800.
What alternative recommendation does the artist give if a used or refurbished P800 is available?
-If a used or refurbished P800 is available, the artist suggests it as a much better machine due to its faster printing speed, durability, and efficient ink usage.
Outlines
🖼️ Choosing the Right Printer for Art Prints
The speaker, a professional artist, emphasizes the importance of selecting the right printer for their art prints, which constitute 80% of their income. They discuss the complexity of choosing a printer due to the variety of models, inks, and paper types available. The artist prioritizes archival quality prints that won't fade, making pigment-based ink essential. They also consider ink cost, paper size versatility, printing speed, printer durability, and the initial cost of the printer. The artist shares their experience with Epson printers, highlighting the challenges of finding ink for older models and comparing the P-series and T-series Epson printers, ultimately narrowing down their choice to the Epson P700 or P900 based on print width and quality.
📦 Printer Durability and Ink Cost Considerations
The artist recounts their decision-making process for choosing between the Epson P700 and P900, initially opting for the P700 due to its lower cost and sufficient print width for their needs. However, they found the P700's slow printing speed and high ink cost to be detrimental to their business, leading to a switch to the P900. The P900 offers similar print quality to the P800, which the artist appreciates for continuity in their artwork. Despite the P900's slower printing speed at higher DPI settings, the artist considers it the better choice for fine art prints, especially if a used or refurbished P800 is unavailable. They also mention the importance of warranty support, as evidenced by their experience with a broken P900 that was replaced under warranty. The artist concludes by recommending resources for understanding ink costs and printer capabilities before making a purchase.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Art Prints
💡Pigment-Based Ink
💡Ink Cost
💡Paper Sizes
💡Printing Speed
💡Durability
💡Epson P Series
💡Epson T Series
💡Archival Prints
💡DPI (Dots Per Inch)
💡Warranty
Highlights
Prints account for 80% of the artist's income, emphasizing the importance of a reliable printer for fine art prints.
The artist's search for a new printer was confusing due to the variety of models and technical specifications.
Pigment-based ink is essential for archival prints that won't fade over time.
Ink cost per print is a critical factor for profitability in selling art prints.
The printer should support a wide range of paper sizes, including custom sizes, and large formats up to 16 by 20 inches.
Printing speed is vital for handling high volumes of prints, especially during peak seasons.
Durability of the printer is important for long-term use and high print volumes.
The cost of the printer is a significant consideration for an independent artist.
Epson printers are favored for their durability, but they may phase out models, affecting ink availability.
Epson SureColor P-series printers are more professional and suitable for fine art printing compared to T-series.
T-series printers are more affordable but may limit paper types and print quality.
The artist's experience with Canon printers was unsatisfactory in terms of long-term durability.
Epson P700 was initially chosen but proved to be slow and expensive in ink costs.
Epson P900 offers similar print quality to P800 but with an additional ink cartridge.
P900 forces higher DPI printing, which increases ink usage and decreases printing speed.
The artist's first P900 printer broke after 500 prints, raising concerns about its durability.
Epson provides a one-year warranty, which helped in replacing the faulty P900 printer.
The artist recommends the P900 for its print quality but suggests looking for a used or refurbished P800 for better durability and speed.
Transcripts
as a professional artist making art
prints is a huge part of my business I
would say about 80% of my income comes
directly from selling the art prints
that I make and so having a printer to
make my fine art prints is so important
I love all of my current printers but
the thing is a few months ago I came
into a situation where I had to buy a
new one and I was looking through
everything that was available online and
man it was confusing there are so many
different models of printers available
and all of them look pretty good at
first glance but then when you look into
them deeper and figure out the kind of
inks they use and the papers they use
and just everything about them like what
the ink costs how quickly they make
prints it makes it a really confusing
decision so in this video I want to
distill all of the information that I
discovered over my research into a
really easy understandable method to
pick the best printer for you for making
art prints first off what are the most
important qualities that you need to be
looking for in a printer as an artist
who's wanting a print that will last a
long long time I'm talking archival
prints here prints that will not fade
for our entire lifetimes probably our
children's lifetimes as well this is
important to me as an artist making fine
art prints because I want my work to
last it's not just some poster that a
person's buying at Walmart this is
artwork and I'm selling it at a premium
price this means that pigment-based ink
is an absolute must for any printer that
I purchase because pigment-based ink
will not fade it is archival whereas
anything that has D based ink or any
other types of inks they are going to
eventually start to fade next is the ink
cost now if the ink is exorbitantly
expensive per print that's not going to
be profitable for me as an artist so I'm
always on the lookout for how much ink
costs an appr printer also I want to
know that it can take a wide variety of
paper sizes even custom paper sizes I
also want to be able to print large at
least up to 16 by 20 and don't forget
printing speed is also really important
because if it prints really slowly this
is going to be a horrible thing for my
work flow because I print sometimes 100
or 200 prints a day especially during
the peak seasons of art fairs and so I
need a printer that can handle running
that many prints through it they can
take stacks of paper and then I also
need to have something that's durable
because if I'm running that many prints
through it this thing needs to be able
to take a beating it needs to be able to
perform produce at a high level last and
I think also equally important to
everything is the cost of the actual
printer because man there are some
printers that are super expensive like5
$5,000 and I'm sorry but I am an
independent artist here right I don't
have $5,000 to just waste on a printer
now $1,000 is more reasonable maybe even
$2,000 but $5,000 no it's not happening
this is my Epson p800 I love this
printer but it's the one that I'm trying
to upgrade to a new version this printer
has been phased out so sometimes it's
hard to find ink for it and that's why I
want to get a new one but I love this
printer and it still works great I've
had it for eight years it is a Workhorse
but if you can't find Find Ink you got
to get something else and this is one of
the negatives with having an Epson
printer is often times they phase them
out for newer models and then they don't
support the ink as readily as they used
to and I've tried a lot of canons like
canon pixas in the past and I just
haven't been happy with their durability
long term and epsons they are workhorses
they can perform usually now I say this
because I actually discovered some
things with some of the new epsons that
I don't like and I'm about to tell you
about them but first let's talk about
the two different types of Epson
printers that you can get with pigment
based ink they're both Epson surecolor
printers but one is the P series and the
other is the t-s series so the P series
is the more professional series for Fine
Art printers the t- series are plotter
printers these are used for printing
engineering drawings CAD drawing and
even lowquality posters but the thing is
is that there is a difference in the
quality level of the prints and there is
a difference in what papers they can
take and so this is important for me as
a professional artist because I don't
want to have a printer that limits me
and the printers that are the T-Series
are more affordable so that's something
to keep in mind and they can print big
like up to 24 in wide on a roll but when
it comes to the flat pre-cut papers that
they can take they are limited to
certain sizes and I talked to some
salespeople about the quality level of
these prints and they said that they
aren't nearly as good as the P series
they told me that if I was used to using
a pseries printer which I am that's what
I own currently and I have owned
throughout the last 12 years of my art
career is said that I would be
disappointed if I got a T Series because
since they only have four colors of ink
in them the colors are not as vibrant
they're not as varied there's not as
much gamut and color depth and there
also isn't quite as much Clarity in the
prints and these are all things that are
super important to me because I want my
art prints to be perfect just so
beautiful so that narrowed it down to
either an Epson p700 or a p900 and the
thing is the Epson p700 only prints to
13 in wide the p900 prints to 17 in wide
at the time I really just needed to
print 8 by 10 and so I was like well
okay I'll do a 13-in wide one that's
fine it's a little bit cheaper and I
have a bigger printer that still works
that I can get ink for to do my larger
sizes because I also have an Epson p6000
you can see it here in my studio this
printer is awesome it's an older model
of a very large format printer I've had
it for years it works great so I'll just
be keeping this one I won't be upgrading
this much bigger one and it's still very
easy to find ink for this one I think
Epson sold a lot of p 6000s and they
offer great support and their customer
service can come out if anything brakes
on it cuz I had something break on this
they came out they fixed it for me still
works great so I decided to go with the
p700 at first I got it in I tried it out
I quickly realized that it wasn't for me
because it printed slow and the ink cost
was exorbitant it was Triple what I was
paying when I was printing with my p800
and this is no good for me I mean when
you're selling the number of prints that
I do I would have been losing about $500
a month if I would have kept this
printer so I went ahead and swapped it
for a p900 which has an ink cost similar
to the the p800 the reason why I know
the cost of ink is that it's a great
thing there's this company called a Red
River and they have two different lists
that you should totally check out one is
a list of all the current printers that
have pigment-based inks and the other
list is what the ink costs per page of
an 8x10 printed with that printer and so
you can look through there before you
ever purchase the printer and see what
it's going to cost you and links to
these are in the description also links
to the printers that I discuss are in
the description as well so this is the
p900 I got it in but I also want to tell
you this is the second p900 I got
because the first one I printed 500
prints on it and I broke it and so I
don't know that this printer is highly
durable this is the second one I've only
printed about 50 prints on it it seems
to be working properly so far so we'll
see the other one didn't start working
strangely until about 200 prints in the
thing is is that with the other one I
was having paper sheet feed issues the
paper was getting jammed up in there and
then it was printing at an angle it was
just looking really awful and so they
sent me another one on warranty and
that's one good thing to know if you are
buying an Epson you get a year warranty
so if it doesn't work like my first p900
didn't they just sent me another one I
sent it back it was kind of inconvenient
because I had to unpack a second printer
and these things are really heavy but
aside from that it was really a painless
process of getting the new printer in
this printer you turn it on here and I'm
going to show
you see all these inks there's a lot of
them there's actually one more ink
cartridge in the p900 than there is in
the p800 so pros and cons of the p900 I
love the printer from the quality
standpoint it's beautiful it's just like
the p800 now they did add the extra ink
cartridge which doesn't make sense
because the prints look exactly the same
as they did in the p800 and I had an
Epson 3880 prior to this and the Epson
3080 is also phased out as well so you
can't really find them anymore but you
might be able to find one use some but
the thing is is that it also had the
same exact print quality if you look at
all of the prints side by side they will
look the same you cannot tell the
difference and for me that's good
because I want continuity through all my
prints if someone gets one from me this
year and they buy the same print next
year as a gift for someone I want it to
look exactly the same it also takes all
the different sizes of paper that you
could possibly ever want you can make
custom paper sizes it has Roll paper
feed options really anything that you
want to print inner printer the Epsom
p900 will do but the thing is one of the
down signs to the p900 is that it forces
you to print at 1440 DPI on prints that
are 8x10 size using the type of paper
that I like to use and the Epson p800
will let me print at 720 DPI and when
you look at the prints from a 1440 DPI
to 720 DPI side by side to the human eye
you cannot tell a difference and so why
does this matter well it uses more ink
to print at 1440dpi but the worst thing
is is that it's twice as slow and so
this means that if I'm trying to print a
100 prints I can print them in an
afternoon with my p800 it takes an
entire day like 12 hours of me fooling
around with this thing to print them on
the p900 so what should you choose if
you are looking for the best printer for
fine art prints currently available on
the market honestly I think the best one
is the p900 despite the fact that it's
slower than the p800 but if you can find
a used or refurbished p800 it is a much
better machine I can tell just from the
way it feeds the paper in the way it can
produce prints really quickly it has a
lot more durability and staying power
I'm kind of worried about the p900 that
I got the second one and I'm worried
that it's going to break because the
first one I broke in 500 prints if you
want to learn more about making art
prints you can watch this playlist it's
an entire free course they'll teach you
everything you need to know about making
art prints all right thank you so much
for watching see you next time
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