Best Large Format Printer??

[dRu168]

Hizzz

So yea, I'm a graphic designer and my final college portfolio review is right around the corner and I figured it would be a good time to finally invest in a high quality printer. Printing in the lab is ok but I really would like the versatility of having my own printer. :)

From my quick searches seems like the Canon i9900 and Epson 1290 are nice. But they are photo printers..do those do well printing on other media(something other than photo paper)?

I dunno, basically I just want something that can print at least tabloid (11X17) and is versatile enough that I could use other media (like thick card stock or transparency).

Any ideas/experiences would be appreciated very much.

Thanks!! :wavey:

[kimchicowboy]

doh, i'll have to ask my gf. she's a graphic designer and her school made her buy a specific epson printer that prints large formats. plus, she said that epson ink is the closest to the real colors. and she most definitely printed on other media with it.

i'll try to find out what it is. the gf is out of the country until monday.

[ArkiStan]

hey kimchi,
Make sure to post that, cause I'm interested, too.

[kimchicowboy]

turns out that it was the epson stylus photo 1280.

LINK (http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=28907797)

i think my gf's whole portfolio was made with this printer and she went through 4 years of schooling with it too. :)

[dRu168]

turns out that it was the epson stylus photo 1280.

LINK (http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=28907797)

i think my gf's whole portfolio was made with this printer and she went through 4 years of schooling with it too. :)



awesome, thanks kimchi =)

[ArkiStan]

That looks like one hell of a printer. But as you mentioned it's a little dated. I wonder what the current quality-equivelant of that model is.

[dRu168]

Yeah, decisions decisions.. quick search found this article:
http://shutterbug.com/equipmentreviews/scanners_printers/1005epson/

R1800 seems to be the replacement. The pigment inks it uses as opposed to the dye inks of the 1280 looks very enticing.. hmmm

=/

[ArkiStan]

Yeah I was just doing some research and I came up with the same conclusion. The Epson Stylus R1800 Photo Printer seems to be the current best choice in photo printers. Of course there are more high-end models that sell for almost $700 (Epson R2400), but the R1800 seems to achieve the optimum balance between affordability and quality for amateurs and pros.

[dRu168]

Yeah, sounds like that would be a good investment.

So far I've found Costco (http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11073972&whse=&topnav=&browse=&s=1) to be the cheapest. Still looking...