Do yourself a favor and get an Epson wide format ink jet printer...one that you can do 13" X 19" comps and/or 13" x long length comps.
I have the Epson 1280, which is a phenomenal printer....and does high res/wide format printing if desired.
They have probably replaced this model with an upgrade by now...but I paid $500 for it and it was worth every penny. Expect about that price.
I've talked with several professional printers about desktop output devices and Epson is the overwhelming choice because of the printhead configuration....more durable more precise than the system used by HP. (I have an HP desktop as well....and like the Epson much better)
This is my recommendation....
Ink cost? Hard to get around the price thing. You can get inexpensive ink replacement injection systems and refill the cartridges yourself, but this usually negates the warranty if something goes wrong with the printer...so that's kind of a crapshoot and a gamble in my opinion.
Good luck Felix.
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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Look into 4 cartridge systems. I paid more for my epson when I bought it last summer because it uses 4 cartridges instead of black & a multicolor cartridge. Within 6 months, it had totally paid for itself with what I saved over pitching a $30 or $40 cartridge cause 1 color ran out.
-------------------- Chris Welker Wildfire Signs Indiana, Pa Posts: 4254 | From: Indiana, PA | Registered: Mar 2001
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I'm using an HP 1220c....does an awesome job. Most desktop printers nowadays are all plastic crap that works until it doesn't work.....then you pitch it and buy another piece of plastc crap! Welcome to 'PLASTIC CRAP EXCHANGE'!
""Good judgment comes from experience; and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" - Will Rogers Posts: 3484 | From: Beautiful Newaygo, Michigan | Registered: Mar 2003
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I know no one who has HP and had it fail.. Yes a few needed cleaning but none failed. Personally, I have a fully functional HP 3P 8 years old one of their earlier versions, I still run it almost every day. I have a HP 722c Color inkjet,, still runs like a top. 5 yrs old. Hp 6p runs hundreds of sheets monthly, a HP6L a little desk top runs perfect. More important, The carts last a long time.
I have an almost new Lexmark that i will give to any one who wishes to pay the shipping. Only one set of carts run in it.. Works great. Cartridges cost a fortune to run and don't last long at all. Down with lexmark.
Some Cannon printers are cheap. Don' get a cheap one. .If it fails you cannot get parts..
-------------------- Leaper of Tall buildings.. If you find my posts divisive or otherwise snarky please ignore them. If you do not know how then PM me about it and I will demonstrate. Posts: 5274 | From: Im a nowhere man | Registered: Jul 2001
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epson c82 $129.00 4 seperate ink tanks....and the best printing for that amount of money!!!
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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I have had an Epson Color Stylus 3000 (4 color) up to 17x54 format for over 8 years and an Epson Photo Stylus 1270 (6 Color) 13x19 format for more then 5 years and they are the two best printers I have ever seen.
At one time I was putting over 10,000 sheets of paper through the 3000 per month without a problem!
I pay only $10.00 per cartridge, 4 cartridge system on the 3000 and $9.00 per cartridge for the 1270. (These are Epson cartridges by the way, not an off brand.)
You can by a 3000 for about $1000.00 today and the 1280 (the replacement for the 1270) for around $800.00.
This is the final year for 3000; it is being replaced by an updated version, the Color Stylus 5000.
I have a friend that has the Epson Stylus Pro 9600, a 44" wide format printer with 2880 x 1440 dpi, he uses for signs that are photo quality and last for years out side in South Florida. (Printed on 3M vinyl) The Epson 9600 is less than $5000.00.
-------------------- Steve Levitt Signs Of All Kinds Okeechobee, Fl. 34974 Posts: 64 | From: Okeechobee, Florida | Registered: May 2003
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The only thing HP is good at these days is writing bloated drivers that load into the system tray. Take them out of the startup menu and you will experience weird problems. Call support? Forget it. From my experience they will then suck as much ink as possible because the default print setting is photo quality. (on letter size paper! who uses letter size paper anyway?) Lexmark drivers are much the same from my experience except they have a much more annoying quality which is to let you know with a nauseating wav file that "Printing has Started" and that "Printing is now Complete". No doubt they all have their forte's and failings but I have found Epson and Canon to be quite good and their support very comprehensive. David
-------------------- David Fisher D.A. & P.M. Fisher Services Brisbane Australia da_pmf@yahoo.com Trying out a new tag: "Parents are the bones on which children cut their teeth Peter Ustinov Posts: 1450 | From: Brisbane Queensland Australia | Registered: Nov 1998
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Felix- I have 3 Epsons in my shops (have had them for nearly 4 years- no problems). I use a bulk ink system that is made for Epson and a few other models. Initially, it's a $$ layout but the first set of inks lasted nearly l year before I had to replace them. Replacement is $25/ color- 4 oz. bottle. I print a LOT and this great, easy to install, and since the bottles sit outside the printer you can visually see the amount of ink left in each bottle.
Just my 2 cents!
-------------------- Linda Schmidt Vital D'Signs Greers Ferry, AR signlady@ozarkisp.net Posts: 160 | From: Greers Ferry, AR | Registered: Sep 2001
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One thing I'm not liking about epsons or canons is that their printheads are installed in the machine, and a major pain in the butt to clean in the event you have a major ink clog like I did with my Epson C82.
The HP's put their printheads on the ink cartridge itself, which means you get a new printhead with every new cartridge, and if you get a clog, ya pull the cart out and clean it yourself.
That being said, I LOVE the print quality of the C82.. it's absolutely phenomenal.. but it has been discontinued, although the newer printers are even better. When I called Epson support (which costs YOU money by the way because they use non-toll free numbers for support on many of their products, and we all know how long you sit on the phone waiting for support) they wanted me to send the printer in and some money for them to clean it.. which means by the time I pay them to fix it and ship it both ways I could have just bought another printer. Told them to shove it, then bought their factory service manual online from a 3rd party and ripped the printer apart on my own.
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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My first couple of HP printers were great for many years. The ones I bought in the last 5 years all seem to die after 1 or 2 years. I think the quality level has dropped significantly. That being said, I like replacing the head with each cartridge since replacing an entire printer when the head clogs just isn't an option for me.
So I'll hold my nose and continue to buy HP until I can afford one of the Tektronics/Xerox printers. You could also look at some of the cheaper color laser printers.
ernie
-------------------- Ernie Balch Balch Signs 1045 Raymond Rd Malta, NY 518-885-9899 Posts: 405 | From: Malta, NY | Registered: Jan 2003
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i use it for all my special color mail outs and such, A great machine..
-------------------- Leaper of Tall buildings.. If you find my posts divisive or otherwise snarky please ignore them. If you do not know how then PM me about it and I will demonstrate. Posts: 5274 | From: Im a nowhere man | Registered: Jul 2001
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I have an HP 656c ... in fact I now have two! Both work fine.
Problem was the ink costs!!!! I have a great refill kit. I get 5 refills on the colour for less than $30. The process can get a bit messy if you miss with the syringe! Ink stains on the fingers take forever to remove!!! But the cartridges will take only so many refills.
OK. Needed to buy new Black and Colour ... cost ... Over $120!!!! Then my favourite salesman at the computer shop pointed out the fact they had HP 656c on "special" at $90 complete with cartridges!!!!
posted
First off, printer companies such as Epson and HP are NOT in the business of selling/making money on the printer....they are in business for making money on the consumables, which is INK, PAPER, INK, PAPER.....
HP makes a decent printer (I have two [forgot about the kids earlier], along with my Epson)
True, you get a new print head with each cartridge purchase, which is the positive spin applied by HP salespeople....but then you have to ask yourself what's the real motivation there?!
I thought this sounded good too, until an unbiased techie at Comp USA explained why the new print head....
Basically, the way the ink droplets are applied to the paper substrate between the two (Epson and HP) are completely different...I believe he explained the Piezo Electric technology of the Epson as placing a very small dot electrostatically in a specific location as a "dot", whereas the HP "sprays" ink onto the paper in a less distinct pattern.
All I can say is that if you ask printers what they use for color comps/proofs you will no doubt find that they overwhelmingly use the Epson....with the 3000 model being one of their favorites.
As this techie explained it to me...HP HAS to implement a print head into the ink cartridge system rather than having a fixed, durable printer printhead like Epson because the print heads used in their technology literally uses heat to get the ink to the right consistency for spraying and the print heads "warp" after "X" amount of documents printed....eventually resulting in poor prints.
Now does this matter? Probably not, because I'm guessing the ink volumes are measured in a way so that the cartridges "run out" prior to significant head warping.....so you go out and buy a new ink cartridge before any major noticeability of print degradation.
I've probably got some of this info completely "butt backwards" as it was about 2 years ago that I made my Epson 1280 purchase and had this conversation...so I'm going by my every changing feeble memory. So this is a disclaimer so HP doesn't sue me for maligning their product.....but like I say, I have a couple standard paper-size Deskjets and have been happy with them too....but now it's going to be Epson all the way.
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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At home I have a HP 1000c witch I think is the predicessor to the printer Bob is using. I've had it for 6 or 7 years and it has printed a ton of card stock and tabloid size paper. It cost around $500 then. It has done a heck of a job but the print quality is suffering. A couple months ago I bought a $100 Lexmark. It has 3 card readers built right into it and prints beautifully. I don't think it could handle a lot of printing and like said above it talks to you which is kind of annoying (although my wife likes it)
My next printer will be a Epson (maybe with the bulk ink set-up)
-------------------- Ace Graphics & Printing Camdenton, MO. USA
I have, and use, an Epson Color Stylus (NO model #) that I bought when they 1st came out with injets! My wife uses an Epson Stylus Color 850...and she runs tons of paper thru it (Medical Transcriber) without any problems. The best part, she gets "compatible" ink cartriges at 5 for $25!!!!
-------------------- Si Allen #562 La Mirada, CA. USA
(714) 521-4810
si.allen on Skype
siallen@dslextreme.com
"SignPainters do It with Longer Strokes!"
Never mess with your profile while in a drunken stupor!!!
Brushasaurus on Chat Posts: 8827 | From: La Mirada, CA, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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