Help me buy a wide format photo printer!

[PFid8888]

Printing personal 12 x 12 digital scrapbook pages for family. Printing options in Canada are limited and expensive (Currently paying over $9 a page). There has to be a better way.

Printer will be used exclusively for photo printing as I have a printer for day to day use.

Printed pages will be stored in plastic protectors inside albums so I don't think fading will be an issue.

Thank you

 

[stratman]

Welcome to the forum, PF.


What is your budget for a printer?

How often will you be printing?

How many pages printed per week or month?

Are the prints for short term days to a few weeks use or do you expect years of fade-resistance?

Will you be using OEM inks or do you want to refill? OEM Dye-based and Pigment inks are the most archival. If you use aftermarket inks then Pigment inks are better since aftermarket Dye-based inks, in comparison, fade faster than an appetite at a hot dog eating contest. The choice of photo paper also plays a great role in fade resistance.

Makes sure the scrapbook is made for protecting your images from image killing out gassing from plastic or non-acid free materials used in the scrapbook.

 

[PFid8888]

Thank you for your response Stratman.
My budget max is $1000 CAD.
How many prints a week/month is tougher to pin down. There will be times that I will print 10 pages in a week, however there will be weeks where nothing gets printed.

Since this is for archival purposes, I will be using OEM ink.
The scrapbooks are designed to protect images and the products I use are safe for photographs as well.

I've been focusing on the Canon Pixma Pro-200 and the Canon Pixma Pro-10 as they both able to print 12x12 format I need.

 

[stratman]

I've been focusing on the Canon Pixma Pro-200 and the Canon Pixma Pro-10 as they both able to print 12x12 format I need.

The Pro 200 is a Dye-based ink printer that natively supports 12x12 paper printing. The older Pro 100, also Dye-based inks, appears to NOT support 12x12 paper.

The Pro 10 is a Pigment ink printer. A quick look at the Specs on the Canon web site did not say the Pro 10 handles 12x12 paper. The new Pro 300 is a Pigment ink printer and has native 12x12 paper handling.

Your choice of paper will help guide your choice of a printer that uses Dye-based versus Pigment inks.

Another thought to keep in mind is if you use an aftermarket paper then choose on in which a custom ICC profile for your specific printer-ink combination in order to optimize your color management. If you only use Canon papers then the ICC profile for Canon papers is included in with the printer.

Canon has links to ICC printer profiles for aftermarket papers. You may be able to find profiles for the new Pro 200 and Pro 300 on the Canon web site.

https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/products/groups/3rd-party-papers/

You may find profiles for your printer on the aftermarket paper's web site. You can make your own ICC profile or have one made for you as well.

Food for thought.

 

[stratman]

For what it is worth... a list of printers that supposedly handle12x12 paper natively:

https://www.faceofit.com/best-12x12-printers/

I have no idea the validity of these claims.

 

[PFid8888]

Thank you so much Stratman, you've given me a lot to think about and research before I make a decision.

 

[stratman]

YW

Let us know what happens.

 

[Sotalo]

The important thing is the printer has at least 12" page width. Most printers above letter size will go to 13" to support 13x19 prints, but you can enter any custom sized paper and it will print at least a standard photo crop with some borders. I don't think you need borderless support for scrapbooking.

Also, pigment is really nice, if you can afford it, but the inks tend to be very expensive. For more affordable printing why not an Epson ET-8550? Dye inks, photo printer, very high yield. If you're gonna be printing large sizes a lot and you don't want to have ink anxiety, that's perfect! It also comes with an 11x17" flatbed scanner.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

aftermarket Dye-based inks, in comparison, fade faster than an appetite at a hot dog eating contest.

I like that comparison - it hits the truth - there are paper/ink combinations on the market which give you a fading performance of just 1 or 2% compared to genuine inks and papers. Vendors are not able (or willing) to give you relevant information about their products in this respect, there are decent refill inks available which last long enough in an album or a box but I have prints from a year ago - in a box on which magenta is gone and black turned into a dirty brown. I knew it upfront - I just forgot to scrap those prints earlier.

The choice of photo paper also plays a great role in fade resistance.

that's very important to know as well - the fading performance of a print is a combination of both - the paper + the ink performance together - nothing is for free in this respect and it is your choice which performance level you need and expect and you are willing to pay for.

 

[stratman]

@Ink stained Fingers

I've read about the great flooding in Germany. Horrible.

You haven't been on for a while. How are you doing?

I hope all is well with you and your family.