Computer hardware and software
what is the best printer ink and paper to use for photography?
Question : what is the best printer ink and paper to use for photography?
I’m starting my own photography business and I’ve been trying to research what is the best printer ink and paper too use when it comes to printing my pictures. I was hoping to see if anyone has any input from experience. Thanks!
printer ink
Best answer:
Answer by Charles
kodak is the best printer but all ink is the same. the cheapest thing is to fill it up with ordinary ink.
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#2 written by Kevin K 1 year ago
Epson printers are the best ones out there. I have the 1400 and R1900, and I prefer the 1400. The Kodak printers are limited to 600x600dpi, so the prints don’t have nearly enough detail in them. The Epson printers are 5760x1440dpi. The difference in print quality is amazing. The best ink and paper to use is the genuaine Epson. The aftermarket inks can have color shifts. For printing proofs, I use the Staples heavy duty gloss photo paper. Epson puts their paper on sale for 1/2 price a few times a year, when that happens, stock up. Look in the Epson store clearance center for deals. The 1400 cost me 150.00 at Staples, on sale with a 50.00 instant rebate.
I’ve printed all of these at 13 x 19 and they look really good:
http://cgipix.com/Portfolio_Photographer_Wildlife_Scenics_Landscapes_Sports.htm
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As Kevin K said Epson printers are the established standard for pro printing.
If you can, get the large format models that accept rolls of media (and hold more ink colors than CMYK- grays and greens and oranges, etc.) rather than the consumer level sheet fed printers (that have only CMYK cartridges). I don’t know if the new ones are still called the stylus pros or not, but that’s what you want. Your choices with the Epsons are aqueous ink printers (subtle tones) or solvent ink printers (brillant colors), dyes or pigments.
Go for archival pigmented inks or archival dyes. Nothing else is acceptable. You can order these bulk and refill the printer wells by hand on the pro (roll-fed) models. The tiny cartridges on the consumer printers are insanely expensive- they’d pay for your pro printer if you went through enough of them.
After you find a supplier for bulk archival dye/ink, experiment with different papers is the only next step. You won’t find the best solution by word of mouth, just trial and error when it comes to the ink and the paper. Many media manufacturers will send you free or cheap sample rolls (a few feet on each roll) of their paper types.
Are you doing b&w? This is very hard to print satisfactorily on ink jet printers. Consider one of the models that has many gray ink tones. Base your choice of printer solely on how it does b&w it you work in that medium.
Good luck.