Wide Format Printing

[dazarooney]

Does anyone do any wide format printing? If so do you have your own equipment or do you go somewhere and just use their workshop? I'm currently using someone elses workshop but am considering buying my own equipment but it's just money that's standing in the way!

[Big Al]

A while back I checked Ebay and Craig's list and found several wide carriage HP printers, in good condition (according to the seller) for anywhere from $500 to $1,500. There were some HP 4000's which cost ~$12,000 new. The 1055 is a good one, uses four heads and four ink tanks and is very reliable. The 4000/4020 use eight heads and four inks. These are high maintenance, if you fail to print a big picture every two weeks the heads will clog up. Let the black ink get out of date and the black heads clog up. Some of the older ones, like the HP 500 use less expensive heads and smaller ink tanks. Depends on how much detail and how fast you need it to print. Like anything else there is a break-even point between owning the printer and having someone else do it for you.
We have been working on these for fifteen years now. Let me know if you need anything else clarified.
Al

[dazarooney]

Thanks for your reply Al. I ended up getting a second hand printer from here ( http://www.wideformatwarehouse.co.uk/ ) which was a good price and has been doing a great job these last few months.

[printchesco]

It's nice to know that you found yourself a great deal. Getting a decent secondhand wide format printer is actually so hard these days.

[printchesco]

How much money is it exactly that is standing on your way? Your choice of wide format printer will be affected by your printing needs and the budget that you set for yourself. How much do you print regularly? What is the quality you need out of your prints? Is in-house printing actually the best alternative for you? These are only some of the questions that you would have to answer if you want to find the best wide printing options for you.