Printer / Paper Help!

Hi there,

I'm lost in the midst of the internet looking for help and a Google search pointed me in your direction, so I hope this isn't the wrong place!

Basically, I work for a company where we make products, but prior to launch, we create "mock ups" of these products to demonstrate them. So before doing a full production and paying for the minimum order of a several thousand run of boxes we have to either make them up ourselves or pay an extortionate amount for someone to do it for us.

When we try and print in-house (we have a decent printer) we can never seem to find the right paper in order to not have the print either smudge or the colour to come out off. It all appears fine on regular paper, but we want to print on a nicer quality paper as this looks a lot better when we pay for it, so want to do it in-house if we can.

The boxes normally include a photographic as well as graphics made by a designer. While this is not one of our products, the following is the sort of thing we are after:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ugHoRq_8FW...cereal-box.jpg

Could anyone possibly shed any light on this please? We use a high quality Konica Minolta Printer, but are looking at getting a new printer specifically for this (PixmaMG6150, 12.5 ipm (mono) / up to 9.3 ipm (colour), 9600 x 2400 dpi (colour). Does anyone have any idea if this would be a good printer? Or what I would require if not? We're trying to avoid breaking the bank if we can! Thank you.

If as you write " we can never seem to find the right paper in order to not have the print either smudge or the colour to come out off." You need a decent printer. Or you need your present printer fixed.
If the output is smudging or the color is coming off, the printer has a problem with the fuser and/or toner. Are you using Konica toner or brand X?

Big Al can probably give you ideas for the printers to consider.

Put the image you want to print on a memory stick or CD/DVD and take it round to the places that sell printers and try several printers and paper combinations.

Al