Recommended printer

photobunny

I am looking for a good printer to round up my gear. The Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-300 is looking like a good option, but perhaps there is some secret sauce in another brand for printing out Nikon files. I process my images in Capture One if that makes any difference and I am on macOS.

I have all the space and a budget of about £1000 in mind, though the 500mm PF and Z6II or Z7II are ahead of the queue.

Symphotic

I’m pretty happy with my Epson P800. I use Lightroom, photoshop (rarely) and mac. The P800 has been replaced by the P900 and is going to be a little more than your budget, but the P900 is a good deal. I also have the older Canon pro9500 MkII that I use at work where I’m not so picky about making perfect prints. There is a bit more flexibility with the Epson (and the Canon PRO-1000.) For one, they hold 17x22 sheets in the standard feeder.

I prefer the color of the Epson on “luster” paper over the canon color, and I find getting the right colors on the Epson a little easier. The newer Canons have improved color, I believe, but I went to Epson for the better color and better in-printer management. Nikon plays nicely with the Epson, but I had a little more trouble tweaking the Canon printer. I spent a lot of time and money on test prints and finally gave up on it and moved the Canon printer out to make room for the Epson after I saw it demoed in a store. BUT that was the older Canon model and I was still learning how to get better prints, so your mileage may vary. Canon papers work very will with the Epson.

I print 17x22 DX photos (D500 taken with the 300 mm PF) as well as Z7 and D850 wide angle shots and there is a real difference between 17x22 and 13x19: printing larger is worth a little extra in investment. It has been said before, but a great printer makes the money invested in the camera and lenses all the more rewarding. After the body and the first lens, the printer is the best next purchase before adding anything else.

daveznspace

The canon pro-100 with precision color inks and red river paper looks as good as my fellow photographers here who spend a fortune getting prints done and they can't believe I use the pro 100. With that being said, the next time the pro-10 goes on there $100 sale I will pick one up.

as far as I know, the new canons can't use 3rd party inks. Precision color's inks are fantastic and I only use the $$$$$ canon inks on very high-end prints but so far I can't tell a difference between them other than how many more I can print with the refills.

photobunny

Thanks Symphotic and you too daveznspace(I will only be using branded ink, I want whatever I print to last and not dull over time.)

spraynpray

You probably know this already @photobunny , but modern centrally heated houses dry out inkjet heads quite quickly so you must commit to printing at least weekly to avoid this.

photobunny

spraynpray said:

You probably know this already @photobunny , but modern centrally heated houses dry out inkjet heads quite quickly so you must commit to printing at least weekly to avoid this.

My house is from the 1700s at the latest and we have something akin to central heating. Regardless, I take about 2000 shots a week even in the cold months. I'll surely has a few things to print or I can buy new ink.

spraynpray

Perfect!

daveznspace

photobunny said:

Thanks Symphotic and you too daveznspace(I will only be using branded ink, I want whatever I print to last and not dull over time.)

just fyi~ branded ink will fade pretty much just as fast. Other factors are more important like using uv glass, keep out of direct sunlight, humidity... you can also spray them with a coating.

Look up Jose on youtube, he has a massive amount of video's on this and he just did a 1 year test on inks and fading, plus you'll find him extremely helpful if you get stuck

link to a Jose video

I've had some up at the house for 3 years now and none are fading.

Again it depends on how I sell them. If I'm doing high price ones then I'll use oem ink (but really at this point I don't see a difference) but here mostly you sell them pretty cheap to tourists so there's no need. I just print instructions and tips on a sticker and put on it.

The bottom line is if you put a print with oem inks in a crappy frame with plain glass in a spot where it gets hit with a lot of sun and/or if it's somewhat humid in the house (or any combo) the print will fade.

At first, I just used canon papers too but I'm finding out other papers are much better like Red River. For the cheaper prints I sell in gift shops I'll use canons pro luster because it's decent and cheap.

Usually, refill inks are crap quite frankly, but the precision inks are damn good.

daveznspace

spraynpray said:

You probably know this already @photobunny , but modern centrally heated houses dry out inkjet heads quite quickly so you must commit to printing at least weekly to avoid this.

I'm in nw wyoming where it's very dry and little humidity and I've gone a couple of months between print and luckily never had that problem but it is good to whip out a 4x6 or whatever once a week or two just to be sure.

The pro-10 really is the way to go though if you find them on the $100 sale which hasn't happened in a while but I'd assume around christmas they'll do it.

Symphotic

I can replace the printhead on my canon. I’m never had to on the Epson. The Epson uses HUGE ink tanks: expensive, but they last, and I print big.