Investing in a New Printer

---

What printer should I buy?

This is about as easy to answer as ‘what kind of camera should I buy’.

Like everything you buy first assess how you are going to be using it.

Are you a hobbyist who just wants to make a few prints and learn the encaustic process to see what it’s all about?

OR

Are you ready to embark on a new vocation and plan on selling your photo encaustic pieces through galleries?

I suspect that most of you are somewhere in-between. You want to print images and create artwork for your family and friends and maybe sell a piece or two along the way.

A word about archivalness. Strictly speaking, the term ‘archival’ means ‘of or pertaining to archives or valuable records’. As it applies to materials and supplies ‘archival’ means something suitable for long-term contact with important objects, safe and stable to museum or library standards. When artists say ‘archival’, usually they really mean ‘durable to the standards of permanent art’. Generally speaking best practice, especially if you are selling your work, is to use only archival products in your pieces. Some may say, ‘but why does that matter if we are encasing in wax and is therefore sealing it off from the air?’ And that is a great question that we don’t completely know the answer to. We know, however, that wax doesn’t completely protect the piece as UV light is able to permeate the wax layers and will turn newspaper and other materials yellow over time. It is still unclear how wax may or may not protect non-archival inks over time.

So, ask yourself, first and foremost, how important is it to YOU that the inks you use are archival? If you are just a hobbyist and want to express your creativity, maybe you don’t need to worry about the archivalness of your work. If you plan on selling your work, by all means, ONLY use archival materials.

I’ll start with the basics. There are three different kinds of main stream printers and they are set apart by their inks—pigment-based inks, dye-based inks, and laser toner.

Laser printers have a drum unit that fuses toner powder in a heated process and although they can handle simple graphics nicely, complex images and photos can be a challenge. And since toner isn’t manufactured with longevity in mind, I’m not going to spend time talking about them.

Inkjet printers (pigment or dye based) spray liquid ink through nozzles onto the paper. Generally, dye-based inks consist of colorant that is fully dissolved in a liquid. These inks are lower in cost, but with the disadvantage that they are water soluble, so a drop of water could ruin a print, images can smudge, and the prints require a longer drying time for the ink to set. Additionally, the prints fade faster and are therefore not considered archival.  Pigment-based ink consists of very fine powder of colorant in a liquid carrier, and are considered archival because of their improved longevity (fade resistance) over dye-based inks.

Printer technology is constantly changing….as are the inks. It wasn’t too long ago that I would have told you that you can’t use dye based inks for photo transfers and that only laser prints or ink jet prints will work for this process.

Not so anymore. I have a Canon Pixma MG 7720 that is a hybrid. There is a black that is an inkjet pigment and the colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, and photo black) are dye-based inks and I do photo transfers form this printer all the time.

This printer has a BIG ‘bang for the buck’ ratio. I bought mine for about $80 online. I bring it to all my workshops and have shipped this printer all over the country. It’s small (only prints 8.5 x 11) and I love its size, as it would be prohibitive for me to ship my larger printer. But I wouldn’t exactly call it a quality photo printer—and although it’s perfect for learning—its dye-based inks are not considered archival.

I have my fair share of printers (one of every size) and my workhorse has been my EPSON R2880. It’s a 13×19 printer and until recently has been the printer I use solely for my own work. Epson no longer makes this printer, it’s been replaced with Epson’s SureColor P-600 printer. You can expect to pay about $700 – $800 for this printer. This is what I would call a ‘true’ photo printer. It requires a full set (of 8) pigment-based archival inks. Images on this printer don’t get much better.

Some may argue with me that Canon or HP produce better printers than Epson. But that’s just a personal preference similar to Coke vs. Pepsi. What I’m saying is that these archival inkjet printers are the same ones used by professional labs all over the country.

For a list of pigment-based inkjet printers Red River is a great resource.

So, what should you look for when purchasing a printer?

• What sort of print quality do you want?
• How important is it to you to have archival inks?
• Are the inks dye-based or pigment-based?
• How much do the replacement inks cost?
• What size of print do you want?
• How much are you willing to spend?
• How often will you be using it? (an inkjet printer needs to be used frequently or the nozzles may clog)
• How will you be connecting to the printer and from which devices? Wi-Fi? AirPrint? CloudPrint? PictBridge?  Is it compatible with your computer or laptop?

For additional information on the various photo printers available, check out B&H Photo’s Buying Guide.

I know that this is confusing and not an easy decision. Do your research. Know what you are buying. And then use it, and enjoy the prints you make.

 

 

---

What printer do you have? What do you like best about it? least about it? Let me know in the comments below.

Be well….be creative,