Suggestions for reliable CISS/Printer package for 13" x 19" printing

[ThrillaMozilla]

I think you need to look for an offset print shop, not an instant print shop. Of course, if you print it yourself, you would still have a nice printer when you were done.

 

[ghwellsjr]

This summer we'll be needing to print a couple thousand various 13" x 19" (mini) posters.

The ink does not have to be archival nor do we need "museum quality" prints.

We just need a VERY economical yet reliable CISS printer to bust these out -- sometimes 50 a day.

Suggestions for a printer?

Canon or Epson?

Thanks!

I have three i9100 printers that use unchipped BCI-6 cartridges and can print a 13x19 photo in about 5 minutes. That means it would take a couple hours to print out 50 posters. Did you know this printer can actually print out 13x23? I have used pads of sketching paper cut to size as a cheap source of paper. I would not recommend CISS for them but there are lots of sources of cheap third party cartridges for them. They use six cartridges including the photo magenta and photo cyan which you will need more of than any other color. You can always take ten of these empty cartridges to Staples per month for a total of $20 rewards. You can accumulate up to three months of these which means you can buy something for $60 every three months and not pay a penny.

I'm not sure of the status of these printers since they have not been powered on in years but in the next couple months I could assess their status. Is this something you will be doing each summer or just this one? It sounds like you want to print a different poster each day? How long does each poster have to last? Are you planning to replace the posters with new ones each day? If you want reliability, you really need multiple printers. Print heads are still available for around $50 for these printers.

Personally, I think the suggestions to get a print shop to do the work would be the least frustrating approach but if you want more control of the process, doing it yourself might be a better approach. Of course, you can always do both.

I've been wanting to find a good home for these printers and I'm in Southern California which might make it feasible.

 

[artprint1]

thanks for the tip
i actually used to own that printer. If I can't use CISS then that wouldn't make it economical to print posters though no??

Ya I would very much like to just find someone willing to print them for me

On page 1 Adoramapix.com was recommended. They have a 12X18 print for $5.58 each. I ordered one to test it.

That's the cheapest price i've found. I'd prefer the poster was a bit bigger though.

Anyone else have any leads for an "offset print shop"

should i just look in the phone book?

thanks! forgive my ignorance.

 

[turbguy]

Look in the Phone Book...you will want a local source for that much printing so you get what you want on offset jobs.

Actually, you should try Kinko's or Office Depot or Staples or the UPS Store, too. They can photocopy an original MUCH faster than you can print....and recently the results can be really good...

Wayne

 

[artprint1]

Thanks

I called Staples and Office Depot
- basically they can both print posters for about 8 dollars per square foot
- but office depot has an 11x17 laser printer for 2.19 per page

I should probably still call Kinkos.

 

[artprint1]

Adoramapix.com for instance.

You will be hard-pressed to get you media cost below $.40 per sheet.

How quickly do you need them printed? what's the '"demand" time.

Thanks for the lead

I purchased a glossy poster print from them and it arrived pretty good.

 

[artprint1]

Thanks for the support. So here is the January update.

I just got off the phone and it turns out we're going to need CANVAS prints. Not glossy or photopaper.

We'll be printing out several hundred full color style prints on this paper:

http://www.itsupplies.com/Fredrix/Fredrix-901WR-Water-Resistant-Inkjet-Canvas-13-x19-sheets-116091

So basically I need a cheap (yet reliable) CISS inkjet solution - that can handle the 13x19 Fredrix canvas sheets.

(I love my Epson Artisan 837 but, of course, it doesnt do 13x19.)

All opinions VERY appreciated.

(Note I live in Southern California if you know any local sellers.)
(Note that the quality does not need to be archival and this isn't a "museum quality" production. Just 'temporary' stuff.)

Thanks!

 

[The Hat]

If you are in Southern California then youre perfectly placed to get one of the many cheap offers of the pro 9000 II on Craigs List.

You wont need a CISS with this printer just an extra set of cartridges
and I can guarantee it will be much better than running any CISS system.

In fact buy two and then youll have the extra set of cartridges you need and a spare print head also..

 

[artprint1]

Thanks.
Ya its a cool printer.
Unfortunately last year, I found myself in a very unfortunate situation in which I was helping my friend install a CISS system into a Canon pro 9000, only to find that we had only managed to get ink in every corner of the printer except onto the paper.

We totally saturated it. It stopped working.

I can give the Canon pro 9000 another shot.

But I still don't quite understand what i did wrong the first time. So I assume I should try a different CISS solution? "Extra Cartridges" - how does this work?

Thanks!

 

[The Hat]

Thanks.
Ya its a cool printer.


I can give the Canon pro 9000 another shot.

But I still don't quite understand what i did wrong the first time. So I assume I should try a different CISS solution? "Extra Cartridges" - how does this work?

Thanks!

The extra spare cartridges work by refilling them while out of the printer it couldnt be easier,
top fill or German fill you choose which one you like best and make sure you have a resetter also..