Printing multiple photos at set sizes - Which Printers?

[Justin]

I'm working on a new project which would involve me printing set sized photos, 4x6 etc. I have an A3 Canon printer and also wide format but I'm wondering as the project develops (excuse the pun!) if there's be a better printer option? I may need to be doing quite a few and I appreciate it's not cost effective to run through a desktop printer. If I print the images ganged up on a wide format I'd need not cut them all precisely as they need the white borders, too time consuming.

What would a photo shop tend to use? Dye Sublimation printers? Anyone use these and can advise on costs etc please?

I'm also going to be looking at a new website for this project where I can store all of customers images, they can log in with their own password and see only their images, choose what they want printed, place order etc. Yes, I can set this up on OpenCart etc. bit again wondered if there's an easier option with a ready made template site?

Appreciate any advice.

[GoonerGary]

Photo shops would hire a Fuji Frontier printer or a Noritsu machine.

[arthur.daley]

I just hit post and my message disappeared - can't see any trace of it though, so if there are two posts saying the same thing - its not me going senile!

Justin, I think you have a couple of options here. If you want to keep it in house and don't anticipate being able to generate hundreds of orders per day, how about a Mitsubishi dye sub printer? They are the much loved work horse of the events photography print on demand world which means they are fast and pretty bomb proof. One of their smaller units is 700 or 800 quid. I would recommend speaking to System Insight

http://www.systeminsight.com/

They know their stuff and this is their area of expertise. Its just possible that they have an off the peg solution that would work for you. What you are doing is essentially no different to a post event ordering service - people log in, place an order et voila, the printer spits out the finished photos.

Alternatively, you could go with a commercial lab that offers order fulfilment - you live in your area of their servers, customer logs in to YOUR web address, places order and the lab fulfils it and posts it out in your liveried packaging. There were some labs offering this a few years ago at the NEC Photography Show, but as it wasn't something I was interested in I don't remember the names of the labs. Ironically I had a big chucking out session yesterday and all the show guides from 2015 onwards went in the recycle bin - which even as I type will now have been collected otherwise I go and retrieve them.

A Frontier would absolutely give you the most flexible solution and the lowest unit cost but at a huge initial outlay and if you are not a mini lab user already a positively glacial learning curve. You also really do need to have the business to put through them from day one to keep the chemistry happy and consistent. Bit like owning an Epson printer ;o)


Arthur

[Justin]

Many thanks Arthur. I have been looking at the Mitsubishi so if this project comes off I'll give System Insight a shout.

Cheers again.

[Justin]

Looks like this new project is a go'er, small steps to start. Initially I can print the photos on my existing printers but I wll look at the Mitsubishi as demand hopefully grows.

Now I have to sort literature and a website! More work to do in no time

[logobear]

photo labs mostly do 'dry' printing - 4 ribbon sublimation as oppose to RA4 wet processing.

Mitsubishi, Copal, Fuji, Kodak & others make them.
they are fast, produce WATERPROOF photos, - and transportable.

Media costs higher, but machine costs MUCH lower than a proper photo lab

Try photomart eg
https://shop.photomart.co.uk/catalog/ca ... iew/id/691

The 'hard copy' market for photos has gone, - lots of second hand / legacy kit from a mature industry, and over capacity in media production so reasonable prices.

Most important thing will be 'nesting' software.

Although the host paper is the same, the doner sub film can be wasteful...
eg if you are using 6x8 film, and only producs a single 4x6 - then all the film is wasted, BUT - if you produce 2 off 6x4 or a 6x8 then it is all used up.

[Justin]

Thanks Phil. Yeah, I'm not expecting too many photos as I'll be offering gifts, canvasses etc. Hopefully photos will be few and far between so in-house will suffice. I can print in mass on my 44" HP machines but will need to chop up images.

I guess the odd customer might want to frame their own photo but hopefully I'll just get that business as well.