Hi All. Tried doing some research on the topic of continuing with a photo printing service versus buying a high quality pigment based printer i.e Epson P900 or maybe Canon Pro 300 for something a little smaller. I am an amateur but just really love photography and the artistic expression we all get from the craft. There’s something really special about printing out your photos and seeing the image come back into the real world and make tweaks/edits to how you are shooting and editing. For whatever reason I dont print my work often and thought a home printer would make it more enjoyable and encourage me to print more often.
My big question for those of you out there is your experiences and opinions on the topic and any general advice for consideration. Is getting a home printer worth it or is it just a pain in the ass. I know realistically it’s probably a bit cheaper to use a online service and while there are ton of options for papers and prints, you don’t get the real time feedback/results and it doesn’t feel as gratifying. There are obviously also a ton of monitor calibration variables, ICC profiles, and I assume things that can go wrong, and just general expenses.
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Speaking for myself personally, while there’s a part of me who would love to have a photo printer “just to have”, I don’t want to have to find space for it or worry about running it often enough to keep the ink and heads from going dry.
My most commonly printed size is 12x18 and my favorite paper to use is Hahnemühle Photo Rag Metallic. I can get that printed for $22 with free FedEx shipping.
If I was going to buy a printer I’d get the Canon Pro-1000 ($999) so I could print things larger as I need them. Unfortunately it doesn’t take roll paper so I’d have to get 11x17 (Photo Rag Metallic, 25 sheets), which is $120 at B&H. So my initial price would be $45 per print. Obviously the more you print the less the cost will be, spiking again when you have to replace the ink ($699 for the Pro-1000). I’d have to seriously ramp up the amount of prints that I was making (and ideally selling) to make it worth it.
Using the lab gives me an easier way to experiment with different paper types and, recently, I’ve been having prints done on coated aluminum which is just beyond amazing looking. I’ve gotten a few 24x36 metal prints done for $300 each which is expensive but beyond awesome to look at. (Not that owning a printer would stop me from getting these, but I’m be less inclined to want to print on paper vs these kinds of prints now.)