Need wide-format printer recommendation (for a very unique case)

readyforgood

New member
Hello,

My name is Addison and I run Ready for Good Furnishings, a nonprofit furniture store. We get a lot of miscellaneous items on truckloads, items that come in cardboard boxes of all sizes. We want a printer that can do the following:

(By the way, we can get a grant to cover the cost of the printer, so cost is not an issue upfront. Ongoing cost of maintenance is: so we'd prefer a printer that's relatively cheaper to run across time - for ink, toner, paper, whatever - and even if initial cost to purchase the machine is very high, that's ok).

-Required: can print numerous sizes (ranging from small to large, say, 8.5x11 on the small end, to 36" wide on the large end). Might be able to get by with a smaller, 24" wide printer on the "large end", but 36" is probably ideal for the largest size we'd want to print
-Optional but preferrd: can print from a smartphone, like an Android or iPhone
-Optional but preferred: has vertical and horizontal cutters automatically built-in

Note: we aren't going to be printing really fancy photos. We will be printing photos of sizes like 1.4 megapixels, pulled from the internet, because we'll be stock photo from websites where our items are being sold online. (By the way, these photos are going to be downloaded in .webp format, and I'm wondering if these printers can print .webp format photos or if I'll have to convert them to .jpeg or something first).

Also, as a final side note, the plan is to get adhesive bond paper, so we can just stick the photos to the boxes and not have to get tape and tape them on. Maybe that's overkill, but it would save us time. I realize that paper is much more expensive, so it may be cost-prohibitive, but we may be able to get grant funding to cover the paper over time too, and ink / toner. We'll see.

The idea is to sell things in box that don't match our furniture store vibe, and to print stock photos and paste them onto the boxes. Set these items on shelves in our store. People buy things with pictures on the box, but not usually cardboard boxes without pictures and just worded descriptions.
 
The HP Z9+ series produces a nice quality print and also has the built in cutters so you don't have to trim the prints out after completion. They come in a 24" and 44" width size, but you could always just use the smaller 24" and print 36" prints, you'd just be limited to 24" on one side. The Z9+ 44" runs a little less than $4k.

If you're looking at something even cheaper, the HP T630 is about as cheap as they come. That does a 36" wide print and has the cross cutter, but not the side cutters, so there would be extra cutting there, unless you don't mind a small white border. The quality is decent is enough. It's meant more for plotter type applications, but it might get you by and it costs less than $2k. Hope that helps.
 
Thank you! Do you think the images will look good, if we're printing them 4' wide by 4' long, say, and the images aren't super high density (pixel-wise) that we're printing? I'm thinking 1MB images, like stock photos that we download from web pages, like this .webp image of this couch:

 
Thank you! Do you think the images will look good, if we're printing them 4' wide by 4' long, say, and the images aren't super high density (pixel-wise) that we're printing? I'm thinking 1MB images, like stock photos that we download from web pages, like this .webp image of this couch:

More than likely not. No matter how nice your printer is, if you put shit images in, you'll get shit images out. Just make sure the images you use are a high res as possible. More pixels the better. If they are smaller than 4' x 4' and you have to resize them up to that size there will be image degradation. If you're just sticking them on the side of boxes, however, you might not really need them to print super high res anyway.
 
Experiment with different self adhesive substrate stocks. Trapped air bubbles and shrinkage caused by change in environment can be problematic. For example, if we use certsin laser label stock for fulfilment onto poly bags then load and leave in a van in the yard for delivery the next day, any labels exposed to cold air often ripple.
 
If upfront cost is not a major concern, Take a look at Roland printers. They have a couple devices that print and cut. Material cost and ink are pretty reasonable and you can create almost any type of sticker, banner, posters etc. There is a learning curve with their software. We use Adobe Illustrator to create cutlines if needed. Could become another revenue source for your non-profit store.
 
Hello,

My name is Addison and I run Ready for Good Furnishings, a nonprofit furniture store. We get a lot of miscellaneous items on truckloads, items that come in cardboard boxes of all sizes. We want a printer that can do the following:

(By the way, we can get a grant to cover the cost of the printer, so cost is not an issue upfront. Ongoing cost of maintenance is: so we'd prefer a printer that's relatively cheaper to run across time - for ink, toner, paper, whatever - and even if initial cost to purchase the machine is very high, that's ok).

-Required: can print numerous sizes (ranging from small to large, say, 8.5x11 on the small end, to 36" wide on the large end). Might be able to get by with a smaller, 24" wide printer on the "large end", but 36" is probably ideal for the largest size we'd want to print
-Optional but preferrd: can print from a smartphone, like an Android or iPhone
-Optional but preferred: has vertical and horizontal cutters automatically built-in

Note: we aren't going to be printing really fancy photos. We will be printing photos of sizes like 1.4 megapixels, pulled from the internet, because we'll be stock photo from websites where our items are being sold online. (By the way, these photos are going to be downloaded in .webp format, and I'm wondering if these printers can print .webp format photos or if I'll have to convert them to .jpeg or something first).

Also, as a final side note, the plan is to get adhesive bond paper, so we can just stick the photos to the boxes and not have to get tape and tape them on. Maybe that's overkill, but it would save us time. I realize that paper is much more expensive, so it may be cost-prohibitive, but we may be able to get grant funding to cover the paper over time too, and ink / toner. We'll see.

The idea is to sell things in box that don't match our furniture store vibe, and to print stock photos and paste them onto the boxes. Set these items on shelves in our store. People buy things with pictures on the box, but not usually cardboard boxes without pictures and just worded descriptions.
Hello, this is Nick Lancione, with Advantage ColorGraphics. We're a privately-owned commercial print, packaging (custom), and direct mail supplier located in Anaheim, CA. I have a few questions about what you're looking for and I may be able to offer a few solutions as well. Please send me an email, [email protected], and we can go over the details. My cell # is 414-379-5210, feel free to call when have time. Thanks!
 

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