Please tell me how to best spend my money

[Zilliedream]

Hi,

I'm hoping to get some recommendations from printing experts on what might be some good printer options for small quantity runs in a 10k - under budget.

I currently print/sell greeting cards, posters, art prints, calendars on an Epson R1900 and a Canon PIXMA Pro 9000. The quality is great and customers appreciate it but the ink is expensive and these printers are not as fast as others.

So, I have a $10k budget to upgrade or improve my current setup. I do not wish to go with a third party printing service simply because some pieces of art are customizable and I don't print more than one or two copies of those.

What I'm aiming for in the future is to have a variety of equipment that would let me continue selling my 'customizable' products (1-2 units) as well as to take advantage of larger type of orders (100-5k units).

I have contacted Xerox and they have recommended the Phaser 7800. I'm not sure whether the quality of this printer will be good enough compared to the EPSON Pro printers or even the more expensive Canon ones.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[damfino]

Phaser

Phaser

The 7800 is a replacement of sorts for the 7760 (I own two).

Better check the paper path first. If it's anything like the 7760, you will get a wicked curl on cover weights which will make your output basically unsellable.

Dave

 

[Craig]

Find a local shop and farm out the printing. Take the $10,000 and buy a used slitter/score machine and do your own finishing.

 

[Zilliedream]

Find a local shop and farm out the printing. Take the $10,000 and buy a used slitter/score machine and do your own finishing.

Craig, thanks for the advice but I really doubt any local shop would be ok printing jobs of 1-2 items. This means I will always have to print those myself. Also, perhaps it doesn't make sense but doing the printing part is actually 'fun' for me.

I spend a few hours designing something and when it's time to print, that's like seeing my product come to life. I would die having to wait hours for a printing service to finish my order. I know this type of mind set won't get me far but I'm mostly looking to make the best of what I have and what I like to do. (if that makes any sense)

 

[OkiTech]

Hi for a under 10K you can get a nice Xerox Docucolor 242 and put it on "per click" service contract with Xerox, should cost you somewhere 10 to 12 cents for full color print of max size 12x18. Machine has a straight paper path out of by pass, highly regarded for it's color and durability here on this forum. It may not be new but consider sticker price of nearly $30,000 it is well build and designed to produce nice color and can handle 10,000 impressions per month if you get to that point. Somebody may suggest that it is an overkill for few pages jobs but if plan on hitting higher print amounts....
Totally agree with Mr. Damfino - paper path on these printers designed in the way that any coverstock printed will curled up creating a nightmare for the bindery.
If you anywhere near New York - I can help you with equipment. We do not stock any of these but with my connections with Leasing companies can easy find few machines to choose from in reasonable time. Also if you do this from home - keep in mind that this machine is 220V. I don't want it to be a surprise in case you decide to get one of these from me or any other source. I remember once we had delivered an 80 page per minute B/W Canon, 600lbs with steps on 2nd floor just learn that there is no 220V outlet. Girls where lining up to start copying as we were unwrapping the machine.... Imagine disappointment.

 

[damfino]

Tints

Tints

Since you are currently using inkjet, be aware the laser printers will not reproduce screens and graduated tints with as much quality as you are currently used to. Some solids can be a challenge as well. You also have access to 6 colors presently - limited to 4 with a laser.

Whatever you purchase, make sure you print samples of your most challenging designs before committing.

 

[Zilliedream]

Since you are currently using inkjet, be aware the laser printers will not reproduce screens and graduated tints with as much quality as you are currently used to. Some solids can be a challenge as well. You also have access to 6 colors presently - limited to 4 with a laser.

Whatever you purchase, make sure you print samples of your most challenging designs before committing.

Thanks damfino! I don't have much experience with laser printers so quality and print accuracy is indeed a big question mark in my head when thinking about buying a Xerox.

Another option I thought of would be to just upgrade the equipment I have with better/newer models. For example, I could buy the Epson 4900 to replace my R1900 and get a Canon ImagePROGRAF to replace my Pro 9000.