As a professional photographer, you have many options for printing the photos you shoot. The kind of printer you choose is based not only on the type of photos you make and who your clients are, but on how you want to present your work and what style of personal promotion interests you. As a wedding photographer, you might want to present acceptable work prints to your clients and have a lab handle the final prints, or you might want to invest in your own high-end printer and print your images.
Possibly, you’d like to bring a portable dye-sublimation printer with you to the reception and make sure all guests go home with a photo of themselves with the bride (with your website stamped on the back, of course). With the availability of affordable professional-quality printers, many with increasingly portable features, it is now easier than ever to print your own work, whether it be work prints, exhibition prints or high volume on-location printing. At B&H, there is a printer available to fit every need.
The Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-4000S 44" Professional Production Signage Large Format Printer is a high-quality printer with an array of professional features that can print on paper rolls and cut-sheet media as wide as 44". It is an eight-color inkjet printer with a maximum resolution of 2400 x 1200 dpi. Printing is possible on media as thick as 0.8mm. Featuring an integrated color densitometer with three-color LED and condenser lens, users will be able to recalibrate the PRO-4000S at nearly any time to ensure consistently colored prints. The Device Management Console software furthers your abilities by enabling calibrations and checking of print status for up to 50 units from a remote location. It employs the LUCIA PRO ink set, which offers pigment-based ink of vibrant, stable colors with smooth gradations, superb blacks, and fine details.
Also designed to print up to 44" wide, the Epson SureColor P9000 Standard Edition 44" Large-Format Inkjet Printer offers a high level of performance and nuance for fine art applications. With the PrecisionCore TFP Print Head Technology and an ink droplet size of 3.5 picoliters, fine art photos are produced with rich, detailed, and accurate colors by the UltraChrome HDX pigment-based ink set. The maximum resolution is 2880 x 1440 dpi. Ideal for black-and-white printing, it simultaneously uses Photo Black, Light Black, Light Light Black, and Matte Black inks to produce prints with smooth tonal gradations and contrast. Eleven ink cartridges are available. Color prints on Epson Professional Media are rated stable for up to 200 years (black-and-white prints last even longer). Two- or three-inch core rolls of paper can be switched easily because no spindle is used. This increases flexibility and, again, eliminates waste.
For the professional photographer who needs a tabletop printer that can provide the sharpest details and most accurate colors and often on large pieces of paper, we have numerous options. For example, the Epson SureColor P800 Inkjet Printer offers a maximum resolution of 2880 x 1440 dpi, and with its advanced MicroPiezo AMC print head, produces gallery-quality color and black-and-white prints up to 17 x 22". The printer’s nine-ink set delivers a bold range of colors, and its print head will automatically switch between photo and matte black ink to improve black ink density for various media types. An Advanced Black & White Mode is also available for neutral and custom toning of your monochrome imagery. The minimum ink droplet size is 3.5 picoliters.
The Epson P800 accepts cut-sheet media up to 17" wide and features three ways to load paper as well as an optional roll media adapter for canvas and paper rolls from 13 to 17". In addition to USB 2.0 and Ethernet, the printer offers Wi-Fi connectivity for wireless printing from mobile devices.
The Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 17" Professional Photographic Inkjet Printer employs the outstanding FINE (Full-Photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering) technology with a 50% larger print head than previous offerings, the 11-color LUCIA PRO pigment-based ink set, and Chroma Optimizer to create prints with fine detail and a wide, accurate color gamut. The PRO-1000 also offers the largest print size in the imagePROGRAF line, up to 17" wide, and can print borderless at up to 17 x 22", as well as work with thick 27.6 mil fine art media. A two-way vacuum feeder keeps media flat.
The Canon PIXMA PRO-100 Color Inkjet Wireless Photo Printer offers Wi-Fi, Ethernet and PictBridge connectivity and 4800 x 2400 dpi resolution for its max output of 13 x 19" media. Of its eight ink cartridges, three are monochrome (black, gray and light gray) for professional-quality prints. An 8 x 10" print can be completed in approximately 51 seconds and, utilizing the Optimum Image Generating (OIG) system from the PIXMA PRO-1 model, the printer analyzes various image attributes—including color reproduction, tonal gradations, black density, low graininess, glossiness, anti-bronzing and anti-metamerism—to produce the best results for each print mode and paper type.
The Epson PictureMate PM-400 Personal Photo Lab is a compact, wireless printer that uses MicroPiezo inkjet technology to create detailed prints at 5760 x 1440 dpi at up to 5 x 7", ideal for your snapshots and family pictures. The PM-400 can hold up to 50 sheets of plain paper for documents or 20 sheets of thicker glossy photo paper. There is also an option for single sheets up to 23.6 mil for more specialized media.
Dye-Sublimation Printers
Dye-sublimation printers are the kind we are familiar with from most standard photo labs that print up our pack of 4 x 6" prints. They work by applying a ribbon of colored dye to a medium, usually a roll of photo paper. By heating a panel of color on the ribbon, the dye is vaporized and diffuses on the paper. Varying the temperature of the heating process will allow more or less dye to transfer to the paper, thus creating your image. This process is repeated for three colors and then a lamination is heated on the top to stabilize the colors and protect the final print. Even though we are used to seeing giant printers in photo labs do this, dye-sublimation printers can be portable as well.
The DNP DS-RX1HS Dye-Sublimation Photo Printer is a portable event-photography printer that can produce 290 4 x 6" photos in an hour-long run. It can print either matte or glossy photos from 2 x 6" up to 6 x 8" at a maximum of 300 x 600 dpi. An efficient, fast machine, it is ideal for photo booths, as well as events.
For those looking to print a bit larger, DNP's DS820A 8" Professional Photo Dye Sublimation Printer can output prints up to 8 x 12" in just 35 seconds, as well as smaller print sizes down to 4 x 8". An 8 x 10" photo will print in just 29.3 seconds. While not quite as portable as the DS-RX1HS, this bigger brother weighs about 30 lb and measures 14.4" on its longest side, so it would not be unheard of to use as a printing station at the wedding reception.
For more information, stop by the B&H SuperStore in New York, speak with a sales professional on the telephone, at 1-800-606-6969 or contact us online via Live Chat. If you have any questions or comments, be sure to leave them in the appropriate space below. We'd love to hear from you!
