Which Printer for Art Photos

I've dabbled in ink jet photo printing off and on since its inception, but
gave it up a few years ago because of the high cost of materials. I just
recently opened a gift shop in an historic district and I'm selling, among
many other things, prints, paintings, samplers and other types of wall art.
I have a large number of my own negatives and slides that I'd like to scan,
print, frame, and sell. I've been away from photo printing for a while, so
I'd appreciate advice on which printer to get. The Epson Stylus Photo R2400
looks like it would be a good choice because it prints on a wide variety of
media. If you have experience with this printer I'd be grateful for your
review, links to reviews, or suggestions for an alternative. What is the
cost of printing an 11x14" photo? On average, how many 11x14" prints can
you get from a set of ink cartridges?

Thanks,
SW

Summer Wind wrote:

>I've dabbled in ink jet photo printing off and on since its inception, but
>gave it up a few years ago because of the high cost of materials. I just
>recently opened a gift shop in an historic district and I'm selling, among
>many other things, prints, paintings, samplers and other types of wall art.
>I have a large number of my own negatives and slides that I'd like to scan,
>print, frame, and sell. I've been away from photo printing for a while, so
>I'd appreciate advice on which printer to get. The Epson Stylus Photo R2400
>looks like it would be a good choice because it prints on a wide variety of
>media.
>

First you need to determine if you need a pigmented ink printer or if
the dye based printers will provide you with the right amount of
archival properties. I do not know about the new CLI Canon inks.

If you choose pigment also consider the new Canon Pro 9500 due to be
released around New Years 07. The 2400 has a big downfall. If you
continually switch between glossy paper and matte paper you have to
switch ink tanks and purge the printer and that will cost you time,
inconvenience and about $75.00 worth of purged ink round trip. I think
that the Canon can load all of it tanks at once and have it all on demand.

If you are bent on Epson but are bothered by playing musical tanks then
take a look at the R1800. BW printing may not be quite a good but all
else should be very acceptable.

> If you have experience with this printer I'd be grateful for your
>review, links to reviews, or suggestions for an alternative. What is the
>cost of printing an 11x14" photo? On average, how many 11x14" prints can
>you get from a set of ink cartridges?
>
>

That will depend on the photo and the coverage. Bottom line is that I
prefer Canon. Canon also has (released October) the Pro 9000 which is
dye based printer. Its predecessor (i9900) got rave reviews and was the
leader for the wide format printers.

>Thanks,
>SW
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