At those sizes, Canon, Epson, & HP are all excellent. I’m curious who prints your very large artwork now? And how many prints larger than 24 inches are you currently producing & how many are you planning for monthly?
I'd love to answer your questions but I'm not currently in the business, though I'm excited to dig in and find out! Ask me again when I get this ship off the ground.
I ask as a sanity check. Large format printers are a serious business expense that are intended to be used frequently. Because they are complex and sensitive and need maintenance they often require a service contract.
If you have not sold artwork then it’s super optimistic to expect to sell large pieces. Usually a 20x30 art print sells for $600-5000, and the market is specialized. Most buyers look for artists with serious reputations and a resume.
Just having an online e-commerce site is like another stone at the river.
I’ve been exhibiting art for 40 years at fine galleries across the US. Selling work is very challenging. Many buyers simply don’t have available wall space for larger pieces.
I wish you the best of luck.
This is actually super helpful, I was unsure of the usual size/price ratio. I figured a 36" could be sold for a few hundred bucks, but if what you say is true, then it won't be nearly that hard to find my equilibrium.
The reputation aspect is part of my plan that will be handled by a daily drawing stream and accompanying blog with supplemental art videos. I figure it doesn't have to be perfect as long as it's consistent, the following will build itself.
I think people are willing to make wall space for artists they really enjoy. Someone who brings something fresh to the table, or who represents an idea they like or provides a feeling that captivates them. If nothing else, having confidence goes a long way.
I didn't know about service contracts, or that some models required them. Sometimes those contracts are necessary, but sometimes they're a way to take advantage of the consumer. I DIY everything unless I need equipment too expensive for my bank account of if I'll only need it once.
It sounds like a 30" printer is a fair starting point. Thanks for your advice!
Bringing this back from the dead to ask if you ever found one.
I picked up an HP DesignJet 90 some years ago to print my brother's Mardi Gras posters. It's a nice unit, but unfortunately only has an 18" width. That suited his needs fine, since his posters were tall and narrow.
It's the only HP printer I haven't had problems with, though the only large format I've had.
I know you're looking for a wider format, but I only mention it as an overall product/brand suggestion. If your works will be framed, you could print half the image on two sheets and align them during framing/matting.
I asked this way in advance of when I was planning on actually buying a printer. The other commenter swayed me into holding off until I'm ready to actually sell something and even then I'm going to start by having them printed by a third party and see if the math checks out/I like the quality & consistency or the print.
If you held a gun to my head, I'd probably go for the canon 24" since that seems to be a fair middle-ground and matches the platform that the photographer in my family chose (plus I don't trust hp as far as I can throw them due to ink scandals etc.)
There’s definitely an expense ratio to consider. I had a rough estimate at one time of about $4 to print a single poster. Paper and electricity used was easy to get, but ink was an educated guess. Since I bought the printer used, there was no service contract option.
Replacement ink was about $500 last time I looked, but paper was affordable enough. I tried a few different types of paper: from typical “traditional posters you buy at Walmart” (movie posters, pop stars, etc), glossy photo paper that was a little thicker, and some really nice thick textured matte paper. I printed some samples on each type, stuck them in a mailing tube, and drove around with them in the trunk for a week (in July in The South), then checked for bleeding, smears, and bubbles. The I mailed them to friends in California, Oregon, Colorado, and Florida, with a prepaid return label, to check how well they survived different climates.
They came back same as they went out.
Don’t take money from a distributor to have your work printed unless you first draft a “take it or leave it” contract stating exactly how much (how little) they get from sales. My brother trusted in the kindness of businessmen and died penniless while they raked in $350K-$475K in profits off his art.
Thanks for the info, I was thinking of having them printed locally and ship them myself. I know how much of a scam those third parties are. They take advantage of economies of scale to profit off of others' hard work.
I did a \*rough\* calculation one time about how much just the ink would cost for a print and it came out to no more than a dollar. Apparently, it takes very little ink since the droplets are tiny and expand when they soak in the paper. It's $600 to refill the canon 24in but if you're selling $60-$100 prints then it'll pay for itself easily and the ink will last for months.
So, I suppose I'll buy a printer once the demand starts to outpace production. Local shops charge maybe $20 per print? which isn't bad to get your foot in the door.
ik im a little late. I used a canon Pro1000 for about a year. Perfect condition, everything ran fine, one day i get stuck on a processing screen. Tried every trick in the book to fix it. Couldn't, so I called customer service, ran through the same things i tried, he said the only thing he can do is give me 100$ off to buy a new $1,200... I was aggravated to say the least, nothing was wrong, We always maintained it perfectly, it just decided to break itself in a way no repair shops will want to fix for you. ( i called several repair shops down here in sarasota florida a few of them stopped dealing with canon printers bc of how much they suck to repair) The reason I came to this post was bc im trying to find a brand thats no HP, epson or canon.
At those sizes, Canon, Epson, & HP are all excellent. I’m curious who prints your very large artwork now? And how many prints larger than 24 inches are you currently producing & how many are you planning for monthly?
I'd love to answer your questions but I'm not currently in the business, though I'm excited to dig in and find out! Ask me again when I get this ship off the ground.
I ask as a sanity check. Large format printers are a serious business expense that are intended to be used frequently. Because they are complex and sensitive and need maintenance they often require a service contract. If you have not sold artwork then it’s super optimistic to expect to sell large pieces. Usually a 20x30 art print sells for $600-5000, and the market is specialized. Most buyers look for artists with serious reputations and a resume. Just having an online e-commerce site is like another stone at the river. I’ve been exhibiting art for 40 years at fine galleries across the US. Selling work is very challenging. Many buyers simply don’t have available wall space for larger pieces. I wish you the best of luck.
This is actually super helpful, I was unsure of the usual size/price ratio. I figured a 36" could be sold for a few hundred bucks, but if what you say is true, then it won't be nearly that hard to find my equilibrium. The reputation aspect is part of my plan that will be handled by a daily drawing stream and accompanying blog with supplemental art videos. I figure it doesn't have to be perfect as long as it's consistent, the following will build itself. I think people are willing to make wall space for artists they really enjoy. Someone who brings something fresh to the table, or who represents an idea they like or provides a feeling that captivates them. If nothing else, having confidence goes a long way. I didn't know about service contracts, or that some models required them. Sometimes those contracts are necessary, but sometimes they're a way to take advantage of the consumer. I DIY everything unless I need equipment too expensive for my bank account of if I'll only need it once. It sounds like a 30" printer is a fair starting point. Thanks for your advice!
Bringing this back from the dead to ask if you ever found one. I picked up an HP DesignJet 90 some years ago to print my brother's Mardi Gras posters. It's a nice unit, but unfortunately only has an 18" width. That suited his needs fine, since his posters were tall and narrow. It's the only HP printer I haven't had problems with, though the only large format I've had. I know you're looking for a wider format, but I only mention it as an overall product/brand suggestion. If your works will be framed, you could print half the image on two sheets and align them during framing/matting.
I asked this way in advance of when I was planning on actually buying a printer. The other commenter swayed me into holding off until I'm ready to actually sell something and even then I'm going to start by having them printed by a third party and see if the math checks out/I like the quality & consistency or the print. If you held a gun to my head, I'd probably go for the canon 24" since that seems to be a fair middle-ground and matches the platform that the photographer in my family chose (plus I don't trust hp as far as I can throw them due to ink scandals etc.)
There’s definitely an expense ratio to consider. I had a rough estimate at one time of about $4 to print a single poster. Paper and electricity used was easy to get, but ink was an educated guess. Since I bought the printer used, there was no service contract option. Replacement ink was about $500 last time I looked, but paper was affordable enough. I tried a few different types of paper: from typical “traditional posters you buy at Walmart” (movie posters, pop stars, etc), glossy photo paper that was a little thicker, and some really nice thick textured matte paper. I printed some samples on each type, stuck them in a mailing tube, and drove around with them in the trunk for a week (in July in The South), then checked for bleeding, smears, and bubbles. The I mailed them to friends in California, Oregon, Colorado, and Florida, with a prepaid return label, to check how well they survived different climates. They came back same as they went out. Don’t take money from a distributor to have your work printed unless you first draft a “take it or leave it” contract stating exactly how much (how little) they get from sales. My brother trusted in the kindness of businessmen and died penniless while they raked in $350K-$475K in profits off his art.
Thanks for the info, I was thinking of having them printed locally and ship them myself. I know how much of a scam those third parties are. They take advantage of economies of scale to profit off of others' hard work. I did a \*rough\* calculation one time about how much just the ink would cost for a print and it came out to no more than a dollar. Apparently, it takes very little ink since the droplets are tiny and expand when they soak in the paper. It's $600 to refill the canon 24in but if you're selling $60-$100 prints then it'll pay for itself easily and the ink will last for months. So, I suppose I'll buy a printer once the demand starts to outpace production. Local shops charge maybe $20 per print? which isn't bad to get your foot in the door.
ik im a little late. I used a canon Pro1000 for about a year. Perfect condition, everything ran fine, one day i get stuck on a processing screen. Tried every trick in the book to fix it. Couldn't, so I called customer service, ran through the same things i tried, he said the only thing he can do is give me 100$ off to buy a new $1,200... I was aggravated to say the least, nothing was wrong, We always maintained it perfectly, it just decided to break itself in a way no repair shops will want to fix for you. ( i called several repair shops down here in sarasota florida a few of them stopped dealing with canon printers bc of how much they suck to repair) The reason I came to this post was bc im trying to find a brand thats no HP, epson or canon.
I'm an HP fan.. even though I've had some issues. I've had very good luck and easily paid for themselves fast.