I need to buy a printer for my mockups of folders, biz cards and other print stuff i create for clients. Which printer would you recommend for this kind of use, should i go for inkjet technology of laser? Please, id appreciate if you'd shared your thoughts on this issue.
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which printer for mockups?
- Thread starter zoran
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its about font resolution.
buy cheapest colour laser you can find.
buy cheapest colour laser you can find.
I agree with this for the type of printing in the original question, business cards, folders, etc...
However, high end clients with creative directors and brand managers sometimes get stuck on color accuracy. "It doesn't match our PMS red." Or "the candle isn't that shade of green."
Isn't it sensible to go on some A3size inkjet that does print type very well? If there are any?
Also, i was thinking of rejecting Lasers because the printer will be used in a apartment that is very small and everything (bedroom, kitchen etc.) is there in one space. So im afraid of harmfull fumes from the laser toner that will fill the place while im sleeping or eating.
Also, i was thinking of rejecting Lasers because the printer will be used in a apartment that is very small and everything (bedroom, kitchen etc.) is there in one space. So im afraid of harmfull fumes from the laser toner that will fill the place while im sleeping or eating.
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I'm recommending you some affordable color laser printer, that is certified for having just a small negative impact on health, especially think of fine particles emission, and environment (both is covered for instance by the 'Blue Angel' label).
Right now, I do have an almost 8 years old Lexmark C546 dtn duplex printer with separate toner for each color. It is no proofing quality, but fine for color mockups up to paper size DIN A4.
I always had problems with inkjet printers having dried-up ink, because of low quantity printing, but if you need to make lots of larger sized physical presentations or if you need it for color proofing, you should take a look at recent HP, Canon or Epson proofing printers. To avoid dried-up ink, there are some printers printing with dry-ink and therefore the nozzles can't clog, but I'm not sure if those are valid for proofing. If I need a color perfect proof, I do print it at a print shop (preferably at the printer that will output the final result) as I can't maintain such a proofing device by myself at home, due to low frequency I'd need it.
You could go with a recent color laser printer from Lexmark, that does have a good customer service. Any other brand that you might prefer, e.g. Kyocera, is fine, too. Just ask yourself, what needs to be the paper weight and size, how much will be printed and what's the budget to nail down a decision. In general, I don't know of any cheap laser or inkjet printer, that has 1.) accurate color and 2.) has a similar raster accuracy in terms of color gain of letters, compared to offset printing. So my color laser printer recommendation is more or less oriented on how to get some fancy color on paper to catch a rough impression and not on, how you business card or folder will look like, when offset printed. The same goes for size. To print a preview of a (larger) folder, I use to print it on several pages and stick them together. That's how I can avoid a larger size printer in most cases.
For digital printing production that comes as close as possible to offset quality, I can recommend Xerox iGen or HP Indigo printers, but they're out of my budget range for home use (and probably not optimal for health, if it would reside in a dining room). At the moment, I'm much interested in sustainable printing techniques for small number of copies, like possible with a Risograph. But that device is not fitting all printing needs and more like an alternative reminding a bit of screen printing with its own graphical style.
Hope that helps you, making your decision.
Right now, I do have an almost 8 years old Lexmark C546 dtn duplex printer with separate toner for each color. It is no proofing quality, but fine for color mockups up to paper size DIN A4.
I always had problems with inkjet printers having dried-up ink, because of low quantity printing, but if you need to make lots of larger sized physical presentations or if you need it for color proofing, you should take a look at recent HP, Canon or Epson proofing printers. To avoid dried-up ink, there are some printers printing with dry-ink and therefore the nozzles can't clog, but I'm not sure if those are valid for proofing. If I need a color perfect proof, I do print it at a print shop (preferably at the printer that will output the final result) as I can't maintain such a proofing device by myself at home, due to low frequency I'd need it.
You could go with a recent color laser printer from Lexmark, that does have a good customer service. Any other brand that you might prefer, e.g. Kyocera, is fine, too. Just ask yourself, what needs to be the paper weight and size, how much will be printed and what's the budget to nail down a decision. In general, I don't know of any cheap laser or inkjet printer, that has 1.) accurate color and 2.) has a similar raster accuracy in terms of color gain of letters, compared to offset printing. So my color laser printer recommendation is more or less oriented on how to get some fancy color on paper to catch a rough impression and not on, how you business card or folder will look like, when offset printed. The same goes for size. To print a preview of a (larger) folder, I use to print it on several pages and stick them together. That's how I can avoid a larger size printer in most cases.
For digital printing production that comes as close as possible to offset quality, I can recommend Xerox iGen or HP Indigo printers, but they're out of my budget range for home use (and probably not optimal for health, if it would reside in a dining room). At the moment, I'm much interested in sustainable printing techniques for small number of copies, like possible with a Risograph. But that device is not fitting all printing needs and more like an alternative reminding a bit of screen printing with its own graphical style.
Hope that helps you, making your decision.
Thank you #organicCPU... let me just narrow some parameters for the search of the best suited printer for my needs...
1. It has to be a small table top printer, for home use, so one of those colour laser solutions although seem to be better overall, cannot be placed on my desk.
2. Im ok with DIN A4 paper size, nor do i need to print special weight papers. Not that having a DIN A3 printer isn't handier but the smaller the printer, the better because like i said, it will be placed on my desk. And besides if i need mockups of larger sizes, i will just cut and join paper pieces ?
3. Regarding colour proofing, i guess since those cases are not many, ill just go to a print shop and print to a specialised printer if and when such quality is needed.
4. The dry-ink options seemed very interesting, because the low quantity of printing is something that i face often, but who are those printers that print that way?
5. What exactly do you mean by "At the moment I'm more interested in sustainable printing techniques"?
6. Im not certain about ink tank printers, if they are a good solution for one that does not print often.
I hope i answered all your questions
1. It has to be a small table top printer, for home use, so one of those colour laser solutions although seem to be better overall, cannot be placed on my desk.
2. Im ok with DIN A4 paper size, nor do i need to print special weight papers. Not that having a DIN A3 printer isn't handier but the smaller the printer, the better because like i said, it will be placed on my desk. And besides if i need mockups of larger sizes, i will just cut and join paper pieces ?
3. Regarding colour proofing, i guess since those cases are not many, ill just go to a print shop and print to a specialised printer if and when such quality is needed.
4. The dry-ink options seemed very interesting, because the low quantity of printing is something that i face often, but who are those printers that print that way?
5. What exactly do you mean by "At the moment I'm more interested in sustainable printing techniques"?
6. Im not certain about ink tank printers, if they are a good solution for one that does not print often.
I hope i answered all your questions
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4. Forget about dry-ink. It's still quite special as you can read at Kodak or at the Wikipedia's article about solid ink.
5. The link of the Risograph tried to explain. It has soybean oil based color. It seems to be a more environmental friendly printing technology, based on renewable resources. I'm interested in stuff like that, especially if it fits to the project.
1., 2., 6. I think you should go for a color laser printer like a Lexmark CS331dw or if the Blue Angel label is not important for you, maybe a Lexmark C3426dw, a XEROX Phaser® 6510 or a Kyocera ECOSYS P5021cdw. I have no personal experience with these models, but I know other products from those manufacturers. They might work for your needs, but maybe you'll find a similar small device from some completely different vendor. Nevertheless, I hope you can see the direction I'm pointing to: small budget, small size and you'll get color on normal weight DIN A4 paper. Each suggestion has different benefits like AirPrint, Gigabit Ethernet or Pantone Color simulation and it depends absolutely on your personal preference what will be the best for you. I hope that helps.
5. The link of the Risograph tried to explain. It has soybean oil based color. It seems to be a more environmental friendly printing technology, based on renewable resources. I'm interested in stuff like that, especially if it fits to the project.
1., 2., 6. I think you should go for a color laser printer like a Lexmark CS331dw or if the Blue Angel label is not important for you, maybe a Lexmark C3426dw, a XEROX Phaser® 6510 or a Kyocera ECOSYS P5021cdw. I have no personal experience with these models, but I know other products from those manufacturers. They might work for your needs, but maybe you'll find a similar small device from some completely different vendor. Nevertheless, I hope you can see the direction I'm pointing to: small budget, small size and you'll get color on normal weight DIN A4 paper. Each suggestion has different benefits like AirPrint, Gigabit Ethernet or Pantone Color simulation and it depends absolutely on your personal preference what will be the best for you. I hope that helps.
Interesting inkjet printers but, they seem to be mainly photographic printers, which isn't really a must for mockup design. Maybe both printers are a must for photographers. Also im afraid that due to the fact that i will not be using the printer often, i will have issues with dried up heads and ink.
If you give a network printer to make custom settings just put an IP of that printer and put the IP in main browser to change settings without third party programs!
What surprises you? Any networked printer Built-In Wki web settings page! It’s been that way sense the 1990s!
I’m not trolling I’m saying what has been in networked printersfor at least the last 20 years is wiki web pages on your network to change settings in printer itself!
Don’t believe me try it sometime and be surprised, no software needed to changed a networked printer’s settings!
Who ever asked about printer network settings? Ypu brought it up, u r just trolling around