Today's desktop printers are truly amazing. Super fine printing nozzles with an increased number of wide-gamut color inks can bring photographic quality within reach of the common user. But at what cost?
Consuming Consumers
Manufacturers charge little or nothing up front for small letter-sized printers with two things in mind: One, the unit will be supplanted with a new model within a few months; two, parceling out tiny date-sensitive micro-liter ink cartridges net them between $5,000 and $20,000 per gallon. (See sidebar: "Ink Price Per Gallon.") Add to this the high cost of ready-cut photo paper and within a short time, the poor consumer has unwittingly evolved into a self-proliferating cash cow.
So-called savvy users may resort to third-party ink in an effort to save money. Depending on the model, cartridges can be refilled or replaced with brands that offer no real guarantee of durability. For pros who sell or display prints, cheap ink within even cheaper printers are not a wise foundation for success.
Professional Pocketbooks
To gain more control of consumables professional artists and photographers may invest in a tabloid-size printer. Ink cartridges are large enough to decrease the price per gallon as much as 25%. But expensive printheads may also require frequent replacement and there are other hidden costs. Inquire whether print cartridges include a chip that disables it when an expiration date is reached (as is the case on most HP printers). If you don't use a printer much, it can be a shock to begin replacing full cartridges.
The creative professional begins to crave more than just satisfactory color. He wants accurate color. This requires calibration hardware and software, as well as a printer that can store and read color profiles. So shopping begins for a model that can be calibrated, includes an internal hard drive, and while we're at it, is a little bigger -- perhaps 24 inch capacity. For each additional foot desired, equipment cost can triple. To smooth out jaggy EPS files some sort of hardware of software PostScript interpreter is required. Then comes equipment and supplies for mounting and finishing. Would you like a service contract with that? Sure, there's plenty of room for multiple manufacturers to squeeze the pocketbooks of unsuspecting creative professionals.
Tallying Total Cost
Manufacturers aggressively compete for brand-loyal customers that frequently upgrade printers to gain more capability. Total cost of ownership is significantly more than the "sale" price of the printer itself. In addition to all the consumables and peripheral equipment, one must also factor in time. It takes considerable time to familiarize oneself with printer capabilities and develop a workflow that does not distract from the core business.
For high quality large-format printing, nothing comes close to the current breed of inkjet printers with 8 to 12 inks. Professionals should expect to purchase at least two printers (one may serve as backup or handle less demanding projects to conserve consumables). An extended service contract should not be taken lightly for key business equipment. Depending upon calibration hardware, mounting and/or laminating devices, factor up to four weeks (160 hours) of training, troubleshooting, and paper profiling.
Forget about the cheap consumer models for now. When viewing the advertised price for a large-format printer, do a quick calculation of five times that amount for a foray into ownership of a high quality printer plus whatever your hourly rate is times 160 to tally cost of ownership for the first year. In subsequent years, expect maintenance to be at least one half the price of the printer. After workflow has been established, adding additional units that share consumables and share calibration and finishing supplies may cost roughly two to three times the MSRP for service contract, additional supplies, and training. Of course, depending on the amount of prints made, your mileage may vary.
The opinions of the author may not reflect that of anyone else.