timbo343 Posted December 11, 2014 Posted December 11, 2014 We have always struggled with our Art Department and their printers. Overall, it boils down to the fact that they don't want to spend any money but yet want a reliable printer with fantastic results. We have had a number of printers down in Art from the HP PSC2500 (inkjet), Dell C3110 Laser, HP 8000 inkjet and now the HP 7000 (A3) inkjet. At the moment they are rattling through inks like there is no tomorrow and they are getting concerned that the cost is getting too high, also they complain that the printer isn't reliable. My argument to that is, they never let us know when there is a problem with the printer. I have been asked to look at an A3 printer (I guess it has to be inkjet) for about £150 which needs to be reliable, cost effective and can handle arts prints. I thought about the Epson WorkForce Pro A3 version but wondered if anyone has any other recommendations. It would be ideal if we could get an MFD down there however there are plans for this in about 4 months time but for the short term they are wanting something now. Its getting to a point where I cannot give them what they want for the little amount of money they are prepared to pay out.
witch Posted December 11, 2014 Posted December 11, 2014 Its getting to a point where I cannot give them what they want for the little amount of money they are prepared to pay out. And that is what you have to tell them, surely, especially if there are plans for an MFD in a few months. Is there another colour printer or copier in the school they can access?
localzuk Posted December 11, 2014 Posted December 11, 2014 It all depends on the number of prints they want to do, and at what quality. Its as simple as this - printing is expensive when you want niche functionality (eg. photo printing, large size printing etc...). £150 is cheap for a printer, it is never going to take a hammering.
timbo343 Posted December 11, 2014 Author Posted December 11, 2014 It all depends on the number of prints they want to do, and at what quality. Its as simple as this - printing is expensive when you want niche functionality (eg. photo printing, large size printing etc...). £150 is cheap for a printer, it is never going to take a hammering. They use the printer for A Level stuff so I guess A Level photography and GSCE stuff. We have a few MFDs around school but the colour one is in Repro and not setup as a free for all for everyone. And that is what you have to tell them, surely, especially if there are plans for an MFD in a few months. Is there another colour printer or copier in the school they can access? I said this to the bursar but you know what its like, they want it yesterday. We have managed to "limp" along for a while and they say they cannot "limp" along much longer. I think the word that springs to mind is "Patching up"
siuko Posted December 11, 2014 Posted December 11, 2014 If i had the choice again with our A3 printer we have for technology I would buy laser!! Even though they are silly money The amount of hassle (and wasted ink) we go through when we have to unclog the inkjet because it hasn't been used for a month!
3s-gtech Posted December 11, 2014 Posted December 11, 2014 A £150 inkjet will give limited service, from experience. We have a Ricoh gel printer for Art which is surviving well for sublimation prints, but they're not great at photos. Our MFDs do the bulk of photography - only SLT have inkjets now and they still need regualr maintenance. I couldn't afford to keep the inkjets in classrooms going.
aleach2 Posted December 11, 2014 Posted December 11, 2014 We have a Canon PIXMA PRO-10 for Art/Photography. The quality is very good but the price is around £450. You will need to spend more than £150 to get quality and reliability TBH. We just use a standard laser printer for day-to-day printing in Art. Hope this helps.
localzuk Posted December 11, 2014 Posted December 11, 2014 I bought some of the Epson Stylus Photo R3000s for GCSE Art and Photography at my last school. Again, not £150, but bullet proof. Anything cheaper and you'll be hammered on ink.
HTCPCP Posted December 11, 2014 Posted December 11, 2014 Our art department has an Epson Stylus Photo R2000 I believe, with the refillable cartridges. Probably over their budget, but it is only used by A Level art and photography students who need to use an Inkjet - printing on special paper etc, everyone else has to use the MFDs around the school! If you get the refillable cartridges, be careful not to get air in the nozzle, as it can use about a quarter of a cartridge of ink to clear.
timbo343 Posted January 29, 2015 Author Posted January 29, 2015 (edited) Sorry for bring this up again but i've had a chat with a few members of staff at our place and i have been asked to get a price for a A3 ink jet printer along with running costs. I am thinking about the Epson Workforce Pro printers and also some of the recommendations on this thread but i was wondering if anyone else could recommend an A3 Inkjet printer - either networkable or standalone. They realise that £150 isnt going to cut it so i have said anything up to £500. It will be mainly used for our Photography courses as printing photos on a laser printer doesnt give the same finish, infact, it give a flat, matt looking finish which is not acceptable. Edited January 29, 2015 by timbo343
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