Looking for large-scale photo printing equipment.

Hi.

I'm looking for equipment to print large amounts of digital photos for
commercial use.

Meaning would be to open Web-service where people can send their digital
photos, I would print them on paper, and send pictures for them in mail.


I have Googled for "photo printing" etc. but all I get is small
photo-printers for home use. Best being $700 ink-jet printers from epson
and canon.

I would need high quality and low cost per photo. I could pay maybe
$2000 - $10.000 for the "printer".


I would appreaciate if someone can tell me which kind of equipment is
used for this. Is it large scale ink-jet printers that are used in
commercial digital photo delivering, or some other technique?

Thanks

Markku

www.hp.com
What you are looking for is a "plotter", not a printer. I have a six colour
HP photo quality plotter. It cost $25,000 AUD when new - I bought it
secondhand. The biggest problem I have is customers with small files
expecting five foot wide photos to look as sharp as a 6"x4" !


"Markku" wrote in message
...

Hi.

I'm looking for equipment to print large amounts of digital photos for
commercial use.

Meaning would be to open Web-service where people can send their digital
photos, I would print them on paper, and send pictures for them in mail.


I have Googled for "photo printing" etc. but all I get is small
photo-printers for home use. Best being $700 ink-jet printers from epson
and canon.

I would need high quality and low cost per photo. I could pay maybe
$2000 - $10.000 for the "printer".


I would appreaciate if someone can tell me which kind of equipment is used
for this. Is it large scale ink-jet printers that are used in commercial
digital photo delivering, or some other technique?

Thanks

Markku

"Markku" wrote in message
...

Hi.

I'm looking for equipment to print large amounts of digital photos for
commercial use.

Meaning would be to open Web-service where people can send their digital
photos, I would print them on paper, and send pictures for them in mail.


I have Googled for "photo printing" etc. but all I get is small
photo-printers for home use. Best being $700 ink-jet printers from epson
and canon.

I would need high quality and low cost per photo. I could pay maybe
$2000 - $10.000 for the "printer".


I would appreaciate if someone can tell me which kind of equipment is
used for this. Is it large scale ink-jet printers that are used in
commercial digital photo delivering, or some other technique?

Try $100K and up. Most commercial labs use Noritsu, Agfa or Fuji (to name 3)
minilabs. These machines use RA/4 colour photo chemical processes so a 4x6
is around 4¢ each. They can print up to 12x18". Hard to beat a Fuji Crystal
Archive print at a 4¢ net versus a 50¢ to $1.00 ink jet 4x6, or an more
expensive dye-sublimination print.

On 3/22/2005 2:15 PM Darrell spake thus:

"Markku" wrote in message
...

I'm looking for equipment to print large amounts of digital photos for
commercial use.

Meaning would be to open Web-service where people can send their digital
photos, I would print them on paper, and send pictures for them in mail.

I have Googled for "photo printing" etc. but all I get is small
photo-printers for home use. Best being $700 ink-jet printers from epson
and canon.

I would need high quality and low cost per photo. I could pay maybe
$2000 - $10.000 for the "printer".

I would appreaciate if someone can tell me which kind of equipment is
used for this. Is it large scale ink-jet printers that are used in
commercial digital photo delivering, or some other technique?

Try $100K and up. Most commercial labs use Noritsu, Agfa or Fuji (to name 3)
minilabs. These machines use RA/4 colour photo chemical processes so a 4x6
is around 4¢ each. They can print up to 12x18". Hard to beat a Fuji Crystal
Archive print at a 4¢ net versus a 50¢ to $1.00 ink jet 4x6, or an more
expensive dye-sublimination print.

I'm guessing this is *not* what the OP was asking for: I think he was asking
about more conventional types of digital printers (e.g., inkjet).

However, it's an intriguing idea. The quality of the prints made on a Fuji or
Noritsu is WAY better than any inkjet I've seen. And cheaper too, according to
you.

Question is, is there a market for used equipment of this type? If you could
score a machine for half or less of the $100K you mentioned, this might be the
way to go.


--
"I know I will go to hell, because I pardoned Richard Nixon."

- Former President Gerald Ford to his golf partners, as related by
the late Hunter S. Thompson

On 3/22/2005 2:15 PM Darrell spake thus:

"Markku" wrote in message
...

I'm looking for equipment to print large amounts of digital photos for
commercial use.

Meaning would be to open Web-service where people can send their digital
photos, I would print them on paper, and send pictures for them in mail.

I have Googled for "photo printing" etc. but all I get is small
photo-printers for home use. Best being $700 ink-jet printers from epson
and canon.

I would need high quality and low cost per photo. I could pay maybe
$2000 - $10.000 for the "printer".

I would appreaciate if someone can tell me which kind of equipment is
used for this. Is it large scale ink-jet printers that are used in
commercial digital photo delivering, or some other technique?

Try $100K and up. Most commercial labs use Noritsu, Agfa or Fuji (to name 3)
minilabs. These machines use RA/4 colour photo chemical processes so a 4x6
is around 4¢ each. They can print up to 12x18". Hard to beat a Fuji Crystal
Archive print at a 4¢ net versus a 50¢ to $1.00 ink jet 4x6, or an more
expensive dye-sublimination print.

I'm guessing this is *not* what the OP was asking for: I think he was asking
about more conventional types of digital printers (e.g., inkjet).

However, it's an intriguing idea. The quality of the prints made on a Fuji or
Noritsu is WAY better than any inkjet I've seen. And cheaper too, according to
you.

Question is, is there a market for used equipment of this type? If you could
score a machine for half or less of the $100K you mentioned, this might be the
way to go.


--
"I know I will go to hell, because I pardoned Richard Nixon."

- Former President Gerald Ford to his golf partners, as related by
the late Hunter S. Thompson

In article ,
David Nebenzahl writes:

On 3/22/2005 2:15 PM Darrell spake thus:

Try $100K and up. Most commercial labs use Noritsu, Agfa or Fuji (to name 3)
minilabs.

Question is, is there a market for used equipment of this type? If you could
score a machine for half or less of the $100K you mentioned, this might be the
way to go.

Try typing "minilab" in the eBay search field. There are lots of hits, but
I don't know enough about them to advise the OP further, assuming this is
the sort of thing he wants.

--
Rod Smith,
http://www.rodsbooks.com
Author of books on Linux, FreeBSD, and networking

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
...
On 3/22/2005 2:15 PM Darrell spake thus:

"Markku" wrote in message
...

I'm looking for equipment to print large amounts of digital photos for
commercial use.

Meaning would be to open Web-service where people can send their
digital
photos, I would print them on paper, and send pictures for them in
mail.

I have Googled for "photo printing" etc. but all I get is small
photo-printers for home use. Best being $700 ink-jet printers from
epson
and canon.

I would need high quality and low cost per photo. I could pay maybe
$2000 - $10.000 for the "printer".

I would appreaciate if someone can tell me which kind of equipment is
used for this. Is it large scale ink-jet printers that are used in
commercial digital photo delivering, or some other technique?

Try $100K and up. Most commercial labs use Noritsu, Agfa or Fuji (to
name 3)
minilabs. These machines use RA/4 colour photo chemical processes so a
4x6
is around 4¢ each. They can print up to 12x18". Hard to beat a Fuji
Crystal
Archive print at a 4¢ net versus a 50¢ to $1.00 ink jet 4x6, or an more
expensive dye-sublimination print.

I'm guessing this is *not* what the OP was asking for: I think he was
asking
about more conventional types of digital printers (e.g., inkjet).

However, it's an intriguing idea. The quality of the prints made on a Fuji
or
Noritsu is WAY better than any inkjet I've seen. And cheaper too,
according to
you.

Question is, is there a market for used equipment of this type? If you
could
score a machine for half or less of the $100K you mentioned, this might be
the
way to go.

There are used machines available, shops do upgrade or worse fold leaving
used equipment on the market. Try: http://www.phototrader.com as they
specialize in that market.

"Markku" wrote in message
...

Hi.

I'm looking for equipment to print large amounts of digital photos for
commercial use.

Meaning would be to open Web-service where people can send their digital
photos, I would print them on paper, and send pictures for them in mail.


I have Googled for "photo printing" etc. but all I get is small
photo-printers for home use. Best being $700 ink-jet printers from epson
and canon.

I would need high quality and low cost per photo. I could pay maybe
$2000 - $10.000 for the "printer".


I would appreaciate if someone can tell me which kind of equipment is
used for this. Is it large scale ink-jet printers that are used in
commercial digital photo delivering, or some other technique?

Thanks

Markku

Epson makes a printer intended for the pro studio photographer. You "rent"
the machine and buy the consumables from Epson. I think the cost per 8x10
print is in the one to two dollar range.

The Fuji Frontier at your local WalMart basically scans a negative, and
laser prints a digital image unto silver-image photographic (RA-4) paper.
This system (and many other brands like it, such as Durst and Noritsu) can
be easily configured to recieve digital images online or from various types
of storage media. The cost per 8x10 varies depending on the paper and
chemicals used, but $0.25 to $0.50 per 8x10 would be a ballpark figure. The
cost of the printer also varies greatly, depending on configuration, service
contracts, lease/buy agreements, etc., but $50K to $250K would be another
ballpark (actually, more like the entire stadium!).

Ken Hart

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
...

Question is, is there a market for used equipment of this type? If you
could score a machine for half or less of the $100K you mentioned, this
might be the way to go.

We have a number of printing companies here. Apparently, some of these giant
ink-jet printers and plotters have no value after a several years because
they go to the dumpsters. The same thing happened to the many Polaroid MP*
cameras and lenses - all in dumpsters. Of course, there's eBay to give them
value again because they go to an external market region - the world of
junque.

Darrell wrote:

There are used machines available, shops do upgrade or worse fold leaving
used equipment on the market. Try: http://www.phototrader.com as they
specialize in that market.

I'd watch newspapers for auction notices, too.

Bob