How to get the wife to agree to a 2K printer?

Mark² wrote:
Ray Fischer wrote:

What's the real reason you want the printer? I've seen the stories
about control, and being able to print big, and I know as well as you
that it's all crap. There are photo labs that you could use that will
do a _better_ job of printing and provide _better_ control than you
and your printer and will save you money.

That's just not true, Ray (about control). If you know what you're doing,
you can get the results you want. If you don't...then by all means, take it
to a lab... But unless the lab tech can get inside your brain, he can't
make your choices...only his.

A lab can (potentially) keep their color-management on their printer in
better shape than I can. I send them a file, they print it, on a better
printer, better maintained, than I can conceivably afford.

That's the theory for that side, as I understand it. No getting inside
my head required; the lab technician is not a creative partner, he's
a...technician.

David Dyer-Bennet wrote:
Mark² wrote:
Ray Fischer wrote:

What's the real reason you want the printer? I've seen the stories
about control, and being able to print big, and I know as well as
you that it's all crap. There are photo labs that you could use
that will do a _better_ job of printing and provide _better_
control than you and your printer and will save you money.

That's just not true, Ray (about control). If you know what you're
doing, you can get the results you want. If you don't...then by all
means, take it to a lab... But unless the lab tech can get inside
your brain, he can't make your choices...only his.

A lab can (potentially) keep their color-management on their printer
in better shape than I can. I send them a file, they print it, on a
better printer, better maintained, than I can conceivably afford.

That's the theory for that side, as I understand it. No getting
inside my head required; the lab technician is not a creative
partner, he's a...technician.

Right. But if you make a decision to make an alteration based on initial
prints, you can alter it immediately, print to the exact size you want,
print with borders (I often print a black border around images) or ay number
of other arrangements that labs don't do. To each their own, though.

--
Images (Plus Snaps & Grabs) by Mark² at:
www.pbase.com/markuson

In article .com,
wrote:

On Mar 16, 5:55 pm, Matt Ion wrote:
wrote:
Hmm... Don't you have a job? Do you need her to help pay for the
printer? I've never understood the idea of needing a spouse's
permission to buy something. If you want it and can afford it, just
let her know that you're going to buy it and go for it. I don't really
understand what basis or what right she would have to keep you from
buying it.

Spoken like someone who's never been married! ROFL!

Yup, you got me there (though I have been in a very-long-term
relationship). But I still can't imagine letting anyone control my
purchases that way. I don't think I could marry anyone who is that
controlling. And if I did, I certainly wouldn't stay married to her
very long.

Three words of advice for you married folks - separate bank
accounts

Again, this all assumes that the purchase in question doesn't put a
strain on the household's finances. If it does stretch the budget then
yeah, it's a decision that needs to be made together.

-Gniewko

Over here in the Silicon Valley area, you buy a home together and then
there's not enough money left for separate bank accounts

I don't think you should buy a big Epson printer if $2K sounds like a
lot of money. I've owned a few Epsons and the materials costs dwarf the
printer's purchase. You need to buy expensive ink, buy expensive paper,
and cover the costs of Epson's buggy drivers and firmware wasting them
both.

DeanB wrote:
Ok, I want an Epson 4800, its $1815 plus shipping. Its 100lb, and 3
feet wide. Totally ridiculous.

How on earth can I possibly get the wife to let me have it? I already
told her I want real solid paper prints of the kids, that will last a
lifetime and longer, not like our current crappy fading prints, and
not all stored on DVDs and hard drives that are easily lost.

What else can help swing this?


Maybe you could call it a business and reclaim some of your money by
selling prints. Obviously you won't undercut Costco on price, but you
could e.g. accept huge file sizes, keep a custom color profile for each
customer, or something else to justify two or three times the price of a
mass-market printing service.

In article .com,
"DeanB" wrote:
How on earth can I possibly get the wife to let me have it? I already
told her I want real solid paper prints of the kids, that will last a
lifetime and longer, not like our current crappy fading prints, and
not all stored on DVDs and hard drives that are easily lost.

What else can help swing this?

Well, if you don't mind being devious, maybe this would work...

Take a photo of the wife. Edit said photo with your favorite photo
editing software to make the wife look 10-20 pounds heavier (maybe also
make her look older). Print said edited photo, and frame it and display
it somewhere around the house.

Wait for wife to notice photo and freak about her appearance. Then
blame your current printer (maybe show her the original on the computer
so she can see that it is just the printed version that makes her look
old and fat).

--
--Tim Smith

In article .com,
wrote:
Hmm... Don't you have a job? Do you need her to help pay for the
printer? I've never understood the idea of needing a spouse's
permission to buy something. If you want it and can afford it, just
let her know that you're going to buy it and go for it. I don't really
understand what basis or what right she would have to keep you from
buying it.

Well, in many states, pretty much any asset acquired by either spouse
during the marriage is owned jointly by both of them. That includes
income. So, it is very likely not *his* money to spend (even if he is
the one whose job earns it)--it is *their* money.

--
--Tim Smith

Annika1980 wrote:

Far be it for me to discourage anyone from getting the latest and
greatest equipment. I'd like to have the 4800 myself (I have the
2200).
However, Scott makes some good points. Think how many prints you can
get made for $2K. I'm not talkin about the cheapo Walmart crap
either. I'm talking about honest-to-goodness professional quality
photos from a machine like a Fuji Frontier. You can get 8x10s for a
couple of bucks.
Think you'll print 1000 8x10's on your Epson printer?
If you do it'll cost you an extra $500 or so just for ink and paper.
So now you're up to $2500. How many pics can you get printed for
$2500?

The point is that buying a top quality printer these days is rarely
economically feasible compared to having prints made professionally.
So don't even let that enter your decision making process.

My Epson 2200 sits idle collecting dust 99% of the time. And about
the time I do get a hankering to do some prints, I'm always either out
of paper or one of the 7 ink colors. But like you said, Dean, it is
nice to be able to print something when you want it. The color issue
is less of a factor these days, especially if you use a calibrated
monitor and the same commercial printer for your prints.

I was tempted to upgrade my Pixma 950 to the 13 inch wide 9900, but I
had second thoughts because I asked myself what need did I have for a
number of 13x19 prints? All I do now with my printer is print off
borderless 8.5x11s by the dozens, just to look at the wonderfullness of
my camera. I give away some of them if they are of someone else. So I'm
thinking, why would I need an Epson 2400 pigment printer? I have an
occasional need for large prints for wedding albums or wall prints, but
that is very occasional. My local camera shop has the 2400, and made
some spectacular prints from my last wedding. They are pretty expensive,
but not as much as the printer and inks.

Just ask yourself how often you would need prints from a 4800, and for what.

Gary Eickmeier

On 16 Mar 2007 08:22:12 -0700, "DeanB" wrote:

Buy it for her early birthday gift!- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Dammit her birthday was in January. Maybe a belated present would
still be good...

So when's your anniversary?

On Mar 17, 10:27 pm, The Horny Goat wrote:
On 16 Mar 2007 08:22:12 -0700, "DeanB" wrote:

Buy it for her early birthday gift!- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Dammit her birthday was in January. Maybe a belated present would
still be good...

So when's your anniversary?

In January too!

On Mar 17, 10:25 pm, Gary Eickmeier wrote:
Annika1980 wrote:
Far be it for me to discourage anyone from getting the latest and
greatest equipment. I'd like to have the 4800 myself (I have the
2200).
However, Scott makes some good points. Think how many prints you can
get made for $2K. I'm not talkin about the cheapo Walmart crap
either. I'm talking about honest-to-goodness professional quality
photos from a machine like a Fuji Frontier. You can get 8x10s for a
couple of bucks.
Think you'll print 1000 8x10's on your Epson printer?
If you do it'll cost you an extra $500 or so just for ink and paper.
So now you're up to $2500. How many pics can you get printed for
$2500?

The point is that buying a top quality printer these days is rarely
economically feasible compared to having prints made professionally.
So don't even let that enter your decision making process.

My Epson 2200 sits idle collecting dust 99% of the time. And about
the time I do get a hankering to do some prints, I'm always either out
of paper or one of the 7 ink colors. But like you said, Dean, it is
nice to be able to print something when you want it. The color issue
is less of a factor these days, especially if you use a calibrated
monitor and the same commercial printer for your prints.

I was tempted to upgrade my Pixma 950 to the 13 inch wide 9900, but I
had second thoughts because I asked myself what need did I have for a
number of 13x19 prints? All I do now with my printer is print off
borderless 8.5x11s by the dozens, just to look at the wonderfullness of
my camera. I give away some of them if they are of someone else. So I'm
thinking, why would I need an Epson 2400 pigment printer? I have an
occasional need for large prints for wedding albums or wall prints, but
that is very occasional. My local camera shop has the 2400, and made
some spectacular prints from my last wedding. They are pretty expensive,
but not as much as the printer and inks.

Just ask yourself how often you would need prints from a 4800, and for what.

Gary Eickmeier- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Whats the big deal about printing smaller prints, even on a 4800? It
has large ink capacities, which makes even smaller prints cheaper. No-
one is forcing you to print maximum size.