#1  
Old 10-09-2015, 01:08 PM
Meru's Avatar
Meru (Michael)
More stars please!

Meru is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Vic
Posts: 560
Question Recommend a print shop?

Hi all,

In midst of setting up my business of selling my (mainly) terrestrial photos as prints. Can anyone recommend a print place I am happy to consider nationally but would prefer local i.e. VIC. I have heard InkFX & Southern Cross Printing (both in QLD) are good, wanted to see who else here has experience and advice

Thanks and clear skies!
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 10-09-2015, 01:52 PM
RickS's Avatar
RickS (Rick)
PI cult recruiter

RickS is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 10,584
I did a bunch of prints a few months ago and the best ones were done by Image Science (http://www.imagescience.com.au/)

Cheers,
Rick.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 10-09-2015, 02:11 PM
leon's Avatar
leon
Registered User

leon is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Warrnambool
Posts: 12,430
May I suggest you print your own, I have been doing it for years with beautiful results.
A decent Canon printer, and Ilford Galerie papers (available from Image Science) and Canon Ink and your done.
You would be very surprised on how many A4 prints one can get from a set of ink cartridges.
And secondly you know you are using quality materials.

Check out Image Science they have a huge selection of papers at very relistic prices, and will send it to you door at a very reasonable price

Leon

Last edited by leon; 10-09-2015 at 02:14 PM. Reason: added some more info
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 10-09-2015, 03:11 PM
Octane's Avatar
Octane (Humayun)
IIS Member #671

Octane is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Canberra
Posts: 11,159
To that end, I'm selling my Epson 7800 24" wide professional printer, if interested.

H
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 10-09-2015, 09:36 PM
billdan's Avatar
billdan (Bill)
Registered User

billdan is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Narangba, SE QLD
Posts: 1,551
Six months ago I had a Jimi Hendrix and Beatles colour posters printed by Officeworks in A0 size and bonded onto a polystyrene backing. From memory I think they were $35 each.

Did a good job I thought.

Bill
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 11-09-2015, 07:07 AM
sil's Avatar
sil (Steve)
Not even a speck of dust

sil is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Canberra
Posts: 1,474
Quote:
Originally Posted by leon View Post
May I suggest you print your own, I have been doing it for years with beautiful results.
A decent Canon printer, and Ilford Galerie papers (available from Image Science) and Canon Ink and your done.
You would be very surprised on how many A4 prints one can get from a set of ink cartridges.
And secondly you know you are using quality materials.

Check out Image Science they have a huge selection of papers at very relistic prices, and will send it to you door at a very reasonable price

Leon
+1 I have an Epson A3+ photoprinter and use Ilford papers. use the paper profile from Ilford. Avoid Officeworks paper or third paper inks. They are NOT anything like using the real stuff. Colours will fade fast. The results are fantastic and the wall in my computer room is covered in 6x4 test prints over the years and the ones using Epson ink on Ilford paper are easy to spot, they are the ONLY ones that still have blacks and accurate colours. Prints are nice and sharp with no ink bleeding.

Just take the time to get your colour workflow/ calibration sorted and keep in mind ALL prints are going to look different as they are a reflective medium, that is on screen the light is projection the image to you but a print will look different depending on the light sources, angle and strength. A good print service should be able to work with your colour profile needs and you can usually go through a trial process of getting prints done at a smaller size (saves costs) to ensure the prints meet your needs. There is no such thing as "do/buy this and your prints will be perfect". Doing it properly needs a bit of work. Or maybe a cheap inkjet printer is enough for you? Only you can decide really.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 11-09-2015, 07:58 AM
Redshift13 (Rohan)
Registered User

Redshift13 is offline
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 98
I use Digital Works for my printing - very happy with their results.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 14-09-2015, 08:45 AM
Meru's Avatar
Meru (Michael)
More stars please!

Meru is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Vic
Posts: 560
Thanks for the response everyone

Rick and Rohan,
Appreciate the recommendations, I will try get some sample prints done by them and let you know how I go

Leon and Humayun,
Thanks for the insight/offer! I have never considered printing my own. Yes Image Science does have quite a range and is something I would like to consider once my website grows enough. For now I will would like printing to be an external service as I don't think I'm ready to dive in that deep just yet

Bill,
Yup I've also had things printed there and definitely do a good job for a mass print company. Though for this website I'm really keen for true fine art paper and ink as Sil mentioned

Sil,
Thanks for the info. Yes I've seen how fast colour fades from some colleagues who have also printed from various mass print companies. I think you hit the nail for what I am most concerned about - getting the prints to match the screen. All my pics to date were taken in sRGB (grrr) but I plan to buy a well calibrated monitor that can display Adobe RGB and start shooting with that. I plan to do A3 prints with a selection of photos across it and see how they come out. Can you recommend a place?
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 15-09-2015, 05:24 PM
Andy01's Avatar
Andy01 (Andy)
My God it's full of stars

Andy01 is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 3,253
All of the prints for the current ASV "Wonders of the Universe Exposed" exhibition at the Gold Museum, Sovereign Hill were printed at CPL in South Melbourne on fujiflex, its amazing for astro and people are raving over their prints!

Last edited by Andy01; 15-09-2015 at 05:26 PM. Reason: Typo
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 19-09-2015, 03:20 PM
Meru's Avatar
Meru (Michael)
More stars please!

Meru is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Vic
Posts: 560
Thanks Andy!

So locally I'm going to compare between CPL, Digital Works & Imaging Science. Results and thoughts so far:
  • DW - The test prints were a little dark but that's from my end. Happy with the initial result. Got it done on the Kodak Pro Endura Lustre and Metallic papers. Metallic really makes it pop but only at the right angle in the right light on the right image. I think I will stick with regular papers. Not entirely happy about their Theta50 printer working in sRGB only though.
  • CPL - Picking up test prints on Tuesday on the Fuji Crystal Archive Lustre (Matte) and the Fuji Flex Super-Gloss paper. CPL is slightly cheaper than DW and their printers work in Adobe RGB range, plus I've heard the Crystal Archive papers are meant to be slightly superior to the Endura.
  • IS - Only offer prints on fine art paper which doubles my costs, and restricted to 24" and 44" roll sizes which is quite limiting for offering sizes. I bought a 11-paper sample pack and have narrowed down to about 3-4 papers, will do a test print and see how the fine art papers compare to the standard papers with DW & CPL.
Depending on the outcome above, I might send identical test prints to InkFX and/or Southern Cross to see how everything compares. Alot of work upfront but smooth sailing once everything is set up Just battling website hosting and development in the mean time Thanks for everyone's input so far and will chime in for an update soon!
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +10. The time is now 09:23 PM.

Powered by vBulletin Version 3.8.7 | Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Advertisement
Bintel
Advertisement
Testar
Advertisement