Another Autostitch Production.. Pastoral Scene..

[Fumesucker]

This is maybe three or four hundred yards from my last pano of the pond, I shot this at about 3PM local time.

[Mira]

1. In the future, whenever I need a mental break and breathe deeply

to escape a problem of my present, I will open one of your stitched photoscapes and get better.
As I said you are having fun, what you are producing is a total immersion product and I love it.

Now, what do you suppose could be done with photos like that?
I'm mercenary and practical and pragmatic, and always thinking of what to do next.

I've seen huge photos printed out of course. Great expense involved, along with museum walls that are needed to properly display them
(or Republican mansions, but the decorators involved can't peddle to the employer the purchase and hanging of something really beautiful)

But yours, at 24 " or so tall would be I suppose 6-8 feet wide, a fabulous piece of art behind a couch, or in an entry way.

[Fumesucker]

2. I have a 13" wide printer now that will do unlimited lengths if I use Publisher

I've been thinking of getting an HP Designjet like architects use to print out blueprints and the like, 36" wide units can be had for under $1000 if you shop carefully and don't mind a little hacking.



Designjets are basically a wide inkjet printer and will do pretty much anything a regular inkjet will do, just bigger.

Here is a link to a 24" model going for $450 in my local area..

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/sys/1080059658.html

I also have enough woodworking tools to make custom frames in pretty much any size I want as long as they are a fairly simple profile.. My brother has enough tools to make damn near anything you can imagine in wood.

[Mira]

3. What is your 13 " printer? The Gerber Edge?

Your mention of the HP design jet perks my ears, because that is the printer that captured my fancy. I saw photos printed on the Model Z 3100 that were simply to die for. Also what it can do in Black and White.
I happen to know this because I travel to graphic type shows, and see these printers perform.
The HP design jet so enchanted me, that had I had a way to sell the prints I would have bought one.

But, as in everything in life, anything is only worth what you can get for it, when you are lucky enough to find a buyer.
And I did not have anything in place to sell photo prints of that quality and make a profit.

I looked at your link, the price is very low which concerns me, and there is a need for training, I would want to know how many print heads it has, how old a model, the cost of ink per square foot.

Since you are so conversant with the scanner and the restoring work you do etc., you may not need the kind of help I would need when I buy such a piece of equipment.
But it is important to have really good rip software.

Now after having said all this to set up my credentials to prove I know a little of what I'm talking about, the most critical thing is the marketing.
Even with having the printer that is the best of its kind, and a brother who is a master in framing, you still need a place to sell it.

Do you know a restaurant that would place them on its walls?
Do you know an entrepreneur with a store front and traffic who would?
Or, with perfected pieces from the start, you can approach galleries, but they eat a lot in percentage.
At best, can you open your own place to sell them.

These are the things that need to be considered.
I have, in my work, seen so many people not think stuff through before they embark, but then I have also seen so many who never have the courage to leap and have both feet in the air for a short while before they drop in on new ground.

I think preparation and considering all angles lay the foundation for the courage to leap.
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I think I just went off on a tangent.
I apologize, if it is necessary.

[Fumesucker]

4. My printer is an antique in computer years..

An HP Deskjet 1120c, it doesn't even have a USB port, strictly Centronics parallel.

The newer printers are often impossible to refill the ink cartridges, they are mostly chipped so that once a certain number of squirts have come from the nozzles they refuse to work any more. I've been refilling ink cartridges since my original Bubblejet Canon almost fifteen years ago and I'm not paying what the manufacturers want for their cartridges on the new machines.

A lot of HP printers, including some Designjets and my 1120c, have the print heads built into the cartridge, replace the ink cartridge and you get a new print head. I've had Epsons, specifically an 1160 and a 1200 that gave spectacular results but the damn heads clog up far too easily and are not really replaceable. I've found that anything beyond about 600 dpi in a printer is really overkill for the great majority of people, particularly so in larger prints where you tend to look at them from a bit of a distance. Software makes a big difference too, dithering and other tricks can increase the apparent print resolution of a printer. Ink and paper make a difference too, you have to deal with the entire chain, right from the lighting and lens all the way to laying the ink droplets on the paper.

I'm used to nursing along obsolete equipment and dealing with the inevitable kinks and jinks, I made my living for many years fixing unfixable orphaned industrial equipment when the manufacturer had gone out of business and parts were made of unobtainium.

As for selling prints, I'm considering Craigslist and a website local to my county. I have several shots that I'm planning, one is an old mill building at Sweetwater Creek State Park, down the road from me a few miles. Back in the early 1800's it was the tallest building in the Atlanta area. The scenery is pretty spectacular.. There are still the remains of a huge, barrel type waterwheel laying in the creek bed there, the original mill race is still mostly intact and will make some very nice panos.

[Mira]

5. I'm about to see our President on Leno- and want to think about what you said

tomorrow - those are
Scarlett's words but I will stand behind them.

[Fumesucker]

6. I don't know nothin' about birthin' no babies Mizz Scarlett..

:rofl:

[Mira]

7. I see easily that you are well versed and a tinkerer, you'll make it work.

I couldn't handle the nursing along of equipment that misbehaves or is outdated without help or support. I can see you are undaunted by it, and have lots of experience.
I know a guy who bought a printer just to do what we are talking about, and he did not have your skills, your understanding, the patience I perceive you to have,
and he certainly could not coin a phrase like "parts made out of unobtainium".
So he had to fire sale the printer and hang it up.

Stay in touch - I'm curious about how you will proceed etc. and what ideas you come up with AND
the two photos are wonderful, the first one is overpoweringly mysterious and the second like a painting.

[kentauros]

8. Although you can certainly use a DesignJet for photography printing,

unless you are getting the model designed towards Graphic Artists, you might not like the quality from the Architect/Engineering variety. I work as a Mapping Professional for a small pipeline-design firm and know firsthand that while these printers are great at what we need them for, they are not so great at printing out large-format photographs. I know because I've tried ;)

We do use aerial photos under some portions of the drawings and while they are spectacular in resolution, the image quality as an artistic photograph is not comparable to those graphics printers.

Here's the HP site for all of their medium to large-format printers: http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF02a/18972-18972-3328061.html

Notice that they do have one that will print on a 24" roll, so you can get coated photopaper at a fairly reasonable price. Remember, too, that the ink cartridges are far larger and costs on replacing them (or refilling) will also be higher.

Next is memory. I have noticed on some that they just don't default to a large enough memory buffer in these plotters. We had to even get an internal hard-drive installed in our DesignJet 1050C because it just couldn't handle multiple alignment sheets in the queue without crashing (an alignment sheet generally has at best about 20% of its surface as image.) You'll have to research that if you plan on making large and long prints.

Although you can certainly get an older model from CraigsList, or other classifieds, you won't likely be getting the service contract in that price. I have no idea if an internal hard-drive installation can be done by you or if you have to call a service rep, but I doubt if they are cheap ;)

I have a Canon Pixma Pro large-format printer and I'm still trying to figure out the color tables. So, I haven't printed on the 13"x19" paper I have sitting behind my desk ;) If you don't get the color right, you'll be burning up a lot of paper getting it all calibrated. It's also best to do that on the type of paper you want for the final print, versus testing it with standard bond uncoated paper.

Just research this as thoroughly as you can first. It may be more cost-effective to just take your image to a professional printer and get a print run or one large-format print than to try and do it yourself. These large-format printers can bankrupt you fast! :o

Here's some other sources of printers to look through:
http://www.stanfordmarsh.co.uk/display_graphics_printers.html
http://www.lfp-newsletter.com
http://www.pcmall.com/pcmall/shop/cat/Printers/LargeFormatPrinters/category.asp
http://www.printhead.net/dynamicweb/main.asp?m=17&c=17&a=17
http://www.wide-format-printers.org

Hope that helps some. Perhaps form a group in your area that could help offset costs by sharing it. Or set up a small business to print for people with large-format photographic-printing needs :)

[Mira]

9. Glad you came in - I was unaware there are models that are

NOT for Graphic Arts. I have the specs for the Designjet Z3100psGP PhotoPrinter, 24 and 44 inch models, and it was the product of that printer I have seen and admired.
Everything you say about the cost and learning curves and rips and memory buffer is causing people problems.
I too would vote for taking your file to a professional shop and getting a sample made, frame it, take a photograph of it, spec out your costs, add your profit and take orders.
The people who sell the one I'm talking about are at http://www.cannon4.com

[kentauros]

11. I would have thought an inkjet could print anything

but they do seem to be designed for different purposes with little overlap.

That refurbishing company looks like a good one and I'm sure they can help you choose the right one (if they haven't already.)

Do y'all remember these kinds of plotters? ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe9VWvtvNtg&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA7LUCdxpY0&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAms7qqwoAA

[Mira]

12. YUP - I run a couple of them, but as vinyl cutters. Every now

and then I put a pen in instead of the knife, to make pounce patterns or drawings.
Works like a charm.

[Fumesucker]

10. Thanks for the input..

I have done some research, enough to convince me I need to do more before I jump in..

I'll definitely take what you say under advisement, your idea to form a group is intriguing to me.

The HP 650C, the one on Craigslist I posted a link to, will do images according to this site..

http://epswww.unm.edu/help/djet650.htm

Got some stuff going on today, I'll post more later..

[Dallas Dem]

13. Terrific pictures and.....

......terrific "panorama" software. Thanks for the h/t.

Tried doing one myself, with 6 pictures shot with my old Sony FD-92. These panoramas are another wonderful option to have.


River Thames from Tower Bridge, East London

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Also, I print on an HP Photosmart 8750 I picked up new, on eBay, for about $250. Prints up to 13" x 19" photos.

[Fumesucker]

14. Thanks..

My first wide carriage printer was a Deskjet 1000 I got at the flea market for $5.00, I probably ran through a gallon of ink with that thing and only had to buy one new color cartridge.. I rarely use the black anyway. After my first 13x19 print in full color I was hooked on big printers. :)