Anyone out there useing the little Epson Picture mate printer for 4x6 proofs at events?
Have seen a few good reviews but would like to hear from pros with real world experience. Thanks in advance!
Not a pro, but we have a PM260 which has been working fine for years. Colors are good, but the image is not as smooth as 3880 for example. I don't know how long the small printers hold up at events night after night.
They're not cheap to run. Even less so if you factor in the printer price. Soon after I bought mine the price of prints at the shops plummeted I didn't bother buying a refill pack and pretty much wrote it off. I think mine printed at 240 ppi.
Will you have access to the mains power supply to use the printer where you need to at the events ? Not much use otherwise.
Will the prints be too good ? You might lose more sales than you get if they can scan them and scale them up a bit before printing their own copy. Would you be better off showing them something on a laptop or portable viewing screen ?
I have the Picturemate Charm and use it with a battery at family events. It just sits there waiting for whoever wants to use it to print some photos. Works great, battery lasts awhile.
I do not use it for Proofs but rather at some events, use it to sell images. They are not cheap and it works just fine especially if you have a long run to print. Where you have to be careful is when you only do short runs then the ink cartridge can dry. I keep mine in a sealed bag and have to run a few through to clean the heads.
The results are very good and I normally sell my 4x6 prints for $5 each with no problem.
I use two when selling prints at say a party... They are inexpensive and for the price of the print pack and paper they are a no brainer for me. I have learned however that the print pack goes empty before all paper is used.. In my case when shooting against a very colorful background. If shooting against white background then no worries.. But Epson will send you a replacement pack if you have your receipt and I believe the empty cartridge and unused paper?.. I attempted to hold them to it once but I did not have everything that they required so...... But for the profit margin I get from a good event I can't complain.... I always charge for one pick or buy two get on free or $5 bucks off the third, something like that and I usually make out really good..
But back to your question,, They are dependable and the only issues I have run in to is clogged nozzels, which they have a cleaning process built in that really works, might have to run the cleaning process multiple times to get a nozzle unclogged but eventually it works.. And like anything else I would buy two and you have a back up in place, and you can use both simultaniously when it gets busy.
How does the quality compare to higher end printers? I have a Canon Pro9500 and I am thinking of picking one up for my gf to print my snapshots (she would have to wait a while for me to print some for her =P). Is the quality even comparable?
BigBadWolfie wrote:
How does the quality compare to higher end printers? I have a Canon Pro9500 and I am thinking of picking one up for my gf to print my snapshots (she would have to wait a while for me to print some for her =P). Is the quality even comparable?
BBW I am really really happy with the print quality. Although I don't have extensive self print xprnce I would say they rival the higher end printers. Rich deep colors, detail, and good contrast, all of which can be tweaked to your liking. I even sell key chains because you can make various sizes of smaller printsYou can choose glossy or matte paper, or at least you used to be able to. I haven't had a picture gig in a while. I would go so far as to say that for a 4x6 print, you probably wouldn't see much diff between your pro9500 and these prints.
The only nit I have with them is that the largest print available is 4x6. I have my eye on those HiTi dye subs that print various sizes. Way more money but hey, I use to make money so.....
I didn't bother buying a refill pack and pretty much wrote it off. I think mine printed at 240 ppi.