Pro lab quality...printer

[Almac7]

I use Digital Labs at the moment but want to start printing my own. Can anyone recommend a quality (up to A3) printer that will give prints as good as a pro lab? Inkjet or Laser? I sell landscape prints and need quality but at reasonable cost...will £400-500 be enough to get a decent one?

[Activ8]

It is not just the printer but the calibration equipment you need to ensure you have a consistent print quality. Typically an A3+ printer from Epson or Canon can be had for around £500 but ink costs are high and so is the paper if you are going for the archival type. However you need to factor in monitor to print calibration and the fact that not all monitors can be calibrated properly. Typically a full setup would be a calibrated Apple, Lacie or Eizo monitor coupled with a profiling kit to keep the monitor calibrated. A printer calibrator and a daylight viewing station for checking prints plus printer and inks. Depending upon your throughput printing yourself could be much more expensive than a pro-production house but you will be in full control of the process. Goto a specialist for the monitor and calibration stuff such as www.nativedigital.com they can really help you achieve what you want. Printers can be bought from whoever is cheapest but HP, Epson and Canon lead in the high quality stuff with Ricoh being a good choice for specialist object printing.

[carlb40]

If you would consider an A2 printer, you can get the excellent epson pro 3800 for under £500. It would be a used model but tis a great printer. The cartridges are quite a bit bigger than the lower epsons so will bring the printing costs down :)

[Almac7]

Still in two minds as to whether to buy or carry on using a lab...

[carlb40]

One of the better reviews

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/printers/Epson%20Pro3800/page-1.html

The other forum i am on, the guys in the MF section rate it extremely highly. Only upgrade from it as they go bigger for A1/A0 prints or bigger :)