Large format printers seem to command disproportionally high prices. Why, for example, the large format HP printer costs twice as much as the equivelent standard printer is beyond me.
Among many other printers, I've used the HP 1100, a "big brother" to the 970c. When it came time to go large format, I tested a variety of models. One of my frustrations was that the output from the models I tested, such as the Epson 1200 and 1270, varied too much from my HP; there was simply no consistency between output, even with tweaking settings. Then I tried the Epson 1160. If there's one thing the 1160 has taught me, it is that 6-color printers don't necessarily have an advantage over 4-color printers. In theory they do, but 4 colors is really sufficient. (Granted, this is not the case will ALL 4-color printers. The 1160, in my opinion, merely illustrates that it's possible to produce color with 4 colors that doesn't suffer by comparison to 6-color output.)
Anyway, the 1160 is really one of the most underrated printers out there and it has some really nice features. For example, it supports paper sizes up to 13" wide. The driver allows for some extensive tweaking and control. The printer is reasonably fast. It uses 4 picoliter inkdrops, the same as the 870/1270. And best of all, the cartridges do not have the "refill killer chip" used by the 1270, which means you can refill using third party inks. After seeing the output from this printer, I quickly installed the MIS Continuous Flow System, connecting bottles of ink to special cartridges for massive savings. When you're printing large 11x17 prints, you'll be very thankful you're not replacing those costly cartridges, plus you'll be putting less plastic into the ground.
The output from the 1160 is very high quality, slightly better than the HP (I've found a +4 Brightness and +7 Saturation setting improves the overall image quality and elminates any hint of banding or visible dots from a reasonable viewing distance.). However, using the same paper (either Red River Ultra Pro or JetPrint Professional), the color gamut from these two machines are remarkably close. I have no problem printing a set of the same photo on both machines.
The printer itself is a good buy at $299. The ink system cost about $100 and includes bottled inks equivelent to about a dozen refills. When you need more ink, the next set of bottles will cost about the same as a set of cartridges. (You don't replace the entire system, but merely replace ink bottles when they become empty. You can buy larger bottles for even more savings.)
I sold my 1200 and 875 and plan to purchase another 1160 to devote to Quadtone bw printing with the Continuous Flow System. (My current Quadtone system is small format only.)
Best of luck
Dale
I have a Canon D30 and now print on a HP 970Cse. I am thinking
about adding a new printer (not replacing the HP) to be used for
photo prints only. I can only print 8X10 on the HP and somthing
larger would be nice. I have no experience with other than HP's.
Roll paper? Tell me more.
I look forward to hearing from you. Money is a factor so the sky
is not possible.
Thank you.
