Printer recommendation, high volume sports prints.

[Rob Ekins]

Hi,
Can anyone help with recommendations for a printer system to use to print 8x10 prints onsite at sports events. I have never printed anything seriously, so have no idea where to start.

I need the prints to be good quality on decent paper, I am not sure how long these prints are supposed to last in the real world.

Cost per print is an issue, but is not be the deciding factor.

Thanks

[Donald]

You don't say what the context for printing is - Will you be in a building, or will you printing from the back of a vehicle? In other words, is portability a factor for you?

Also, I get the impression that you have never tried printing before. I take it you plan to get proficient in a controlled setting such as your house before you start going out to various locations? Excuse me if I'm stating what you already know, but printing images is very different from printing a Word document.

[Rob Ekins]

Thanks Donald,
Printing will be in a building with local power available. I will have time to learn the system before I arrive onsite.

[Donald]

Robbie

Rather than repeat my thoughts, have a read of this, which is one expert's (Adorama) view of the question you ask. Adorama can say it much better than I can!

[Rob Ekins]

Awesome, thanks for the link

[Manfred M]

The link Donald is great, but you need to look at the on-location printing that you are looking at doing.

A classmate of mine in a photography course that I took about 10 years ago had a little business that sounds like it might apply to what you are thinking. He would visit equestrian events and photograph the riders and their horses. Most of his business was impulse buying related, so he did print on site. Worked out of the back of his car and used portable power (batteries running through an inverter) to power his printers (I believe they were dye based inkjet) as longevity of the print was not a big deal. He travelled with two printers because he could not afford to have a printer go down and him not be able to make prints on demand). The second printer also gave him higher throughput.

The issue that you are going to run into is that printers are not made to be moved around and frankly are not all that robust. They tend to be fairly heavy as well. If I were asked to do what you are thinking of doing, I would probably look a couple of 8" dye sublimation printers. They are relatively fast, use rolls of media and the inks are not liquid. When I see the unit coming with a carrying case, it suggests that portability and robustness are what the unit was designed for.

https://www.adorama.com/dnpds820astb.html

[DanK]

Robbie,

Just few thoughts.

First, as Manfred said, portability is an issue. My current printer can't be moved without putting it into a transportation mode, which dumps hundreds of dollars of ink out of the tubes. I think it may be the case that Canon's dye-based printers can be moved, but I would defintely check this before considering buying one.

Second, don't underestimate the time it will take you to learn how to do this. Some printers, including Canon printers, come with software that allows you to print directly from JPEGs, without using the more complex software like Lightroom or Photoshop that is used for most serious printing. These simpler programs may be your best bet. I have never used them, even though they came free with all 3 of my Canon photo printers, so I can't say more than that.

Good luck.

Dan

[Rob Ekins]

Thanks Manfred,
I have contacted my local DNP distributer and had a good chat. The product you linked to was what he recommended.

[Rob Ekins]

Thanks Dan,
I have plenty of lead time and will be making sure I am competent before I start the process.

[Rob Ekins]

Update:
I purchased the DNP DS820, I watched loads of YouTube videos on print setup before it arrived. First print off the roll was as I hoped, absolutely fit for purpose.

Knowing me, I will probably get more into the whole process and end up hating that first print. But for now I will have no problem selling the prints.

Thank you all again for your input.