Need to buy new ink for my Epson printer, Almost cheaper to buy a new one. Printed up some decals on my dads Cannon printer, the ink stuck better to the decal paper than the Epson printers that i had used in the past. So which printer brand is better for doing decals?
I haven’t printed any decals since my old Epson went and munched itself, but I was very pleased with the previous results. However, if you’ve got better results from your Dads Cannon; well it should be fairly obvious what’s best for you![swg]
Cheers, the Bear.[:)]
Bought a new HP recently. When I talked to the sales person they said HP most economical on ink if you do a lot of printing (it’s primary use). Cannon was recommended for photo quality. If I remember right, Epson was sort of in the middle. Got mine at Staples, they were very helpful. Check with your dealer and see which they would recommend for decals.
There was another post not long ago on a new purchase. For the same price I paid for the HP there was a Cannon which took individual color cartridges, saves throwing away color ink when one color runs out. Those multi color things are expensive.
Good luck,
Richard
LIONS use LASER printers. While more expensive to buy than the cheap ones, and the cost of cartridges notwithstanding the Council of Felids declares the Color Laser Printers to be better and cheaper in the long run than inkyjets. (Sorry Octopuss).
ROAR
I have several printers, three HPs, one Lexmark and an Alps MD. As far as Ink Jet printers go manufacturer’s ink cartridges do well for me, refilled cartridges are like flipping a coin for printing decals. About the only thing an ink refill is good for is printing on paper and even then colors are up for grabs.
My grandson has an Epson XP and my daughter has a Canon MG and I can’t see any difference between in either of them for printing decals, both work very well.
From my experience in printing decals with Ink Jets the higher the resolution the worse the ink adheres to decal paper. My HP 7960 has excellent photo print quality but prints better at low resolution on decal paper, 600 dpi works the best, 1200 dpi is far better than 2400 dpi and at 4800 dpi the ink bleeds between colors. The problem seems to be the decal paper, decal paper print quality varies between brands. Kodak Photo paper works great at 4800 dpi.
I bought my Alps for printing white and metallic color decals, I rarely print full color decals on my Alps because of the higher ink costs.
I replaced my old HP 722C inkjet with a Canon. I think the Canon produces better decals, but I’m also using different paper because I could no longer get the same paper. The first Canon died after a couple of years. From looking online, a lot of people had the same problem with that model. I now have another Canon and it works well, but I haven’t been printing a lot of decals. I get my paper from Decal Paper dot com and I’ve ordered from OfficeSaints dot com for replacement ink cartridges with good results. They’re much cheaper.
A laser printer is the best for printing decals. If you use a laser printer the heat seals the ink to the decal. You do not need to spray on any kind of finish. Ink last a lot longer in laser printers but they cost more and the printer slower.
HP printers have five ink cartridges for colors plus black so you don’t waste ink.
I would recommend a HP color laser printer.
I have not done this but I always heard that dye sublimation printers made the best decals. Is that no longer the case?
Companies that make printers make their money from selling the ink or toner. I even wonder if they make a profit on selling the printers.
See my recent post regarding my experience with my new Canon Pixma MX922 printer, written several days ago last week.
I will be posting images of my most recent box car project in the gallery next week with Canon-printed decal work.
Cedarwoodron
I avoid printing as much as possible by using PDFs as much as possible in the office and at home. So mich so that the printer companies would be out of business if they were dependent on me. My HP is fine for the few decals I print.
One thing I have found with my Epson 3 in 1 model XP-610 is the paper feed is not as good as my previous Epson printer for doing decals and photo paper. The old one had a paper feed from the back and was straight through the machine. The new one has a paper tray under the printer. The paper feeds to the back, makes a 180 degree turn up and to the front before getting to the print head.
I print decals and signs by cutting a piece of decal or photo paper and tape it to plain paper to run through the printer. It uses up the scrap pieces. with the old one I had no problems. With that turn around feed on the new one, I often get ink smearing on the printed surface which ruins the print. This even happens with full sheets of photo paper, which is stiffer than plain paper.
If you plan to do a lot of decals and such, you may want to look for a printer that has a straight through feed.
Did have a little probelm with my dads cannon not sure what model i forgot, the printer in tray was on the bottom and had some probelm picking up the sheet, also it printed on the bottom of the paper weird.
Did once a couple years ago printed with a laser printer a hp i belive, the ink/toner did not want to stick to the decal paper.
Can i just replace the black ink on mine and will it work without the othere colors?
lol never mind google search says you cant do that as it will not work 99% of the time. Even if you tell it to just print in black.
Btw the decal i used is the testers brand that i got at hobby lobby.
One thing i noticed with the cannon printer is that on the larger sized printing like the R from the The Rock, the ink did not cover all the way, kinda a spotty look or maybe cracking? not sure how to discribe it.
The type of decal paper.makes a difference too. I find some.work really good.and.others not at all. Depending.on the printer used. Wish I alps were still around.
Depends on the brand of printer, and its settings.
ROAR
The decal paper for laser printers is different than the paper for ink jet printers. You have to match the type of paper with the printer. Laser printing on laser decal paper won’t come off. It has become part of the paper, which is why it is the best choice.
I have owned 3 color printers, 1 HP and 2 Epson. In all of these cases, when an ink cartrige runs dry, the printer stops and will not run until a replacement is installed.