I have a question for those of you who shoot photos for use on a backdrop. Where and how do you print your photos? my little ink jet printer wheezes pretty hard when I have to print on legal sized paper, so I have a hard time imagining production of enough photos to piece together a decent horizon for a ten foot long viewblock.
How do you get your printing done?
I have been getting rid of all of the ink jet printers on our network. All new printers will be black and white laser printers. I can use any photographic program to size and prepare the art work, and I can print a proof on my black and white printer to assure that the size is perfect. Once so, I print it on our Xerox Color Laser Copier Machine. The business office keeps the latest and greatest since it is under lease, they just bring us a new one when the lease expires.
Since apparently you do not have a machine like this, it should be a simple matter to put your file on a thumb drive and cart it off to Staples, Office Depot or the like, or a local printer in the neighborhood, and let them print it for you. Staples is about $7.00 a square foot. If it is something that will fit on a single page, then it should not cost more than a dollar or two.
DO NOT USE PHOTO PAPER INTENDED FOR INK JETS ON A LASER MACHINE, It will destroy the machine.
ROAR
That’s very good info, Lion. Thanks.
I print my own. I used to use an HP 9650 wide carriage but recently purchased an Epson stylus to eventually replace the tiring HP. The epson easily prints 44 inch long backdrop sections (up to 13" wide) with very good quality. This makes for far fewer seams. The downside is of course the cost of the printer and the ink tanks. (Large ones on the Epson).
Many office supply stores and print shops can print from a photoshop file on disk or flash device.
I have an HP755cm 36" wide carriage printer. The resolution is only 300x300 but people really like the tiny bit of hazyness that this gives to the images. They say it looks much more realiztic horizon immage than a sharp photo would. I can print a backdrop up to 150 feet long which is the size of the roll on a single sheet. I have never printed one more than 108". Anything longer than 8 feet gets really unwieldly. Most of the time I try to work in 6 or 4 foot pieces.
Kinko’s, Stop and Go, and other printing companies (maybe even Office MAX and Office Depots) have printers like this. All one has to to is take the image in on a memory stick or flash memory and they will print it. Don’t know the cost but I know it is less than buying a printer, and way less than it was 10 years ago.
I have a similar question. What type of paper are you guys using? I am going to have 3 large sections of 50’, 25’ and 30’ to do and don’t want to do them twice. I am most concerned of them being faded by the light or smudged from small water drops, glue etc when I am finishing up on the scenery. I’d like to know if you guys have been able to work around these.
Ink jets are ink jets, a wet ink applied to a piece of paper. Some papers take in better than others. Photo paper will work well in an ink jet printer, but the ones that I made several years ago have faded.
Talk to the people who will make your prints, ask them for samples, and ask them about the durability. Walmart has good prices on such enlargements, but I asked at the local Walmart today, and they have a wide format inkjet printer.
LION uses a color laser printer, a good one, and uses a smooth card stock from our print shop. (The print shop is closed, but the paper is still there… all of our printing is done on the Xerox or is sent out.) I have had very good results, and have not seen any fade yet, but how long must on wait to find out. It is not damaged by small spills of stuff.
Find a print shop with the correct sort of equipment and ask them for samples of their work. Some scraps from the waste basket will do. Then you will know what they can do for you.
ROAR
I have had good luck with HP bright white coated paper. It does yellow a bit but not enough that I can complain. In fact I would never have noticed it had I not had an unused backdrop sitting in a roll for about three years and put a brand new printed one next to it. I have not had any of mine more than 10 years so I cannot say if it gets brittle and cracky with age, of course the adhesive used might have something to do with that too, not just the paper.
I found the best place for printing is a sign shop.
you should be able to get your print on vinyl for about 8-9 bucks a square foot.
vinyl is very hearty and lasts much longer