We were told digital printing would be cheaper than the od way because there was no silver halide involvement. But they gotchus! Because ink prices were higher than silver, or so it seems.
Nevertheless, I persevered with a Canon i965 and Epson 1290 but still found I was getting good prints to test prints at a ratio of 1:10 or 1:20.
So I gave up. Professional labs seemed a better and more economical bet for my sort of turnover (ie amateur). And I was doing the creative
stuff on the computer - no more dodging, burning and masking for me! Trouble was the prints came back in cardboard tubes so impossible to frame without winding marks.So here is the dilemma. In economic terms, as a hobbyist, the solution is easy - use a lab. But which labs return large prints unrolled? Hoever its not all economics - in enjoyment terms should I re-enter the fray? After all, modern inkjet printers are so much less temperamental they say. But are they? I might be tempted by the Epson R3000 but would I just be letting myself in for another period of expense and frustration before consigning yet another printer to the dustbin, along with a mountain of test prints?
The artist in me (definite case of left brain hemisphere versus right) says go for it. So I've enrolled for a couple of days at the Epson Print Academy in Hemel Hempstead which promises to be interesting and is reasonably priced.
But I have my doubts.
What s your experience? Am I nuts to be considering this again? Or is life short, so we may as well have a bit of fun and indulge ourselves?
