Postcard Small Runs

Hi folks

Im a retired due to ill health ex-commercial fisherman and a keen photographer , i have several shops that are asking for my images to be put on postcards also they want framed prints.

Im right up there with computers but not printing , they only require approx 100 per month as i live in a small tourist / fishing village and i figure this will help me keep doing something as long as i break even as im not doing it for a profit , just be nice to see my images around the village.

My question is can anyone recommend a small format printer capable of doing cardstock for this and also what cardstock to use with it.

Again im not in it for the money i just doing it to be doing something with my time , i recently used a pay online company and yes it was okay but i didnt do anything so it was no point.

Thnx in advance for any replies & regards sheep

 

I don't have any particularly good advice for you - but I think you realize the reality of this form a $ standpoint already. For this purpose, inkjets now provide great quality, but they're a bit slow and the inkjet accepting paper is expensive. And moreover, the ink is expensive since you are looking at high coverage. Small lasers don't do particularly well on thick stock for postcards - the finish is typically not very even gloss or matte unless you spend tens of thousands on the printer/copier still and will not match offset for postcards. With inkjet you will match offset quality (except for the feel, as you won't have the ability to apply a finish, uv, aq, or varnish which can give superb evenness and a variety of feels to the postcards) without spending tens of thousands more on a coater. Inkjets however do deliver a great color range now, better than you'll get with budget or gang offset. But the cost per print means that for what you can print a hundred for, putting in all the work to do so, you could get a thousand press printed and coated.

http://www.theamericanconsumer.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/ink-standards.pdf is an interesting link on the general subject. Also the luminous landscapes has some good reviews which give price per print info. If you are sure you want to do itself and you have a less-than-$5000 budget, then the real question is how much you want to spend upfront to get a lower cost per print (usually) through bigger cartridges. Well, you could run your own CIS on a cheapie inkjet and run non-oem inks, but then you have no guarantee other than your own testing whether they'll fade after a year...

 

Hi Qwik

Yep many thanks for your points i think they are both valid and understandable , i went for a small format Canon IP4700 as they have advised me they guarrantee it will accept 300 & 310gsm stock card.

That will be here on the 19th Feb so i will let you know how it goes , i just need now to find a stockcard thats suitable not at a loss but at a break even , i also have a question to ask i hope this is okay what is a CIS and how do they work ? after reading on here i gather its some kind of external setup ? i think

Thnx & regards sean