A Good Printer for decals and boxes?

[BPG]

Hi Everyone- first poster here, and I have a somewhat basic question for you. I'd like to ask your opinion... what kind of computer printer do you use for your decals and/or boxes (if you do that sort of thing), and do you like it? Here's why I ask.

I have an Epson Workforce 7610 that I use for work. It's an 11x17 printer/scanner, I needed the large format for some drawings that I do for a magazine. I've tried to use it to print color boxes and decal sheets, and it absolutely blows. The colors are all very washed out... I can print a somewhat passable box, but from what I read on the web, it's just about impossible to get a good, vivid print out of this machine. (yes, I've cleaned the print heads... multiple times... no difference...)

So I'm thinking about buying an inexpensive 8x10 inkjet JUST for matchbox boxes and decals. Since it's only for my hobby, I need to keep it fairly inexpensive. I'm not sure where I'll find the room for it, but anyway... I thought you folks might have some valuable opinions. And not just printers... paper stock, decal paper, etc (if there's some that works better than others, I mean). The amazon descriptions never say anything about small, fine details, and doing reproduction work calls for some unusual qualities.

And don't worry, all my boxes are clearly marked REPRODUCTION, though these would not fool anyone.

Thanks very much
BPG

[Tinman]

I've always used an HP Office Jet with print, copy & scan abilities. Just don't get one of the newer ones that rotates the paper back toward the machine after printing (it will ruin photos and decals every time). You have to get one that sends the finished work straight out into a tray that sticks out from the machine. Most HP inkjets are pretty cheap, it's the ink that kills you. I get my cartridges refilled but you have to find a place (like Costco) that can test the cartridge to make sure it's good.

[matchboxmarcel]

I would NOT print replica boxes !

I would always go for ORIGINAL boxes !

Why do you want replica boxes ?
Are you going to sell them on Ebay like some other people do ?
Very bad for the collectorsmarket.

I would recommend you to do something else with your spare time.

If you say it is for your collection, why didn't we see any post from you before?
Can you show us a photo of your cabinets how your collection now looks like ?

marcel

[BPG]

Marcel:

That's great that you would not print replica boxes. I personally can't afford to buy original boxes, I enjoy the graphic work that it takes to reproduce them, and I fully intend to continue to do so. Like I said, all mine say REPLICA in bold letters on the outside of the box, so if anyone thinks for a minute that these are intended to defraud someone, they aren't being realistic.

I also said in my post that this is MY FIRST POST. I haven't posted before because I have just been approved, since Nick was running behind since his stroke (get better soon Nick!) and it took several attempts to get approved.

Your recommendation to "do something else with my spare time" is very helpful, thanks for welcoming me to the community so graciously.

I'll post some photos of my cars when I get around to it... I'm lucky enough to still have the majority of my childhood collection intact. These I generally leave alone, in VERY playworn condition. I'm planning on replacing some missing parts, though. The cars I restore are usually "child-repainted beaters" that nobody is going to want to display as found.

BPG

[Squid]

I used to service printers and other office equipment. Admittedly, much of it was overkill for home use, but I'll try to offer some recommendations anyhow.

If Sharp makes printers geared toward home use, I'd recommend looking into them. The Sharps I worked on almost universally produced great results, were easy to work on, and were tough. I was never a big fan of H-P printers, but it's possible they have improved over the last few years. If you can afford one and get past the somewhat rinky-dink engineering, a Lexmark could be a viable option. Of course, as Tinman alluded to, cost and future availability of ink/toner, other consumables, and repair parts also must be considered.

The other advice I can give regards paper. If using card stock, it will run much smoother through a bypass tray. Though I've never printed anything on decal paper, I'd suspect you want to run it through a bypass tray as well. I alao recommend avoiding recycled paper unless that is all you can obtain. It creates a mess of dust and is much more likely to misfeed and jam than non-recycled paper.

Good luck with your endeavors!

[BPG]

Thanks very much. I do want to try some nice matt finish photo paper, I figure its a long shot but might work, and it is a bit cheaper than a second printer. Best, BPG

[Idris]

I was never a big fan of H-P printers, but it's possible they have improved over the last few years.

No, they haven't.

[GHOSTHUNTER]

I was never a big fan of H-P printers, but it's possible they have improved over the last few years.

No, they haven't.

Neither have Canon!

I did go and buy a 'Photo Specifc' Canon printer for home use and so far it is performing OK for my printing requirements such as test prints for a model club newsletter etc, but do not know how well they would be for reproduction box artwork on thin to medium card.

I got it during a special offer period about a year ago and the price at that time was not much more than an average home printer from say HP.

Ghosthunter.

[Squid]

I was never a big fan of H-P printers, but it's possible they have improved over the last few years.

No, they haven't.

Neither have Canon!

I can't say I find that unsurprising. Funny thing is, I used to have an H-P laptop, and that thing was great. Much like Sharp printers were great, but my Sharp TV, not so much. And my Canon point-and-shoot digital camera was far superior to the Nikon I replaced it with.

Returning to topic, I have two additional thoughts. Thr vast majority, if not all, of the printers I worked on had fusers. For those not in the know, a fuser utilizes heat and pressure to essentially bake the image on the paper. I've an idea that such a thing is not ideal for decal paper, and probably not the printer, either (sticky labels could and did cause a nightmare of misfeeds and jams if the correct settings were not used). Further, decals with white borders could be tricky to create. There are printers that have white ink, but they're few and far between. Alps printer is the name that sticks out in my head.

Edit: the sort of printers I'm referring to are properly termed laser printers. Why that fact escaped me earlier, I've no idea.

[matchboxmarcel]

I don't understand that we do stimulate the fakers here with writing all those information.

If there is a fake on Ebay we have a tread with 50+ posters that we should NOT buy from him and now we write all kind of details how to print fake boxes.

This is a collectors site !

marcel