Picture Printer Developments

Advances in color printer technology, both inkjet and laser, are opening up a world of opportunity for individuals interested in selling printed products on the internet.  The printers take advantage of improved "paper" products that increase the variety of products that could be sold into the hundreds. 

Researching the price and potential of the printers is hard.  Researching the potential of the new "papers" is beyond hard.  There are hundreds of them.  The vendors seem to think customers know what they are looking for.  If you are new to the print world there is a ton of terminology to learn.  I am convinced the only way to really learn what works will be to buy a printer(s) and test all the "Papers" by making actual products.  Standard printer reviews are a helpful start but present only a fraction of the advice needed by someone who wants to start a business selling printed products.

As I make plans to sell my pictures on the internet I have found two printers that I would like to test.  (Actually, I would like to test several, but both my time and money budgets limit me.)  One is the Epson R2400 photo printer.  Preliminary research indicates I can buy one for about $800 and use it to print stunning pictures which can be expected to last for more than 100 years.

The printer will accept many kinds of paper (media) as wide as 13" and up to 44" long.  This tells me I could offer my pictures in a variety of sizes on several different kinds of paper.  I would be able to print one at a time, as needed so there is no inventory.  The total cost would be the printer, a stock of papers, and a replacement supply of ink.  I think this could be done for less than $1,200. 

With this printer I could offer framed prints, note cards, motivational wall plaques, and a large variety of other products. 

However, not all picture related products need to be printed at photo resolution on archival quality paper.  Color laser printers are available for half the cost of the Epson (and supplies look to be MUCH cheaper) and would do well for certain products.  I have found a deal (probably a closeout in anticipation of a new model) on an HP 3600n.  My thought is this printer would let me test the market for lower image quality products.  At the same time I will be learning where, if anywhere, I would do better with Epson printed products.

I have also started exploring the world of "papers" which can be used in inkjet or laser printers and the variety is almost overwhelming.  I put "papers" in quotes because you can buy metallic foils, waterproof stock and many other "papers" that are only vaguely related to actual paper. 

There are hundreds of paper choices.  The suppliers seem to think their buyers know what they are talking about.  The "sales" literature and websites are filled with mysterious terms that mean nothing to me.  I suspect the vendors are used to dealing with commercial buyers and are not really prepared for (or interested in ? ) smaller retail buyers. 

What is clear is the technology provides an opportunity for individuals to create unique, quality, printed products for sale in small quantities.  "More products for fewer buyers" is how I have seen it phrased.  For anyone interested in building a side income and/or working from home, this looks like a very interesting opportunity.  Since that describes me perfectly, I plan to check this out thoroughly.