Printer HELP!

I often have a lot of people asking me about the printer I use and my opinion on it. So it seems like the perfect topic to touch upon.

Research -

When I was looking into starting LP Prints I was torn between bulk printing my work using a printing company, or buying a printer and printing in house.

For me, having little money at the time, the best option was to print at home, on demand. Let’s be honest, I wasn’t sure if I would sell enough prints to be spending a lot of money up front buying in bulk to start with, so I chose to invest in a printer. But the journey to choosing that printer was tough!

When you’re just starting out it can be hard. You tend to have a vision about what you want everything to look like, so your printer NEEDS to echo your vision. There’s no point creating beautiful work if your printer and paper won’t do your work any justice.

Sadly, I found that a lot of people with knowledge of printers and printing didn’t want to help or give me advice. I totally understand this and don't ever expect others to openly tell all about how they run their business, but if I can help make this an easier more straight forward process for you, then that I will 😉

I found myself searching the internet for any tips I could find...

When Google searching ‘good printers for art prints’ one printer always appeared, the Canon Pixma iP8750 which lead me to look into that model more. I will add that I did look into other printers such as HP Envy and EPSON EcoTank models, but they didn’t stand out to me as much as the Canon printers did.

I ended up watching a LOT of YouTube videos of others using the Canon Pixma iP8750 printer, and the type of paper it works well with. Paper is a whole different blog story though 😅

I found this printer was always advised by photographers who print their photos off for clients. Their work looked crisp and clean - from seeing this I knew it would work well for art prints too!

After lots of pondering, I finally purchased the printer as I didn’t really see a lot of cons. If any at all.

Set up -

Once the printer arrived it was super easy to set up, it also came with ink as a bundle and the instructions were really straight forward to understand.

One thing we did struggle with slightly was connecting it to the wifi in order to set up wireless printing. For some reason, we had to connect it to a computer, not a laptop, to connect it to the wifi. Of course, we eventually did it, but keep that in mind if you’re like me and not at all printer savvy. But once set up you can print wirelessly from a range of wifi devices.

You can download the Canon PRINT app to help easily print images, as well as using other Canon design apps to print in more fun creative ways. I have noticed that using different apps does alter the colours in your prints. Keep this in mind when having a play around with print settings; Every computer, laptop and iPad will have different print settings which may, or may not need to be altered.

I’ve found that this printer prints quickly most of the time. There’s not a lot of waiting around for your work to come through - ideal if you’re fulfilling a lot of orders.

Paper sizes -

The look of this printer is very sleek considering it can print at a larger scale. It’s not bulky at all.

It can print up to A3 size and allows you to print on different types of paper, including some thicker artist papers. I use photo paper, which is what this printer is actually designed to use.

I will go more in depth about paper types in another blog 😇

It can also print onto CDs which is fab for merchandise or unique items.

Ink -

The ink in this printer is great as it is a ‘hybrid’ ink system consisting of 6 single inks, meaning you can easily change ink colours when they run out and it gives a more crisp, in depth, high quality finish. Be sure to use the brands own ink as this won’t fade or alter the quality of your prints, and it will mean your prints will be highly pigmented and vibrant in colour.

It’s also got an optional XL ink tank for the black ink which is perfect if you’re printing a lot of darker colours and tones or in black and white.

You can buy individual ink cartridges on the Canon website too, so you don’t always have to waste money on a bulk bundle each time.

I’ve found that the ink does last well. I’ve had to replace some the cartridges once so far, (printer purchased in March 2022) and that’s not all the colours being changed. I suppose this does alter depending on how much you personally print and the size that you’re printing at, but all in all it’s not a rush or common occurrence having to replace inks.

Like with most printers, you will receive a notification via the printing app when you’re running low on certain colours. If you don’t get this then there’s also a little red light attached to each ink tank which flashes when ink is running low. The faster the light flashes, the less ink you have left - super easy and effective to check before each use.

Overview -

So far, I cannot fault this printer. It has always produced my prints in a high quality standard and has not yet shown me any issues or problems.

It’s easy to use, easy to run, and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. (All depending on how much you’re printing, and your budget of course).

I would highly recommend this printer if you’re just starting out, or want a change from another printer model to something different.

Remember, I cannot say that this is the best printer out there. With anything you may have had some 'other' experiences yourself with this model, so please keep in mind that this is just my opinion on how this printer works for me and how it could possibly work for you too! ☺️

I really hope that this blog can help you decide on which printer to go for… if there is anything else you can think of, that I’ve not mentioned then please leave a comment or feel free to email or message me.

Thank you, for taking the time to read this blog - I hope I can help or aid at least one person out there 🖤

LP Prints ⚡️