GaryFL2019

Hi all,
Looking for a recommendation for an excellent home photo printer. Mostly 16x20 or 20x24. To be used mostly for contests and shows. Would prefer not spending an arm and leg. Also limited in space.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

I think your wants and restrictions are mutually exclusive. You want a large format printer that is inexpensive and small.
The Epson P800 will do 16x20, but it is not cheap ($1200) and it is neither small nor light. Going to 20x24 will get even more expensive and larger/heavier. Offerings from Canon or HP I would think are going to be similar.

Of course maybe your definition of "arm and leg" means $1200 is OK. The P800 is an outstanding printer.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

With a little luck and patience, you may be able to find a refurbished model at a good price.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

I've been using the Epson 3880 pro for over 10 years now and I'm still a happy camper with it. I think it would be a good choice for what you're looking for!

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

You might want to post questions about printers in the Printers And Color Printing Forum: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/s-120-1.html
Edit: It would help if you use a descriptive title, as Admin recommends, so everyone will have an idea of what the thread is about before opening it. Thanks.

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

Correct. Always ask if a refurb model is available. Check multiple sources, not just B&H etc. It saved me 50% on the Epson SC P7000.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

Are you doing a LOT of contests and shows?
If not, save your money and have your prints made by a photo service. Prices are reasonable and you don't have to put out a lot of capital and maintenance funds.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Gary, Consider using COSTCO or another photo service vendor. More cost effective.Welcome to the forum.

Leitz Loc: Solms

I suggest you help yourself a bit by doing a Google search for printers, select a few that meet your price and space requirements, then ask for user's experience with those particular models. Good luck!

Vietnam Vet

Here is an affordable one at BnH.
Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-2000 24"

SteveG Loc: Norh Carolina

You can find the Canon Pro 100 on eBay for anywhere between $100-$350ish, give or take. That will give you 16x20

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

But it won't do 20x24. It's a 17x22 sheet printer.

SteveG Loc: Norh Carolina

No, it won't, but the question appeared to be an either/or 16x20 or??? If the larger is needed, then it won't work

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Your requirements (excellent, photo printer, 20", contests and shows) put you into a category of printer that is going to cost you an arm and a leg. You can get 24" printers that are fine for business graphics and CAD, for under $1000, but I would not suggest a 3 color printer + black for printing fine art.

HP, Epson and Canon own the market on 24" roll printers, and they are going to be over $2000. I would stay away from HP, though. I had a 24" HP Z3200 that shredded a drive belt (cheap rubber belt dried out and self-destructed) - and the cost to repair it was $1200. So I tossed it. Had they used a kevlar belt I might still be using it, because it did produce nice prints.

There is another consideration - a smaller cheaper printer will use smaller cartridges, and the cost per ml can be several times that for a printer that can use 110ml or 220ml or bigger carts. The cost of ink should be your main concern - not the cost of the printer. And most mfgrs only provide a "starter" kit of ink.

For example, an Epson 3880 uses 80ml carts and a full set of Ultrachrome ink is $621 ($.86/ml) from Epson .

The 4880 uses 220ml carts, and the inkset is $984 or $.56/ml. So for less than 50% more in price, you get almost 3X more ink.

And if you look at the smaller 13" roll feed Epson desktop photo printer, like a $600 Epson P400 which uses 14ml carts, the cost of an inkset is only $144, bu the cost per ml is
$1.29, or more than double the cost of the ink used in the 4880.

You'd have to make 100s of prints per month to make a 24" printer feasible. Between the cost of the printer - between $2000 for the 9 color Epson P6000, to the $2800 P7000 with 11 colors - and on top of that a another $600-$900 for a full inkset, along with a printer profiling kit from Xrite, it would be really hard to justify the cost of doing your own printing compared to sending the work out to a photo lab.

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

$2500 for a Canon Pro2000 (24" wide max), $1100 (after rebate) for a Pro1000 (17x25max). Not sure what the going rate for an arm and a leg is today, but $$$ are needed if you want to play in this league. If you do, check out Keith Cooper's excellent reviews at Northlight Images.

Be a little wary though, once the large print bug bites you can never go back.