Post by @ajroach42@retro.social

I'm in the market for a Big Printer for the makerspace, and I'm trying to figure out if I should go with a 24" or a 36" or a 48" printer.

I don't know!

I think we'd be happy with 24, but then being able to do 36 x 48 posters would be nice.

And once I start thinking down that road, I can see occasional utility in getting a 48" printer.

But then I have to deal with the fact that it's 48" wide!

And I have to figure out where it's going to live, and ... I think I could put a smaller roll of paper on there to do smaller prints?

I don't actually know! And if I can't swap a smaller roll in, then I definitely want a 24 or a 36 and not a 48.

But if I can ... do I really want to deal with having multiple sized rolls of paper kicking around?

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Adrian McEwen

@amcewen@mastodon.me.uk last yr.

@ajroach42 our big (42" IIRC) printer will take paper of pretty much any size smaller than that.

In fact, for quite a while after we got it we couldn't get it to print anything taller than 297mm because we'd not realised that somewhere buried in the settings it had been set up for A3 landscape and so it would crop everything you sent to it to that size 🤦‍♂️

Andrew (making toys)

@ajroach42@retro.social last yr.

Yes, I can use smaller paper.

So now I have to decide if I want the ability to print 36/48" or if I want the "compactness" of a printer that's only 30" wide.

Andrew (making toys)

@ajroach42@retro.social last yr.

Ah. Cost.

The 24" models are available all over the place for under $600.

The 36" models appear to start at $1400, even on the used market.

I was expecting a modest difference in device cost, not a more than double difference.

In that case, 24" it is!

Doctor Deathray

@DoctorDeathray@retro.social last yr.

@ajroach42 I might have a lead on some used large format printers if you want me to look into them

Andrew (making toys)

@ajroach42@retro.social last yr.

@DoctorDeathray Oh?

Susanna the Artist 🌻

@superflippy@mastodon.xyz last yr.

@ajroach42 I make a lot of 24”x18” posters. With the huge cost difference, that’s a good size.
Make sure you have a good large-format paper cutter nearby!

Andrew (making toys)

@ajroach42@retro.social last yr.

@superflippy any suggestions on a make/model?

The VHS Wizard 🦝📼🧙

@DrakkenZero@retro.pizza last yr.

@ajroach42 You (and I) need to find places that both recycle and sell e-waste near us. I keep seeing videos from people like Bringus Studios or Salem Techsperts showing off cool gadgets that have been disposed of by other people while still having plenty of life in them if you're willing to fiddle a little bit (or in the case of Bringus, a lot)

Andrew (making toys)

@ajroach42@retro.social last yr.

@DrakkenZero I work with a recycler out of Kennesaw called TBF.

But they're pretty inconsistent.

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Federation Bot

@Federation_Bot last yr.

@ajroach42

Important questions I haven’t seen you ask yet -

1) how often do you anticipate wanting to use larger formats, and would it be enough to justify the additional infrastructure and logistics management to handle the paper and operational space of the larger printer?

2) is there a local (ish) print shop that could do those jobs?