[Charlotte]

I'm vaguely interested in having a go at printing a few A3's. Seen a couple of mentions of this on the site, i.e. members doing this at home, but wondered if it's worth it if one doesn't intend to do an awful lot of A3 prints

Like, what's the best printer/s for the job + for what sort of prices?

Also paper, I've never seen A3 photo paper for sale in the usual photo paper outlets, but then I haven't really looked TBH.

Any advice on this?

[P-E]

Only time I have had A3 prints is when Photobox have had offers on so I'm no help I'm afraid Charlotte

I'm not sure if Gary might print A3's and might be able to advise further.........think he's busy getting the flood pictures around here at the moment so drop him a PM if he misses this post

[stepheno]

It's horses for courses. If you only want an odd one now and then maybe Photobox at £5.99 per A3 print. If you do a lot then maybe it's worth buying the printer, paper and inks. I think Gary Bagshaw has just got a new A3 Canon printer so he might have some input.

Oh yes.....Amazon sell A3 photo paper, £18.72 for 10 sheets.

[Dabhand16]

I've seen A3 paper in Jessop's and PC world, but the selection of types is limited.

You can buy some fairly cheap A3 printers now, but I'm sure they are probably not as good as the more expensive ones. A3 printers are also a lot bigger than 'normal' printers, so are more difficult to accomodate.

When I got my first A3 prints from Photobox, I was surprised how small they were! I was kind of expecting a big difference from A4.

If I want enlargements I'm now going for A2 size, so I'm not particularly bothered about getting an A3 printer, but if I saw one at a bargain price I might be tempted.

As regards to quality, I think all of the main players will do a reasonable job, but Epson and Canon do seem to shave the tests.

I think over the next few years we will see the cost of A3+ printers come down as more people start to use them.

[Charlotte]

Thanks for the info guys

[Bundybear]

I bought a canon i9950 about two years ago and it is great. I dont do many A3 prints but it is handy at times. I know have an Epson 3800 which does A2 and up to a 1metre long....I find this much more versatile obviously. I have found specialty photographic printer businesses offer reasonably price prints at A3. Im in Australia so not point telling you how much they are. I would reccommend getting some done first and see if you like the size. They are not as big as what you may think, and an A3 printer is not much use if you want to print larger.....so I found out.

[Charlotte]

Cheers Bundybear

Originally Posted by Bundybear

... They are not as big as what you may think, and an A3 printer is not much use if you want to print larger.....so I found out.

Good thinking!

[KenCo]

I print A3, started with the Canon i9950 which was an excellent quality printer (until it developed a fault) and would have had another but they were discontinued and had to make do with the Epson R1800. I think the Canon was a better print (just) but the Epson can print pano's as it has a place at the rear for roll paper. A3 is double the size of A4 and I don't get asked for anything larger than this...so it does me. The printers themselves are expensive the Canon was about £450 and the Epson £350 (ish and about a year ago)...They both take 8 ink cartridges costing between £9 & £11 each for originals, however you can get compatibles for about £3 each although I don't use them so can't comment on quality. Paper can be bought from many places......PC world, warehouse express etc. costing about £20 for 50 sheets
If you are only doing a couple of prints, I don't think I'd bother....as running costs soon mount up.
HTH.
Ken.

[Dave Canon]

I have been printing A3 at home for 8 or 9 years now currently using an Epson 1270. Just because you have an A3 printer you do not have to always print out a full A3 size. Almost all of my prints are for competitons and are typically just less than A3 but larger than A4. One of the best printers currently is the Epson 2400 but is expensive to buy and run.

A better option, particuarly if you only need the occassional A3 is to use a commercial printer. I have been recommended the following two and I am about to try them out as my printer is now rather old and commercial might be a real alternative. Their charges are approximately half what is costs me.

Keynsham Photographics Digital and Film Processing Lab
ProAm Imaging professional photography prints

[Charlotte]

Thanks Ken + Dave for the info, + many thanks for the links Dave

[vin5518]

Got an HP1280 A3 printer from Ebay, good quality A3 and Panorama prints. A3 paper very expensive so bought a 44inch roll of matt paper from Epson - chop up to suit what size you want to print - stunning panos at up to 44 inch! on ly prob is no roll feeder so you have to feed in very accurately to avoid image running skewed. Inks are expensive so looking for good remanufactured cartridges or an automatic piped refill sytem.

[Gary Bagshawe]

If you are going to be doing a lot of A3 prints then I think that it is worth the investment, for around £400- £500 you can get a quality A3 printer, I currently use the Canon pro 9000 and get superb results. I have heard of clogging problems with the epson printers. If you are only going to be doing a few then I do not think that it will be worth the expense. I sell a fair few A3 prints so the printer effectively pays for itself. HTH