My Prized Possession: Canon Prograf 1000
Fellow artists tend to ask me the same question pretty often: “What printer do you use?” When considering printing your own prints, I completely understand the stress behind choosing the printer that’s best for you. For a while, I outsourced and had my prints printed at a small printshop in upstate New York. I eventually made the decision however, that since I would be printing prints fairly often, it may be the appropriate time for me to make an investment in my very own printer.
I’d like to preface this by saying I understand having the ability to invest in your own printer is a privilege. We all have to start somewhere and there is no shame in wherever you are within your journey! Remember, there’s no standard pace at which your journey has to move. This is your path and yours only. For those looking for alternatives, the print shop I used when starting off was catprint.com! The quality was top notch as was the delivery!
If you’ve decided that you would like to make the investment, I’d recommend considering a few things before doing so. For example, it’s important to consider how much you’ll be printing. In simplest terms, the printer wasn’t cheap. My purchase was made from Amazon which was about $1,300 (excluding tax + insurance). Additionally, my ink cartridges usually last me for about 2-3 months worth of printing and replacing them costs about $700 for all 12. As a result, it’s crucial to determine whether you will still be able to generate a profit given these fixed and variable costs. If you only print every so often, I’d recommend continuing to outsource or taking a look at more affordable options.
While looking for a printer, I had a (very short) list of non-negotiables. It went as follows:
Can print full color images
Can print various sizes
Can print on luster or matte paper
After watching a ton of printer videos on YouTube, I came across the Canon Prograf 1000. It met all of my requirements and more! To my surprise, the printer did not use the standard 4 ink cartridges, nor was it the 7 ink cartridges that some other art printers had. The Canon Prograf 1000 uses a total of 12 cartridges so that it can product gallery level prints in full color. If that wasn’t enough, the machine was able to print on paper up to 17 inches in width. As a result, I was able to start printing 17x22’ prints all on demand! Lastly, while I was looking to print on luster or matte paper, I eventually learned that the printer had the capability to print on over 15 different kinds of paper. I was sold.
Having a printer on hand has been extremely beneficial for multiple reasons. For one, I’m able to print and fulfill orders on demand. This means I can print as orders come in rather than having to stock up on prints. By printing on demand, I do not have to worry about inventory loss. The costs of creating and packaging the prints are also fairly low which enables me to maximize my profit margin. Additionally, it is convenient given the frequent and sporadic pop-up shops that I am booked for. In cases where I’d normally have to order in advance and factor in production + delivery times, I can instead print the quantity needed within shorter time frames. Lastly, the ability to print on demand has enabled me to minimize error.
My decision to purchase my printer was the result of a $900 order gone wrong. I must say, it was in fact my fault. The print shop offered the option to have sample prints first delivered for approval. Sample prints would have ensured that I was satisfied with the quality (color, size, paper type, etc) of how the entire order would turn out. Because I was on a time crunch and had experience outsourcing in the past, I opted out of option to have sample prints delivered before approving the entire order. Let’s just say I learned the hard way.
The orders I printed looked nothing how I was expecting them to because the color shown on a device screen was not the color that would translate onto prints in real life. I was devastated and my bank account was $900 short. From there, I knew that if I planned to continue producing new designs to print, having a printer of my own would allow me to make the necessary edits from my own computer to ensure my printer would print appropriately. In the end, this ended up saving me a ton of time, money all by decreasing the room for error.
My Canon Program 1000 has come in handy to say the least! It has so many features that I had no clue existed and it’s been a game changer in providing my customers with vibrant, quality prints!