Maybe this should be in off-topic but I need a photographers knowledge. My wife works for a 3-D ultrasound company that takes entertainment pictures of unborn babies. What they do is take pictures with the ultrasound machine onto a CD. Then they put the CD in a regular PC and print pictures. First they used a regular ink jet on photo paper but speed and quality weren't that good. Next they tried a laser printer, however the ink would flake of the edges of the gloss paper. What is the best way to produce a high quality picture on gloss paper. Please give info on type of printer, paper and ink.

 

I prefer thermal, dye or wax based thermal color printers for color printing unless you can afford the same kind of equipment photolabs use which can cost as much as a car. With printing, you really just need to set a price of what you are willing to pay, then you can determine which technology will suit your needs. Since you need something with a quick turnaround, and the photos may be fairly private expect to buy a high quality ink based or laser color printer for between $1 and 5,000. You also need to be careful what type of paper you use to bond the ink with, which is why some of your photos lost quality or flaked off.

 

Edit: Never mind...haha, post above mine is much more informative...lol

 

Thanks! How about this, what would you recomend if spending $1000-$2000 or so. Printer, paper and ink.

 

A few I would recommend looking at are all various prices to give you flexibility:
Espon Stylus R2400 (inkjet)
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/c...s&oid=53540920

Dell 3100cn (laser)
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=221-6599

Xerox Phaser 6300 series (personal fave is phaser 7400) (solid ink)
http://www.office.xerox.com/color-printers/enus.html

Lexmark c762 (laser)
http://www.lexmark.com/lexmark/produ...en_0_1,00.html

Before choosing one, go to a retail store and look at sample prints to see which printer best suits your needs. Print quality can sometimes be quite subjective. As long as you don't see banding on the prints (for the inkjet) and are pleased with the color quality and saturation don't spend any more than you have to.

As for paper, if you use the manufacturer recommended type (not necessarily their brand), you should be okay. Hope that helps.

 

Thanks! Very informative and helpful!

 

Yeah, digital labs in photo labs cost more like a small house, though there are some new dry labs that are actually pretty good.

Ever try using the Kodak Professional inkjet paper? Dries instantly, bleed resistant (put it under running water) and looks pretty damn close to a real professional photo print.

 

OK, I found out what they are using, its a Lancer LP126. Whats the skinny on this thing?

 

Is this some sort of screen printer? I'm not sure.

 

I tried to google it with no luck... maybe my wife got the model # wrong. I'll look into it.