Discussion · bonfire.cafe

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?

Adrian McEwen

@amcewen@mastodon.me.uk · 7 months ago

@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 (Television Executive)

@ajroach42@retro.social · 7 months ago

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 (Television Executive)

@ajroach42@retro.social · 7 months ago

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 · 7 months ago

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

Andrew (Television Executive)

@ajroach42@retro.social · 7 months ago

@DoctorDeathray Oh?

Susanna the Artist 🌻

@superflippy@mastodon.xyz · 7 months ago

@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 (Television Executive)

@ajroach42@retro.social · 7 months ago

@superflippy any suggestions on a make/model?

The VHS Wizard 🦝📼🧙

@DrakkenZero@retro.pizza · 7 months ago

@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 (Television Executive)

@ajroach42@retro.social · 7 months ago

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

But they're pretty inconsistent.

The VHS Wizard 🦝📼🧙

@DrakkenZero@retro.pizza · 7 months ago

@ajroach42 Sometimes I get lucky at the flea markets or the Goodwill Outlet, but I have not found a place near me that reliably has stuff I'm interested in... but honestly it's for the best right now because we're also running a very small nursing home out of our house at this point and most of my stuff is in storage until things change.

But I was watching a thing last night about intentionally-bricked Google Jamboards and it made me salivate a little bit.

Andrew (Television Executive)

@ajroach42@retro.social · 7 months ago

@DrakkenZero They don't have like a sales floor or anything. They just email me when they have something they think I want.

Mostly I don't want it.

But every once in a while I'll snag something like 40 x86_64 stick PCs, or a bucket of thinkpads or 6 55" android tablets.

I should ask them if they have any plotters.

Federation Bot

@Federation_Bot · 7 months ago

@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?