[TONEPUB]

Moderators, please move this if it shouldn't be here.  I wasn't sure, so I'm just posting away.

For anyone that would like to get into really large format digital printing,
I have a Roland FJ-52, hifi jet printer for sale.  I used to be in the digital
fine art printing business, but TONE takes too much of my life to do much
of this anymore.  The machine is in mint condition and I also have about
4000 dollars worth of watercolor and photo paper that will go along with it.

You could easily print for a year with all the media I have to go with.

New these printers were about 15 thousand dollars and it's built like a tank.

You can still get product, parts and ink from Roland directly.

I would like 3500 for the whole kit and caboodle.  I'd just like to see
it go to a good home and get some use.  If you live anywhere within
about 150 miles of Portland, Oregon Ill be happy to deliver it, otherwise
you need to make arrangements to pick it up.  Shipping would be prohibitive.

If you are interested, just PM me.

This machine makes fantastic prints and I have always been thrilled with
the results.  It's just a part of my life that I can't work in any more.

Thanks!

[nathanm]

I'm sure it would be best put in Trading Post, but I don't think it will cause any harm sitting here for a bit.  Just don't everybody turn this into a classified section, of course.  If anyone really objects I will gladly move it, but the Move This Topic checkbox looks so new and shiny, I don't wanna touch it just yet.  

For the record, if anyone else posts an ad for a big inkjet printer in Eye-Fidelity in the future you will be sent to the principal's office and a Sad Gram will be sent home to your wife or mother, if you have one.  Think how awful you'll feel then! tsk tsk...

[JohnR]

I could use a better printer that's for sure. But I'm a Honda Civic driver in a Toyota-lot kinda place...

Seriously, that sounds like a great deal for someone who is really serious about photography and printing. (And live in the right part of the world!) For me, the Epson R800 was kinda where I got to last time I looked at photo printers. Although I'm not sure it will be big enough. Haven't had time to look further recently.

[nathanm]

A printer is a pretty big commitment, mainly because if you don't use them on a regular basis they become boat anchors.  At least in my experience with Epsons.  The price to pay for getting nice and dry prints is that you've got these tiny bits of ink drying nice and fast inside your print head and clogging the works up.  I had a 1280 for awhile, got the bulk ink system and everything but I just wasn't feeding it prints on a daily basis.  The cyans plugged up and can't be revived.  The same exact setup at work which was pumping out color proofs daily only needed periodic maintainence and only now that we've got a big 9800 has the 1280 gotten plugged up.  (Wow is the 9800 ink expensive!  Yeeowza!)

If there's a good quality printer out there which can be printed on with weeks or months of inactivity inbetween and still work I'd love to hear what it is!  I think if I get another printer it won't be an Epson.

[TONEPUB]

Actually, I've had excellent luck with the Roland, now that I live in the pacific northwest.
When we lived in Phoenix, it was a lot more of a battle.

What I've found is the best thing to keep your inkjet printers running happily along is to
use some scrap paper and run about a 2 inch band of a rainbow/mixed color pattern every
week.  That uses way less ink than a cleaning operation and causes less wear and tear
on the heads...

As I used to write for about a dozen photography mags before I started TONE, I got
to test a lot of gear.  I found that all of the Epson printers using the first generation
Ultra Chrome inks were much more prone to clogging than anything else!

I'll miss making huge prints, but I just don't have the time any more!

If you guys need to move this post, no prob!  Thanks for the help...

Made a lot of award winning prints with this baby, so it has a lot of
good karma!