I am looking to buy a color inkjet or laser printer to make outdoor stickers (vinyl, mylar or polyester). Under $500, the more under the better. Printer has to have at least average to above average print quality for graphics. Printer must connect to PC by some sort of cables (I do not use WiFi). Printer must be compatible with XP Pro. I am slowly in transition to Linux, but that may take a couple years (even longer to learn GIMP), so it must work with XP Pro. The stickers will be mostly for my use, but I may occasionally do small-lot (under 500 stickers) custom orders to pay for the ink and such. Strictly an amateur operation here, so I will not be doing any major investment in equipment. Think home office...not printshop. If you know of any printers that fit the requirements, please advise brands/model numbers, and I will certainly look into them. Suggested printers need to be currently available in the USA please. Thanks for any help.
-
I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...
Suggestions Recommendations of home office printers that do stickers/decals?
- Thread starter newguy96
- Start date
backwoodsgirl
New Member
Outdoor printed decals will need laminated, and I don’t know of anything in that price range that will cut after being removed from the machine.
letterman7
New Member
You've got a lot of limitations that you just can't do for $500. Like Gino said, get them done at Staples or even a FedEx office (ours has their own "sign" shop). It's not just the printer - you can find used ones on eBay for under a grand - it's the materials that go with them; ink, laminate and the printable vinyls themselves. Then you'll need something to contour cut the decals with - anything other than a square contour will be a nightmare to cut by hand.
Honestly you could probably get a decent toner based printer and just buy label sheets from Online Labels.com. We still buy materials from them sometimes to run on our digital presses because you can buy precut sheets of labels by the sheet, which can be a lot easier and more cost effective for short runs of custom jobs.
Inkjet won't give you the durability you need for outdoor.
Inkjet won't give you the durability you need for outdoor.
JR's
New Member
PrimsJET VJ24, made exclusively for SignWarehouse, is a 24" color printer, and offers many outstanding features:
it is only over your budget by $900. so it is close. just save up the differences.
https://www.signwarehouse.com/c/prismjet-vj-24-large-format-color-printer
it is only over your budget by $900. so it is close. just save up the differences.
https://www.signwarehouse.com/c/prismjet-vj-24-large-format-color-printer
dypinc
New Member
And neither will a toner based printer.
Superior_Adam
New Member
He said $500 not $5,000. This model is $5,995 so this would be $5,495 over his budget. Then would need a laminator and cutter.
There is not way of printing outdoor durability labels on a $500 budget. Outsource these to a sign shop and be done.
WildWestDesigns
Active Member
As a huge Linux person myself (all my bare metal installs are some flavor of Linux) and from the language that I'm getting in the first post (trying to do everything on the cheap, which I would assume means that you want to future proof yourself even with this sub $500 purchase) your looking at the HP family of printers. HP support in Linux with regard to printers is the best out there for having a better out of the box experience more often then not. I know your 2 yrs out from total transition (from what you are thinking), but from the vibe I'm getting in your post, I don't think you are wanting to revisit this discussion in 2 yrs time.
Otherwise, you'll be looking at manually configuring printers to work more often then not. Not something that is extremely Herculean by any means, but again from the language in your first post, I don't think you want to deal with that. That may be further limiting.
I would caution about being too cheap. It's one thing to keep your mind on a budget, but when get so obsessed with where to cut costs and just being gung ho cheap, it typically comes at a "price" that affects the hobby/business or whatever happen to be talking about. You say think "home office", I think along the lines of disposable printers at that stage.
This isn't getting into the complication of the XP compatibility with current new printers.
Otherwise, you'll be looking at manually configuring printers to work more often then not. Not something that is extremely Herculean by any means, but again from the language in your first post, I don't think you want to deal with that. That may be further limiting.
I would caution about being too cheap. It's one thing to keep your mind on a budget, but when get so obsessed with where to cut costs and just being gung ho cheap, it typically comes at a "price" that affects the hobby/business or whatever happen to be talking about. You say think "home office", I think along the lines of disposable printers at that stage.
This isn't getting into the complication of the XP compatibility with current new printers.
JR's
New Member
my bad I read it as $5000. sorry
JasonToledo
New Member
Get a Epson 1430, go to photo paper direct. They have sticker sheets. Get a cameo cutter. Might be a little over budget though.
As others have said, just outsourcing will be easiest. But if you have to do it yourself, and you can live with standard label sizes, ordering from onlinelabels.com and printing with a normal printer will be cheapest. To make them "outdoor durable" you can always rattle can over them. Though you may spend hundred of dollars experimenting on a combination of printers, labels, and spray paint trying to find a system that works.
$500 is tight.
if he goes to ebay, and is careful (& lucky)...
epson inkjet prints on vinyl (buy it new, printer like this are like cars, no one sells because it is running too smoothly)
last week i bought a roland sticka 8 on ebay for $149. works like a champ.
liguid laminate from harbor sales, or
https://www.amazon.com/Xyron-Applic...0&sr=1-3-fkmr0&keywords=yescom+cold+laminator
in fact, why not
$200 for an epson 7600 ultrachrome
$135 for a yescom $24" cold laminator
& something like my gerber tempo 600 i paid $200 for on ebay
realistically, a $750 budget allowing a couple hundred for supplies
i keep an ebay search list i run EVERY DAY (then all the same items on craigslist.org)
it wouldn't be my perfect setup, if he threw caution to the wind & upped the budget to $1000 i might have different recommendations.
if he goes to ebay, and is careful (& lucky)...
epson inkjet prints on vinyl (buy it new, printer like this are like cars, no one sells because it is running too smoothly)
last week i bought a roland sticka 8 on ebay for $149. works like a champ.
liguid laminate from harbor sales, or
https://www.amazon.com/Xyron-Applic...0&sr=1-3-fkmr0&keywords=yescom+cold+laminator
in fact, why not
$200 for an epson 7600 ultrachrome
$135 for a yescom $24" cold laminator
& something like my gerber tempo 600 i paid $200 for on ebay
realistically, a $750 budget allowing a couple hundred for supplies
i keep an ebay search list i run EVERY DAY (then all the same items on craigslist.org)
it wouldn't be my perfect setup, if he threw caution to the wind & upped the budget to $1000 i might have different recommendations.
WildWestDesigns
Active Member
Y'all do realize that he is planning on switching platforms? Some of these printers suggested (while may be good suggestions given the budget) will not exactly yield the same results once he switches platforms (if he still does switch)? Some of the printers won't have drivers written by the vendors, as such, they won't have the same level of versatility as they would given the effort that vendors put in to making them work on Windows and Mac.
That means the OP better be planning on re-thinking this question when he totally migrates over to the new platform.
For those that suggested cutters, any type of cutter would more then likely have to be manually configured unless it's available in the Inkcut plugin or a Cameo (that seems to have been specifically targeted in it's own plugin). While CoCut works in Inkscape, I don't know if it works on the Linux variant. So any cutter that he does get, he would need to make sure that it works within that plugin for easiest transition. Otherwise, it's manual configuration and then setting up the file manually to have the cutter do all the specialty functions that a driver would normally automatically handle (overcut etc)
That means the OP better be planning on re-thinking this question when he totally migrates over to the new platform.
For those that suggested cutters, any type of cutter would more then likely have to be manually configured unless it's available in the Inkcut plugin or a Cameo (that seems to have been specifically targeted in it's own plugin). While CoCut works in Inkscape, I don't know if it works on the Linux variant. So any cutter that he does get, he would need to make sure that it works within that plugin for easiest transition. Otherwise, it's manual configuration and then setting up the file manually to have the cutter do all the specialty functions that a driver would normally automatically handle (overcut etc)
my point was that is entirely possible, on a $500-$750 budget to be in a position to print/cut labels with equipment that runs on xp. WHICH IS WHAT HE ASKED FOR. the migrating to linux is not my ax to grind. if we chooses to go ahead with one of my plans, i will offer my help in anyway i can (done this many times)
there are plenty of ~$200 plotters on ebay. they may need some maintenance & cleanup (we call this "sweat equity") if it has to be absolutely turnkey, my ideas will not work for him. then you guys are right, impossible
there are plenty of ~$200 plotters on ebay. they may need some maintenance & cleanup (we call this "sweat equity") if it has to be absolutely turnkey, my ideas will not work for him. then you guys are right, impossible
WildWestDesigns
Active Member
He asked for under $500, the more the better. I would take it that the budget's top end is $500 at best.
Unless he is wanting to revisit the printer issue down the line, to me, future proofing it would be more economical. "Sweat equity" goes up quite a bit if not thinking about future proofing and still wanting to use what was chosen, as far as brands go and changing platforms. Some are much better, not so much on the older ones (which would fit with the XP necessity as of right now).
Take out the changing of the platforms, keeping the XP box until it totally craps out, his choices go up.
To me, it's too much thinking in the now, unless this is going to be approached again sometime up to 2 yrs from now (I don't know, that wasn't mentioned in the original post, I tend to error on the side of caution with variables). To me, sub $500 is disposable printer territory (new or used), I would revisit it, but with some of the language that was used in the original post, I'm unsure. I'm unsure how much "sweat equity" he is able to put into it due to knowledge base (again give by some of the language used).
I use Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic Coating Aerosol Spray on posters I make, and haven't had any problem finding automatic sticker cutters to research. Finding a decent printer is all I need help with.