u/Big-Sherbet2831

Hey there. Im an artist that likes to print most of my art from home and have had good success with my approach for at-home printing. The problem is, I've been bottlenecked at 8.5x11 and as a tattooer, I'd like to be able to print flash-sheet sized prints of my work up to small poster sizes (11x14 to 16x20).

It doesnt have to be insanely high quality, as a matter of fact, the more diy-looking, the better.

Ive been seeing some large format printers on marketplace that are going for as cheap as $150, with some needing their printing heads replaced, but the better ones are going for $350 and up.

Otherwise, Ive been having to go to fedex and they seriously charge and arm and a leg for scanning and printing.

Are large format printers a pain in the ass? or a good investment for consistently larger printing options?

I had/have been taking 30mg Vyvanse XR as prescribed full time last year, for 6-8 months straight. During that time, I noticed how much of my life had gotten better: I was more engaged, aware, my mood leveled out, my libido increased and felt more consistent, I was able to be more present with work. Everything just seemed to be better, and I had minimal side effects until the dry mouth I kept getting towards the tail end was so bad that I ended up getting two cavities(!) (despite xylitol gum, biotene, dry mouth mints, endless amounts of sipping water) so I stopped taking it to get my body back on track, on top of insurance issues -- the insurance issues was a huge problem because I had to actually stop taking it once I was completely out, and the post acute withdrawal syndrome had me SO, so so so exhausted for two months after ceasing it.

The two months I stopped taking it had me *scared*, because my lethargy, lack of motivation and every other issue came flooding back and it felt like I was in such a horrid brain fog that was 10x worse than just simply being my unmedicated "normal" self. The brain fog had my job in jeopardy because I was not getting any work done either. No amount of caffeine would save me, either. As a side note, Wellbutrin and straterra did not help me at all. As a matter of fact, wellbutrin made me feel emotionally flat, uncreative and my libido completely went away.

All of this made me realize how dependent on insurance I am and how any given moment that I might not have access to it, and because of how expensive it is out of pocket, how much my dopamine receptors take to bounce back to "normal unmedicated adhd self", just a slew of other things really makes me feel so conflicted on continuing taking this medication.

I also feel sort of like I became dependent on the person I was with the medication... like, without it, how can I continue to go through life without it? Even though I was toootally able to be my unmedicated self, my life was for sure objectively a lot harder to go through, but now its just totally hard for me to not feel attached to that medicated version of me.

Hopefully all of this makes sense. Ive been going through these strange ebbs and flows of reasoning, uncertainty, self doubt and frustration and Im wondering if anyone can help console me or if anyone relates.

ETA: maybe crony-ism is the right word? or Favoritism? But I mean nepotism in the sense of providing outright advantageous opportunities to people who are underqualified. Google is giving me two different definitions of nepotism.

I have been tattooing for about 4 years now. My clients are happy and I'd like to think I am a decent tattooer, a good friend to many and show up the best I can to tattooing. I do guest spots when I can afford to, and Im trying my best to keep up with events and/or networking with other tattooers in town.

One thing Im sincerely blown away by is it seems like nepotism feels just blatant now more than ever to the point where it seems disrespectful lol ... Im seeing people who are objectively bad at tattooing with mediocre work or subject matter, in addition to poorly executed tattoos.

These people are being invited to those invite-only conventions or are somehow a part of a popular shop with world class artists, quality guest artists coming through, high walk-ins, good location, etc. etc.

I should state the obvious and say that I know the difference between a folky, fast n' loose artist who is trendy, popular on social media artist that generates a ton of money for a shop vs an actual, legitimately mediocre tattooer.

What's frustrating is that I'll do the tattooer thing -- keep my head down, stay hungry and humble, get tattooed, network around town and be friendly, and most importantly try to do good work and learn. But I cant say it doesn't make me feel good to see how Im showing up and trying my best to learn and grow, while people who somehow have an in to some prestigious shops and access to world class artists, high walk-in shops just to do objectively shitty work that theyre somehow proud of and the shop is okay with having.

Venting because Im having a really hard time paying bills while watching people who have been tattooing the same or less time than me and not giving a fuck about the quality of their work just somehow have keys to every opportunity because they're good at said brown nosing.