r/Printing

seriously though. every time a customer asks about the printing prcess and i say we use DTF, theres always that awkward pause. then i have to say "direct to film"real quick before their brain goes somewhere else. gets old fast

rant aside, been using it more often for small custom orders because screen printing just doesnt make sense for runs under 24 pieces.

wish there was a better name for this technology tbh. like someone dropped the ball on branding. anyway just something i think about while waiting for transfers to show up

whats your weirdest customer interaction regarding printing terminology

I’m honestly getting tired of how misleading the entry-level print equipment market has become.

If a sticker making machine cannot maintain consistent alignment across a normal production run, it should not be marketed as “small business ready.” Period.

People save for months to start a side hustle, buy one of these machines after watching polished YouTube reviews, and then spend the next three weeks fighting crooked cuts, tracking drift, random software crashes, and wasted vinyl.

That is not “part of the learning process.” That is bad equipment being oversold.

I learned this the hard way helping a friend with a small label project. First ten sheets looked acceptable. After that, registration slowly drifted until every cut was visibly off-center. We recalibrated multiple times, changed lighting, changed settings, restarted software, replaced blades. Same problem.

Meanwhile the product page showed perfect contour cuts like it came from a commercial print shop.

What made me suspicious was noticing the exact same machine body being sold under different names everywhere online. Different logos, same buttons, same shell, same sample photos. Eventually I found almost identical listings on Alibaba with bulk pricing and rebranded packaging options.

Again, that alone does not mean bad quality. Some imported equipment is perfectly fine.

But companies need to stop pretending hobby-grade consistency equals production-grade reliability.

If a machine cannot run accurately for several hours without babysitting, then it is not commercial equipment. Calling it “business ready” just because it technically prints stickers is nonsense.

People deserve realistic expectations before wasting money and material.

im editing photos on my laptop for a few months now and they look great on the screen. colors are nice and contrast looks good then i tried printing a couple at a local store and they came out way darker and kinda muddy like totally different. made me feel like i dont know what im doing. is this just a bad lab or am i missing something with color profiles or calibration? i use a pretty basic monitor but gives same output when its on my laptop screen. what do you guys look for when picking a print lab? like what makes them actually accurate.

https://preview.redd.it/cvfo03ulfg2h1.png?width=1600&format=png&auto=webp&s=7502fd6706c539f0920ee6c9fe0fddd475556aa9

Hello, does anyone know what kind of paper this is? I have been looking for this type of paper. When it comes to thinness, I guess it is similar to a fancy paper that is used at the bottom of the cake. Or a Chinese calligraphy paper? I'm not sure.. I don't have this kind of calendar to compare anymore..

Thanks in advance!

Les comparto mi ultimo trabajo en 3DPEN

I run a non profit, and we are not getting good print quality with our newsletters. It seems to be have small white horizontal lines on our images. The 'print check' on the printers always comes out perfect. I just talked to canon support, and they suggested using photo payer. Photo paper is way too expensive for our newsletter.

So, where would you upgrade this process? I am curious is there is a more affordable paper that would give us better results.

The details:

Our mailings are 7500 printed pages (front and back) photos mixed with text.

We use Canon Maxify GX7021 refillable ink-jet printers.

We buy the printer paper from Costco "Advantage Premium Bright Ink Jet and Laser Paper, 8.5"x11" Letter, White, 24lb, 97 Bright"

Suggestions!?

A few related questions. Many people say 300 PPI is good enough for printing photos. Is that good enough to be called gallery quality (not that my photos are gallery quality)? At what printing resolution does the grain become visible in scanned 120 film? Thank you all.

EDIT: I mean DPI, not PPI, sorry!

I want to make custom playing cards! I'm just not sure what's the best way to go about it with the paper, I want something that still feels good to play with and almost feels natural, I have an HP smart tank 6000 series (not sure if this I for helps I'm new to using a printer for more thank just work). Open to any ideas and wanted to get ideas from others

Hi everyone,

I am starting a small design and print setup in Finland and I am trying to build a reliable paper stock for short-run products.

My printer is an Epson EcoTank ET-8550. I mainly want to print small batches of:

• Postcards
• Business cards
• Loyalty cards
• Small posters / art prints
• Menus / flyers
• Greeting cards
• Product inserts
• Stickers later, but paper/card stock is the main question now

I am looking for inkjet-friendly paper available in Europe, ideally in both matte and gloss/semi-gloss finishes.

The weights I am mainly interested in are:

• 160 gsm for flyers, inserts, light menus, folded material
• 200 gsm for postcards, greeting cards, thicker menus, small prints
• 250-300 gsm for premium postcards, business cards, tags and thicker cards

I recently bought Pro-Design 160 gsm matte, 200 gsm matte and 300 gsm matte to test, but I am not sure if this is the best long-term stock for inkjet production, especially for colour accuracy, drying, scratching and double-sided printing. In addition 300gsm turned out to be less thick than i expected.

What paper brands or product lines would you recommend stocking in Europe for an Epson ET-8550?

I would especially appreciate suggestions for:

1. Reliable matte inkjet paper/card around 160, 200 and 300 gsm
2. Good gloss or satin/semi-gloss inkjet paper/card in similar weights
3. Paper that works well for double-sided postcards/business cards
4. European suppliers or brands that sell in practical quantities, not only tiny photo packs
5. Any paper types I should avoid on this printer

I am not trying to compete with industrial print shops. This is more for short-run design + print work, samples, prototypes, small business orders and local clients.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations or real-world experience.

im running a small business and just started printing logos on different products like shirts and bags to build more brand awareness. it feels like a good way to get the name out without big campaigns.

ordered through promopal and they handled the printing well with quick turnaround on the custom stuff. what can i do after getting these products to make the most of them like giving them out at events or selling them and any ideas on tracking if it helps the business grow?

We’re trying to print on vellum envelopes (something like that picture) for our wedding stationery and we’re having a difficult time printing on them and finding a place that will print on vellum. We tried Catprint but the vellum option was too opaque for what we wanted.

My partner has laser printers at work but the envelopes keep getting jammed, the ink streaky and inconsistent, and the settings can’t be changed so they’re often misaligned.

We’re seeing that we could maybe bring the envelopes to FedEx or Staples to print. Does anyone have experience with that? Or any other companies, recommendations for vellum printing? We’re also located in NYC if there’s any local print shops in the area.

https://preview.redd.it/o2pieau41b2h1.jpg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e861f79a2ce6e848f246f00005f8c2171b3fdd10

So I've got to print 50 posters over the next few days and the paper I've ordered to print on is "PPD A4 Inkjet Matt Photo Paper 230gsm Super Heavy", the printers my uni has (which I intend to use to print) are "HP Color LaserJet Managed MFP E78325d." The paper is said to be versatile but I noticed one says inkjet and one says laserjet. Will I run into any problems trying to print on this paper? If, yes any solutions? Thanks.

Edit: I realise now of course I will because one is inkjet and one is laserjet. I have a HP Smark Tank 5107 at home, how would that perform with a large print load?

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?

Hello! I’m a school-based SLP located in an inner-city district. Despite having plenty of money for nonsense, our district never seems to have money for things we actually need. That being said, my school doesn’t have color printing and admin is restricting paper use. I would like to buy my own printer to bypass all the absurdities of this situation. Can anyone provide recommendations for color printers that don’t burn through ink like it’s their job? I don’t mind spending a bit more on a printer if it means I don’t have to keep replacing and replenishing my ink cartridges every couple of weeks. Thanks!