Attached Link: http://www.cathiebrock.co.uk

I am just starting out into doing photographs for functions and am looking for a photo printer, good quality.  with size options up to A5, money is not a problem.
Need one to do heavy duty printing, and where is the best place to purchase one.  

Can anyone help.

I am based in Essex,  Britain,  would be very grateful..

Thanks in advance   Cath :)

Sorry Guys  I meant A3 size...

Cath :)

Hi Cathie,

There's probably not enough information there to give any specific advice. 
You say 'functions'  does this mean event photography ?
Are you looking to print on site ? 
Most event photographers use a dye sub printer - it is fast, reliable,  easier to calculate costs and has the advantage that prints are robust.   The Kodak and Mitsubishi ranges are well thought of. 

Nearest place for you to look at professional supplies is http://www.photomart.co.uk/

hth
R

Thanks Onslow, yes it will be for Event photography,  I really appreciate the help...

Cath :)

I see that puzzler was trying to confuse me by talking about,

A3 size...

Google helped me find "Weights and Sizes of Papers". 

Just for our reference, I'll quote a bit of that page ...

Metric  Nearest US Equivalent
Name  mm         inches         Name        inches
====  =========  =============  ==========  =============

A8     53 x  74   2.07 x  2.91  Bus. card    2    x  3.5
A7     74 x 105   2.91 x  4.13  3 x 5        3    x  5
A6    105 x 148   4.13 x  5.83  Microfiche   4.13 x  5.83
A5    148 x 210   5.83 x  8.27  5 x 8        5    x  8
A4    210 x 297   8.27 x 11.69  A            8.5  x 11
A3    297 x 420  11.69 x 16.54  B           11    x 17

OK ... Now I know what you are talking about. 

A3 would be a little larger than 11 x 17. 

I have a Canon PIXMA IP5000 (and like it a lot) ... so I tend to suggest
a Canon printer. 

The Canon PIXMA Pro9000 (US) also Canon PIXMA Pro9000 (UK)...

Paper Sizes: Letter, Legal, 4"x 6", 4"x 8", 5"x 7", 8"x 10", 13"x 19", U.S. #10 Envelopes

Number of Nozzles: 768 x 8 colors (Photo Bk, C, M, Y, PC, PM, R, G); Total: 6,144

Print Resolution (Up to): Black: 4800 x 2400 dpi; Color: 4800 x 2400 dpi

MSRP $500 ... but available for $380 to $420 ... on the 'net. 

Here is a UK review that gives the price as  £296  (£347 inc VAT). 

You'll need to search for the best price. 

HTH

--
Martin

Many  thanks Martin, will have a look, this is wonderful...:) Thank  you again...

Cath :)

I see that puzzler responded by saying,

this is wonderful ...

So are the images in your gallery here and also in your external gallery. 

Thanks. 

BTW, I forgot to mention that the Canon PIXMA Pro9000 has 8 ink tanks
-- this means that when one ink runs out, you need only replace that
specific ink ... you save some money that way. 

With that 8 color system (Photo Bk, C, M, Y, PC, PM, R, G), you should
see a better color gamut than with the usual CMYK scheme. 

The printer has a flat feed and is capable of printing on speciality art
papers up to 1.2mm thick. 

I'm interested in hearing what you decide.  Please let us know

--
Martin

Like Martin, I choose for Canon printers, respecting of course that other people prefer other brands.
I now have an A4 (8.5 x 11 inches) i950 with six colors and I'm very happy with it. Even after two months of non-activity it hasn never let me down.

My wish for later this year is the Pixma9000.
The 9500 has even more inks and uses a different kind of ink, but, like the Epson I had, it tends to dry in the nozzles if you don't use it very regularly.
The main advantage for me is the thickness of paper you can use.
A second advantage is that you're not even limited to A3 but A3+ can be printed on it. This means:

A3+ = 329mm483mm (1319inch).

I've been to a Canon demonstration day, and although the 9500 has grey inks, the 9000 did a very impressive job when it comes to black and white prints. I could not see any coloured hue  on it. I asked for a print on a watercolour paper of 300grs and despite the lack of profile for it, the result needed fine-tuning but not more than that.

It also comes with software that integrates very well with PS.

The disadvantage: like all printers, the inks come with a price-tag...

To be more complete: several people I know prefer the HP. It seems to be the cheapest (per print) and of very high quality.
It is not because I have had a bad expeience with HP and Epson that these brands are less good.

I'm not a Canon shareholder!

The Canon printers mentioned above are excellent, I own and use one for home printing. 

Careful consideration needs to be given to what use the printer is to be put.

If producing large numbers of prints on an ink jet printer, an ink flow system will be far more economical than buying cartridges.

Thank you I have learrned a lot...and once again thanks for you help...

Cath :)

Careful with the Canon inkjet printers, they don't all use archival inks. For events, your best bet is a small portable dye-sub printer. Canon, Kodak, Olympus and others make some nice dye-subs. You could give out business cards to costumers that want larger prints. p.s. later this year Zink will be selling their inkless printers. check them out at www.zink.com

I see that Radlafx raised this concern,

Careful with the Canon inkjet printers, they don't all use archival inks.

I rechecked the specifications for the Canon PIXMA Pro9000 ...

Quoting from the Canon PIXMA Pro9000 'Overview' tab ...

"The PIXMA Pro9000's ChromaLife100 system combines the benefits
of dye-based ink, Canon photo paper and FINE print head technology
to produce long-lasting, beautiful prints." 

When reading the Canon PIXMA Pro9000 'Supplies & Accessories' tab ...

All of the inks listed are "CLI-8" inks. 

The Canon web site has statements about the ChromaLife100 system ...

ChromaLife100 compliant ink types: CLI-8, CL-41/51/52 and BCI-16

100 years in an album

30 years lightfast

I read that to mean that the Canon PIXMA Pro9000 is capable of
producing archival quality prints. 

--
Martin

@MGD. That's what i meant. Only the (extremely) top end and latest printers use archival inks. Artists usually prefer Epson for this reason

@Radlafx

Yes, you're right ... of the Canon printers recently mentioned ...

PIXMA IP5000 ... non-archival

PIXMA IP4500 ... for photo printing, it uses ChromaLife 100 inks but the product description does not say archival quality ... I'll call them tomorrow to get clarification. 

PIXMA Pro9000 ... archival quality. 

I don't remember which others might have been mentioned recently ... but if someone has a question about that for a specific model, I'll check their web site and report. 

--
Martin

To confuse the issue some more anything by Epson is great lol particularly with their new inks.
I can't remember the model number of the particular one I'm thinking of but they have a good web site.
Remember Epson!!  :-)

No I don't work for them but I do use them.

*"anything by Epson is great"

*Wot even the RD1 ?  

lol

http://www.trustedreviews.com/digital-cameras/review/2005/11/08/Epson-R-D1-Digital-Rangefinder-Camera/p1

Oh I see you meant printers!

Yeah their printers are great

Lol Yeah mate the printers LMAO!! maybe I should have been mote specific !