I have a portrait photography studio and would like to start offering water color prints and note cards for my clients when I photograph them. Just needed some help on what inkjet printer would be the best for me to start out with.

Thanks
Bridgett

welcome to RetouchPRO, bridgeph!

generally speaking, any decent 'photographic quality' inkjet printer from HP or Epson is going to do the trick for you. however, you didnt mention the size of your prints. do you only want up to like an 81/2 x 11, or do you want larger?

also, a 'watercolor' effect isnt going to be accomplished with the printer so much, but with graphic editing software. you edit the print in photoshop or paint shop pro (or comparable) and the printer just prints what it sees, regardless of the effect you've done in the editor. so again, any good inkjet type printer from Epson or HP is going to do the job.

also, and again, just generally speaking, what you want for truer photo quality prints from an inkjet, is one with more than 2 ink cartridges. the 2 cartridge type do a basic cmyk printing where the better ones do 7 color or even 9 color and use more types of cartidges, using cmyk AND rgb combined, giving you a better gamut of colors. the 2 cartridge ones are fine for home picture types, but for commercial i'd go with a better one.

i'm currently only using a 'home' type with 2 cartridges, so i dont currently have a specific brand or model i'd recommend. i do know that epson and hp are in a bit of a 'true color and resolution' war at the moment and who happens to have the best at any given moment seems to vary. but, from what i've seen personally and what i've read, those are the two companies to look at and compare.

if at all possible, get to a store that offers both and have the sales person run some demos for you. i know Staples, for instance, will allow you to bring in a cd or ram stick and let you upload your own images onto their printers so that you can print and compare on the spot. and that, in the final analysis, is what counts, you seeing for yourself.

craig

A watercolor effect is also affected by the type paper you print on. For art prints, look for the specialty papers such as silk and canvas. I've used so really great paper from a company called Pictorio who offer a very nice water color card stock.