Gap in the Market for thick card Printers

Started by gameleaper, August 15, 2016, 12:10:46 AM

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gameleaper

I think there is a gap in the market for thick card printers and thick card sheets, this would make print on demand business companies successful, I would buy many items online if I could print on a decent card printer.

Staggerwing

Are you talking about cardstock? Any simple top-feeding printer will usually do a decent job of printing on most cardstock. Most printers nowadays have a paper tray just below the output, forcing the paper to bend 180 degrees around a roller but there are still a few out there (usually fairly cheap) that load from top and only bend the stock70 degrees or so (good for regular cardstock) and there are also a lesser number (usually cost ing a little more) that can load from the back of the machine (best). If you only use a cheap printer for your print-and-play jobs it could last a long time, though I would still print something each week just to keep the nozzles from clogging with dried ink.

The first top-or-rear-loading printers I'd look at would be Lexmark if your budget is small and top loading is ok. This one is just $20 US: Lexmark Inkjet Printer (Z1420) If you can spend more and want to print very thick cardstock  I'd go on to things such as the Canon PIXMA Pro-100 (about $380 US).

Whichever one you get, I recommend trying to load and print as few sheets at a time as possible, possibly even just one in the case of the really thick stuff.
Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa

Nothing really rocks and nothing really rolls and nothing's ever worth the cost...

"Don't you look at me that way..." -the Abyss
 
'When searching for a meaningful embrace, sometimes my self respect took second place' -Iggy Pop, Cry for Love

... this will go down on your permanent record... -the Violent Femmes, 'Kiss Off'-

"I'm not just anyone, I'm not just anyone-
I got my time machine, got my 'electronic dream!"
-Sonic Reducer, -Dead Boys

gameleaper

Thanks SW, that's really interesting about the roller bending the card, I have had a couple of cheap printers that printed on thinish card, but the results were always card, what I meant was like 3D printers have took off, a 2D thick card - maybe even with laser cutter but on a budget, why I think this would work is it would open up a big home printing market, can you imagine printing proper games out or a pack of glossy cards, or terrain for games, so I think a big world market would emerge selling quality home printable products but printers cheap just like satalite TV gives free dishes so you would pay to view TV , that sort of thing.

Staggerwing

A color printer/laser cutter is an interesting idea but I don't think there is a big enough market for the print-n-play IP to support making a production-grade combo laser/printer cheap. If it ever happens it's more likely someone will create one through open-source experimentation with printer parts, laser kits, arduino kits, and Raspberry Pi mini-computer boards. It's easier to source the printed stock from a prin shop and then run it through your own home-made CNC laser frame.
Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa

Nothing really rocks and nothing really rolls and nothing's ever worth the cost...

"Don't you look at me that way..." -the Abyss
 
'When searching for a meaningful embrace, sometimes my self respect took second place' -Iggy Pop, Cry for Love

... this will go down on your permanent record... -the Violent Femmes, 'Kiss Off'-

"I'm not just anyone, I'm not just anyone-
I got my time machine, got my 'electronic dream!"
-Sonic Reducer, -Dead Boys

gameleaper

If you think of todays printers is was not long ago when we could not print PDFs , and now its boomed , Maybe I'm wishfull thinking .