Hey lemmy. I’ve been paying out of pocket to get stickers printed from online printing companies. But its getting expensive and I think I’d like to get a printer to do the job.

HOWEVER, I’ve been avoided getting a printer, because, well, the whole thing is just a shit show. Our household went through like a printer a year for almost four years. Between ink prices, and the printers just failing, we threw our hands up and said fuck it. Not playing this game, so we shifted to printing services or the local library.

So I’m looking for a very basic (I think?) printer. Honestly, a black only printer might even be fine. I’ve heard I think that maybe Canons or Brothers are the ones you want and HP’s are to be avoided. The purpose of the printer will be to print stickers on sticker paper. What printer should I buy?

  • AmbitiousProcess (they/them)@piefed.socialEnglish
    1·
    29 days ago

    Always get a printer that doesn’t require cartridges. They’re a locked-down, economically exploitative nightmare. Ink tank ones are best, always avoid HP, they’re just a horrible company. In my experience, Canon is good, but I haven’t tried every brand. Most ink tank printers support colors alongside black without being much more expensive, and I think it’s a good idea to have that option even if you don’t currently print with black.

    For stickers, a few bits of advice as someone who’s made their own stickers for a while:

    • If the stickers you’re making will ever have ANY contact whatsoever with water, use vinyl sticker paper. Regular sticker paper will let the water soak in and cause it to bleed, and even if it’s laminated with an adhesive laminate sheet on top, the water will just seep under. (you may still want to laminate vinyl sticker sheets though, as they can have that very slightly sticky texture of traditional glossy photo paper, which I personally find horrible to the touch)
    • Printers will use either pigment, dye, or a combination of both pigment and dye-based inks (e.g. dye-based for color, pigment-based for black. Pigment-based ink produces deeper blacks, so even if the rest of a printer’s ink is dye-based, the black will often be pigment-based). Not all vinyl sticker paper supports pigment or dye-based inks, so if you can, get a printer that uses all one kind. (pigment is usually more expensive, dye is usually cheaper. Dye produces more vibrant colors, pigment lasts longer, and is more water and UV resistant)
    • Most vinyl sticker paper supports pigment-based inks, some support both dye and pigment, and some only support dye. If the product listing or packaging doesn’t say which type it supports, avoid it. The last thing you want is a sheet of sticker paper that at least 1 entire color will always smudge off on. (I had the misfortune of getting sticker paper that supports all the color inks in my printer, but not the color black.)
    • If you plan on cutting the stickers yourself rather than with something like a Cricut machine, get both an Exacto knife and a good pair of scissors. Scissors for larger cuts (e.g. splitting a sheet into a grid), Exacto knife for rounded/custom shaped cuts, or if you just find it easier than scissors for some shapes. Fiskars’ scissors are great and last an incredibly long time in my experience, at least the titanium-coated ones. (the same pair has been in my house for probably at least 2 decades at this point)
    • Always let your sticker paper sit for at least 2-5 minutes after printing before doing anything to it. Even if you’re using the right kind of paper for the ink your printer has, there’s always a chance it can smudge a bit. You might need to tweak some printer settings if your paper always smudges to reduce the amount of ink being used when you print stickers.