4X6 large enough for on site printing?

[alann]

I will be doing a charity photo shoot of pets in Feb. The customers will get their dogs groomed and will have the opportunity to have their photos done afterwords. I want to offer "on the spot printing" and also direct them to my website to purchase additional photos if they wish to purchase more. I have the chance to purchase a The HiTi 640GALA printer. Since this printer only prints 4X6 I am looking for input regarding if this size is too small to offer at 2 for $10.00. Have been shooting for 2 years and have done some parties and events but, never on site printing. Please let me know what you think.

[jra]

IMO, I would offer something a bit larger. The 4x6 is such a common size that it kinda "tarnishes" the image, so to speak....a 5x7 or 8x10 would seem a bit more "special" to most people. Not to mention, 4x6's are advertised everywhere for .29 cents or less. That makes people associate them with "cheap".

[Old Coot]

At my school, we had a dance for the 3rd~6th grades. Probably 150 kids were there and a lot of thier parents stayed. I am not a photographer, I just like messing around. So, they asked a 'professional photographer' (long story...details later) to come out and take pictures. She set up her stuff and charged $5.00 for a 4x6 that was printed on an HP inkjet photo printer. She took at least 100 pictures and nobody seemed to complain.

[tkbslc]

Why that printer? It is like 4 years old. You can get a portable pixma for $100.

If you have access to power outlets, I might get a nice inkjet with an LCD screen and card reader or PICTbrigde and then you can print 8x10 or 5x7. You should be able to find one under $100. I can certainly vouch that any of the Canon Pixmas with 5 ink system can provide professional quality.

[amfoto1]

I'd much prefer to only offer 5x7 or 6x9 (with an option to put two 4x6 on the latter).

90% of people will only buy the smallest size you offer at the lowest price possible. If you didn't offer 4x6 at all, you can increase your profit and make much more professional looking prints. (Maybe it's just me, but 4x6 scream "amateur" to me.)

[dreamcatcher23]

No, don't bother with the HiTi. I seem to remember you have to snap off some perforations on that printer too, so it's a lot of work. Buy/rent a shinko printer, we use the 2145 and they're excellent, got a few now. They're also sold under the brandnames Olmec OP1000 and HiTi 710PL. We trialled the mitsubishis, citizen, fuji and shinko and went for the shinko due to quality, speed and price of prints, but to be honest any of these printers are great and are all better than the 6x4 hiti if you're serious about what you're doing. If you're not sure you'll be using it again, why not rent one?