How much did Dale's 1st Tablet PC system cost?

 

My convertible Tablet PC is a factory re-furbished 2004 Toshiba. I hope to get a new one soon mainly because it makes me a little nervous to have only one. Whatever you buy, keep it under warranty (pay to renew a service protection plan) and get it covered for theft & accidental damage (not part of the standard warranty). A Tablet PC is not a notebook & separate tablet system. The tablet is built into the entire screen and the tablet feature is always active. It comes with a stylus, of course. Take care of it. Replacement styluses are pricey. I use the Canon ip90 portable battery powered 8.5" x 11" photo printer (about $250.oo). The battery system & bluetooth wireless kit are  separate purchases. There may be one or two other brands of comparable printers. I don't know more than that about that question. I don't normally use a camera. I waited several months before I had the bucks & courage to buy a projector. I got an Acer for maybe $800.oo. I shopped around for that the same way I did for the PC. A year later I bought a $70.oo portable screen. Maxing out the Ram, buying extra PC & printer batteries and software (get cheap, legal software on ebay) adds up to several hundred dollars more at least. The software I'm using to draw caricatures at parties is Alias Sketchbook Pro. Fortunately, all my serious breakdowns (5 not counting the death of my Canon ip70) occurred between jobs in the first 9 months and were repaired under warranty before I missed any paid gigs. Don't use any recycled, generic  or 2nd party inks, they'll kill your printer. That's why I'm on my 2nd printer. It should last me a lot longer since I learned my lesson. I use 8.5" x 11" glossy photo paper (shop around for that any way you can think of to cut costs but try each brand in a small purchase before you stock up or you'll get stuck with a lot of paper that jams your printer or offends your tastes), it really represents the party caricature images most accurately. Even if you like matte, bond or plain paper, I don't recommend it for this. You should be able to figure out how often you'll need to replace paper. The color ink on my printer needs replacing an average of once/party, even if I'm not drawing in color. There seems to be no way the software or printer I'm using will print black without adding color ink to it. Black ink seems to need replacing less often. Before you ever decide to buy any printer, shop around to see what it's ink will cost you & compare with other options. Ultimately, my operating costs are probably about $10 or $20 more/week for paper & ink, but it's worth it unless you love the way you already do things. I didn't. The projector bulb is supposed to last a few years given the amount of use it's getting & a replacement is more than $300.oo I think. I have one in stock just in case. I'm not carrying much more junk than I used to. I actually raised my advertised prices for felt marker drawings $20.oo/hr. because I hate markers & had enough of them after 17 years. The options I offer my clients range in price from $115.oo to 185.oo/hr. For details, visit my website. The average I end up making at trade shows & parties is $150.oo/hr, so if any of our colleagues accuse me of cutting their throats, they can kiss my @$$ & go to #&%%.

 

One more thing: Why am I using a PC instead of an Apple? For 15 years I was a die hard Apple using Windows hater. Still, Apple makes no tablet PCs (yet) & Windows is not as bad as it used to be.

 

If you enjoy the way you work, don't change it. I went digital because I hate markers & love my PC. It's not faster or easier, just better, but only if you like working this way. A lot of people wouldn't. I believe that's the best & most honest run down I can give on this subject. If you try this but don't follow my advice to the letter, it'll waste you a fortune.

 

Finally, whatever you do as an artist, do not fail to join & maintain an active membership in the Graphic Artists Guild. There is no more important thing you can ever do for your career. Tell them I sent you. That won't help you, I just want them to know I sent you.