On Sun, 29 Apr 2018 17:03:26 +0100, Nightjar
wrote:

On 28/04/2018 11:04, T i m wrote:
...
They have to look as good as anything else I am selling, which means
that, ideally, they should look like injection mouldings.

Ok, so comparing apples and oranges then?...

They are all the same range of products to the customer.

An uninformed customer possibly. Would you also have to explain the
difference between an original and a reprint of a picture?

Much as I expected, which would mean very long print times to get a good
quality product.

Quite. However, these printers aren't supposed to be making 'product',
they are there to make prototypes and but *can* be used for the final
solution, if you aren't bothered about a mirror finish (on all faces)
and don't require things to be produced at mass production rates.

Another option I might consider is using the printer to
make a master for lost wax investment casting of the items.

Wouldn't you still have the same detailing issue though?..

One of the Ultimaker videos shows a Oscar statuette they have printed.

Ok.

The finish is good, but it took them 20 hours to print.

Ok.

Not a problem
for a one off master, but not desirable if somebody wants to buy several
of them.

Indeed, and hence why such 3D printers aren't used for mass production
and why they are probably not the right tool for your considered use.
;-)

Cheers, T i m