Pages: 1 [2]   Go Down

Author Topic: Ink usage/cost of the canon 8400 vs epson 9890/9900...  (Read 28237 times)

Wayne Fox

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4237
    • waynefox.com
Re: Ink usage/cost of the canon 8400 vs epson 9890/9900...
« Reply #20 on: February 13, 2013, 02:03:00 pm »

Both at highest quality - but the quality setting didn't have big influence on ink consumption. We did the comparison just out of curiosity, so I didn't care to write the exact numbers, but I'll remember to note it when we meet again to make MK tests.
Interesting.  As mentioned, not a big deal to many because ink is really negligible in the overall cost of what they are selling, whereas to others more important because they are printing wholesale or large volume with discounted prices so ink is a larger percentage of costs.

seems this is somewhat offset because from what I can find, the Epson inks run about 20% less per ml in equivalent refill sizes. (about 0.32/ml for Epson and about 0.40/ml for Canon in 700ml size was about the best prices I could find).

Any theories as to why?  Somewhat seems to defy logic, but perhaps the red and blue inks offer greater density in a lot of colors that the Epson may have to dither out more colors to duplicate. Epson's main purpose of the orange and green were more about hitting spot colors for proofing systems (a huge market for Epson, probably not so much for Canon), where Canon's choice of red and blue was about efficiency and gamut.  The Epsons require a lot of LK and LLK ink in almost every image, could be the darker blue and red inks allow the Canon to dither the colors out a little more efficiently. Maybe Canon inks are just darker overall, and the lighter tones are handled with a little less ink.


Interesting and useful info.
Logged

Czornyj

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1948
    • zarzadzaniebarwa.pl
Re: Ink usage/cost of the canon 8400 vs epson 9890/9900...
« Reply #21 on: February 13, 2013, 02:36:46 pm »

I suppose iPFx300 linearization curves tactic switches to darker colorants more preferably than SPx900 - here's an example of L* 80 gray patch printed in color modes - as you see Epson uses LLBK in a much more generous way:

(I used toy microscope of my son to make this enlargement, so don't take it too seriously ;) )
« Last Edit: February 13, 2013, 02:45:38 pm by Czornyj »
Logged
Marcin Kałuża | [URL=http://zarzadzaniebarwa

Wayne Fox

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4237
    • waynefox.com
Re: Ink usage/cost of the canon 8400 vs epson 9890/9900...
« Reply #22 on: February 13, 2013, 06:24:16 pm »

I suppose iPFx300 linearization curves tactic switches to darker colorants more preferably than SPx900 - here's an example of L* 80 gray patch printed in color modes - as you see Epson uses LLBK in a much more generous way:

(I used toy microscope of my son to make this enlargement, so don't take it too seriously ;) )


lol, very cool!  Looks like the Epson is laying down a little more ink overall to hit that color.

Logged

alain

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 465
Re: Ink usage/cost of the canon 8400 vs epson 9890/9900...
« Reply #23 on: September 21, 2013, 02:15:09 pm »

It's possible that SP9890 ink consumption can be a little higher than SPx900.

I had compared my 12 color iPF8300 to 8 color iPF8300s, and 12 color Canon consumed 10% less ink. It uses R,G,B inks instead of M+Y, C+Y and C+M, which gives certain savings.

Note that Canon has separate PK, MK printing heads, so there's no ink/time waste when you switch paper types. It also wastes much less ink for cleaning cycles and head maintanance.
Hi

What's the percentage the iPF8300 "wastes" on maintenance?  (bought ink versus put on paper)
Is there a recommended minimum print volume for the iPFx400 series when a long useful life is wanted?  I read that an epson 7900 is best used almost daily.

Alain
Logged

marcsitkin

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 126
    • marcsitkinphotography
Re: Ink usage/cost of the canon 8400 vs epson 9890/9900...
« Reply #24 on: September 30, 2013, 03:13:57 pm »

I can speak for the IPF 9100, it does a very nice job with B&W images using the Canon driver. I did a lot of testing with the Bowhaus RIP for Canon (Mac Only), and while it could make a beautiful print, there was zero correlation with a calibrated monitor, so it took a lot of tests to get to a good result. For me, not worth the effort.

Most of my business involves pretty large runs of prints for trade show displays, which really go through a lot of ink. The heads seem to go more than a year in most cases. A few have quit before warranty, and Canon replaced them with no hassel. Our second Canon printer, an 8000s, died a few month ago and the cost of the fix (we'll send a technician and fix it for $1500) was not acceptable, so I'm in the market for a new machine soon. I don't think a three year old printer should die, and I've not found an option of fixing it for around $500, which is all I'll go. The life of a machine is also a major consideration, and I'm a bit dissapointed in the Canon regarding only a three year lifetime.
Logged
Regards,
 Marc Sitkin www.digitalmomentum

Vishal

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 6
Re: Ink usage/cost of the canon 8400 vs epson 9890/9900...
« Reply #25 on: April 04, 2014, 05:59:44 pm »

Hi, Could you please elaborate on how you approached measuring the ink consumption?
Typically one would weigh the cartridges, print a test file and weigh the cartridge again to determine the amt of ink used. However, the results on the Canon are inconsistent due to the sub-ink tanks storing ink in reserve (I am looking to run my own tests).
Canon does have an embedded web server that measures the ink used per print but Epson 9890 does not seem to have one.

What was your approach to this?

Logged

HKYcountry

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 20
Re: Ink usage/cost of the canon 8400 vs epson 9890/9900...
« Reply #26 on: April 05, 2014, 05:34:49 am »

When I was researching this topic I came across this report. An interesting read. I can't vouch for the company or results....It was just one of the few things I found that actually provided some data.

http://knikkerprinter.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/canon-ipf8400-44-inch-vs-epson-pro-9900-ectr-051314.pdf

Also over at colorhq.com they have a print chart showing a breakdown of cost (media and ink) for various types of prints on different media types....I think it can be found when looking at the 8400 or 9400...can't quite remember.
Logged

jferrari

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 484
Re: Ink usage/cost of the canon 8400 vs epson 9890/9900...
« Reply #27 on: April 05, 2014, 07:42:13 am »

http://knikkerprinter.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/canon-ipf8400-44-inch-vs-epson-pro-9900-ectr-051314.pdf

I wonder if the report had been commissioned by Epson instead of Canon if it might not look a bit different...
Logged
Nothing changes until something changes.

Czornyj

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1948
    • zarzadzaniebarwa.pl
Re: Ink usage/cost of the canon 8400 vs epson 9890/9900...
« Reply #28 on: April 05, 2014, 08:12:18 am »

I wonder if the report had been commissioned by Epson instead of Canon if it might not look a bit different...
Practice shows that this report is reliable.

Furthermore, in a long run the amount of ink used for maintanance is much higher in case of Stylus Pro. Canon sips marginal amount of ink to keep nozzles in good condition, Epson wastes quite a lot of ink each time it cleans head or switches MK-PBK
« Last Edit: April 05, 2014, 08:18:12 am by Czornyj »
Logged
Marcin Kałuża | [URL=http://zarzadzaniebarwa

HKYcountry

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 20
Re: Ink usage/cost of the canon 8400 vs epson 9890/9900...
« Reply #29 on: April 05, 2014, 03:50:21 pm »

I wonder if the report had been commissioned by Epson instead of Canon if it might not look a bit different...

That's fair enough and that was the reason I said I couldn't vouch for it or the company. That being said the results seem to fall in line with things I have read and heard from other sources.

Oh, an update to my previous post, here is the link to the colorhq document

https://www.colorhq.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/ipf9400-8400_cost_analysis.pdf
Logged

disneytoy

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 373
Re: Ink usage/cost of the canon 8400 vs epson 9890/9900...
« Reply #30 on: April 05, 2014, 04:14:44 pm »

That PDF is very interesting. I had read the Canon costs out to around $0.26 a square foot for ink. But this PDF shows some print upwards of 0.90 per square foot? Anyone chime in on this?
Logged

HKYcountry

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 20
Re: Ink usage/cost of the canon 8400 vs epson 9890/9900...
« Reply #31 on: April 05, 2014, 05:07:00 pm »

It all depends on the type of media being printed on and the image being printed. If you scroll down to the 2nd page of that pdf, it shows the 3 different images that were used. The third, "flowers" has no white space and is full of vibrant colors/contrast as a result it is using not just more ink but more of every ink cart in the printer.

Keep in mind that almost all the media used was canon brands and the two that seem to use the most ink (of the ones used) are the canon satin canvas and canon heavyweight paper. While there likely won't be a huge difference between brands in this regard, be aware that there will be variations.

This PDF showed the canon heavyweight coated  paper with the highest cost for ink/sqft @ $0.97/sqft, but that same paper with a different image cost as little as $0.28/sqft....so really probably the biggest consideration is subject matter of the image (ie colour saturation/density/variation, white space, etc)
« Last Edit: April 05, 2014, 05:20:36 pm by HKYcountry »
Logged

dseelig

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 596
Re: Ink usage/cost of the canon 8400 vs epson 9890/9900...
« Reply #32 on: April 05, 2014, 08:11:46 pm »

Canons really do sip ink when not sing used Epsons gulp it. Epsons will cost more in the long run then any other printer. I have had an eposn and still have on an 3880 I also run an hp z 3100 My best friend runs a canon I will never own a big epson again.
Logged

chez

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2501
Re: Ink usage/cost of the canon 8400 vs epson 9890/9900...
« Reply #33 on: April 06, 2014, 09:33:53 am »

iPF x400 ink consumption is 30-40% lower than SPx900. To put it in simple words - the 700ml Canon ink tank cresponds to 1000ml Epson ink tank.

It also wastes much less ink for maintanance.

Yes, when looking at ink costs, one has to look at how much ink wastage occurs to maintain nozzle clogs. Epson is notorious at clogging unless it is used on a very regular basis and in a very well managed humid environment. Dealing with clogged nozzles could result in a lot of wasted ink which should be incorporated into the amount of ink per square inch calculations.
Logged

Vishal

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 6
Re: Ink usage/cost of the canon 8400 vs epson 9890/9900...
« Reply #34 on: April 07, 2014, 11:53:27 am »

All that this report mentions about the ink subtank issue is that a "Procedure was followed to ensure the ink tank was full". It does not detail the procedure.

The colorhq analysis is based on the embedded web server readings of the amount of ink used to print a file. Canon comes with this feature but unfortunately I have not found such a tool for the Epson 9890/9900.
Logged
Pages: 1 [2]   Go Up