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Author Topic: My first Inkjet printer?  (Read 3595 times)

Cornfield

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My first Inkjet printer?
« on: April 06, 2015, 10:34:14 am »

I spent over 20 years running my own pro-lab business working in the darkroom every day.  Managed to sell the business at the start of the quality digital era. 

In my semi-retirement I want to get into printing and looking to buy start off with a 24".  Top quality with very consistent output required.  Which one should I buy?
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disneytoy

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Re: My first Inkjet printer?
« Reply #1 on: April 06, 2015, 11:32:16 am »

Even with all the complaints, I really love Epson. So a 7890 or 7900. Butt absolutely nothing against Canon either.
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Some Guy

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Re: My first Inkjet printer?
« Reply #2 on: April 06, 2015, 12:00:28 pm »

I'd go with the Canon ipf-6450 if you are looking for a 24" printer.  I like that the machine has user-replaceable head(s) where Epson does not.  Epson seems to build the printer around the head making it harder to get to for even minor cleaning, and very, very expensive for a new head replacement.  Yes, Epson seems far to prone to clogging or nozzle drops, and even mine will clog mid-print at times which leads to banding until I run a $$ ink cleaning cycle.  Very stubborn machines overall, and I have six printers to keep up with.  Local camera shop uses a large Epson 9990 and it can clog over a three-day holiday and cost $2,200 by Tuesday to get it up and running.  As much as it gets used daily, seems odd it cannot sit three days without plugging up so owner goes in on weekends to run a print or two.

I know FreeStyle Photo in LA, who sells maybe the most papers on the West Coast, told me they stopped being an Epson dealer and moved to Canon due to complaints from their customers about Epson and the high service/labor costs as well as becoming disposable printers with regards to high service costs.  I think this guy pretty much sums up his thoughts on an Epson 9900: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf6kOEtgQqE

Canon also has some VIP program where they may offer you a reduced price of a broken and discontinued model too.  Plus, I've gotten call backs and emails from them on problems encountered with an old printer.  Epson is pretty much closed mouth and good luck.

However, Epson is pretty much a hackable printer that allows for the use of inks like piezeos and people who like to mix their own inks.  Various carts available to trick the printer into working with sundry inks which may or not be great in operation.  Canon seems less hacked and maybe why they have less problems too, although they seem to re-port with their nozzles on clogging issues so their engineering tech may be a bit better too.

When the Epson's work they are great, but when they start to head south then the guy in the above video pretty much makes his point of view about Epson.  Too bad they don't make them so the heads can be easily switched out or run through an ultrasonic cleaner to clean them.

SG
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Cornfield

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Re: My first Inkjet printer?
« Reply #3 on: April 06, 2015, 12:26:45 pm »

I should have stated in my opening post I have ruled out Epson. 
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Chris_Brown

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Re: My first Inkjet printer?
« Reply #4 on: April 06, 2015, 03:12:45 pm »

+1 for Canon.

I had an Epson 9600 for several years. Sold it for a Canon iPF8000, then sold that for a Canon iPF8300.

The Epson dot pattern is finer and tighter. The piezo technology provides that. However the heads clog too easily. The thermo technology of the Canon provides for far fewer head clogs, but the stochastic dot pattern is not as fine as the Epson.

The chemical makeup of the inks is very different, too, but with the right paper they both have excellent longevity.

The Canon Photoshop plugin for printing is excellent. I don't know if Epson has anything like that.

I looked at HP printers but didn't like the user interface nor the print driver.
« Last Edit: April 06, 2015, 05:08:35 pm by Chris_Brown »
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John V.

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Re: My first Inkjet printer?
« Reply #5 on: April 06, 2015, 04:19:33 pm »

for what it's worth/given what little experience I have compared to others, my epson printers have given me very few problems over the past 3 years or so, aside from the 1 or two "oh crap" moments...

the 11880 is built like a tank it seems, good build quality all around. paper loading and handling from 8x10 all the way up to 60" is simple and straight forward. It hardly ever prints a nozzle check that isnt 100%

the 4900 has scared me a time or two, but the problems were easily resolved with some research+common sense.

We house a 7900 also, which belongs to someone else and I basically have no idea it's even there. And I am honestly amazed at how long it's sat idle (nearly a month from time to time) without causing problems for its owner. Especially given it's "reputation" around here...

An the fact is, it probably all comes down to the operating environment. it's always 50% plus humidity here...
 
I find routine maintenance easy to perform, I have very little trouble finding the answers to my questions online, paper loading is simple and without problem, driver/front panel operation is simple and intuitive (for the most part), little things that add up in the big picture. Not to say the same isn't true for other manufactures, I just have no idea.
« Last Edit: April 06, 2015, 04:22:55 pm by John Drew »
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mburke

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Re: My first Inkjet printer?
« Reply #6 on: April 07, 2015, 09:04:30 am »

I have been printing for 10-12 years. Started with a 2200 Epson which was pretty nice. Not terribly well built but never had any problems with it. Learned about profiles, drivers, etc on it. Wanted to print larger so got a Canon 6300. At first I really loved it. Prints were great. Ran wonderful. I only print occasionally but never had any clogs or operational problems. After a few years I realized I didn't use a lot of roll paper. Mostly cut sheets and Canon does not handle them well. The the problems started. Mostly to do with print heads I thought. Canon service was very good and helpful but eventually they decided that some board was shot and I could have someone come look at it for $1,000. I had already put 3 new heads at 450 each and about 5 ink cartridges at 70 each into it. I decided that because I didn't print that huge that an Epson 3880 with rebate was a good deal. I sold a couple of heads on ebay to defray some more cost so got the Epson for about 400. I have been using it for about a month and love the prints. I have been using some of the new Epson papers and really like the output and the paper handling is a dream compared to the Canon.

Just a few thoughts. A lot of it depends on how much and what size you print.

Mike
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Jager

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Re: My first Inkjet printer?
« Reply #7 on: April 10, 2015, 07:57:49 am »

I should have stated in my opening post I have ruled out Epson. 

Well, since you've ruled out the number one vendor in the marketplace, that would suggest you know something about what you seek.

The good news is you're then down to two.

Welcome to to forum...
 

Phil Indeblanc

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Re: My first Inkjet printer?
« Reply #8 on: April 11, 2015, 02:29:11 am »

I too had ruled out Epson. Canon wants to replace heads every 3 years or so. At least they are replaceable.
I went with HP and am very happy with it.
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ognita

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Re: My first Inkjet printer?
« Reply #9 on: April 11, 2015, 06:57:33 am »

Had my 3880 4 years ago, and went on for several months without printing anything - never had a clog. I had one only last month, easily fixed. They say I am lucky, but maybe it is also in the environment. Or maybe I am lucky.

hugowolf

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Re: My first Inkjet printer?
« Reply #10 on: April 11, 2015, 10:34:05 am »

Had my 3880 4 years ago, and went on for several months without printing anything - never had a clog. I had one only last month, easily fixed. They say I am lucky, but maybe it is also in the environment. Or maybe I am lucky.

The 3880 is such a different beast to the larger format roll feed Epson printers.

Brian A
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cottagehunter

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Re: My first Inkjet printer?
« Reply #11 on: April 12, 2015, 09:28:10 pm »

I have had an Epson 7900 for 4 years now and have never had any problems with it I print sporadically as I am a hobbyist not a business, but I have printed over 800 pages with it. I have had to do some pair cleanings from time to time never done a full clean.  This printer sits for months without being used. I do do a print head check and print a test sheet every 2-3 weeks. I hope this confidence doesn't bring me problems with it. I have a couple of other printer friends who also have 7900's and they have reported no serious problems.
        I have 3 other Epson desktop printers and have a Epson xp 850 which I use to print 15-20 calendars once a year. This xp 850 has been a problem as after using the second one for 2 weeks it shut down saying to contact Epson for support they sent another one but it just gobbles up the ink I get  about 18- 20 pages of 81/2 x11 per set of xl cartridges so I have switched to third party ink at a significant saving. I wish I could print 81/2 x 11 on the 7900 but unless I print on rolls I can't and that doesn't work as one side of the double sided mat is the picture and the other side is the calendar.
       I have found that the small desktop photo printers only last me a couple of years before I need to buy another one due to the servicing problem. They say that the ink pads are full but when I check them they are not by a long shot but the printer will not let you print anymore. This has been a consistent state with the desktop photo printers going back 15 years. I first had an Epson stylus pro, that was built like a tank and ran over 750,000 copies on it with only one print head replacement. It was Epson's first colour inkjet.
Pierre
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