I’ve owned both Canon and Epson, I still prefer Epson for a few reasons, none of which are significant to anyone but me.
But despite many posts in the past regarding the two technologies, there still remain misconceptions about them.
I do not believe Canon printers clog less than Epsons. Canon’s will automatically try to clear clogs, as will Epson’s if you leave that feature enabled (which most users do not). But where an Epson nozzle must be cleared, the Canon can decide to map that nozzle out and use a “spare” nozzle to replace it rather than using ink to clear it. Thus the Canon head is a “consumable” part, and over time will need to be replaced.
How soon those heads will need replaced depends quite a bit on the environment and usage patterns . A dry climate will consume the head much faster than one at 45% humidity, and a dirty/dusty environment will also shorten head life. Over time the nozzles also wear and enlarge, which eventually will require a new head (although I believe with their newest printer the likelihood of replacement from wearing before using of spare nozzles will only happen with very heavy usage).
but to the end user, Canon effectively hides all of this, making the use of a Canon printer a nice experience. If you choose to let the Epson printer clean itself, it may be problematic and consume a lot of ink if you are an occasional users. Using the Epson may require a little more hand holding, and often what are referred to as “clogs” is simply air seeping back into the nozzles because the printer is off. Unfortunately for Epson, the initial 4900’s had a problem with the capping station which allowed this to happen rather quickly (and of course this can cause ink to dry out inside the nozzle). I’ve heard that Epson improved this but have no proof.
Personally, my TCO of my Epson 9900 has been less than my ipf6100 which required new heads after 18 months. The Epson is now 4 years old, and still has the original maintenance tanks, which indicates I haven’t had to do that much cleaning/clog clearing. I keep the printer in a 45% humidity controlled room, but it can go several weeks without being used. I’ve never done a power clean, my wiper is still pristine, and often after sitting I have no missing nozzles.
As far as the Breathing Color claim a “3 year” life I’m not sure where they got there stats, but I have sold dozens of 78/9890 and 79/9900 printers over the past several years, and I’m not getting a ton of calls on older printers that suddenly die after 3 years.