Need new A2 printer but nothing really qualifies for me

[IPDOUGLAS]

With the terrible design issues and appalling ink usage my two year old Canon Imageprograf 1000 is awaiting a trip to the City Dump and I eagerly awaited the Epson P900 having vowed never to buy Canon again but I am reading issues about the Epson here and there.  Not a torrent but enough to give me some concerns.  I was not impressed by the (apparent) build quality I have seen in online advertising and the one or two respected reviews.  Additionally I really did not want LESS ink in the cartridges than the Epson P800 or the Canon Pro 1000 at 80ml.  I have no idea why Epson made this stupid smaller cartridge move other than to get more money for less ink and that NEVER was going to be popular.

The problem now is other than paying a lot more money there are no other candidate A2 printers at the £1100 price point (just under $1500 US) that I know of? 

Meanwhile I would still be interested in any reported feedback good or bad about the Epson and VERY interested in any issues or news/rumours etc anyone knows or encounters.   Its a bad day when you cannot hand over money to printer manufacturers. lol

[Richard.Wills]

£500 more gets you an Epson SC-P5000, with a three year warranty, and 20oml carts. Built like a tank.

[mearussi]

£500 more gets you an Epson SC-P5000, with a three year warranty, and 20oml carts. Built like a tank.

Having owned two 4800s in the past (also built like tanks), if I wanted another 17" printer it would really be hard for me to buy one of the smaller less well built printers.

[IPDOUGLAS]

Great recommends gents thanks.   Not sure of SC-P5000 reliability head clog wise - how often does it need to be used in order to avoid nozzle issues or clogs?  But 200ml ink sounds excellent extra £500 not so much as my Canon Imageprograf used nearly that initializing itself then cleaning itself every 60 hours so soon meant a new set of inks at £600 at the time.   This is a reason why buying the A3+ Epson P700 is not wise since extra inks needed so quickly you might as well buy the P900!

[IPDOUGLAS]

I should also say my printers are coddled and spoilt and do not get any harsh treatment nor are they ever moved once placed.  That said I still prefer a robust printer as I believe that aids precision compare an aluminium table saw to a cast iron one and you see the difference!

[Pete Berry]

With the terrible design issues and appalling ink usage my two year old Canon Imageprograf 1000 is awaiting a trip to the City Dump and I eagerly awaited the Epson P900 having vowed never to buy Canon again but I am reading issues about the Epson here and there.  Not a torrent but enough to give me some concerns.  I was not impressed by the (apparent) build quality I have seen in online advertising and the one or two respected reviews.  Additionally I really did not want LESS ink in the cartridges than the Epson P800 or the Canon Pro 1000 at 80ml.  I have no idea why Epson made this stupid smaller cartridge move other than to get more money for less ink and that NEVER was going to be popular.

The problem now is other than paying a lot more money there are no other candidate A2 printers at the £1100 price point (just under $1500 US) that I know of? 

Meanwhile I would still be interested in any reported feedback good or bad about the Epson and VERY interested in any issues or news/rumours etc anyone knows or encounters.   Its a bad day when you cannot hand over money to printer manufacturers. lol

I currently own a Canon iPF5100 - going on five years, and a 5000 for five years prior. Both with 130ml x 12 carts, and to date there are 72 "dead soldiers" in the cabinet - 9.4L total with only several ml left in each - and only one waste tank replacement several months ago. Unfortunately the Status Monitor not functioning with the Win 10 update last year, so I've lost printing totals. Paper handling is impeccable with cassette up to 17x22 - even with 308 gsm paper - and the powered roll is a joy to use with the several spindles I've collected. I would suggest getting one of these but inks are getting harder and harder to find. Left powered on it does what must be very frugal periodic cleanings, and no need to print nozzle checks since installation. Periodic A3 test-prints show the same beautiful colors, with perfect B/W prints.

So what the heck happened to Canon to replace it with their gelded, neutered, incontinent 1000???

[IPDOUGLAS]

Thanks Pete,
                    I would like to know why Canon not only implemented an extreme cleaning cycle (every 60 hours) and why it could not be defeated in the operating system or set to a different value.  This was complained about and commonly discussed in forums of the net but as more firmware updates came out it was NEVER addressed!

Every Canon Imageprograf Pro 1000 owner/user needs to weigh an empty ink cartridge and a full one and get the weight difference then do the same with a new maintenance cartridge and a full used one and do the same.  Now work out how much ink is in the maintenance cartridge and going in the garbage?  It is shocking.  Such a great printer in other ways with a robust build (apart from serious ink cartridge ejection issues denied by Canon) and great vacuum paper handling (not pizza wheels).  Its the small things that destroy something but surely Canon could have addressed these?  I believe the Pro 1000 is discontinued now (and it ought to be) but some are still buying.  Not surprised as the Epson P900 its only price-point rival I know has its own issues and I also doubt it longevity.

Epson P5000 sounds good.