Well hello there..
I am fairly new to printing but have been doing it with Epson's since 2002. I started with a 5000 and their RIP. I then got a 4000 and now have two 4800's. One for Matte and for Photo black ink.
I never really became proficient because it was just for small portfolio work.
I think it is time to upgrade?
I am using Image Print as my RIP now a days and there is really no better software out there.
But I am looking for a new 17" printer. That could take the place of the two.
Obviously Epson is the 800lb gorilla in the game. But HP isn't anything to shake a stick at. Although Canon has deep pockets, will they stick around? I know Michael has tried them all, but every time I see a shot from his print gallery there are always Epson's around.
How have the converts been? I most likely won't go Canon, but am open to debate. I swear by HP on the office front and have only used HP for over 15 years in the office. But on the photo front I am wondering. Unless Epson makes a new addition with a lot more inks I am leaning toward HP.
I am tired of having two printers. But I do love Epson. They have never done me wrong. But I do hear great things about HP.
Any and all thoughts, suggestions and advice would be very much appreciated.
JT
After 6 years of using Epsons as our main printers, and ImagePrint, we added a Canon iPF 8100 last summer. It's now become our main printer. In terms of raw image quality, comparisons I did convinced me the Canon, with custom profiles, was slightly superior to the 9800 and ImagePrint, but the differences were minor and not enough to be the deciding factor. The Canon is twice as fast and not once have the heads clogged, which is an almost daily occurrence on the 9800.
At first, I missed the layout capabilities of ImagePrint, but the Canon Plug-in module is excellent and I soon was happy with the workflow. Support from Canon is excellent and the manual and documentation are, apparently, much improved in those areas from Canon's previous generation of printers.
Although I also was happy to get both Matte black and Photo black in one printer, the new Epson x900 series also offers that, albeit in a slightly more cumbersome and wasteful way. And their speed now equals the Canon's.
So don't count the Canon printers out. They are a great value for the money, very reliable and do not suffer in quality to anything else out there.