Repair an Epson or buy a Canon? I really do need some advice and counsel from all of you. Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Apologies for the length of this posting.
I own an Epson 7900. My current problem is that I have very light horizontal banding in LL Black, that shows up most clearly on shades of white or gray, for example, prints of water falls or darker clouds. Also notice it on light blues like ice caves. On the nozzle check, it shows up as 4 to 6 small gaps in the faint lines on the second block from the right. All other ink colors are perfect in the nozzle check. I have done numerous power cleanings, and in the service menu, done level 4 on LL Black. None of that knocks out the banding. The problem is also intermittent. When the 7900 is first turned on, it can sometimes run a clear nozzle check, but after 3 or 4 prints, the banding returns, and no amount of cleaning can knock it out. I called Epson Prographics support. The Epson support technician told me it sounds like the head. A repair call would be $275 minimum for labor. If it is the head, it is an additional $1,132. That would be close to $1,500 -- half the price of a new printer. When I talked to the company that does the repairs in Washington DC/Maryland, the scheduler said "only a 50-50 chance it is the head" and said a cap would affect more than one color. The scheduler guessed it may be the "selector unit" (which includes the damper?) and is $175. I scheduled a repair visit but that won't happen until early next week. If it is the selector unit, for an additional $175, I might do that. If it is the head, for a total of $1500, well that is half the price of a new printer, and might be throwing good money after bad, from the perspective of an amateur coping with the frustrating ink clogs of Epson. (Ironically, I also put in a new set of ink to try to narrow the problem, and we know what that costs. If any of you Epson owners want to buy a new set of cartridges, based on the expiration date and % left in each one, I may be selling a set.)
If it is the head, and I decline and just pay the labor for the diagnosis, that would mean a new printer. I am an advanced amateur and not a professional and may not notice the subtle color differences between Canon and Epson reported on in this thread. I do not use the printer every day, and the above problem might have been caused because I did not turn the 7900 on for months due to other demands at my real job. (Before you all chastise me, I now realize that whether it is Canon or Epson, it is best to power it up, and run a few prints through it ever week. I have learned that lesson the hard way.) My guess is that you will all agree that Epsons, with clogs, may have not been the best choice for me. That leaves Canon, as I have ruled out HP since those are discontinued. I print on rolls 90% of the time, so the aggravation reported here of loading sheets on the Canons would not be that large an issue for me. Some reported in this thread that Canon can't handle really thick media, but I assume it can deal with sheets of Exhibition Fiber, to use an example, without any problems. I also print on canvas, and I assume Canon is fine for that. (And apparently has some feature related to gallery wraps?) My impression is that Canon does not switch between photo and matte black ink, so that particular Epson problem does not exist?
I am frankly confused by the models, so welcome input from Canon owners. B&H said that the iPF6400 is better for photo printing, as it has 12 color ink, at $1900, versus the more expensive iPF6400S that has only 8 colors of ink but costs more at $2845. The B&H staff said that the difference is the hard drive in the 6400S, but it is inferior for printing photos. B&H said it is counter-intuitive, but the cheaper printer is better for photo printing. The iPF6450 is $3500, for 12 inks and the hard drive. But the actual print quality between the 6400 and 6450 is the same??
Now, for the final dilemma, that I only discovered tonight. If I buy before December 31 -- and before the repair guy shows up -- I can save $500 on Canon printers on the B&H web site. (Two separate rebates that total $500.) That means that the 6400 would be $1400. That causes me to really consider cutting my losses, and not even attempting to determine the problem with the Epson, and stop spending money on it. I can always sell the ink cartridges on craigs list, and maybe someone will give me a few hundred bucks for an Epson printer with an undiagnosed problem.
Advice, anyone?
