[letsgohiking]

Hi,
I am trying to compare the canon pro 9000 and the Epson r1800. I want a large scale photo printer for digital scrapbooking. I have heard that Epsons may have clogging problems and that the pixma inks may dry up if they are not used weekly. I welcome any feedback since "santa" is waiting to hear my decision.

[danpen]

I've had a few Epson printers, the older ones would clog within a week or two and I had one that I could never get to work again. The newer ones take longer to clog (I have an RX620 that worked fine after 6 weeks) and I've never had to run more than one or two cleaning cycles on them. However it is still something you need to watch out for, and reading on the internet other people still find it an issue.

If you do buy an Epson, don't replace the ink when it tells you that the ink is low, that's just a warning and you'll get loads more prints before it runs out. Wait until it refuses to print, it may be halfway through a print but I've changed cartridges then loads of times and never been able to tell on the print. I would say change it immediatly that it actually does run out though.

I recently bought an r800 (the narrower version of the r1800) due to colour management issues with the rx620 and I'm extremely pleased with it, excellent print quality colours accurate to the screen (within the limitations of the media), faster and quieter than the photo printers I'd used before. Can't comment on the Canon as I've never used one.

[Steve]

Gary Bagshawe, one of our members has bought and recently reviewed the Canon 9000 printer.

Canon Pro 9000 printer review

Hopefully that will help you with some information on that.

I myself was looking at the Epson/Canon A3 printers and although I have not made my purchase yet I have discounted the Epson 2400 due to the reported clogging issues and the fact that if you want to print B&W then you have to flush the ink lines (wasting massive amounts of ink) before changing some of the colour cartridges to B&W and again after the print to return the colour cartridges back into the carrage again. The messing around would be pretty annoying for me but the waste of ink (at silly prices for original ink) in flushing all the lines was the decider.

Hope that helps

[danpen]

Originally Posted by Steve

the fact that if you want to print B&W then you have to flush the ink lines (wasting massive amounts of ink) before changing some of the colour cartridges to B&W and again after the print to return the colour cartridges back into the carrage again. The messing around would be pretty annoying for me but the waste of ink (at silly prices for original ink) in flushing all the lines was the decider.

Steve, not sure which printers that applies to, I did used to have to swap black cartridges on my 2100 to go between matt black and glossy black and I believe there's a similar thing needs doing on the 2400. I've not seen any cartridges for the 800 / 1800 other than those that are permanently mounted. However as I don't do much B&W I've not investigated too closely, do you have any links?

cheers

Daniel

[Steve]

Sorry I was comparring like for like almost so was referring to the Epson 2400. If the system is different on the 1800 then appologise

I have edited my first reply to reflect that fact

[Rob Barron]

I can only say this: I have heard about the Epson clogging problems too therefore it surely must be an issue as everyone seems to have heard about them. In my OLD Epson I had massive clogging issues but can't say if that is still the same on later printers.

I have a Canon and the prints are truly incredible. I can print A3+ (and do hundreds of times as I sell posters!) in under 2 and 1/2 minutes and the noise level is so quiet I hardly notice it is printing. The Epson produces excellent prints too but at double the time minimum and is a lot noisier.

I took three test prints to my previous camera club along with three that were printed of the same picture at Jessops. The result was that in the majority of responses, the Canon was deemed to be better than the chemical reproduction of Jessops. The detail was stronger in dark areas and the colours were more natural.

I don't have the 9000, I have the i9950 but have seen plenty of prints on it now as I have been considering buying one. It is fantastic in quality in both colour and mono though with a faint colour cast but that did not interfere with the image at all.

So, there you go, you're spending a fair bit of cash so I can only say whatever happens you are equipping yourself with a stunning printer system. My personal opinion would be that the 9000 is the one to go for but you'll be delighted with either.

Cheers,
Rob

[Luckynp]

I've had a pro9000 for about a week now and I'm well pleased with it. First impressions are that it prints wih a bit of a red cast which must be compensated for, but the quality is extraordinary.

As well as the quality, the main advantage of this printer (like my previous S9000 which it replaced) is the fantastic speed of printing. Maybe 5-8 times faster than the Epsons I remember. Plus almost silent operation. I don't print monochrome, so this is not an issue for me.

Mike P

[Dave]

Hi Luckynp & welcome ot Pixalo. If you get chance put your review of printer up here also please :- http://www.pixalo.com/reviews/showpr...hp/product/270 , as it will help other members choose a printer moving forward

Being a bit of a Mono freak I'll have to wait & see what members think of Mono printing vs the Epson R2400

[Dave]

Originally Posted by letsgohiking

Hi,
I am trying to compare the canon pro 9000 and the Epson r1800. I want a large scale photo printer for digital scrapbooking. I have heard that Epsons may have clogging problems and that the pixma inks may dry up if they are not used weekly. I welcome any feedback since "santa" is waiting to hear my decision.

So which one did Santa bring ?

[letsgohiking]

Originally Posted by Dave

So which one did Santa bring ?

HI,
Santa brought me the Epson R1800 which was delivered today and a Canon Pixma MP600. I can only keep one. I have not tried either at home yet. I am still concerned about the clogging issue - especially after reading the CNET reveiew. I am going to drive to FRYS and see if I can print out the same picture on the Canon 9000 as the other two printers and try to make an educated decision before my return period is up. I've learned of a few "reasonable" places I can get 12x!2 pages printed and may just use the $250 difference in printer costs to have someone else print and ship my digital scrapbbok pages. ( If I decide on the Canon pro 9000, I may wait till Presidents Day to see if Best Buy runs another instant rebate sale....I missed the last one on the pro 9000)

Leda

[Dave]

Sound sensible....keep us posted of progress