Printer Conundrum Update
7:24 AMIt seems there aren't too many folks out there that are happy with their printers. Lots of people could tell me what hadn't worked well for them, but no one had strong ideas about what to get in the way of a new printer. I still have not purchased one, but I have narrowed down the information somewhat:
- HP is out. I've talked with three repair techs and all of them have suggested steering clear of these printers. They produce good prints, but are prone to break and the print heads are not made as well as the Epson print heads. This is viewed as a selling point as they are DIY re-placable, but you replace them a lot. There also seems to be an issue with getting parts. That could mean a lot of down time and usually does.
- Canon is a good solid printer that produces good solid results. However, they are fairly new to the game and the support in media profiles is not as robust as it is for Epson. Also, I had difficulty finding anyone who worked or sold the Canon printers in my area.
So, you see where this is going, don't you (much to my dismay)?
- Epson seems to still own the market. The 3 printers I am (was) seriously considering from Epson are the R1900, R2880 and the Pro 3800. There has been a lot of change in the technology in the past five years with the move from dye inks to pigmented inks. The dye inks are bright and gorgeous. And they fade. Sometimes within days. The pigment inks are not as brilliant, but the longevity is much better. How much better? Hard to say. Depends on support that the inks are printed onto, whether the substrate contains wood pulp, optical brighteners, has been bleached, how it is framed, whether it is acid free, how humid it is, whether it is in direct light and what phase the moon is in. In other words there are too many variables to really be able to assign a number to how long a print will last, but the general consensus is that it is in the area of 50 years, and that's considered conservative.
- The R1900 is more of a hobbyist's printer in that it uses the first generation of Epson's Ultrachrome Ink technology. The printer will print up to 13" x 19" and that makes it good for scrapbookers who need up to 12" x 12" page sizes.
- The R2880 prints the same size as the R1900, but uses the second generation of Epson's ink technology and is more capable of handling various media in various thicknesses. It also has improved printhead technology that makes clogging less of an issue than with the R1900.
- The R3800 is a 17" wide printer making it possible to print 16" x 20" prints with ease. It will actually print up to 17" x 38" for a panoramic print should you want to. It uses the newer ink technology, new printhead technology and is Epson's current flagship printer. I heard from several folks, salespeople, paper salesmen, and repair techs, that if they had to buy a printer, the 3800 would be the one they would buy, hands down.
As I said, I have not yet purchased one. I'm having a difficult time with the prices on these machines as the least expensive starts at $549.00. There are rebates available but that's still a chunk of change. Especially with today's economy. So stay tuned. I'm going to have to buy one eventually. Hope this helps anyone else in the painful process of making a decision on what to buy.
If you do decide to purchase a printer, I would suggest you talk to paper vendors (they hear what printers are working well with what media as well as which ones aren't) sales people (but do your own research as I ran into more than a couple who knew less than I did) and repair techs - they have the real scoop on what's holding up and what's not; which printers have parts available and which don't; and what the major problems are with each type of printer.
6 Creative Thought(s)
Oh darn, that is very discouraging! Good luck.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was considering getting into producing prints myself it was the Epson R2880 I planned to get. If you get it I'd be interested in hearing how it works out for you.
ReplyDeleteLaure as you know I have the Cannon Pixma Pro. When I first got it I did have trouble with one of the inks but Cannon was very supportive and replaced the ink immediately. I went with Cannon because I kept hearing how Epson gets clogged. MY Canon has never clogged on me and as long as you have your computer set up with colorsync my prints match what I see on the screen. But then this goes for any printer. I love the straight path feature for printing heavy papers. And the inks are pigment so I have giclee quality prints.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Teri!
ReplyDeleteAndrea, I"ll let you know which way I go - once I get it figured out.
Thanks again, Toni, for all the info. It seems that Canon is a great product, It just doesn't seem to be well supported in my area. Who knows, I may end up with one yet!
I am interested to see which one you decide on, I want to get a new printer, I have always had Epson. I really want one with archival inks because my little one is not made for that.
ReplyDeleteI too am making this decision right now. I came upon your article while doing my research on the topic. I decided to go with the R3800 for the reason that it is currently selling for about $500 more than the R2880 and comes with an extra $400 worth or ink (Bigger cartridges, which also means cheaper ink). So for basically an extra $100 I'm getting a much more pro level printer.
ReplyDeleteMost of what I've been reading says that for home use and excluding B&W the R1900 is more likely to be the better choice as the blue ink has been switched for orange ink and this can help produce smoother skin tones. The gloss optimizer also would be helpfull when printing on gloss paper (the R2880 and R3800 don't have that optimizer).
Let's talk!