Since Epson has discontinued inks for my 2200, I am considering a new photo printer. Any and all suggestions welcome
Hi Skip,
Look at the Epson P600 and P800. The P800 is the desktop pro model that is fairly expensive. The P600 is the model most similar to the reliable 2200. Bad reviews focus on clogged ink-jets and poor color accuracy. Many of the poor reviews are by hobbyists that are not familiar with high quality digital printing. The Canon Pixma Pro 100 and Pro 10 are comparable to the 2200. Canon printers have slightly higher printer resolution and different ink technology than Epson. I have never used Canon printers, so I cannot offer an opinion on these two models. Like the Epson printers, excessive ink use, clogged nozzles, and paper jams seem to be common complaints. I am still using a 2200 and it has been an excellent, reliable printer.
I’ll vouch for the Epson P800. I don’t print all that often (once a week would be a lot for me), and I’ve never had a problem with clogged ink heads on mine. Never had a paper jam, using either the back or front feed (for thicker papers). It doesn’t seem like the ink use is excessive (from cleaning the heads when the printer is turned on?). I have no experience with other brands, so I can’t speak to that.
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I use the Epson P800 also. It was a good upgrade from the 3880 which died on me. I use sheet paper and roll paper. I’ve used it at least a year with no problems. With the 3880 I frequently need to do nozzle checks and cleaning. I would say my experience and use is similar to Bonnie. Sometimes loading roll paper is tedious. I print on Illford Gold Fibre Silk and Red River metallic as well as Epson papers.
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I’ve used the Canon Pro 10 for the last four years. Have had no complaints and it is still going strong.
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I got an Epson P800 last September when Epson had a good rebate. It was an upgrade from an ancient R1800 Epson that finally died on me. I tend to bunch things together and print at 3 week intervals. No problem with that. The thing fires right up and takes off. The loaded interface works fine on my Mac. The old Epson would never work right with the Mac and I had to print from an ancient PC kept just for that purpose.
Hi Skip,
Another vote for the P800. I use it on a Mac system. A nice feature from Epson for their P series is their Print Software which easily renders prints without having to use the Photoshop interface.
In the past, I had to deal with 25 P600’s which were used in classrooms environment and the ink carts were always being replaced. You get better value with P800 and you can make larger prints, and for an additional cost you can buy a roller to hold your paper to make panos.
The P800 is a mature product now and all the Epson print media ICC profiles are included in their software.
The P800 technology is much improved over 3880 and the dreaded ink blob issue when switching between PK and MK has been designed out. You may want to check out if any rebates are out there, goto B&H or Epson site. Last month they were offering a few very good ones. More info here:
http://fritzimages.com/blog/2019/epson-3880-has-ink-blobs/38746/
I have little experience with Canon, I prefer to buy product from company that make just printers.
Good luck
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I’m very happy with the Epson XP15000. Extremely compact, prints high quality up to A3+ The only downside is the absence of RIP software (yet?) Very high value for money.
Hi @Ed_Fritz, I’m looking to upgrade from my Canon Pro-100 and the Epson P800 is on my radar. How is it with inks? The Canons I’m looking at are pretty heavy on the ink usage, hoping maybe the Epson might be a little better. Seems the Canon does a lot of nozzle maintenance that wastes a lot of ink.
Thanks
There are two threads going on discussing this topic so I’m copying my response from the other thread to this one.
I’m a long time Epson guy. Still using my trusty Epson 3880, which was replaced by the P800.
If you haven’t seen it, the P800 is now discontinued and is being replaced by the P900 (17" carriage) and the P700 (13" carriage). They are not yet available, but should be someone in the next month or so. If you’re considering Epson… I’d wait for those printers. The P800 is a great printer, but paper feeding of heavier fine art papers has always been problematic and in the literature for the P900 Epson makes reference to better paper handling. Also there is no longer any black ink switching needed between photo black and matte black.
B&H says expected availability for the new models at the beginning of June 2020.
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I an Epson guy. I enjoy using their equipment, inks and papers. I am longtime into their system. My mentor Vincent Versace (Epson Ambassador 13+ yrs)has a lot to do with that, Google the name and be prepared for a blizzard of talent, art, technology-guru and laughs.
With that being said, I agree with the comment that @Keith_Bauer wrote. I’d buy into the P700 when available. There is a new ink color added, the swiitch over between blacks is improved, the ink nozzle jets are finer diameter and the ink cartridge ml qty/size has been reduce. Lots of improvements. If you are an early adopter type this is the way to go.
However, with that being said, Epson had some terrific deals on the SC P800. It’d be worth looking into… The p800 is a wonderful, low/no maintenance machine. which I still highly recommend.
Also worth noting, Epson introduced a print software utility purpose built around their products which allows you to bypass Photoshop UI. I own two $400+ printer RIPS and the Epson SW prints as well or better… I don’t think Canon offers that…
Hope that helps,
Ed
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Thanks @Ed_Fritz, I appreciate the feedback and it does help. I also like that the P800 has the option to use rolls of paper where the Canon does not. The p700 would be a great choice when it comes out but I’m looking to upgrade mainly so I can print 16x20. I will also look into the P900 once it’s available.
Wow, Vincent’s work is fantastic! I primarily shoot for BW, his stuff is very inspiring.
Thanks for the help.
Andrew
Dpreview had a short blurb on Epson’s new printers a while back. I am still using my trusty Epson 2200 and will keep using until the ink supply dries up. The new printers have more different inks and should have improved color range then older models. I would wait until consumers review these products…Jim