I have an hp 950c. I was thinking of getting an epson 785epx since there is a $100 rebate. Most people on these forums think the epson is superior. To see if buying the epson was worth it, I printed two pictures off on my hp (taken on my E20). I then took the same pictures to staples and printed on the epson 785 (using the compact flash card). Both pictures look good. However on showing the pictures to others, they all picked the HP versions. The HP was sharper and had better color. What am I missing? I printed at high quality on both printers. Does the epson print better when atttached to a computer? I would in some ways like to justify buying the epson. (I like the no boarder printing and less ink fading) But unless I can really show my wife that the prints are really better from the epson I don't believe I can.
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hp vs epson
- Thread starter joenobody
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BANNED Mr. Stacey
Senior Member
Epson is better hands down.
I had a Canon s630 and now I have an s800. I'm thinking of getting an Epson 785epx. The Canons are bitches when it comes non-Canon paper. I think Epson is the same.
I had a Canon s630 and now I have an s800. I'm thinking of getting an Epson 785epx. The Canons are bitches when it comes non-Canon paper. I think Epson is the same.
What you are probably missing is the built in bias that people have. They also like to have what everybody else has. Standing alone is much more difficult.
I have a HP 930C and get excellent photos from. Previously I had an Epson photo700 which was also good until it got chronic head clogging.
Brian
I have a HP 930C and get excellent photos from. Previously I had an Epson photo700 which was also good until it got chronic head clogging.
Brian
Andy Salva
Well-known member
With the Epson, did you use Epson Photo Paper? Also, there are other printer settings to fiddle with.
Regards,
Andy
Regards,
Andy
--G1 Rules!
Well you did the right thing, that is the only way to tell which is better. I did the same thing with HP 932c and was shocked that the difference was marginal between the two printers. The problem is the bias leans towards Epson. Most magazines pick Epson, most professionals pick Epson, so what's the deal, is Epson really better ? The problem is assoication and ignorance. Association meaning that Epson has always been associated as a 'photo printer' and HP has always been associated as an 'all-purpose printer'. Ignorance meaning that most people don't know what they are talking about, i challenge anyone to show Epson output that blows away HP. Both printers produce fantastic output, lab quality, the difference is more opinion, and bias, and once again ignorance. This is a very difficult discussion on this forum because people will defend their product to the limits of childish logic. Both printers are great, but one is going to be more towards your liking, kinda like vanilla and chocalate ice cream. Most reviews in magazines and people on this forum are subject to three things: 1) Product Bias 2) Poor technical knowledge 3) Poor testing methods. Your choice of seeing the output for yourself is the best one, you may wish to print several other pictures to draw a fair conclusion.
Dan
Dan
I used epson premium photo glossy paper.
Don Schaeffer
Senior Member
Presuming that you matched paper and printer properties correctly, the difference is visible using a magnifying loup. If you look at the pictures with a 6x magnifier, you will see the dots that make up the HP image. The Epson image shows no dots only a tight pattern.
--Don Schaeffer
--Don Schaeffer
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1003&message=2057086
Read the above thread for more info. It is only based on my own experience with hp and Epson. I won't rehash the problems I had with the hp. You can read that in the other thread. Anyway, as far as print quality goes a side by side comparison showed the Epson to be a great deal better than the hp. I thought that the images were were sharper and more natural looking. I took a pic of my dog (a beautiful black & white English Springer Spaniel) and had printed a 4x6 out on the hp. After returning the hp (both of them) and purchasing an Epson Stylus Photo 820 I printed the same pic. The pic printed on the hp was nice but not as detailed. There was no definition to my dogs black fur and it was sort of flat looking. It was printed with the printer set on its highest quality setting. However, with the Epson (set at 1440 dpi) you could make out individual strands of fur and the pic had depth. In his white fur on the hp you could see dots (yes, you had to look closely) but with the Epson you could not see them (with the naked eye). I also really like that the Epson can print true borderless photos. Some others I'm sure will disagree with me but this is my own observation. It has nothing to do with any marketing or magazines or, uh, some other things that have been mentioned in this thread.
I am new to digital photography but not film photography or computers. I've used a Minolta 35mm SLR for 12 years and have had computers for 16 years. Sure has been fun learning to combine the two! So whatever printer you happen to choose, enjoy! Oh, and by the way, the Epson is picky about paper. I do use Epson's paper. I've been told others will work but its hit and miss. Avoid cheap photo paper.
NKH
Senior Member
on the epson, unless you go into the advanced menu and choose 1440dpi, it will only print at 720dpi...the advanced menu is the ONLY way to get 1440dpi and you must print at 1440 or 2880 dpi to get decent quality. for some crazy reason, epson seems to have "hid" the higher quality the printer is capable of. 720dpi looks downright crappy. best of luck!
George Smith80814
Leading Member
I have had both Canon printers and HP printers. I never liked the Canon (3+ years ago now) and stayed with my HP printers. I have printed photos for more than 5+ years (microtek scanners from 6x6 slides). I have yet to see any 'fading'. The truth is, the epson, canon claims of archival 'quality', well I guess we will know about 30+ years from now whether or not they hold any water. In the mean time, the market hype seems to be swaying a lot people into believing something that can not be questioned or proven or tested. Go figure.
--GSmithCreate an image today that will make someone's day today.
I have used HP printers for years--still have a 932C hooked to my computer but now also have 3 Epsons and the 1280 is used all the time. I have an 875DC and a 780 also. The really huge difference I see between the HP and Epsons are in the details and light colors. The HP just cannot duplicate light colors with its 4 color cart as opposed to the 6 color Epson.
I have the ability to print from the CF card on my 875 but I've never done this--I wouldn't let the printer make my decisions for me, to be truthful. I always do a bit of post work, use profiles and don't always use Epson paper. I like Ilford Galerie Classic Pearl (much like Colorlife) and Office Depot Premium Glossy. I also use HWM quite a lot. I'm in the process of sampling coated and noncoated art papers and all the Red River papers. Epson can handle other papers but you must pay attention to settings. For instance, with the Colorlife or Pearl--and also the OD glossy, you need to use glossy film, 1440. There are lots of other settings also. I still use the HP a bit as a general printer, but if I could only have one---the Epson would definitely be it. Whatever you get, though, all the new printers are pretty decent. I understand the Canon photo printer is quite good, but haven't seen any output, so you might look at that also.
Cheers, Diane--Diane B http://www.pbase.com/picnic/galleriesB/W lover, but color is seducing me
I've had both but in fairness my Epson was about 2 years ago....and had problems inside the first month with clogs and paper types. Exchanged it for my HP and never looked back.
IMO, it boils down to knowing how to set up the printer perfectly. It took me a while, but I learned what the best paper is and how to best set up my own images and settings for the printer. Now I'm perfectly happy and prefer the reliability of my HP vs the true black of Epson and slightly better flesh tones.
The dithering of images in HP more so than Epson....I had to use a loupe to see it and personally only have 20/20 vision where I don't see much of a difference.
My two Lincolns worth.
IMO, it boils down to knowing how to set up the printer perfectly. It took me a while, but I learned what the best paper is and how to best set up my own images and settings for the printer. Now I'm perfectly happy and prefer the reliability of my HP vs the true black of Epson and slightly better flesh tones.
The dithering of images in HP more so than Epson....I had to use a loupe to see it and personally only have 20/20 vision where I don't see much of a difference.
My two Lincolns worth.
Stephan Hess
Well-known member
I had and have an Epson3000 because I wanted something to print out A2 pages. I was content with the quality, but even with 1440 dpi setting there was a dither pattern in light colours to be seen. Best quality ís reached with Epson paper and some of the pictures I printed Ithought to be stunning. Before the Epson I had bought a colour laser (real expensive at that time but despite 1200 dpi no match for an ink jet) but couldn't replace it because the paper feed mechanism is real bad on the 3000. And while I'm willing to feed a paper twcie or reprint a page for a good colour picture I'am not willing to do so for a text document.
I bought a new camera and thought now it's time for a new printer as well. I did want A3. The question was HP1700 or Epson1280 or Cannon9000. For the HP spoke, good experiences in the past and a duplex unit, for the 1290 6-colour printing to the edges and for the 9000 speed, 6-colour and print to the edges.
The Cannon lost hands down just because it wasn't available.
My trust in the mechanical aspects of Epson printers isn't too high and the 1290 prints slow.
So I finally settled for the HP and I'm glad I did.
The print quality is more than I hoped for (I wouldn't say better than the Epson, but for my eyes, which aren't too good I have to admit, they are about same). When I started using the printer the blacks were too green, so I changed colour temerature and saturation in the printer driver and now they are fine, the blacks are very close to the Epson blacks now and I can't see any dither even when close. I do not care whether dither can be seen with either a loupe or microscope and I do not know whether it can be seen. Also prints and monitor display match quite well.
In addition the HP has a duplex unit, so that it can print automatically on both sides of the paper. That's obviously great for documents, but you can also use it for printing comments, copyright or picture data on the back of the print. Of course you should put the comments on the page printed first.
Now I can finally retire the colour laser and the Epson will only be used for A2 prints.
Regards
SH
I bought a new camera and thought now it's time for a new printer as well. I did want A3. The question was HP1700 or Epson1280 or Cannon9000. For the HP spoke, good experiences in the past and a duplex unit, for the 1290 6-colour printing to the edges and for the 9000 speed, 6-colour and print to the edges.
The Cannon lost hands down just because it wasn't available.
My trust in the mechanical aspects of Epson printers isn't too high and the 1290 prints slow.
So I finally settled for the HP and I'm glad I did.
The print quality is more than I hoped for (I wouldn't say better than the Epson, but for my eyes, which aren't too good I have to admit, they are about same). When I started using the printer the blacks were too green, so I changed colour temerature and saturation in the printer driver and now they are fine, the blacks are very close to the Epson blacks now and I can't see any dither even when close. I do not care whether dither can be seen with either a loupe or microscope and I do not know whether it can be seen. Also prints and monitor display match quite well.
In addition the HP has a duplex unit, so that it can print automatically on both sides of the paper. That's obviously great for documents, but you can also use it for printing comments, copyright or picture data on the back of the print. Of course you should put the comments on the page printed first.
Now I can finally retire the colour laser and the Epson will only be used for A2 prints.
Regards
SH
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