Canon, HP or Epson?

I plan to buy a printer to print high quality photos larger than 8 1/2 X11- either 11 or 13 inches wide.

Please give me your recommendations or experiences with Epson, HP, or Canon printers $600 or less.
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hfmfoto

I don't know Canon's printers. Choosing between Epson and HP comes down to the feature set that is important to you.

I like the HP B8850 because it offers me just the features I want--excellent color and B&W printing and the availabiity of high quality, less-expensive inks than HP's that match HP's profiles (from Hefger Media in Canada). They also do not require swapping black cartridges with paper changes. The HP products (B9180 and B8850) are weak in ways that don't matter to me: no glosser cartridge for shiny prints with pigment ink, no capability to print CD's, no built-in roll feader, no extended gamut useful for certain types of photos. HP's service is a little under Epson's on average, but I'll buy the extended warranty and have them swap out a problem unit, if needed.

If you want wonderful glossy photos, a built-in roll holder, and a bigger gamut (especially in red/orange), buy the Epson R1900 without hesitation. No really good B&W capability is included, however (no gray ink), third-party inks eventually cause a clogging issue and likely require that you make ($300 and up for the hardware to do so) or have made custom profiles. If you want good B&W too, get the Epson 2880, with probably the best IQ out there for under $1000, although there the ink issues are the same plus swapping of photo and matte black cartridges and no built-in glosser, as the R1900 offers.

All the smaller printers mentioned above are a bargain to buy and no bargain to buy ink for. (I find it helpful to look at the purchase price of the printer net of the ink included. E.g., the HP B8850 is about $430 less maybe $240 of ink. The Epson 2880 is $520 less $90 of ink. The first machine that offers reasonably priced manufacturer's ink is the Epson 3800, which is out of your stated price range.

I hope the above is helpful. The printer reviews on photographyblog.com are the best I have seen and very objective.

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Adrian

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hfmfoto

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I've been using for about a year the Canon Pro 9000. I use it intermittently, shut down for weeks at a time, and I've never had any problems-- no clogs. I use it primarily for 13X19 with some letter size printing, proofing on 4X6- I've printed over a thousand. I print color on glossy, semi-gloss and fine art papers. It's great- the quality is as good as I have seen. On Canon Platinum paper it reminds me of the old Cibachrome. I have also printed black & white and its very good. I am amazed with the quality. I have been printing directly from NX2.

My recommendation would be to go with a refurb Epson Pro 3800. Yes, it is a little over your budget, but the added price is due to all the ink that comes with the printer. It can handle up to 17" (which will feel small to you in time) and produces perhaps some of the finest looking prints possible.

My thoughts on the 3800:
http://blog.camhabib.com/2009/02/epson-printer-stylus-pro-3800-review/

If you want to save a little more, or just don't need such a large printer, the R2880 produces similar quality prints, at a smaller size. Ink prices do go up, but if you don't print that much, smaller cartridges may be the way to go.

Each brand has its ups and downs and in the end, you should go with the one you feel most comfortable with. I personally prefer Epson. Hp does, among other things, desktops, monitors, fax machines, copiers, laptops, graphing calculators, financial calculators, projectors, and so on. I personally find it hard to believe that one company can do so much and do it well, outsourced or not. Canon is primarily a photo company, doing all kinds of equipment, which is certainly a step up, while Epson does mainly printers. Some of the nicest paper I have seen is produced by Epson (Exhibition Fiber) and works like magic on their machines. Again tho, go with the brand that you think you'll feel most comfortable with.

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http://www.camhabib.com - Personal Website
http://blog.camhabib.com - Photography & Technology Blog

For a few hours last week (literally true), there were some refurbished R3800 prints available for $750. I think the included ink is worth roughly $500, and as I mentioned above, this printer gives you entree to buying Epson ink at a reasonable price as it takes much larger cartridges. Thus these printers were a wonderful deal and avoid the issues of using third-party inks with Epson printers.

I'll point out that, like the R2880, the R3800 has no glosser cartridge (nor do the HP printers) and it requires swapping photo and matte black cartridges if you change from some photo papers to others. Finally, the R3800 does not perform pano printing, i.e., print very, very wide documents, as do the R1900, R2880, and HP B9180 and B8850. But it will print a 16" X 20", important to some people.

Finally, HP does not make a 17" printer that I know about, nor did they announce such a product at the ongoing PM show. Thus, you're really limited to making 13" X 19" prints and the occasional 13"-wide pano with HP equipment unless you buy some very serious and expensive equipment. (For panos with the HP, you'll likely want to make a roll holder out of PVC pipe from Home Depot or wherever.)

The view that Epson does better because it's a printer company is not one that I share. HP Printers are a division of HP/Compaq. Epson is a divison of Seiko/Epson, primarily a watch company. But there are different views on this subject and each has their merits.
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Adrian

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thanks for the thought you put into the answer.
DaveL
Canada

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Great! enjoyed my visit.

DaveL
Canada

Really value the comments here. A printer upgrade is in the works, and I value your expertice.
DaveL

So Adrian, did you actually purchase the HP?

The best value in desktop printers in the B size or Epson A2 is the 3800. It doesn't do roll feed but anyone doing roll on the 2880 is underestimating the cost of inks.
Some have had good luck with refurbs, others no.

Both HP and Epson should have updated their B size printers at PMA, or Photokina, neither did with the current economic situation.

So the choice still remains; HP 9180 a great value in a B size, but with it seen the number of faulty printers you'd best get a 3 year warranty.
The Epson 3800 is almost the ideal printer except it doesn't do roll feed.

The Canon line was changed at PMA and there are both the dye and pigment versions in B size. If you want permanent prints best avoid dye unless you glass mount all images. The Canon 9500 is pretty good but doesn't do matte well which both HP and Epson are very good at.

Look at the Three pigs report at photo-i, and on my site there is an old review of the 9180.
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Neil Snape photographer Paris printer reviews at http://www.neilsnape.com

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great site; review is helpful.

DaveL

Epson has traditionally been the most respected brand for photography, but HP is definitely catching up. I was on the fence between the HP B8850 and the Epson R1900 and wanted to stay below $500 while having the ability to do large prints.

Both the Epson R1900 and the HPB8850/9180 get great reviews. You can't go wrong either way. I ultimately went with the Epson R1900 due to the $150 rebate currently in place:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/535138-REG/Epson_C11C698201_Stylus_Photo_R1900_Inkjet.html

Adrian offered a fair and balanced review so I don't need to add much. Epson will do better with glossy images and has the ability to print on DVD's while HP will do better with B&W's. I haven't compared these in person, but based on reviews the HP takes up more space. I have a pretty nice home office and was a little surprised how much room these large format printers need.

As others have said, if you do high volumes you could easily justify the Epson 3800. However, I am a home hobbyist and the Epson R1900 is a good balance for my needs. I still use my old HP AIO for normal business/personal printing. Keep this in mind...sometimes the really heavy duty devices are designed to be used regularly and can give you hassles if they are under utilized.

Good Luck!

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Doug

As regards the HP printers only (this topic well exceeds my knowledge of Epsons), it's my understanding that the B8850 is designed to be used occasionally without many problems due to its automatic maintenance cycle vs. that of the B9180 which is more of a professional machine in this regard, i.e., it does not do so much self-cleaning in case of a small amount of use. Of course, you have to leave the B8850 plugged in to gain this benefit.

It may or may not be entirely within the rules here, but I'll post a notice about another organization, although it is non-profit. To paid members at all levels of Nikonians.org, Epson, now an official sponsor of Nikonians, is currently offering in Europe and will soon offer in the US and Canada a discount coupon on the Epson R1900, good for purchases through Epson only. In Europe, I think the coupon is worth either 100 Euros or 90 BP's. Note that value of the US coupon is not yet set and that the current rebates and special deals from other sellers could possibly make this coupon of no particular value here.

On the HP B9180 (and I'm going to lobby to have the B8850 included), taking this year's four-day Nikonians printing class (at a tuition cost of roughtly a thou' in the US) will earn you a $100 coupon. This course gets very high marks from those who have taken it. (HP is one of the sponsors of this Nikonians class.)

Don't expect any Canon printer discount coupons to come through Nikonians, though!

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Adrian

I'm waiting to see if I can spend $1000 to save $100. (See my posting at the bottom of this thread.) Also, I've got maybe six to eight weeks left to get my office turned into a digital darkroom, update the computers at home (one down and three to go), and set up a secure network.

The short answer is, not yet.
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Adrian

Oh, so you're just talkin'. Some folks here might think you have actual experience with the printers you write about. Since we have only words here, and you are an articulate guy, it helps lend insight and a bit of authenticity if one qualifies their judgments. Just a bit.

Geoduck,

See my answer under your earlier post of the same content, above.
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Adrian