Media for i9100

[Bastet]

Took delivery of the above today and have to say my initial tests have blown
me away - I can't believe I stuck with Epson for so long!

Now here's the problem. I attempted to print some 4"x 6" on some Epson
Glossy Photo stock but, however much I fiddled, I couldn't get the 'bleed'
right to achieve borderless prints (the media is perforated). I've wasted 5
sheets and I'm not inclined to make any further attempts. I notice that the
Canon 4"x 6" has an equal margin, whereas the Epson media (sorry but I work
in mm) has a top bleed area of 17mm (0.65"), whilst all other sides are 6mm
(0.2"). I set the driver to full borderless, and attempted to set the
offsets in Paint Shop Pro (don't have PhotoShop yet - it's on order) but
borderless prints still elude me - can anyone assist?

Could someone please recommend some reasonably priced media to me (bearing
in mind that I'm in the UK)? I know you Yanks rave about Red River, but it
isn't available over here (more's the pity) and I cannot afford USPS
shipping.

The Canon media seems extortionate - the cheapest I could find a pack of 20
4"x 6" Photo Paper Plus Glossy for was nearly £12 and that didn't include
shipping! Maybe I'm behind the times here, but 60p a print is daylight
robbery! The equivalent Epson media is £5.60 - and that's Epson's own
price - less than half the price of the Canon. Yes, I concur that it's
undeniably the best photo printer in this - or possibly any other -
universe, but does the price per print cost *really* have to be so high?

As far as I can ascertain there are several media brands available to the
British connoisseur: -

Canon
Epson
HP
Kodak
Jessop's
JetTec
WH Smith (though I've never had very good results with their media)
Fujifilm
Office World (though I wouldn't go in there if you paid me)

Have I forgotten any?

From what I've gleaned reading here over the years is that Epson, WHS, HP
and Kodak are deemed to be poor quality, both in output quality and
longevity. I know there are people who speak highly of Jessop's - I was
going to look at their site today but it's down for maintenance.

One last thing - more of a by the way than anything else - has anyone
produced decent results with the illustration tool? I tried it this morning
(admittedly on Epson plain paper) and it looked like a very bad relief. Is
that how it is - or did I set it up incorrectly?

Finally - how would one go about printing 10"x 4" (aka panoramic) shots? I
managed using roll paper on my ESP895, but I guess this is too hoi-polloi
for such things - I guess banners are out the question too...I'll have to
press my 985 back into service - assuming it still works!

Thanks

Perdi

 

[David Hurwitz]

I have had no problem printing borderless with the i9100 on Epson 4x6
premium glossy unperforated paper. The Canon oversizes the print and
you get some clipping but if you move the borderless slider on the
driver to the left one notch, you won't lose any of the photo. The
4x6 Epson premium glossy is about $12 US for 50 sheets,

 

[News]

What setting did you use

I have had no problem printing borderless with the i9100 on Epson 4x6
premium glossy unperforated paper. The Canon oversizes the print and
you get some clipping but if you move the borderless slider on the
driver to the left one notch, you won't lose any of the photo. The
4x6 Epson premium glossy is about $12 US for 50 sheets,

 

[LLutton]

Finally - how would one go about printing 10"x 4" (aka panoramic) shots?

You should be able to make 4"x10" panoramic prints with the i9100. I have been
asking and you can go as wide as 19". I am contemplating buying this printer.
Lynn

 

[David Hurwitz]

I set the printer to Canon Photopro paper. I have found Epson premium
glossy and Canon Photopro to be very close on the Canon printer. If
you try to print on Canon Photopro on an Epson printer, the Epson
premium glossy setting produces prints that are too dark.

 

[David Hurwitz]

I have made gorgeous 13x19 prints with my i9100. Recently it
developed some banding and the Canon tech support people weren't much
help. However, it seems to have improved, a little after cleaning,
but mostly after just using the printer for a while. 4x10 panoramas
are a cinch. Just resize your print or do a 4x10 crop and print it on
letter paper. The Canon won't do anything over 19" very easily though
I have seen some threads here where people found a workaround.