Compare Epson R200/R800 and 2200 printers

[Al Dykes]

The R800 printer uses 8 ink cartridges, the R200 and other R-series
printers use 6. The cartridge part numbers for the two printers have
nothing in common.

What does the R800 printer and it's two extra cartridges do for me for
the purpose of photorealistic printing, including B&W ?

Is the cost/page similar ?

Are the printers going to use the same paper ?

What would justify the 2200 printer at five times the price
of the R200 ? (I know about external ink tanks for the 2200)

FWIW; I've seen someone produce a series of identical prints on an
R200 and an R800 and they were indestinguishable to the people that
saw them, myself included. Very nice.

Thanks

 

[Douglas]

The R800 uses "pigmented"inks,and 1 cartridge is a gloss optimizer.The 800
will give you long lasting photos.The 200 and 300 use dye based inks.The
photos are nice,but will not have the pop or the life span of the photos
from the 800.The 2200 is a large format printer that also uses the pigmented
inks.It does not have the gloss optimizer,so its glossy photos are not as
nice as the 800s.The 200,300 and 800 will all print on printable cds,the
2200 will not!
Papers will vary with the 800 and 2200,over the 200 and 300.Cost per page
depends on the size and type of paper,as much as the ink cartridges!
The 2200 is much more printer than the R200,if you have to ask about it,the
R200 might be all you need!The 2200 is a large format PHOTO printer! The
R200 is a general purpose 8.5x11" printer,for everyday printing and an
occasional photo.The 2200 is not a printer I would use for printing
documents.

 

[FredBillie]

<< From: (e-mail address removed) (Al Dykes)
Date: Wed, Jul 28, 2004 9:57 PM >><BR><BR>
SNIP
<< FWIW; I've seen someone produce a series of identical prints on an
R200 and an R800 and they were indestinguishable to the people that
saw them, myself included. Very nice.That is kind of disappointing since I printed a picture from my Canon G3 on an
R300 and found the picture not as good as that produced on my older Canon S900
much less the newer Canon i960. The reason I said “disappointing†was that
I had given some thought to upgrading to the R800 sometime in the future
because of its archival pigment inks (something the r-200/R-300 series doand
the ability to print on CD/DVDs.

One review of the R300 of prints on CDs indicated they were subject to smudging
if you got any moisture on them. Hopefully, the R-800, using pigment inks,
would be better in this respect. I do know that the small Epson pictureMate is
outstanding in producing 6X4 pictures and their resistance to moisture. I
duplicated an online test site’s results by producing a PictureMate 4X6 and
IMMEDIATELY placing it under running water while rubbing the picture with my
finger. Absolutely no smearing of the ink. Of course, the paper was a little
curled when it dried. Quite amazing.

 

[Rob]

<< From: (e-mail address removed) (Al Dykes)
Date: Wed, Jul 28, 2004 9:57 PM >><BR><BR>
SNIP
<< FWIW; I've seen someone produce a series of identical prints on an
R200 and an R800 and they were indestinguishable to the people that
saw them, myself included. Very nice.
That is kind of disappointing since I printed a picture from my Canon G3 on an
R300 and found the picture not as good as that produced on my older Canon S900
much less the newer Canon i960. The reason I said “disappointing†was that
I had given some thought to upgrading to the R800 sometime in the future
because of its archival pigment inks (something the r-200/R-300 series doand
the ability to print on CD/DVDs.

One review of the R300 of prints on CDs indicated they were subject to smudging
if you got any moisture on them.

having read this comment some time a go now, I placed a CD in water,
water on it, etc and found it was very hard to smudge. I have been using
Imation CD's maybe its the surface on them that absorbing the inks and
allowing them to dry but for me the smudge problem is non existent.

rm

 

[CWatters]

The R800 uses "pigmented"inks,and 1 cartridge is a gloss optimizer.The 800
will give you long lasting photos.The 200 and 300 use dye based inks.The
photos are nice,but will not have the pop or the life span of the photos
from the 800.The 2200 is a large format printer that also uses the pigmented
inks.It does not have the gloss optimizer,so its glossy photos are not as
nice as the 800s.The 200,300 and 800 will all print on printable cds,the
2200 will not!

...but the 2100 (the European model) will print CDs. It comes with CD
printing tray and paper cutter for roll paper.

 

[Douglas]

Use Illford pearl white with the 800 and the results will put your old Canon
to shame.If you can not see the difference between print from the 800 and
the 300,you need your eyes checked.As for the cds smudging,some brands will
smear more than others! You can also spray the cds with a protectant.

 

[Hecate]

The R800 uses "pigmented"inks,and 1 cartridge is a gloss optimizer.The 800
will give you long lasting photos.The 200 and 300 use dye based inks.The
photos are nice,but will not have the pop or the life span of the photos
from the 800.The 2200 is a large format printer that also uses the pigmented
inks.It does not have the gloss optimizer,so its glossy photos are not as
nice as the 800s.The 200,300 and 800 will all print on printable cds,the
2200 will not!

It will if it's a 2100 and you're not in the US. So here's a tip -
next time you holiday in Europe buy your 2100 and ship it over ;-0