HP 5550 vs Canon i850...again

[Kpiog]

Hate to re-hash this on-going debate...

We were going to get the 5550 until I read all the glowing reports on the
i850 and decided on the Canon.

But besides what everyone says about Canon being cheaper to operate than HP
(and that it's 4 colors are just as good as HP's 6 colors for photos....hard
to believe, but...), I was surpised at the price of the units. At our local
Costco (canada), the I850 is $220 and the 5550 is only $145. Now assuming
your not doing a lot of printing (like us), wouldn't this sway an opinion
towards the HP (we are not really comparing apples to oranges anymore...)

 

[FredBillie]

From: "Kpiog" (e-mail address removed)

Date: Wed, Jul 9, 2003 9:17 PM
Message-id: <[email protected]>

Hate to re-hash this on-going debate...

We were going to get the 5550 until I read all the glowing reports on the
i850 and decided on the Canon.

But besides what everyone says about Canon being cheaper to operate than
HP
(and that it's 4 colors are just as good as HP's 6 colors for photos....hard
to believe, but...), I was surpised at the price of the units. At our local
Costco (canada), the I850 is $220 and the 5550 is only $145. Now assuming
your not doing a lot of printing (like us), wouldn't this sway an opinion
towards the HP (we are not really comparing apples to oranges anymore...)

The price differential does give you room for pause. I still go with the Canon
printers because of their speed AND because I use very heavy photo paper that
has been known to give many HP printers the fits because of its 180 degree
convoluted paper path.

 

[xNokia_3390x]

The price differential does give you room for pause. I still go with the Canon
printers because of their speed AND because I use very heavy photo paper that
has been known to give many HP printers the fits because of its 180 degree
convoluted paper path.

How thick? I've used 10.4mil photo paper with no problem...and thicker card
paper. Back to the original topic -- I'm sure a lot of people go by price.
I go by price, brand and ink consumption. In the end, I went with the HP
Photosmart 7350. I just can't pull myself back to Canon for a primary
printer (I have a cheap i320 w/ my second computer) after my BJC-5000 failed
after 8 months and Canon didn't do anything at all to help. My ink
consumption seems even enough not to warrant a printer with seperate colors.
The color that had the most ink when I refilled my other HP was magenta.
Both the cyan and yellow were pretty much empty... But yep, I'm very happy
with my purchase and haven't though twice about it since then.

 

[shel]

Hate to re-hash this on-going debate...

We were going to get the 5550 until I read all the glowing reports on the
i850 and decided on the Canon.

But besides what everyone says about Canon being cheaper to operate than HP
(and that it's 4 colors are just as good as HP's 6 colors for photos....hard
to believe, but...), I was surpised at the price of the units. At our local
Costco (canada), the I850 is $220 and the 5550 is only $145. Now assuming
your not doing a lot of printing (like us), wouldn't this sway an opinion
towards the HP (we are not really comparing apples to oranges anymore...)

The canon i850 is a great printer.

SLK

 

[Kpiog]

The canon i850 is a great printer.

Like I say, I'm sure it is....but is it $75 better (what is that 150%?
....could never get that right)

 

[Kpiog]

You'll save way more than the price difference in ink cartridges with the
Canon. HP cartridges are a bear to refill and HP charges an arm and a leg
for them.

I used a local Office Depot for the following, so don't shoot the
messenger...or bother me about the cdn prices because if the Canon prices
are high, so are the HP...(it's all relative)

Canon i850
Black cartridge $20 500 pages
Color cartridges $20 280 pages (or ~$18 for 250)

HP 5550
56 Black $31 450 pages (or ~$34 for 500)
57 Color $55 400 pages (or ~$66 for 500)
58 Photo $38 125 pages

Canon beats HP big time with Black only printouts.

But to print around 500 color pages in Canon, it would be about $20 + (6 x
$18)= $128.
For HP it would be about 34+66 = $100.

If you print out 5000 pages in black, it would cost $200 (Canon) vs $340
(HP)
(If I only knew how many pages I printout....is 5000 accurate for the
average user?)

How about 3000 black pages: Canon $120 vs HP $204
How about 3000 color pages: Canon $768 vs HP $600
(remember the 5550 is $75 cheaper)

And we're not talking using HP 58 either......is the 6 color printout better
than the i850's 4 color?



*Taking prices from Fry's Outpost and the results are fairly similiar (for
US)
i850 Black $10 Color $11
HP 5550 56 Black $20 57 Color $32

- 500 sheets color in Canon is $70 and in HP is $60...and Canon still
leading the same with black.


bibliography
(I know how "unscientific" this is but what else can you do)
prices and pages from:
http://www.officedepot.ca/tonerInkFind.do?model=8562&modelname=i850
http://www.officedepot.ca/tonerInkFind.do?model=6105&modelname=DeskJet+5550

 

[Wayne]

Canon i850

Black cartridge $20 500 pages
Color cartridges $20 280 pages (or ~$18 for 250)

HP 5550
56 Black $31 450 pages (or ~$34 for 500)
57 Color $55 400 pages (or ~$66 for 500)
58 Photo $38 125 pages

What are those tests based on? 5% coverage, ISO/JIS-SCID patterns,
personal experience, etc.

 

[DRB]

I'm not sure where you're at, but the prices on those HP Carts see waaaaay
high. I pay $35 for a double pack at Office Max (available individually for
about 20 a piece). The Color carts are about 34 a piece, if I remember
correctly. My photo cart was 24.

 

[JeffK.]

What went with your BJC5000?

 

[Bill]

Canon i850
Black cartridge $20 500 pages
Color cartridges $20 280 pages (or ~$18 for 250)

HP 5550
56 Black $31 450 pages (or ~$34 for 500)
57 Color $55 400 pages (or ~$66 for 500)
58 Photo $38 125 pages

Canon beats HP big time with Black only printouts.

It's even better than you think because the HP has 19ml of ink and the
Canon has 26ml. Logic would dictate that the Canon can print more pages,
all other things being equal, which I'm sure they're not.

Even so, you're data is pretty close for black ink. But not so for
colour, as you can read below.

But to print around 500 color pages in Canon, it would be about $20 + (6 x
$18)= $128.

And here's where your data is flawed...you forgot about the total ink
volumes. The totals for colour pages from the Canon must include all
three colours as it does in the HP, so it would actually be more like
$20+(3x~$12)=$56.

For colour inks, the HP has a total of 17ml of ink, while the Canon
holds a total of 43.5ml (3x14.5) - over 2.5x more ink for only a few
dollars more total cost (3x$20=$60 compared to HP at $55).

And let's not forget that you don't waste any colour ink with the Canon
since you don't have to throw away a tri-colour cartridge that may still
contain ink from the other two chambers.

Personal experience with both HP and Canon printers reflects this
pattern - the Canon sips ink compared to HP. My ink costs are MUCH lower
with Canon.

 

[Kpiog]

What are those tests based on? 5% coverage, ISO/JIS-SCID patterns,
personal experience, etc.

Like I metioned in the post, the data was taken from Office Depot's site and
I'm at the mercy of their information. You just can't seem to find this type
of information from the makers of the printers anymore...

 

[Kpiog]

I'm not sure where you're at, but the prices on those HP Carts see waaaaay
high. I pay $35 for a double pack at Office Max (available individually for
about 20 a piece). The Color carts are about 34 a piece, if I remember
correctly. My photo cart was 24.

Once again, the prices were from one place in hopes that if they have high
prices for one, they high for all. I wasn't planning on spending a lot of
type "price" shopping...I'm almost positive, these prices can be beat...

 

[Kpiog]

And here's where your data is flawed...you forgot about the total ink
volumes. The totals for colour pages from the Canon must include all
three colours as it does in the HP, so it would actually be more like
$20+(3x~$12)=$56.

I'm not sure you can compare by using the capacity of ink cartridges, can
you? (ie: are they both as efficient at using ink as the other?)

According to that site's information the 57 (and it's three colors for a
total of 17ml or 17ml each?) will print 400 pages. The Canon cartridges are
14.5 ml each (and cost $20 each) and will print 280 pages each and/or 280
pages with all colors like the HP. (I'm not sure where you got the $12
from)...

Anywho, this is all pretty unscientific, and I'm haven't seen many people
claim that the HP is more economical than the Canon for ink.

And we too used to have a Canon 4200 and HP 720 and the Canon was constantly
running out of ink way before the HP. But the cartridges were half the
price.

ps. Anyone care to comment on 5550 6 color photos vs 850's 4 color photos...

 

[Wayne]

Like I metioned in the post, the data was taken from Office Depot's site and
I'm at the mercy of their information. You just can't seem to find this type
of information from the makers of the printers anymore...

Acoording to this site -
http://www.canon.com.sg/index.cfm?fuseaction=bubblejet&prod_type=i850_specs,
it should be like that:

Canon i850 @ 5% coverage

Black (BCI-3eBK) - 330 pages at 5% coverage
Yellow (BCI-3eY) - 460 pages at 5% coverage
Cyan (BCI-3eC) - 460 pages at 5% coverage
Magenta (BCI-3eM) - 460 pages at 5% coverage

Canon i850 @ printing ISO/JIS-SCID N5 image

Black (BCI-3eBK) - 1500 pages
Yellow (BCI-3eY) - 380 pages
Cyan (BCI-3eC) - 570 pages
Magenta (BCI-3eM) - 440 pages

Not sure if it is true though.

Wayne

 

[Deathwalker]

I'm not sure you can compare by using the capacity of ink cartridges,
can you? (ie: are they both as efficient at using ink as the other?)

I doubt the hp is 6 times more efficient.

 

[Bob Headrick]

you are overlooking the fact that maximum quality for hp requires you remove
the black and insert the photo cartridge. so printing max quality requires
57 colour $55 AND 58 photo $38.

Your prices for the cartridges are way out of line. The #57 color printer is
about $35 and the #58 color is $25. Are you quoting prices in something other
than $US? See the following for HP list prices; dealer prices may be lower:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/cgi-bin/...name=deskjet 5550&script_name=destination.cgi

BTW, the pages out data is based on 15% coverage for the #57 color cartridge
(5% of each color) and 4"x6" photos for the #58 photo cartridge.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP

 

[Steve B]

I'm still waiting to see it anyone will dare to say that the i850's 4 color
photo quality is equal or better than the 5550's six color

photos....anyone?

Having seen both printers' output, the 5550 (6 colours used) is better
quality than the i850.

No one has mentioned Canon's print heads either....do they get clogged if
the units isn't used for a short period of time?

No personal experience here, but I've read a lot of comments saying it's a
good'un. Clogs are rare and can be cleared, but there's always that risk of
course. HP's never clog and if they did it's just a case of buying a new
cartridge.

 

[buck]

Your prices for the cartridges are way out of line. The #57 color printer is
about $35 and the #58 color is $25. Are you quoting prices in something other
than $US? See the following for HP list prices; dealer prices may be lower:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/cgi-bin/...name=deskjet 5550&script_name=destination.cgi

BTW, the pages out data is based on 15% coverage for the #57 color cartridge
(5% of each color) and 4"x6" photos for the #58 photo cartridge.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP

Bob I think the prices the OP used were for 2-packs of
each, which for some reason are the ONLY way you can
find them (in my area) most of the time.

 

[Wayne]

Having seen both printers' output, the 5550 (6 colours used) is better

quality than the i850.

I have also seen the printouts from both printers and think that the
one from the i850 is better. i850 has better (nicer?) skin colours
transitions (don't know why) even though the 5550 was using 6 carts.
The printout from i850 also had more vivid and life-like colours.

No personal experience here, but I've read a lot of comments saying it's a
good'un. Clogs are rare and can be cleared, but there's always that risk of
course. HP's never clog and if they did it's just a case of buying a new
cartridge.

If a printer doesn't have a permanetn printhead it doesn't mean that
it doesn't clog. Every inkjet will clog if you will left it unused for
some peroid.
Remember that with HP, you pay about 35$ for one cartidge.

Wayne

 

[Wayne]

Having seen both printers' output, the 5550 (6 colours used) is better

quality than the i850.

I have also seen the printouts from both printers and think that the
one from the i850 is better. i850 has better (nicer?) skin colours
transitions (don't know why) even though the 5550 was using 6 carts.
The printout from i850 also had more vivid and life-like colours.

No personal experience here, but I've read a lot of comments saying it's a
good'un. Clogs are rare and can be cleared, but there's always that risk of
course. HP's never clog and if they did it's just a case of buying a new
cartridge.

If a printer doesn't have a permanetn printhead it doesn't mean that
it doesn't clog. Every inkjet will clog if you will left it unused for
some peroid.
Remember that with HP, you pay about 35$ for one cartidge.

Wayne