Printer recommendations

[Perdita X. Dream]

My loyal friend, my ESC900 is finally on its last legs after, what, 7 years
good and faithful service (I bought it when they were new). Print quality is
declining (even after a good Windolening!) and every printed page is covered
in black specks (rather like a poor photocopy). My father prints a lot of
golf club correspondence, on headed stationery, and it isn't giving a very
good impression (in both senses!) Can anyone recommend a good all-round
printer (yes, I know jack-of-all-trades...).

Here are my requirements

Clear, crisp text.
Accurate colour reproduction (for both graphics and photographs)
Decent photo reproduction (on both plain paper and coated)
Fairly fast text speeds (the 900 is nippy even in 'Fine' mode - I'm not too
bothered about fast colour printing speeds, I'd much rather have a good,
clean, accurately produced print).

As for the cost well, I'm not made of money (and I know I can shop around)
but roughly £200 all-in. I was toying with the idea of getting an A3 but,
for the amount of A3 prints I do in a year, it's probably not worth it
(though I may do more if I had one...)

Thanks for any, and all, suggestions. I've been loyal to Epson, since my
first inkjet, but would obviously consider other manufacturers, though I've
had bad experiences with Canon and HP, which is why I keep returning to
Epson!

--
Perdita X. Dream

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[Ron Martell]

My loyal friend, my ESC900 is finally on its last legs after, what, 7 years
good and faithful service (I bought it when they were new). Print quality is
declining (even after a good Windolening!) and every printed page is covered
in black specks (rather like a poor photocopy). My father prints a lot of
golf club correspondence, on headed stationery, and it isn't giving a very
good impression (in both senses!) Can anyone recommend a good all-round
printer (yes, I know jack-of-all-trades...).

Here are my requirements

Clear, crisp text.
Accurate colour reproduction (for both graphics and photographs)
Decent photo reproduction (on both plain paper and coated)
Fairly fast text speeds (the 900 is nippy even in 'Fine' mode - I'm not too
bothered about fast colour printing speeds, I'd much rather have a good,
clean, accurately produced print).

As for the cost well, I'm not made of money (and I know I can shop around)
but roughly £200 all-in. I was toying with the idea of getting an A3 but,
for the amount of A3 prints I do in a year, it's probably not worth it
(though I may do more if I had one...)

Thanks for any, and all, suggestions. I've been loyal to Epson, since my
first inkjet, but would obviously consider other manufacturers, though I've
had bad experiences with Canon and HP, which is why I keep returning to
Epson!

My personal opinion is that there are 2 kinds of printers made today -
HP and crap.

In my business I provide on-site warranty service (at my expense) for
PCs and the accessories that I sell with that PC. For the past 8
years I have had a policy that if a customer wants a Canon, Epson, or
Lexmark printer with their PC then the warranty is amended so that the
printer is *excluded* from my on-site warranty service. Factory
warranty only. Couldn't afford to operate otherwise.




Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."

 

[Taliesyn]

Perdita X. Dream wrote:
[clipped]

Here are my requirements

Clear, crisp text.

Canon i850 (Quite laser-like)

Accurate colour reproduction (for both graphics and photographs)

Canon i850

Decent photo reproduction (on both plain paper and coated)

Canon i850 (on glossy it's a match lab photo prints!)

Fairly fast text speeds (the 900 is nippy even in 'Fine' mode - I'm not too
bothered about fast colour printing speeds, I'd much rather have a good,

Canon i850 (unique feeding system feeds next sheet to be printed before
previous sheet has fully exited!

clean, accurately produced print).

Canon i850

As for the cost well, I'm not made of money (and I know I can shop around)
but roughly £200 all-in.

Canon i850

Without a doubt one of the most recommended printers in this newsgroup.
The other being the more expensive Canon i950 photo printer.

I refill my own and run it for pennies.

-Taliesyn

 

[Bill]

My personal opinion is that there are 2 kinds of printers made today -
HP and crap.

Too bad you still think that way.

I used to be an HP fan too and highly recommended them. But their build
design has long since changed and they're no longer the workhorses they
once were, unless you buy a mid-to-hi end laser. Their warranty period
reflects that and matches the competition.

When it came time to replace my aging deskjet, I looked at initial cost,
output quality, reliability, and most importantly ink costs. The Canon
i-series is currently the best choice. That may change in the next year,
who knows, but I needed to buy a new printer now, not a year from now.

Several years ago I wouldn't have recommended a Canon to my worst enemy
due to high failure rates. But after seeing the design and output
quality of the Canon i-series, I now highly recommend Canon over HP or
the others.

 

[Wayne]

My personal opinion is that there are 2 kinds of printers made today -

HP and crap.

I think that most HP and Lexmark printers are rubbish (high running
costs, poor output, etc.). They don't compare to the overall quality
of Epsons or Canons.

 

[GB]

Yea, HP are the IBM of lasers, but never inkjets.

i.e.: In the past if you bought genuine IBM PCs for your company your job was secure. Now if you
buy a genuine IBM PC your a clown. I guess there are still great HP lasers, but there are also
other good ones on the market now.

I've never seen as many printer failures as the DeskJet 670.

I bought the i850

 

[Taliesyn]

canon s750 had the same page feed system and it was a bit quicker than
on the i850


I still think that Canon made a bad move with i850. The photo print
quality is just too good and many people buy i850 over i950 (also
because of the price, versatlity and running costs).

I chose the i850 over the i950 because it had about the same
photo printing output as the i950 (if you didn't look with a
magnifying glass), and was priced much cheaper - $229 versus
#399 ($CDN). In Canada, as you see, the price difference is almost
double for the i950, but the quality of its printouts isn't.
Too many hassles with Epsons to even consider them. Don't like
HP for a multitude of reasons, beginning with its stupid front paper
loading system.

-Taliesyn

 

[Perdita X. Dream]

The Canon i550 or i850 is a good deal. The two are very similar, except
the i850 produces photos with finer details and smoother shading. The
running costs for both are very low.


Epson has good output, but their ink costs are too high. I used to be an
HP fan, until I saw the Canon i850.

OK, I will definitely look into the i850/950. Just one further question,
what is the longevity of photographic prints? Say I printed something that I
wanted to frame (as opposed to sticking it in an album) and it was on the
mantlepiece in my living room which receives quite a bit of sun. How long
would that print last before it began to fade or the colours began to
change?

Thanks


--
Perdita X. Dream

Please help us to help you
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http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm.
Please note that the reply address is fake.
Keep all posts to the groups as private requests for assistance
(i.e. email/IM) cannot be acknowledged. Thank you.

 

[Ron Cohen]

Excellent paper. Red River is available from Red River Paper in Dallas, TX.
Fast and reasonable shipping. Their web site also has longevity studies.
http://www.redrivercatalog.com

 

[Don Davis]

Perdita,
I can't imagine no one has mentioned an Epson C82. It seems ideal for
your application. It uses pigmented ink that is just about water proof and
last for 90 years in ideal conditions and with the right kind of paper, but
on plain paper, it will still last longer than any other printer's output.
I've had photos on the refrigerator for a year with no change at all.
The price is way down now with store and manufacturer's rebates.In some
cases as low as 25 USD
The ink cost per print is one of the lowest of any out there. It uses
separate cartridges for three colors and black. Compatible cartridges that
produce very good results are available on line.I've had mine since Dec 2002
and have to use the head cleaning routine.three times, even though I've been
compatible ink cartridges.
The text is laser-like and is among the fastest.
Photos prints are great using matte paper and are better than, probably,
any other printer on the market on regular paper.
I'm sure the Canon i850 & i950 are very good printers, but I think the
C82 should be considered.
Good luck.
Don D

 

[Bill]

OK, I will definitely look into the i850/950. Just one further question,
what is the longevity of photographic prints? Say I printed something that I
wanted to frame (as opposed to sticking it in an album) and it was on the
mantlepiece in my living room which receives quite a bit of sun. How long
would that print last before it began to fade or the colours began to
change?

All the manufacturers make claims that don't hold up to torture tests.

If you put it under glass, and not in direct sunlight, it should last
for many years. But if you put it in the sun, you can expect it to fade
much sooner.

I suggest if you set it on your mantlepiece, you angle it away from
direct sunlight, and you should be fine. And of course if you keep the
original images backed up on CD, you could always print them again in 20
years...unless we have holo-images by then.

 

[Dave Weller]

all my pictures printed on Canon photo pro paper are now in a dark room.
Very convenient !

 

[Perdita X. Dream]

all my pictures printed on Canon photo pro paper are now in a dark room.
Very convenient !

Thanks for the recommendation re Red River paper but, as I'm in the UK, it's
not very helpful (I know I didn't state my location, but the £ should have
been a big clue! ))

There is one last point I neglected to mention - does it handle banner
paper? I print panoramics (10x4) and, as they don't appear to sell cut paper
of that size, I've been using 4" banner paper in my 895. Will either the
i850 or 950 handle this? This is what was attracting me to the ESP950/2100
the fact it could a) handle banner paper and b) the fact it had a built in
'guillotine'.

So, does anyone have any UK paper recommendations and can I use banner
paper?

Ta muchly.
--
Perdita X. Dream

Please help us to help you
http://groups.google.com
http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm.
Please note that the reply address is fake.
Keep all posts to the groups as private requests for assistance
(i.e. email/IM) cannot be acknowledged. Thank you.

 

[Wayne]

depends of the paper (not the ink, I made the test ). If you use Canon paper
, 15 days and your picture will be yellow.

Which Canon paper? Obviously not Photo Pro (pr-101) or photo plus glossy (pp-101).

 

[Wayne]

depends of the paper (not the ink, I made the test ). If you use Canon paper
, 15 days and your picture will be yellow.

Which Canon paper? Obviously not Photo Pro (pr-101) or photo plus glossy (pp-101).

Some said Red River is better but I cant find it anywhere.

in terms of fading - not

 

[Dave Weller]

yeah the "Photo Paper Pro"

 

[Jerry Schwartz]

That's a challenge even for a photograph. I would burn a copy to CD, so you
can reprint it.

 

[Larry]

Sounds like a Canon i850 candidate to me!

-Larry

 

[Larry]

No thanks on the Epson. My days of head clogs are over!

Larry

 

[Larry]

www.redriverpaper.com

-Larry