I’m printing mostly photos, some artwork. Ability to handle cardstock is important (hence the paper path issue), I also dislike HP’s habit of leaving roller marks on my paper. I’m looking for something that’ll handle a larger format than 8.5 x 11 without going over the $1000 mark. I’d also like borderless printing.
Hope that’s helpful! If not tell me where I need to be more specific.
Thanks!
-=Tim=-
Well, I won’t be much help, but here’s an opinion.
I like Epson, so I support your notion of staying away from HP. There are lots of folks who use HP, but in general, I find more support for advanced features more widely available. Color profiles comes to mind.
I have always used Epson for photo work, and HP for text and business stuff.
The 2200 is a nice printer – I don’t need the ink options so I chose the 1280 – a nice printer I might add.
From your description, either the 1280 or the 2200 would be a nice addition, but if ink longevity, lightfastness, and individual carts are important, then the 2200 may suit you fine.
Tim,
If you want to print card stock, you’ll be better off with the Epson 2200 if you can find one, or the 2400 which will replace it very soon. The 2200 goes for around $700, and the new 2400 will cost $849.
Both will handle very thick stock (up to 1.3mm)via a straight through rear loading path. I’m pretty sure that both Epsons offer borderless printing. And they will print panoramas up to 44" long with the Epson driver.
If you print black and white, you should wait for the new printer, which has a new ink set that is quite good at printing B&W without a color cast.
Rick
Tim,
To me, it’s a no contest decision.
I got a Canon i9900 a year ago. My 1280 was just driving me up the wall with very slow printing, and always clogging heads.
The i9900 is superb in quality and speed, and not a single head clog since purchase.
This printer is at the top of most "best" lists that I’ve seen – and the quality of its output is superb. At best quality, an 8×10 prints in a little over a minute.
I, and others I know who have switched to Canon, are through with Epson for life. And, if the print heads should ever clog, the print head structure is instantly changeable by the user. It is packaged separately in the box, and just snapped into place when the new machine is setup. If Epson’s heads clog, and can’t be cleaned via the usual head cleaning cycles, the printer is generally ready for the trash heap.
I’m sure that there are Epson diehards who will challenge my comments – but to each his own,
Ron Hirsch
Thanks y’all for your feedback! 🙂
-=Tim=-
I too have heard a lot of good things about the Canon, fwiw.
The i9900 is superb in quality and speed
I’ve had an i9900 for about 6 months and couldn’t be happier with it. You won’t go wrong with one. I’ve also fed some very heavy card stock through it and it went through just fine. I’ll never own another HP or Epson.
Tim,i own the epson 2200,and have only good things to say about my experience with it. in two years,never had a head clog or any such problem. Not to put down canon,but a friend of mine had one of those mentioned,on a trial basis.he showed me prints,which were impressive,but he complained about color management with it.just check out all the discussions about both and you should be happy either way.I dont know about the archival ratings wih the canon,but that is something to research as well.
I used a 1280 for years before it got dropped by the movers and died. Now they have one called the R1800 which I’ve been using with great sccess. It uses archival inks, and has a special rear paper feed for fine art paper.
It does have eight ink tanks to keep track of, but it’s worth it for the cost savings of only replacing the ink that you’re out of instead of a whole color cartridge. The gamut seems to be wider than any printer I’ve used, so that may be a factor in your decision.
Just ordered an Epson R2400.
Thanks for all the input (even the Canon ones) as they all made me think. 🙂
-=Tim=-
