[ironknee]

I'm looking for one that is RELIABLE...any thoughts?

Thanks

Sam

[Paul S]

Epson all the way. The Photo 1280 has incredible quality and does wide format.

[nana2]

As long as you don't mind the colour shift problem if the prints are exposed to air.

[CMYKid]

well, and keep in mind that you are printing with a PHOTO printer, which uses 5 or 6 colors rather than 4...I'd really stay away from those and angle for a Stylus Color 1520 which you can still find for around 400 dollars or so...

:ryan

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

I have 3 Epsons and they are BAD BAD BAD. I will never buy another one ever. From now it is HP as the one I have kills all the Epsons in every respect.
Not to mention Epsons OSX support is horrid.

Don't just compare specs.

[Paul S]

I've had HPs and Epsons. I have found my Epson printers to be outstanding. My current Stylus Photo 870 is the best printer I have ever owned. The HPs were fine, and I have no complaints.

The lack of OS X support is distressing, but I'm sure temporary.

[CMYKid]

the Disgruntled Head is drunk....

my Epsons have always been outstanding...at the college i previously taught at all of our in-house color output was done on two 1520's, something along the lines of about 5000 prints a year....great quality and reliability...

just stick with a non-photo printer if you can help it, no sense in complicating things with more ink colors that arent individualy replaceable...

:ryan

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

So anywho, the reason I hate Epson is not because of the print quality, it is great. The problem with my Epson is the little things that make a big difference.

1) You have to manually turn the printer on and Off with a big clicky button. HP's do this automatically.

2) The paper sits in the tray at an angle. After it has been sitting in there for a while the paper bends all out of shape. The HP's the paper lays flat.

3) Waisting ink. Every time you turn the Epson printers on the spend about 2 minutes blasting expensive ink into the resevour to clean the heads. This takes time and is a compleate waste. HP's do not do this.

4) When you replace the ink cart on the Epsons that is all you replace. It is not posible to replace the print head which gets clogged over time. With HP�s every time you buy a new ink cart you get a brand new print head.

5) Epsons are much much louder then almost all the HP�s.

6) So far HP has excelent OSX support. Epsons is pathetic.

7) I have had 3 Epsons and two are busted after 1 year.

So before you call me drunk you might want to ask why I feel this way about Epson.

[emdash]

4) When you replace the ink cart on the Epsons that is all you replace. It is not posible to replace the print head which gets clogged over time. With HP�s every time you buy a new ink cart you get a brand new print head.

This is an excellent point. My gf has an old Epson that is now kaput because the print heads are clogged.

I have the hp 1220c/ps, and I love it. The only caveat is that if you want to use it with the (included) Adobe PressReady, you'd better have a ton of hard drive space. When you're printing an 11x17 sheet, the thing RIPs the whole 10.5x16.5 (or whatever) print area at 1200x1200 dpi, which makes a GIANT spool file. I had a bunch of prints just ... stop ... in the middle of the page before I figured out what was going on. Very frustrating, but a new IBM Deskstar solved the problem.

We have an HP DesignJet 2800CP here at work.... HP makes super printers!

[CMYKid]

�Leave it on. why is this even an issue? oi... your Mac has an off button, no?
.1) You have to manually turn the printer on and Off with a big clicky .button. HP's do this automatically.

�seems a non-issue to me...in 15,000 prints I've never seen this problem.
.2) The paper sits in the tray at an angle. After it has been sitting in .there for a while the paper bends all out of shape. The HP's the .paper lays flat.

like i said...why turn it off? one would think this might be self-explanatory. moreover, it's not 'blasting' ink...the cleaning process uses very little ink and is, in fact, a necessary process.
.3) Waisting [sic] ink. Every time you turn the Epson printers on the spend about 2 minutes blasting expensive ink into the resevour [sic] to clean the heads. This takes time and is a compleate [sic] waste. HP's do not do this.

�this is probably the only valid point and it's a very good one. But, also worth noting that replacement HP cartridges cost a fair amount more than even the Epson name-brand ones (which i NEVER use) and the non-HP ones are fewer because of the integrated print-head. ALSO....ONLY the color cartridge has the integrated print-head according to my HP rep. Another thign to think about...most high-end inkjets, like our 6-footer, have print heads that are not replaced everytime you change ink... if you let it sit and congeal for a long time unused and then try to print you get what you get...
.4) When you replace the ink cart on the Epsons that is all you .replace. It is not posible to replace the print head which gets clogged .over time. With HP�s every time you buy a new ink cart you get a .brand new print head.

�um, no. cant say that they are. but is that really so important? it dooesnt run constantly.
.5) Epsons are much much louder then almost all the HP�s.

�like Paul said, a pain? maybe. temporary? Certainly...i'd guess most printing is done from Classic anyways since thats what most are still running their apps in.
.6) So far HP has excelent OSX support. Epsons is pathetic.

�so you're unhappy. got that...but thats not the norm. what're ya, dancin on em? worth noting also is the fact that, at least around here, Epsons are the only brand that I've had any luck in getting specific service for. All the shops around here fix HP's on a flat-fee basis. so even if it's a 2 dollar belt you're payin 100 dollars...
.7) I have had 3 Epsons and two are busted after 1 year.

it is a joke...we're adults here, eh?
.So before you call me drunk you might want to ask why I feel this way .about Epson.

:ryan

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

You shouldn't leave your Epson printer ON as when you first turn it on it charges the ink by heating it. If you leave it on more then 24 hours the Light on the front of the printer flashes reminding you to turn it off. The reason this is bad is if you leave the ink in heated mode then the ink degrades.

If you print every day then I guess that your paper will not bend, but as I print once a week a stack of paper lasts a long time and bends after only a month.

I have listed many valid points of why I think that Epson has flaws compared to an HP. Instead of telling me that I should not feel this way and you defending them why don't you tell us what bad points HP's have and why Epsons have fewer flaws.

Then we can decide on our own which is better.

[aaanorton]

I've had 2 Epson printers, the Photo EX and cyrrently the SP 1270. Both are excellent printers. If you are looking for large format, I assume you are interested in photo printing (or at least some sort of graphics work). Photoshop 6 to a 1270 produces amazing color fidelity. With its' 6 colors and tiny, variable drop sizes, it boasts photographic quality like no other I've seen. I seen 1270 prints comparable to Fujix prints. This is THE printer to get for photo printing.
I leave mine on all the time and haven't noticed any paper curl problems. Perhaps this isn't the best all-around printer solution, but for photos, it rocks. I have also never experienced any head problems that couldn't be resolved w/ the head cleaning/alignment utility in the print dialog box.
I have had other problems, however. There was a communication issue once, a color profile problem and another weird paper feed thing (all these over about a 4 year period). Each of these problems were eventually resolved by calling Epson, walking them through each issue, trying their ideas and ultimately having them send me a factory refurbished replacement. I've gotten 3 of these. A friend of mine has gotten easily double that. It's amazing. Say what you will about Epson technology, but as far as I can tell, they stand behind their products.
Also, CMYKid, you must have an older model Epson. Since the 1200 (maybe 1270), you have to use genuine Epson printer carts. They have a chip built in. No substitutes allowed.
Cliff

[nana2]

Originally posted by aaanorton:Also, CMYKid, you must have an older model Epson. Since the 1200 (maybe 1270), you have to use genuine Epson printer carts. They have a chip built in. No substitutes allowed.
Cliff

There is a utility program that will reset the chip that is on the cartridge. Also there are various continuous inking systems that use large resorvoir bottles, which makes printing much more affordable.

[dymanohum]

I do large format color for a living. That said the choice depends on what you are after. For the best prints choose rolands hi-fi, keep in mind it will take 1 hour to print a 24 x 36 poster, the epsons are slow also. If you need a production machine choose the encad 850 great quality great speed. I have 3 850's and have had a pile of others, I have considered the others and agree with most people on which ones are best, however I have to make money doing this and the Encads have always pumped out piles of cash. We do about 2-300,000 square feet a year so we need a balance between quality and speed.

[drfrank]

I use an Epson 1270 on a daily basis. It is 2-years old and I have not had any problems that were not easily solved.

[aaanorton]

Originally posted by nana2:
<STRONG>

There is a utility program that will reset the chip that is on the cartridge. Also there are various continuous inking systems that use large resorvoir bottles, which makes printing much more affordable.</STRONG>

This is true. There are also systems for converting some of these inkjets into continuous tone printers. Or continuous tone black and white printers. Go here.

Originally posted by dymanohum:
<STRONG>

For the best prints choose rolands hi-fi</STRONG>

ironknee,
From the original post, I was thinking you wanted prints around 13x19. If you want something more like 30 or 40" prints, definitely check out the Rolands. They're excellent.
Cliff