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betoranaldi · Oct 2, 2003, 10:00 AM

I am looking to buy a "large format 13x19 or 11x17" printer and wanted to know what you all thought about the Canon s9000 printer...

If anyone has any other suggestions about any other printers I should look into it would greatly be appreciated...

Thanks
Brian

emdash · Oct 2, 2003, 03:28 PM

Epson Stylus Photo 2200 all the way!

Best printer I have ever owned. Drop-dead amazing.

aaanorton · Oct 2, 2003, 05:32 PM

Yup, 2200. It's an amazing printer, unbelievably accurate.
Though you may want to wait and see if Epson announces/releases its successor this month. I think they already have announced something in Japan (or soon will).
Scroll down this page to 9/25 and look for an item on the Epson Pro 4000.
But if you need something now, the 2200 is the best money can buy.

jasontk · Oct 2, 2003, 05:49 PM

I can agree with the others. The Epson 2200 is the best output I've seen from an inkjet.
That said, if the price is too high, the Canon S9000 would probably be my next choice. It's a great printer.
Nothing touches (not yet) the 2200 though.

betoranaldi · Oct 2, 2003, 10:20 PM

thanks for all of your replies the pro 4000 looks pretty impressive.

i will do some reasearch and see which one i can fund better... just bought a alpb

Thanks again
Brian

tooki · Oct 2, 2003, 11:37 PM

I much prefer the Canons. The s9000 is undoubtedly a great printer, but that's an old model, replaced many months ago by the i9100, which is faster, and produces noticeably better output. The i9100 has, IMHO, the best output of all the big brands.

Epsons have great output, but they're comparatively rather slow, and use extremely expensive ink. Also, if you don't use an Epson printer frequently, it can clog -- maybe cleanable, maybe not, in which case your printer is a doorstop.

Large HP printers are good, but their ink is also extremely expensive.

tooki

winwintoo · Oct 2, 2003, 11:50 PM

I have an Epson 1280 photo printer that trash talked on several boards so now I'll take the opportunity to put in a good word for it and say "my bad"

It worked beautifully for a couple of months and then the quality deteriorated and I couldn't find a solution. I began to think I was demented.

I shoved the printer in the corner and forgot about it. Then I was sorting through some stuff to get rid of and I decided to give it one more try - strangely, it started working beautifully again.

An extended Google session revealed the fact that several people posted problems similar to mine and many of them had been sent replacement printers that were just as bad.

Nobody seemed to have a solution, then I came across one lonely voice who suggested that it was the humidity that was causing the problem. The paper swells or something and the colors shift and run and generally make a mess.

HTH
m

aaanorton · Oct 3, 2003, 12:27 AM

Originally posted by tooki:
Also, if you don't use an Epson printer frequently, it can clog -- maybe cleanable, maybe not, in which case your printer is a doorstop.

Not on a 2200/7600/9600/10600. These are not just larger versions of their other printers.

Vader�s Pinch of Death · Oct 3, 2003, 12:51 AM

The Canon is incredible. The epsons always mess up and eat ink like no tomorrow.

geekwagon · Oct 3, 2003, 02:04 AM

Originally posted by tooki:
I much prefer the Canons. The s9000 is undoubtedly a great printer, but that's an old model, replaced many months ago by the i9100, which is faster, and produces noticeably better output. The i9100 has, IMHO, the best output of all the big brands.

Epsons have great output, but they're comparatively rather slow, and use extremely expensive ink. Also, if you don't use an Epson printer frequently, it can clog -- maybe cleanable, maybe not, in which case your printer is a doorstop.

Large HP printers are good, but their ink is also extremely expensive.

tooki

The i9100 is basically an i950 in a larger format (so spake the Canon rep I spoke to about this last week.)

Don't get the Epson 2200 mixed up with the other Epson printers though. Unlike the others, the 2200 uses 6 individual ink tanks like the i9100. I didn't compare capacities on the cartridges, but they are the same price (~$12) as the Canon cartridges.

My question is on the drivers though. I have yet to purchase either printer (although I have looked at them a lot in the stores) but obviously they never have them hooked up to a Mac to try out. I have heard that Canon has great OS X drivers, I dunno about the Epson. I know I heard rumors that the Firewire input on the 2200 is not compatible with OS X. Is that still true?

Does HP even have a large format photo printer? The large inkjets I see in stores from them, are just that, injets (no photo inks.) I guess I could check out HP's site, but that would be work.. ;P

Vader�s Pinch of Death · Oct 3, 2003, 11:16 AM

Originally posted by geekwagon:
The i9100 is basically an i950 in a larger format (so spake the Canon rep I spoke to about this last week.)

Yup, he is right. In that case you will not be disappointed though, the i950 is outstanding.

benb · Oct 3, 2003, 11:32 AM

Originally posted by geekwagon:
The i9100 is basically an i950 in a larger format (so spake the Canon rep I spoke to about this last week.)

Don't get the Epson 2200 mixed up with the other Epson printers though. Unlike the others, the 2200 uses 6 individual ink tanks like the i9100. I didn't compare capacities on the cartridges, but they are the same price (~$12) as the Canon cartridges.

My question is on the drivers though. I have yet to purchase either printer (although I have looked at them a lot in the stores) but obviously they never have them hooked up to a Mac to try out. I have heard that Canon has great OS X drivers, I dunno about the Epson. I know I heard rumors that the Firewire input on the 2200 is not compatible with OS X. Is that still true?

Does HP even have a large format photo printer? The large inkjets I see in stores from them, are just that, injets (no photo inks.) I guess I could check out HP's site, but that would be work.. ;P

I don't think I could get FireWire to work on the 2200, but I mostly use CUPS anyway. And if you want PostScript to the printer, I don't think CUPS supports the i9100, but it does the 2200, and very nicely I might add. I had the 2200 hooked up directly at first, but now it runs of the Linux box using CUPS and Samba/Netatalk. Works great.

And if you buy the Epson, do not leave it on when you don't print. It can accelerate the wear on the printheads.

aaanorton · Oct 3, 2003, 11:44 AM

Originally posted by geekwagon:
Don't get the Epson 2200 mixed up with the other Epson printers though.

Worth repeating (yet again) for certain jedi who have difficulty with this concept.

My question is on the drivers though. I have yet to purchase either printer (although I have looked at them a lot in the stores) but obviously they never have them hooked up to a Mac to try out. I have heard that Canon has great OS X drivers, I dunno about the Epson. I know I heard rumors that the Firewire input on the 2200 is not compatible with OS X. Is that still true?

Right after Jag came out, there was a problem with the 2200 on FW, but that is a thing of the past. In fact, the Apple/Epson drivers on the Jag CD worked perfectly. It was Epson's drivers on their CD and web site that were flaky. I've been using my 2200 on FW since I got it.
I won't tell you that Epson is perfect and write the best s/w possible. They have problems and generally take too long to get certain features to the Mac. That said, if you're looking for a printer to output photographs, there's little point in looking any further than the 2200. It is a GREAT machine. Its paper profiles are excellent and consistent from unit to unit. This ~$600 printer produces some of the best output from digital source I have seen.
Here's another interesting review of the 2200 worth checking out.

betoranaldi · Oct 14, 2003, 12:18 AM

well i went out and bought the canon i9100 it is absolutly stunning. i am a little dissapointed at the compatibility of the postscript driver but i will live with that

thanks all for you help
Brian

Disgruntled Head of C-3PO · Oct 14, 2003, 01:06 AM

Originally posted by aaanorton:
Worth repeating (yet again) for certain jedi who have difficulty with this concept.

OK, so all Epsons for the past 5 years have been buggy and ink wasters EXCEPT for the 2200 then

kovacs · Oct 14, 2003, 05:03 AM

I have an Epson color 3000, and my advice is to stay away from this one, get a newer model...