Printers

[The Vulcan]

Since digital arrived I haven't attempted any high end printing. limiting my endeavors to a few run-offs of the family to keep the G/F's lot happy.

For various reasons I now find myself needing to make high quality A3 and A4 prints.

Luckily I have 200 plus sheets of Olmec A3 paper so this end is solved.

BUT, and this is the point, what are you guys (printers) using to produce top notch stuff?

My early investigations point to Hewlett & Packard or Epson - inks costs look shocking though! And replenishing seems to warrant a trip to BKK which is not what I'm looking for!

I read somewhere (and can't find it now) about a new machine by (I think) H&P which apparently is extremely efficient on ink usage claiming to need only some 10% of that which other printers use. Seem to recollect it was also a 12 ink unit. Any clues on this?

I'd be obliged for your feedback

Thanks

p.s. It's an inkjet printer I have in mind.

[Nordlys]

Have you considered Canon Pixus 9500 (pigment ink) or 9000 (dye), sold at Fotofile (and other outlets) for 25,000 and 20,000 Baht, respectively. I had Fotofile make A3 size sample print with 9500 and A4 size prints at Canon Sales (Thailand), and was very happy with both results. I'm also comtemplating buying a consumer grade A3 capable high definition photo quality printer and am inclined toward Canon, although many users seem to agree that EPSON leads Canon's rival models in print quality especially with printers utilizing pigment ink, although pigment ink seem to cause the ink nozzle to clog way too frequently than dye ink printer. I am for Canon because both the genuine ink cartridge and papers seem readily available at Fotofile and Canon service center is near my residence only about 20 minutes away. I've also been pretty content with the quality of service at Canon service center in Thailand and I tend to think that the quality of repair service and its policy tend to be better when the company is wholly owned subsidiary of the headquarter in Japan, rather than the local distributor/importer whose service entrusted by the headquarter company (EPSON, I believe), generally speaking.

The only thing holding me back from buying now is I haven't made up my mind which type ink printer I want (but definitely 9500 if you have many B&W photos to print) and finding a space to place this huge piece of peripheral. Canon Sales (Thailand) at Canon service center on South Sathorn (BTS Chong Nongsri) will do a demonstration print of both printers on your demand.

Edited June 15, 2008 by Nordlys

[astral]

I use my local professional photo shop for all my printing needs.

With the costs of paper and ink it seems the best option for my limited printing needs.

[The Vulcan]

Have you considered Canon Pixus 9500 (pigment ink) or 9000 (dye), sold at Fotofile (and other outlets) for 25,000 and 20,000 Baht, respectively. I had Fotofile make A3 size sample print with 9500 and A4 size prints at Canon Sales (Thailand), and was very happy with both results. I'm also comtemplating buying a consumer grade A3 capable high definition photo quality printer and am inclined toward Canon, although many users seem to agree that EPSON leads Canon's rival models in print quality especially with printers utilizing pigment ink, although pigment ink seem to cause the ink nozzle to clog way too frequently than dye ink printer. I am for Canon because both the genuine ink cartridge and papers seem readily available at Fotofile and Canon service center is near my residence only about 20 minutes away. I've also been pretty content with the quality of service at Canon service center in Thailand and I tend to think that the quality of repair service and its policy tend to be better when the company is wholly owned subsidiary of the headquarter in Japan, rather than the local distributor/importer whose service entrusted by the headquarter company (EPSON, I believe), generally speaking.

The only thing holding me back from buying now is I haven't made up my mind which type ink printer I want (but definitely 9500 if you have many B&W photos to print) and finding a space to place this huge piece of peripheral. Canon Sales (Thailand) at Canon service center on South Sathorn (BTS Chong Nongsri) will do a demonstration print of both printers on your demand.

Thanks for that - not a bad idea to take an image for test printing. As it is, I'm due at Canon soon for my free service and sensor clean so I guess this will be an ideal opportunity.

Previously I ran an Epson 1200 S stylus pro A3 and the prints were very good, but what a lot of problems with breakdowns I had with this machine! Currently using a "cheapo" Epson R210 Photo Stylus which in all honesty has been great. No breakdowns, ink cloggings etc.

Never used a Canon printer so I'll be intrigued to see the quality.

Thanks for your input

[Nordlys]

If possible, ask them to make same print with both 9500 (pigment) and 9000 (dye). If they said they can't prepare both printers perhaps ask Canon Sales (Thailand) to do 9000 and Fotofile 9500, as 9500 is on demonstration at Fotofile (5th floor) for demo hooked up to iMac ready to print at all times (both machines not displayed at Canon service center, so might take time for them to set it up at Canon). If you're a frequent customer they'll do 1 or 2 prints FOC for you to take home, on A3 paper (but not the best quality paper they have). Last year I had Canon do two free prints on 9000 for take home, on A4 size paper. They might print more but that's all I asked. Both printers can print up to A3+ size.

Have you decided which type ink printer suits your needs better, pigment or dye? Some people buy both because they both have pros and cons that can only be complemented by each other.

If not in Thailand I'd seriously consider EPSON PX-5600 too.

Edited June 16, 2008 by Nordlys

[gymshark]

Just never, ever buy a Brother printer.

[Nordlys]

Some pros and cons of Canon Pixus Pro 9500 (or pigment ink printers in general) and 9000 (or dye ink printers in general) that should be noted.

1) pigment ink lasts longer in time (over 100 years theoretically) than dye with little or no color fading, although dye ink lasts sufficiently long (I forgot but decades)

2) dye ink runs over time whereas pigment doesn't, but pigment less resistant to wear and scratch so best to avoid print surface contact

3) 9500 print speed slower than 9000, not suitable when you have huge number of photos to print.

4) and ink dries slower than 9000 (some say 24 hours but seems to have fixed quite well on the paper in my sample from 9500)

5) pigment ink produces better B&W print than dye (not to be confused that 9500 is less suitable for color prints than 9000), and produces excellent detail in high light area with 9500, but black too easy to saturate

6) inconsistent texture with dye ink when using 9500 depending on the ink color used (9500 comes with 10 ink cartridges), not a problem with 9000

7) if you like glossy finish 9000 is the way to go

8) dye ink better than pigment in reproducing "airy" feel to the photo that creates a sense of dimension/depth of field.

I think there are more but this much I gather from reading a forum with long threads dedicated to each models (but not in English). I could be wrong on some of them but the list goes on.

Edited June 16, 2008 by Nordlys

[Nordlys]

Some addition and corrections...

Some pros and cons of Canon Pixus Pro 9500 (or pigment ink printers in general) and 9000 (or dye ink printers in general) that should be noted.

1) pigment ink lasts longer in time (over 100 years theoretically) than dye with little or no color fading, although dye ink lasts sufficiently long (I forgot but decades)

2) dye ink runs over time whereas pigment doesn't, but pigment less resistant to wear and scratch so best to avoid print surface contact (but more resistant to humidity than dye).

3) 9500 print speed slower than 9000, not suitable when you have huge number of photos to print.

4) and ink dries slower than 9000, especially black ink (some say 24 hours but more than 100 hours for black ink on glossy paper)

5) pigment ink produces better B&W print than dye (not to be confused that 9500 is less suitable for color prints than 9000), and produces excellent detail in high light area with 9500, but black too easy to saturate

6) inconsistent texture with dye ink when using 9500 depending on the ink color used (9500 comes with 10 ink cartridges), not a problem with 9000

7) if you like glossy finish 9000 is the way to go

8) 9000 better than 9500 in reproducing "airy" feel to the photo that creates a sense of dimension/depth of field (but not always the case with all dye printers against pigment).

9) limited print papers available for 9500, not all photo grade inkjet papers can be used with 9500, some good results reported with non-Canon papers such as Ilford "Gallery" paper and PictoricoPro Photo paper

Edited June 16, 2008 by Nordlys

[The Vulcan]

Smacks of going back to Epson!

[Nordlys]

why? you can have all these cons with EPSON too, if not worse.