grrr... done with Epson. Is Canon any better?

[froyd]

I've given enough money to Epson with a 2200, 2400, and r3000 over the past decade. Every model brought the promise of improvements, and while the print quality did improve (especially B/W), the reliability continued to be a big disappointment. True, clogged heads are a much rarer occurrence on the R3000 than they were on the old 2200, but I'm now dealing with other problems like paper feed issues and ink splotches.

The thing is I LOVE digital printing. Despite the aggravation of the Epsons, I churned out better prints from those machines than I ever did in the darkroom. My enlarger is mothballed for now.

However, I've reached the point where I'm ready to ditch the 3000. Unfortunately, due to its weight and the potential loss of human life, I have to resist the temptation to heave it out the window. Every time I have to print one image, what should be a matter of 1/2h tops turns into several hours of ink soaked paper towels, roller paper runs, repeated nozzle checks and swapping all the cartridges that die in the process of running multiple head cleanings and line purgings.

I really don't want to give my money to Epson anymore, but does anybody know if Canon is any better in terms of avoiding the maintenance issues that plague the Epsons? Has anyone made the switch and can speak from the perspective of someone who has used them for a few years?

 

[farlymac]

You may need to ditch it anyway if it's true that Tetenal, which makes the ink for Epson, has shut down their digital printing business. I installed an XP-960 recently, and am just on my first set of full cartridges, but it looks like if I don't order another set quickly, I'll be changing soon too.



BTW, I've used Epson printers for quite a few years, and unless they have a lot of age on them, I didn't normally have an issues. One frustrating thing though is they seem to have eliminated some of the user controls in the software that made it easier to match printer output to the computer screen. Still hard to get a crisp B&W print.


PF

 

[michaelwj]

I haven’t used the top models of either, but have liked every Canon printer I’ve used and will never buy another Epson. Maybe I just didn’t know the magic “please work properly today” dance to get the Epson behaving? The Canons just needed turning on.

 

[Rob-F]

I had a canon printer. I think it was an i9000. I was happy until it started giving a message that the ink overflow tank was full. Now, you would think that means it's time to empty it, right?

Nope.

Recommended procedure when the ink overflow is full: Throw the printer away and buy a new one.

So I decided the hell with color prints. I make wet prints in my darkroom.

 

[PaulDalex]

Froyd,
same here.
I have thrown away 3 A3+ epsons (the last was the R3000) because they started staining the paper with dark ink.
My plan is to accumulate ready to print files and eventually buy a P800 with 3 years extended warranty.
Then print enough to finish an album with some of my best work and make some large prints to hang on the wall, and finally use it (hopefully) for the rest of the three years knowing that I will throw it away soon after the warranty expiration.:bang:
It will require a bunch of money, and I am waiting to get the courage and the money. Hopefully meanwhile the price might go down.
Cheers
Paolo

 

[B-9]

Not sure if Canon offers anything more in reliability.

My I9000 has a slew of tray issues. Some days it chugs away without issue. Most days it only feeds what it wants.

The print head has required multiple cleanings per ink set... not ideal!

Positives for me have been cheap ink and cheap print heads as well as being fairly easy to break down and troubleshoot/work on the machine. Mines old enough I deal with its quirks.

 

[robert blu]

Froyd, I can understand your feeling! I still have an "love & hate" relationship with my Epson printer, see my thread here.

I have a P600 and the print quality is more than ok, at least on the papers I like to use.
After it was repaired a few weeks ago it prints very well but the problem is more of a mechanical kind, like the feeding mechanism: I'm printing pages for and hand make books in A5 format and to feed them into the machine is a real pain, sometimes I have to repeat it 4 or 5 times before the "no paper" message disappear and the paper is seen by the machine.

I never had clogging heads problem even when nor printing for a couple of weeks or more.

I think these machines are build to be placed on the market at a very low price (to beat competition) and therefore there are some limit. Probably a P800 with an extended warranty as Pistach suggests is a better option. Or a Canon but I personally do not know anyone who has one. I would like to know some Canon printer users experience!

It seems we who love digital printing are a minority among photographers...but this is a different story!

robert

 

[Arbitrarium]

I've got a Canon iP8750 and not had any problems other than slow boot times. A3 prints on Hahnemuhle paper are incredible. My wife has done reproductions of her artwork and the colour accuracy is excellent.

 

[Ted Striker]

Getting my Canon printer set up on my wireless network was one of THE most hardest task I have ever undergone. I dont know what it is like in the PC world but for Mac, Canon simply does not have a clue. It took 2 weekends and tons of help from forum members to get the job done. Other than this, Canon printers have been perfect for me. But I have nightmares about ever having to go through a wireless set up again. Truly a horrible experience.

 

[View Range]

I also had trouble setting up a Canon PRO-1000 on my Mac Pro, but it only took me two days. The troubles included: installing the files to the hard drive (it had to be done manually), getting the wireless working (you have to use Canon's preferred wireless format), and getting the printer to appear on the printer list (also has to be done manually after resetting all). Canon support was only partially helpful. Read the Canon website for the printer you are interested in regarding use on Macs.
I had my value-added printer dealer formally complain to Canon about these problems. We never heard anything back. It's like Canon wants nothing to do with software.

 

[Dogman]

Never had a problem with my r3000. But that likely means it will crap out the next time I try to use it. I use mine frequently and prints are beautiful, especially the B&W ones. The waste ink tank getting filled up is the big worry. Like the Canon mentioned, the r3000 is the same--once the waste ink tank is full you either have to ship it to Epson or throw it away. To try to prevent this from happening, I only use my printer for photos and I only use matte fine art papers so there's no switching paper types in the printer which dumps a lot of ink into the waste tank.

When the r3000 does crap out on me I'll probably buy a P800. If I understand correctly, it's the smallest model that has a replaceable waste ink tank so it probably will fit into my limited space.

 

[lawrence]

Getting my Canon printer set up on my wireless network was one of THE most hardest task I have ever undergone. I dont know what it is like in the PC world but for Mac, Canon simply does not have a clue. It took 2 weekends and tons of help from forum members to get the job done. Other than this, Canon printers have been perfect for me. But I have nightmares about ever having to go through a wireless set up again. Truly a horrible experience.

This problem is not unique to Canon, I had the same sort of issues with Windows 10 and my now rather ancient R2880. The solution was to use USB cable with a USB extender box. True, the skirting board round my study doesn't look very nice with a cable tidy box running round it but it's a lot less frustrating.

 

[Ted Striker]

This problem is not unique to Canon, I had the same sort of issues with Windows 10 and my now rather ancient R2880. The solution was to use USB cable with a USB extender box. True, the skirting board round my study doesn't look very nice with a cable tidy box running round it but it's a lot less frustrating.

Wow, that's awful. It's hard to believe how utterly incompetent some companies are with software. They put in far less than the bare minimum effort.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Back in 2006 I took out years of frustrations with my Epson printer by taking it to the middle of the street in front of my house, and hurling it as high as I could into the air, and then watching it shatter into little pieces on the pavement.

I have found this to be the best way to deal with Epson printers.

Best,
-Tim

 

[robert blu]

...When the r3000 does crap out on me I'll probably buy a P800. If I understand correctly, it's the smallest model that has a replaceable waste ink tank so it probably will fit into my limited space.

I think the same...by the way I noticed on the Epson website the P800 is listed among the pro machine when the P600 is in the consumer category.

robert

 

[froyd]

Back in 2006 I took out years of frustrations with my Epson printer by taking it to the middle of the street in front of my house, and hurling it as high as I could into the air, and then watching it shatter into little pieces on the pavement.

I have found this to be the best way to deal with Epson printers.

Best,
-Tim

I felt a moment of glee just reading these words!

 

[froyd]

I don't need wireless printing (I work in a very small space) so I won't have to deal with the connection headaches, but it seems from the comments above that several users of Canon printers have not encountered the ink splotches and feeding issues that are a weekly battle for me on the Epson.

The Prograph 1000 looks really sweet, but I only need 13" wide prints. I'll have a look at the Pro-10, but I only seem to find reviews from new users vs long term user reviews revealing whatever problems come up 2-3 years after purchase.

 

[Ted Striker]

I don't need wireless printing (I work in a very small space) so I won't have to deal with the connection headaches, but it seems from the comments above that several users of Canon printers have not encountered the ink splotches and feeding issues that are a weekly battle for me on the Epson.

The Prograph 1000 looks really sweet, but I only need 13" wide prints. I'll have a look at the Pro-10, but I only seem to find reviews from new users vs long term user reviews revealing whatever problems come up 2-3 years after purchase.

I rarely print like I used to, due to Lightroom's print module inexplicably ceasing to work for me. I go many many months between prints with my Canon printer and do not have any issues with clogged nozzles.



This thread has brought back memories when I used to print all the time. I used to blow through Canon ink cartridges like crazy.


Now to print I have to use Apple's Preview program to send print jobs to my Canon printer. Lightroom simply cannot size my prints to the expected output size. I've spent weeks and weeks and weeks trying to figure out what is wrong and have never come close to making it work right. As a result, I make 95% less prints than I used to. I think in all of 2018 I made a dozen prints. That used to be a weekly level of output for me.

 

[Ted Striker]

Back in 2006 I took out years of frustrations with my Epson printer by taking it to the middle of the street in front of my house, and hurling it as high as I could into the air, and then watching it shatter into little pieces on the pavement.

I have found this to be the best way to deal with Epson printers.

Best,
-Tim

Sounds beautiful. I might have to do this to my Canon if I ever have to go through a wireless set up again.

 

[JohnP1]

This made me smile

This made me smile

Back in 2006 I took out years of frustrations with my Epson printer by taking it to the middle of the street in front of my house, and hurling it as high as I could into the air, and then watching it shatter into little pieces on the pavement.

I have found this to be the best way to deal with Epson printers.

Best,
-Tim

I had to smile at this. Some years ago I took a sledgehammer to my third (and final) Epson printer. I now have all my prints made commercially.

John