Epson 2200, Canon i9900, and Canon Pixma IP 8500

oldcodger73

My old Epson Stylus Photo 870, which has been slowly dying over the last several months, is now on it?s last legs and needs replacement.



I had originally planned on replacing it with the Epson 2200 Photo Printer, which I gather is/was considered the ?gold standard? for photo printers, but lately I?ve been hearing good things about the Canon i9900 Photo Printer and the Canon Pixma IP 8500 Photo Printer.



I?ll be printing photos on 8x10? paper, so while the wide printing ability of the 2200 or i9900 would be nice, I don?t really need it. From what I?ve read the IP 8500 has the same print engine as the i9900 and the printed results should be similar. Does anyone know if this is correct?



Also, has anyone had first hand experience with any of the above three printers?



And finally, I have some Epson Premium Glossy photo paper. I know that one usually achieves best results when using the paper from the printer?s manufacture, but if I do go with one of the Canons does anyone have an idea what kind of results I could expect using up the Epson paper?



Thanks in advance for any replies.

ijerry

I love the results from the Canon printers much more than the Epson printers. The Canon printer (i9900) couple with Photo Paper Pro is simply stunning! I would go that route. Plus, the speed of the Canon printer is much better than my experiences with the Epson printers. I have switched to Canon from Epson this past year, and I am not going back anytime soon.

northgate

I have been using Epson for years with great results.

addabox

I think Canon has made some real strides lately.



I recently picked up a Pixma 5000-- it doesn't have the extra ink colors of the others but has very small droplet size-- for a mix of text, graphic and photo work, and I couldn't be more pleased.



One of the big plusses is that it seems to use ink very frugally, and the individual ink tanks are like $11, so cost of ownership is going to be lower than the Epsons.



Other upsides: quiet, fast, versatile paper handling, good OSX driver integration.



Oh, and I came close to getting the 8500 (I decided I didn't really need/couldn't afford a dedicated photo printer) and it definitely has the same print engine as the 9900.

telomar

Quote:

Originally posted by addabox

Other upsides: good OSX driver integration.

I actually have the same printer and one thing it doesn't have is good drivers. Certainly I found my old Epson and HP printers had much better drivers in many ways.



Truth be told he'll probably be happy with any of those printers though.

reg

I have the 2200 and it does a great job. My only problem with it is we could not get it to work all the time when connected to the USB port on the AE basestation, lack of good drivers. When it is connected to a desktop or directly to a laptop pictures are very good. We do most of our photos on laptops and it would have been perfect if we could have had it connect there. Here is the list if you were thinking of connecting your printer to a base station.

http://www.efelix.co.uk/tech/1013.html



reg

mello

I was at my local Apple Store recently & I noticed that the Canon i9900 was

no longer on display. When I asked an employee about it, he said that it was

being replaced with a newer model.



Has anyone heard anything about this new printer? I visited canon's website

& it did list a couple new printers but none of them print anything larger than

8.5 x 11.

addabox

Quote:

Originally posted by Telomar

I actually have the same printer and one thing it doesn't have is good drivers. Certainly I found my old Epson and HP printers had much better drivers in many ways.



Truth be told he'll probably be happy with any of those printers though.

Really? I've been pretty pleased. Anything in particular?

addabox

Quote:

Originally posted by mello

I was at my local Apple Store recently & I noticed that the Canon i9900 was

no longer on display. When I asked an employee about it, he said that it was

being replaced with a newer model.



Has anyone heard anything about this new printer? I visited canon's website

& it did list a couple new printers but none of them print anything larger than

8.5 x 11.

Don't know anything but the 9900 and the 8500 still have the older form factor. Maybe they plan to release 9900 functionality in a "Pixma" type black bread box?

oldcodger73

Thanks for all the information. I decided to go the Canon route and since I didn't need wide printing chose the Pixma IP 8500. I should receive it from NewEgg on Monday.

danielctull

I've been looking at a HP Photosmart 7960, however I have taken an interest in the Canon Pixma 5000 or 8500 recently. Does anyone use a Pixma with Airport Express? Does the menu's work with it connected this way? ie. Does it tell you when an ink is running out? I'd be looking to hook it up to AE all the time, so this could be a major pitfall for it

trowa

Anyone know how long prints last on these printers? I think Epson was the first one to have long archival inks that made prints last about 50-75 years. Unlike some cheap printers that had photos fade after a couple of weeks or months.



Do all these printers have that feature?



just wondering.

enzo0511

hi there



i'm working for Canon in France



i recommand you all the models of IP range from 4000 to 8500 instead of buying epson or HP



because: ink cartridges are separated and photo quality is much higher on Canon IP Pixma printers



4000 is equal to 6000D in quality

4000R is wifi

5000 is 1 pl for the drop but he can see a difference between 1 and 2 pl, you are strong...



8500 is the best ever but the most expensive

danielctull

But do they work well with the Airport Express?

enzo0511

only the IP 4000R is wifi



and yes, it works well with airport...

danielctull

Quote:

Originally posted by enzo0511

and yes, it works well with airport...

Do you get the feedback about the inks (ie when they're running out it comes up on screen) when using one through an Airport Express?

enzo0511

well, in the configuration panel, you normally have a screen that shows up when ink level is low



it is the case for both wifi and non wifi printers



i checked it, it works on PC



i think there is no problem on macOS



i'm currently working for canon and i'm testing all printers, so far, i had no problem with any of them (on PC)



i cannot say for mac because i haven't switched yet (i'm saving money for a powerbook for x-mas or january if it is updated)

houseley

Quote:

Originally posted by trowa

Anyone know how long prints last on these printers? I think Epson was the first one to have long archival inks that made prints last about 50-75 years. Unlike some cheap printers that had photos fade after a couple of weeks or months.



Do all these printers have that feature?



just wondering.

An article in pc pro magazine (www.pcpro.co.uk), Feb 2005, reports the Epson R800 asa good printer overall and that Epson's log-life UltraChrome inks are the best out there. It seems that Cannon has a long way to go in this regard and as far as I'm concerned, if a picture is going to fade in a few months or even a few years, then it's a complete waste of time printing it in the first place. So I'm going with Epson.

jnsail

I have a Canon Pixma 8500, an Epson 2200, and a Canon i960. The Canon i960 was a pleasant surprise, fast and good prints. The Epson 8500 is as good as its reviews, but very cumbersome. The Pixma 8500 has been a huge disappointment. Color is not good, and it consumes a large of magenta and photo magenta ink, with an adverse impact on image quality. Shadow detail is muddy. I tried Canon papers and others just to check. Prints that are made directly from my Canon EOS 20D are very good by comparison. My best guess is that the color profiles for Mac OS X are not ready for prime time.