Home Printer Advise Please

[mic]

Around the $500 mark not the best of course, but one that is very good at least. Any advise would be great.

Thanks,

Mic.

[boxerboy]

Epson R800. RRP is around $595, but shop around and you'll get it under $500. Excellent printer IMO.

cheers
Peter

[big pix]

Save your pennies and buy the next size up ......... either an Epson 1800 or the new.... is it the Epson 2400 both print A3 size with seperate inks. The Epson 2100 is also a very good printer and if you can find one you should be able to get it at a good price as it is an old model now. All of the printers should take roll stock

cheers
bp

[boxerboy]

Save your pennies and buy the next size up ......... either an Epson 1800 or the new.... is it the Epson 2400 both print A3 size with seperate inks. The Epson 2100 is also a very good printer and if you can find one you should be able to get it at a good price as it is an old model now. All of the printers should take roll stock

cheers
bp

I agree bp, the R1800 is the duck's guts, but if mic's criteria is $500 - you can't go past its little brother (which, by the way, does take rolls).

Cheers
Peter

[gstark]

I remain most impressed with my Epson R1800, but even at D70Users.com prices, it's still double what you're budgeting for.

But it goes well beyond A3 - A3+ is amazing!

[stubbsy]

Or a Canon Pixma 8500 (which is what I have) at $517 - Red, green, cyan, magenta, yellow, black, photo cyan & photo magenta in 8 separate ink carts.

IMHO Epson & Canon are the only brands you should consider.

[hedge]

Not exactly sure how it compares to the other printers mentioned but here's another idea.

I just recently got an Epson R210. It does up to A4. 6 ink tanks. A friend has given his an utter flogging (ie, many many hundreds of prints) and it still goes like a charm and produces really nice pics.

And with the money you save (b/c they only cost about $220) you can do what i'm doing, buy a continuous inking system for about $150 and save heaps on ink costs for the rest of the printers life!

adam

[Oneputt]

Canon i990. 7 ink tanks and brilliant quality.

[Glen]

Mic, I am with Gary and Hedge in the Epson camp. Love my R1800, absolutely perfect so far, uses the 100 yrs pigment inks, goes up to A3+, but costs a grand. Little brother R800 goes up to A4 also with 100 yr inks and is your budget. R210 or 310 is terrific value as Hedge said (I also have a 310 but get the better value 210) but doesn't have the 100 yr pigment inks. You already know what I would go for because I have. Personally wait another week and save up for the R1800

[Nnnnsic]

Oneputt... the i series was replaced with the Pixma so, even though I think the i865, i965, and i990 are superior, the one he'd have to probably get would br the iP8500.

[Glen]

ps Mic, A3+ is 483mm X 329mm.

Fold up a piece of newspaper to those dimensions, then put a piece of A4 paper next to it. Then ask yourself what size you want your inversions printed out to?



R800 + R1800 both roll feed also for pano inversions

[huynhie]

Hi mic,


I hope this website can help you decide

photo-i

[big pix]

Mic ........ just get the new Epson 7800 and be done ........61cm wide and how long would you like it........

cheers
bp

[Glen]

Now I know why they call you - Big Pix

[ozimax]

Recently purchased Epson R210, great prints at a great price, buy one and send me the $280 spare dollars to put towards my Sb800!

Max

[mic]

WoW thanks Guru's,

Now I have to find some more pennies Hmmmm Printer Lust hey

The Epson one R1800, how much does ink cost & how long does it last for ? providing I'm not going too mad Inverting & printing

How big is the unit Glen

Thanks all for all your good advice.

Mic.

[MCWB]

How big is the unit Glen

Huge. And the R1800 is pretty big as well!

Gotta love this forum: "I'm after a X and my budget is $Y". -"Get a Z for $2Y, it's the best!". Lust baby, lust!

[Glen]

Mic,
The R1800 is about 600mm wide, 300 deep and 200 high, cost is about $1030 from Birddog. The inks are under $20 each (8 units) and seem to be lasting well. Have a read of the page Huynhie posted about the quality of the printer on its conclusions page.


Trent, spot on about budgets here, they seem to go out the window all the time

[gstark]

Budgets?

I have no concept of what that word might mean.

Mic, as Glen said, sub $20 per cartridge for the R1800, and it uses the same cartridges as the R800.

[big pix]

Mic .... go the EPSON 1800 and you will not look back. I have the 2100 and the prints are great, some inks last longer than others, but this depends on what colors you are printing/ Running cost on the A3 to the A4 printers should be around the same, you can still print A4 prints and 7x5 prints and smaller on the 1800

cheers
bp

[SoCal Steve]

Mic, I bought an R1800 last week (I moved up from an Epson 1280) and it is one awesome printer. You certainly will not be disappointed if you get one. The prints are just amazing, and this puppy is fast and very, very quiet too (even while sitting on a very resonant file cabinet). Being able to replace individual inks only when required will probably result in costs about the same as my previous Epson, but I'm also reading that ink prices may be coming down soon.

I was finding the printer unavailable at all of the usual office supply and electronics stores, even Epson's online store showed no stock, but I finally found a good supply at my usual camera store.

Cheers,
SoCal

[fozzie]

SoCal Steve,

Shooting a wedding with two camera bodies, and now a Epson R1800, you are definitely now 'Pro' status.


Cheers,

[SoCal Steve]

SoCal Steve,

Shooting a wedding with two camera bodies, and now a Epson R1800, you are definitely now 'Pro' status.


Cheers,

It's amazing what a little inheritance can do!
Now I just have to work to the level of the equipment. I hope to have some wedding pictures posted this evening.

[mic]

Thanks all full all the extra good advice, now forgive my ignorance in this subject, but could I expect pro quality photos from the Epson.
I have some wedding pics to print soon, could this be my answer rather than dealing with silly people at printing shops with all their rules & stuff.

And not to mention what I'm going to fork out to give to them, it could go towards this printer instead.

Thanks,

Mic.

[gstark]

Mic,

I would say yes.

[stubbsy]

Thanks all full all the extra good advice, now forgive my ignorance in this subject, but could I expect pro quality photos from the Epson.
I have some wedding pics to print soon, could this be my answer rather than dealing with silly people at printing shops with all their rules & stuff.

And not to mention what I'm going to fork out to give to them, it could go towards this printer instead.

Thanks,

Mic.

Mic
An inkjet printer will never be the same as a lab photo since the inks are more fragile from an inkjet compared to the chemical pro photo process. Inkjet prints can get wet and smudge and they fade over time much quicker than a pro photo - but they look the same and you have total control over colour calibration. In the case of weddings - if you're being paid to do the shots I'd go with inkjet proofs and Pro Photo (ie chemical) finished product. If it's just for your or friends or family then inkjet is fine - they'll look good, fragility notwithstanding.

HTH

[Glen]

Mic,
for most intents and purposes I would say yes, notwithstanding all what Stubbsy says is accurate, just hopefully you are not throwing water at the pictures on the wall.

Here is the conclusion from the link Hyunhie gave, if you are feeling lazy just read the bold paragraph.


I have been using printers for over 11 years, starting with the Epson Stylus Colour printer a humble four ink 720 dpi colour printer which could produce realistic looking photographs at an affordable price. This early colour printer had a large print dot and severe banding in subtle gradients such as skies. This is what I was expecting to see in colour printers for years to come. To get around the hardware limitations, a simple remedy was to add noise to the image, the banding and print dot were then disguised, the picture looked so grainy Seurat would have loved it. Never mind it added mood to the image, at this early stage not many people were working with digital images, art directors just thought you were using a high speed film (grainy), all very arty. Today’s printers have moved ahead in giant leaps, so how do I rate this latest offering, the Epson Stylus R1800 Photo printer?

The R1800 is a robust well built and highly specified printer. The main advantage of this printer is that it uses the tried and proven UltraChrome pigment inks. For a photographer who wants to sell prints, UltraChrome pigment ink is designed for print permanence, with a estimated at 80+ years for glossy papers and 100+ years on matte media's, this long print life rivals silver halide. Longevity of prints isn’t the only factor, the R1800 produces outstanding colours due to the new colour conversion engine, PhotoEnhance 6. The inclusion of red and blue ink increases the colour gamut and colour space, essential for photographers requiring premium colour reproduction. This takes the colour gamut from a conventional 79% to 98%, which means your prints are going to have expanded colour.

The R1800 uses 1.5 picolitre droplets for smoother looking gradients and subtle transitions. The gloss optimiser, which was introduced on the R800 (A4 printer), adds a high gloss finish to the print. The lack of a good gloss finish is perhaps the weak point on the 2100/2200, 4000, 7600 and 9600 professional printers. The R1800 printer uses variable-sized Droplet Technology and Epson’s MicroPiezo™ print head for faster printing speed. An A4 print took approx 1 min 37 sec using Photo setting and 2 min 35 sec using Best Photo. An A3+ full bleed print took 6 min 35 sec. Now this isn’t the fastest printer on the market, nor is the slowest, but it is a lot faster than making a CibaChrome print.

Contrary to belief the R1800 doesn’t replace the Stylus 2100/2200, these are still current in the professional range – no doubt there will be a successor to this printer before too long. The R1800 is going to appeal to the keen enthusiast or as an economical printer for the small studio. The quality of prints is markedly better than those produced on the 2100/2200 – don’t forget they are nearly three years old and technology has moved on in this time.

After fourteen days of testing every aspect on the R1800 I am in a dilemma. I have compared the prints to those made on Canon, HP, other Epson printers and traditional photographic prints. The thing that strikes me is just how good all the printers are. Canon printers produce bold sharp pictures, HP printers produce vibrant colours, Epson dye based printers produce lively colours and Epson pigment printers produce subtle shades. Choosing which is the best printer is like asking a mother to choose her favourite child. Each printer has its own good points and depending on your style of photography, you make your choice.

This afternoon I racked my brains about the R1800, how can I conclude this review, do the printer justice and at the same time not undervalue the competition. I then thought about what I and many users expect from a printer. Simple, I want a printer that produces excellent quality photographs. I also want a printer that is relatively easy to use, yet at the same time gives enough freedom to change colours and make other adjustments. I grabbed a 5x4 transparency and scanned it on my flatbed scanner to produce a 75mb file. Using the Best Photo setting I printed an A3+ full bleed colour print on Premium Glossy Paper. This whole process took less than 15 minutes, I printed one copy only.



As a professional photographer with over 30 years experience and exhibited at many venues, I can say that the print I produced this afternoon is better than anything I have ever done in the darkroom. The print has sharpness, great colour saturation and all the qualities that I would expect from a wet chemistry photograph, let alone a digital print. It is stunning. Any photographer who questions the quality or merit of a digital print compared to a wet chemistry print need only look at the output from the R1800.


I have criticised the yellow with this printer, I also showed you a method how to correct it. Many photographers expect all the work to be done for them by their camera or printer. After all they have just spent £500 or more on their equipment, so why shouldn’t it produce spot on results? As with anything creative, you have to add that extra touch to your work. Pushing buttons isn’t a creative touch, adjusting colour or exposure to convey the mood of a scene is. Forget about looking at prints under a magnifying glass, look at them at a normal viewing distance and in good light.

Would I buy this printer?

Without hesitation, it is a printer for the advanced hobbyist or photographer who wants to sell photographs or needs to produce high quality exhibition prints.

Pros:
Superb print quality
Print life
Separate ink tanks
Gloss Optimizer
CD/DVD printing


Cons:
Ink prices
Awkward roll media handling
Yellows

[gstark]

Peter,

Prints from the R800/R1800 are water resistant. We've done some testing, and while they won't stand up to extreme abuse (hot water), they will withstand cold water attacks quite well.

[stubbsy]

Peter,

Prints from the R800/R1800 are water resistant. We've done some testing, and while they won't stand up to extreme abuse (hot water), they will withstand cold water attacks quite well.

Anyone want to buy a preloved Pixma 8500

[mic]

Thanks huynhie, for the link, thanks Glen for reminding my loose brain to look more

Thanks Stubbsy, for your point of view

Thanks Gary, for your tests.

This looks like a real nice toy.

Cheers, and thanks everyone for the great advice.

I love this Forum.

Mic.

[redline]

how much does the r1800 cost and how much does it cost to replace all its inks?
i don't have a printer so where should i go to buy? swap meets retails?

[Glen]

Redline, on previous page of this post

Here is a link so you wont have to search http://www.d70users.com/viewtopic.php?t ... c&start=15

[gstark]

Glen,

How very nice of you ... to even supply that link. I wasn't going to.

[redline]

thanks Glen

[SoCal Steve]

Peter,

Prints from the R800/R1800 are water resistant. We've done some testing, and while they won't stand up to extreme abuse (hot water), they will withstand cold water attacks quite well.

A friend of mine has used the R1800 to make signs at work that were stapled to poles in the parking lot. Without any protection they have easily withstood many days and nights and several recent rainstorms.

Here is a link to the Wilhelm Research ratings on the R1800 print permanence.

http://www.wilhelm-research.com/epson/R1800.html

[mic]

WoW

Thanks Steve.

I think I'll be dead by the time the ink starts to fade

Mic.