printer suggestion needed

[larrylynch]

Photo labs have been hit and miss for me, and I want to start making my own

prints for portrait and wedding clients. The initial price of the printer is

not important, but price per print might eventually be a issue. Speed isn't a

big concern. Glossy, matte and B&W print quality is a must. Decent print life

would be good. Clogging would be bad.

 

I have been looking at the Canon Pixma 9000 Pro, but articles about the

selection of Canon papers and the dye-based inks have given me pause.\

 

Any Suggestions?? Thanks

[robert_fisher4]

I believe the 9000 uses Canon's previous generation dye inks. If I'm not mistaken they have a new, supposedly better formulation. Not sure if a wider carriage printer uses them though.

 

Dye inks have come a long way in terms of longevity but pigments have improved as well. Pigments have also improved in gamut, metamerism and bronzing issues.

 

Best inkjet printers on the market for photo printing are still Epsons. If you were looking at a Pixma 9000, check out the Epson R2400 or their new dye ink printer the R1400 (replacement for the 1280). Epson has a wide variety of papers available and Epson inks generally play well with third party papers used with a good profile.

[beauh44]

I can give two thumbs-up to the Epson 3800 and IMHO, it shines in all the areas you're concerned about.

[geoff_foale]

I purchased a 9000 a few months ago; so far, I'm happy with it and the prints are good. I think that Epson ink is more waterproof, but that shouldn't affect most uses. Previously used Epson printers and had problems with frequent ink nozzle clogging, but that was with the Epson R800 which isn't really a fair comparison.

 

I find that the Canon Super High Gloss paper gives good results but their Semi Gloss tends to look a bit too flat. Other makes of paper print OK. Not the fastest of printers, but I can't really say how that compares with Epsons.

 

It appears to me that Canon printers aren't so popular as Epson in the US and especially on this site (I'm in the UK). All I can say is that I'm happy with my 9000 but haven't done any side by side tests with Epson.

[paj]

Epson Stylus Photo R2400.

With THEIR Paper.

 

If you are into B&W, this is THE printer to have, in my opinion.

What they say about their B&W graded inks and print quality is accurate.

Does fab rendering of colour too.

 

I can respond to Geoff's remark about comparison with Canon- I was using a Canon

before I switched to the Epson.

The Epson,especially for B&W, beat the Canon far and away.

[bill koenig]

I'm with Beau, The Epson 3800 is great, but that depends on how much printing you'll be doing. For higher volume, with roll feed, the just released 4880 might be a better chose.