Canon Pro9500 vs. Epson Stylus R2880

[mike_clay]

I'm planning to upgrade to a 13 x 19 pigment ink printer. I searched Photo Net for comparisons and found very little -- lots of info on the

Epson 2400, but almost nothing on the 2880 or the Canon 9500.

 

I'm a long-time amateur photographer using both film and digital. Up to now I've been manipulating and storing my digital images on the

computer and only rarely printing anything other than snapshots on an 8.5 x 11 Epson photo printer. Now that I'm retired I plan to get

serious about printing and displaying many of my images. I have a Mac G4 running Mac OS 10.4.11 (Tiger) with a 23" Cinema Display, a

24" Intel iMac running Mac OS 10.5.4 (Leopard), and a MacBook running Leopard. The iMac is my primary machine at the moment, and I

can drive the Cinema Display with it if need be.

 

Current software in use is Photoshop and Aperture. I just downloaded the Lightroom 2.0 30 day trial a few days ago to see if it is

preferable for my workflow.

 

I'm leaning toward the Canon PIXMA Pro 9500 over the Epson Stylus Photo R2880 due the 10 ink set (no ink swapping required),

supposedly less ink used, and reported similar image quality. Plus, at present there is a $150 rebate on the Canon.

 

I have heard horror stories about driver incompatibilities with Leopard. Has that been straightened out for both printers?

 

What do you think, Epson 2880 or Canon 9500 (or even HP)?

[zafar1]

I have seen the outputs of Canon 9500 at tradeshows and those from 2400 (I personally own R1800) and Epson printers are much better in output. Output from 9500 is very good looking until you put it beside the output from Epson.

 

There is a reason that canon has been aggressively pushing 9000/9500 with all kinds of rebates for over a year now (you can pretty much get 9000 for free if you buy Canon 40D or another camera).

 

Epson have gotten bad press over clogged up nozzles. It is not an issue for me. Just keep the printer powered on even if you dont print from it for weeks.

[colin_mattson1]

Personally, I'd go for the Epson.

 

While I like the large-format Canons, the reduced ink set in the PIXMA Pro9500 just doesn't stand up in my opinion. It's not

that the prints are bad, it's just that -- like Zafar said -- they don't really hold their own against Epson prints (or Canon

imagePROGRAF prints).

 

If you can find a good local store, see if you can't print samples off both the Canon and the Epson to get a feel for what

they can do. I know this is next to impossible if Best Buy and its ilk are the only game in town, but it's worth a shot.

[certain_ratio]

I've just got an Epson R2880. I did shop around and get a but paranoid that Canon might have something better after seeing this thread!

 

I mainly got the epson because of the quality of B/W.

 

I can't really say, I would have a problem for any home printer creating better results, I can't see it getting much better on the output side. What I would say though, is to change the matt/gloss black is a pain and uses ink.

 

But the end result is 100%.

[peter_foiles2]

There is lots of info on the 2400 because it has been on the market for years and was only replaced by the 2880 a couple

of months ago. As mentioned above the PIXMA line of Canon printers is not quite up to the Epson in terms of print quality.

The Canon line that does at least equal if not exceed Epson print quality if their professional PROGRAF line. The problem

is that the smallest PROGRAF printer is a 17' wide model that is significantly bigger and more expensive than the 2880 or

even 3800 Epsons.

[KenPapai]

"Epson have gotten bad press over clogged up nozzles. It is not an issue for me. Just keep the printer powered on even if you dont print from it for weeks."

 

Not true. Epson's newer generation printers, starting with the R2400 three years ago, do not have clogging problems, nor do you have to keep it powered on--nonsense!

[adrian_lowe]

I sufferd the same dilemma myself, having used both Canon and Epson printers in the past I was about as far away from making a choice as you could imagine. Then I had a play with Hp's 9180...which I bought without hesitation.

 

IMHO , (of course)