Opinions of Epson vs Canon photo printers

[tomcat]

Hi Tomcat
The Epson Matt thick paper is really similar to cardboard thick. Prints outs from them have a nice feel in your hand and they can even be used to make greeting cards. Does Canon have such a media? At the moment, I am leaning back towards Epson because while many agree on the features of the Canon, seems more agree the printouts on the 5 colours+1 black for the Epsons are better than the 3 colours + 2 blacks on the Canon. But I do note Canon (and even HP) gives better printouts on plain paper, something Epson is weak in.

Epson Matte Heavyweight Inkjet Paper has a weight of 167g/m2 while Canon's Matte Photo Paper is slightly heavier at 170g/m2 meaning it is marginally thicker too.

I don't trust Epson printers any more as I threw away 3 printers because the ink clogged up the printer heads if I don't print everyday and most of the ink was used up in cleaning the printer head whenever they were clogged and I needed to print. My Canon printers on the other hand never once clog on me even if I didn't print for months on end.

 

[airconvent]

wow! Thanks bro. I have never come across the Canon equivalent but if its available, its a plus point for me. As a former Epson user, you can confirm the heavyweight paper for both makes are similar?
I have now refined my target to either the Epson R270 ($150 at Courts) or the IP4680 ($150 after $50 rebate from all Canon retailers).

Problem is some Canongraphers have complained the IP4680 is a dumb-downed version of the IP4500 it replaced. i.e. smaller head, slower speed and worse tiny ink cartridges that are only slightly cheaper than the previous model.

Which Canon printer do you have now? Are the colour and resolution on par with the Epson 6-colour printers ?

Cheers

 

[tomcat]

From my experience, the Epson and Canon Matte papers are about the same thickness.
I am now using the Canon i905 printer with 6 colours. So far so good. Very good quality prints and not prone to bandings like my previous Epson printers. And best of all is that there is no clogging problems as I mentioned earlier.

I'm actually thinking of upgrading to the latest top-of-the-line Canon All-In-One printer PIXMA MP988. It uses 5 colour cartridges (CMY + Black + Grey). I'm also wondering whether the print quality is as good as my present 6-colour printer but this printer has got very good reviews of its print quality. It replaces the MP970 which uses 7 ink cartridges and is still available and at a cheaper price. Surely Canon cannot be downgrading the print quality of its printers, right?

How is the Epson R270? Does the print head still clog if not used frequently?

 

[airconvent]

Hi Tomcat
What is this i905 printer? The designation does not seem to belong to any of the current canon printers (ip, Ix, MP). Is the colour printout comparable to the epson's? I presume its an A3 size printer? How much did you pay for it?
From the lineup, seems their "photo" printers only have 3 colours + 2 blacks while their AIO have an extra grey.
I have not used the Epson R270 before but the sample printouts are good. Currently still using my R210.

I am looking for :
A4 size inkjet photo printer that can print CD, have long lasting inks, cheaper ink cartridges and great photos on heavyweight matt paper.
Of course Duplex and multiple pages per paper is a bonus as long as photo quality not compromised. Budget of $250 or lesser.

 

[tomcat]

My i905 is a A4 printer which is about 5 yrs old. Detail specifications are here:
http://www.canon-europe.com/For_Home/Product_Finder/Printers/Bubble_Jet/i905d/
It cost about $500 when it first came out but dropped to $159 when it was on clearance sale a couple of yrs back.

Its print colours are as good if not better than those of my past Epson printers. What's better than the Epson printers is that its print head does not clog...not even once in the last 5 yrs. I used to have to throw away prints from my Epson printers because they were ruined by lines due to clogged print heads that did not get cleaned totally. Very frustrating not to mention expensive.

Canon do still have an AIO printer that uses 7 colour ink system... PIXMA MP470.. though it would cost more than $250
http://www.canon.com.sg/p/EN/39-All-In-One/103/25-PIXMA MP970/

 

[LittleWolf]

My i905 is a A4 printer which is about 5 yrs old. [...] Its print colours are as good if not better than those of my past Epson printers.

As it seems to use BCI-6 inks, do you experience any problems with fading?

 

[airconvent]

My i905 is a A4 printer which is about 5 yrs old. Detail specifications are here:
http://www.canon-europe.com/For_Home/Product_Finder/Printers/Bubble_Jet/i905d/
It cost about $500 when it first came out but dropped to $159 when it was on clearance sale a couple of yrs back.

Its print colours are as good if not better than those of my past Epson printers. What's better than the Epson printers is that its print head does not clog...not even once in the last 5 yrs. I used to have to throw away prints from my Epson printers because they were ruined by lines due to clogged print heads that did not get cleaned totally. Very frustrating not to mention expensive.

Canon do still have an AIO printer that uses 7 colour ink system... PIXMA MP470.. though it would cost more than $250
http://www.canon.com.sg/p/EN/39-All-In-One/103/25-PIXMA MP970/

whoa...that is an old printer! I am not looking for an AIO now because I needed fast film scanning and >3 colours photo printing which none of the AIO presently offer in full. Presently, I already have an Epson perfection V100 for that purpose although I had to admit film scanning is slow and a disappointment even though I got a midrange scanner.
I am still locked on the IP4680 but my survey so are is the ink availability is sketchy. Most stores stock plenty of AIO print cartridges but much lesser photo ones as far as Canon is concerned.

 

[tomcat]

As it seems to use BCI-6 inks, do you experience any problems with fading?

So far so good. I don't normally expose the prints to sunlight anyway, so I don't know if they fade fast or not if they are exposed to sunlight.

 

[tomcat]

whoa...that is an old printer! I am not looking for an AIO now because I needed fast film scanning and >3 colours photo printing which none of the AIO presently offer in full. Presently, I already have an Epson perfection V100 for that purpose although I had to admit film scanning is slow and a disappointment even though I got a midrange scanner.
I am still locked on the IP4680 but my survey so are is the ink availability is sketchy. Most stores stock plenty of AIO print cartridges but much lesser photo ones as far as Canon is concerned.

The IP4680 is the latest model. If I can still get photo ink cartridges for my 5 yrs old printer, I don't think you would have problem with ink availability. You have less cartridges to replace anyway compared to mine and therefore less chances of not finding the cartridges at the stores.

 

[hazmee]

I am using the Epson R1800 and Canon IP5200. I don't know why my Canon prints always seems a little contrasty, 1/2 stop brighter and goes a bit warm over time. I am using the manual mode btw meaning no colour adjustments to the printer. My Epson prints are slightly on the cooler tint but colour/contrast/brightness wise matches my screen perfectly. I sent my pictures to the lab and the Epson prints matches closely. My conclusion, Canon Pixma printers loves to mess around with your colours. LOL!

Other than that, I love the speed and reliability of the Canon printer. Its ready when you are. Waiting time is the minimum and it never once clog on me. The Epson well, is just the opposite. I guess there are some trade-off between the two printers. You decide which is more important to you. Speed, reliability, accuracy. Pick any two. You want all three, prepare to burn a hole in your pocket. Hurhurhur! Good luck!