Print module Printer advice needed?

[Martin van Gog]

Lightroom Version Number

Lightroom version: 4.4.1 [908273]

Operating System

1. Windows 10

For a longtime Epson was the first choice for a serious hobby photographer. But with the coming of the Canon Pixma 10S and the Pixma imagePRO-1000 the landscape changed.

Pro Epson:
1. Lots of Custom ICC's available for non-OEM paper.
2. Panorama-print possible with Roll Paper Unit.
Against Epson:
1. Fewer cartridges
2. No advanced software, print-settings have to be done in Lightoom or Photoshop.

Pro Canon:
1. More cartidges.
2. Very sophisticated plug-in , available for both Windows and Mac. (Print Studio Pro)
Against Canon:
1. No panorama printing.

My main goal is black-white photography / post-processing / printing .

A. Does anyone have experiences with the mentioned Canon printers?
B. What would be the best choice, Epson or Canon (price range the same)?

Thank you in advance for your reaction, with kind regards.

 

[clee01l]

I think you will find either printer satisfactory for your needs. Your goals will change over time. Anticipate that and allow for a larger range of printing options. As for Canon versus Epson, I would think that the cost of ink on one over the other might be a determining factor. Ink will be your biggest expenditure. Even B&W will use color inks Canon has gray inks that help in B&W. I don't know of the ink selection in Epson Printers.
Red River Paper has a good selection of paper and Color Profiles to match both Epson and Canon printers. I notice the Red River no longer lists in for sale for Epson Printers. I think their choice to drop Epson inks is significant.

 

[LouieSherwin]

I notice the Red River no longer lists in for sale for Epson Printers. I think their choice to drop Epson inks is significant.

I believe that Epson has tightened restrictions on who can sell inks.

 

[Richard Behan]

Hi, Martin,
I had an Epson 3880 and used it for about 5 years, when it began misfiring. I was told I needed a new printhead which, with the labor cost of installation, would nearly match the price of a new Epson 800 (the replacement for the 3880). After some rigorous comparison shopping I instead replaced the Epson with a Canon image PROGRAF Pro1000. Haven't had reason to regret it.
Your pro/con items are spot-on, but overlooked what to me are the telling advantages of the Canon: you don't have to waste ink switching from glossy to matte print paper as the Epson requires (klutzy design continued with the 800), and the Canon printhead is user-replaceable.
Heed Cletus' comment about the price of ink. You can buy a Pro1000 for about US$1,000. Keep in mind some $720 of that price covers the included set of 12 ink cartridges, and that's what it will cost to replace them. (Happily not all at once.) Keep in mind too you'll use about half the volume of the ink cartridges just filling the printer's plumbing at setup time. (You don't lose this ink, obviously, but it's disappointing to see your "Supply Levels" drop so dramatically before you've made the first print.)
All that said, the Canon is a slam-dunk, in my view, over the Epson. If you can steel yourself to Canon's outrageous pricing of their inks (no better over there at Epson, btw), I think you'll be very pleased with your black and white prints. (And, as Cletus sagely suggests, with the color prints you may eventually choose to make.)
Cheers,
RWB

 

[Martin van Gog]

Dear Richard, thank you for the info.
Inkt is for the print-machine manufacturers a real sort of gold digging . On the Epson site is no information about the inkt usage related to photo printing.

On the Canon site, there is.

For instance a a matt black cartridge can print 3200 A4 pages, but the chroma optimizer ink cartidge only 194. So I have to buy about 17 of those cartridges before the mat black is empty.
In an Excel sheet I make some calculations. I have calculated all the cartridges back to the matte black cartridge. And have added the paper costs.

And endend up with a price of approximately (in my currency) of € 2.01.
That's the same price I've to pay by sending my photo's to a good lab (they provide my from ICC's for softproofing) , from whose results I am quite satisfied.

with regards, Martin

 

[Martin van Gog]

Dear Richard, thank you for the info.
Inkt is for the print-machine manufacturers a real sort of gold digging . On the Epson site is no information about the inkt usage related to photo printing.

On the Canon site, there is.

For instance a a matt black cartridge can print 3200 A4 pages, but the chroma optimizer ink cartidge only 194. So I have to buy about 17 of those cartridges before the mat black is empty.
In an Excel sheet I make some calculations. I have calculated all the cartridges back to the matte black cartridge. And have added the paper costs.

And endend up with a price of approximately (in my currency) of € 2.01.
That's the same price I've to pay by sending my photo's to a good lab (they provide my from ICC's for softproofing) , from whose results I am quite satisfied.

with regards, Martin

I forgot to mention that the calculation conserns A4 format printing.