Best Inkjet Printer for B&W in 2021

Noisegate · Dec 27, 2022

The Canon Pro-1000 works flawlessly with my Mac. I use the canon software (which I absolutely love) to print. No issues whatsoever. I have not tried the QuadToneRIP software with the Canon but obviously used it on my Epson 3880 utilizing Piezo inks. The Canon software satisfies me immensely and I see no need to fiddle with another printing software at this time. I suppose I should try it to see if there is a benefit but honestly, I have no motivation to do so.

Regarding Canon vs Epson, I "grew up" with Epson and was dedicated to the brand as I felt they focused a little bit more on quality B&W printing. Looking back, I realize I was never happy with the printer or B&W quality. Misfeeds, poor calibration, clogged heads and tons and tons and tons of disappointing prints...I really didn't enjoy the printing process as the costly waste of both paper and ink were difficult to justify.

Then came my Canon Pro-1000. I find it amazing when compared to the 3880. The prints are noticeably better. Zero misfeeds. Zero head issues. And, instead of printing 5 to 6 test prints, I now print 1 to 2 test prints. I suppose you could argue the difference in test prints are due to more experience and that may be a part of it, but for some reason, the Canon seems to print what I see on the screen far better than any of the Epson printers (starting with the R2000).

I wish I had made the switch sooner.

jtk · Dec 27, 2022

Noisegate said:
The Canon Pro-1000 works flawlessly with my Mac. I use the canon software (which I absolutely love) to print. No issues whatsoever. I have not tried the QuadToneRIP software with the Canon but obviously used it on my Epson 3880 utilizing Piezo inks. The Canon software satisfies me immensely and I see no need to fiddle with another printing software at this time. I suppose I should try it to see if there is a benefit but honestly, I have no motivation to do so.

Regarding Canon vs Epson, I "grew up" with Epson and was dedicated to the brand as I felt they focused a little bit more on quality B&W printing. Looking back, I realize I was never happy with the printer or B&W quality. Misfeeds, poor calibration, clogged heads and tons and tons and tons of disappointing prints...I really didn't enjoy the printing process as the costly waste of both paper and ink were difficult to justify.

Then came my Canon Pro-1000. I find it amazing when compared to the 3880. The prints are noticeably better. Zero misfeeds. Zero head issues. And, instead of printing 5 to 6 test prints, I now print 1 to 2 test prints. I suppose you could argue the difference in test prints are due to more experience and that may be a part of it, but for some reason, the Canon seems to print what I see on the screen far better than any of the Epson printers (starting with the R2000).

I wish I had made the switch sooner.

Several generations of Canon have surpassed Epson for paper printing. I do think Epson has the only straight-pass design, which may make it the only machine that prints reliably on aluminum...I've seen some beautiful examples...but the printer owner uses Canon for his paper printed artwork.

nmp · Dec 27, 2022

Noisegate said:
The Canon Pro-1000 works flawlessly with my Mac. I use the canon software (which I absolutely love) to print. No issues whatsoever. I have not tried the QuadToneRIP software with the Canon but obviously used it on my Epson 3880 utilizing Piezo inks. The Canon software satisfies me immensely and I see no need to fiddle with another printing software at this time. I suppose I should try it to see if there is a benefit but honestly, I have no motivation to do so.

Regarding Canon vs Epson, I "grew up" with Epson and was dedicated to the brand as I felt they focused a little bit more on quality B&W printing. Looking back, I realize I was never happy with the printer or B&W quality. Misfeeds, poor calibration, clogged heads and tons and tons and tons of disappointing prints...I really didn't enjoy the printing process as the costly waste of both paper and ink were difficult to justify.

Then came my Canon Pro-1000. I find it amazing when compared to the 3880. The prints are noticeably better. Zero misfeeds. Zero head issues. And, instead of printing 5 to 6 test prints, I now print 1 to 2 test prints. I suppose you could argue the difference in test prints are due to more experience and that may be a part of it, but for some reason, the Canon seems to print what I see on the screen far better than any of the Epson printers (starting with the R2000).

I wish I had made the switch sooner.

Lucky for you, Piezography which works on the QTR engine wouldn't work on a Canon.

calico · Dec 27, 2022

Noisegate said:
The Canon Pro-1000 works flawlessly with my Mac. I use the canon software (which I absolutely love) to print. No issues whatsoever. I have not tried the QuadToneRIP software with the Canon but obviously used it on my Epson 3880 utilizing Piezo inks. The Canon software satisfies me immensely and I see no need to fiddle with another printing software at this time. I suppose I should try it to see if there is a benefit but honestly, I have no motivation to do so.

Regarding Canon vs Epson, I "grew up" with Epson and was dedicated to the brand as I felt they focused a little bit more on quality B&W printing. Looking back, I realize I was never happy with the printer or B&W quality. Misfeeds, poor calibration, clogged heads and tons and tons and tons of disappointing prints...I really didn't enjoy the printing process as the costly waste of both paper and ink were difficult to justify.

Then came my Canon Pro-1000. I find it amazing when compared to the 3880. The prints are noticeably better. Zero misfeeds. Zero head issues. And, instead of printing 5 to 6 test prints, I now print 1 to 2 test prints. I suppose you could argue the difference in test prints are due to more experience and that may be a part of it, but for some reason, the Canon seems to print what I see on the screen far better than any of the Epson printers (starting with the R2000).

I wish I had made the switch sooner.

I am the same...."grew up" with idea Epson was the way to go for quality photo printing, especially for the b&w mode. But maybe I would feel the same as you if I switch to Canon, wonder why I didn't switch sooner. Your comments are very persuasive.

I won't be buying a printer immediately....dealing with some computer issues right now (long story)....but thank you very much for sharing your experience.

Noisegate · Dec 27, 2022

nmp said:
Lucky for you, Piezography which works on the QTR engine wouldn't work on a Canon.

Perhaps I misspoke. It was my understanding that QTR was a stand alone program that worked with printers other than Epson (converted to Piezo or not). I have both a non-coverted Epson 3880 along with a Piezo converted Epson 3880 running on QTR. I felt there was a noticeable, but subtle improvement on the converted Piezo Epson prints but not enough to justify the cost....in my opinion. When I compare one of my Piezo prints to one of the Canon prints, the Canon print wins every time. Perhaps my calibrations were off or perhaps there was a lack of skill set on my part, for me, it doesn't matter. I just want to hit "print" and get back to taking pictures.

Noisegate · Dec 27, 2022

calico said:
I am the same...."grew up" with idea Epson was the way to go for quality photo printing, especially for the b&w mode. But maybe I would feel the same as you if I switch to Canon, wonder why I didn't switch sooner. Your comments are very persuasive.

I won't be buying a printer immediately....dealing with some computer issues right now (long story)....but thank you very much for sharing your experience.

I resisted the switch for over a year. When the Epson 900 came out, I was not happy with the ink cartridge size and overall "cheap" feel of the printer. It did not impress me. During my research, the Canon, was at first, not a slam dunk due to ink usage during scheduled cleaning cycles. I don't print daily so I was concerned my ink tanks would empty out over a few months of self-cleaning. This has turned out to be not an issue for me. Yes, it used up some ink but not enough to make me cry.

As a side note, I bought the Canon used and have had zero issues with it.

Good luck with your computer problems....been there.....done that.

Cheers!

calico · Dec 28, 2022

Noisegate said:
I resisted the switch for over a year. When the Epson 900 came out, I was not happy with the ink cartridge size and overall "cheap" feel of the printer. It did not impress me. During my research, the Canon, was at first, not a slam dunk due to ink usage during scheduled cleaning cycles. I don't print daily so I was concerned my ink tanks would empty out over a few months of self-cleaning. This has turned out to be not an issue for me. Yes, it used up some ink but not enough to make me cry.

As a side note, I bought the Canon used and have had zero issues with it.

Good luck with your computer problems....been there.....done that.

Cheers!

Thanks re computer good luck wish. And thanks again for sharing your experience with the Canon printer. Hope it keeps serving you well!

JerseyDoug · Dec 29, 2022

I've been printing with an Epson P700 for a couple of years with absolutely no issues. I print exclusively B&W using Epson's ABW mode, which might make a difference in my experience. I chose the P700 over one of the Canons because of the physical size. I work in a tiny little alcove and only had room for the Epson.

calico · Dec 30, 2022

JerseyDoug said:
I've been printing with an Epson P700 for a couple of years with absolutely no issues. I print exclusively B&W using Epson's ABW mode, which might make a difference in my experience. I chose the P700 over one of the Canons because of the physical size. I work in a tiny little alcove and only had room for the Epson.

Well, that's good to know. The P700 is significantly less expensive than the Canon Pro 1000.

I see at B&H site, there are people who've had bad experiences with both printers, which is discouraging. But good to hear you had good with P700. Thanks for chiming in.

Best Inkjet Printer for B&W in 2021

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency