Suggestions for a 13" wide printer?

[peter k.]

Have liked my Epson 1430, on the second one now, but its going old, and this printer has been discontinued, so thought we look into what is available and what is liked and why, by those on this forum. .
Thanks.. p.

 

[tedr1]

Check out the Canon Pro 100 model, it is deeply discounted at places like B&H and the quality is great to my eyes. I am an occasional printer and this model uses dye inks which I am told are less inclined to clog following disuse, or to put it another way, don't seem to need regular cleaning cycles to retain normal functioning. Four months in I am very happy with mine.

 

[peter k.]

Yeah, been looking at that and the Epson HD xp-15000. The Canon has 8 ink cartridges, two of them grey. The Epson has 6, one grey and their capacity seems to be less than the old 1430.
When you print, is it mostly color, or do you also do B&W?

 

[Born2Late]

Canon Pixma Pro 100 or Pixma Pro 10. I have both and love both. Yes, if you keep your eyes open you can get them for under $100 after rebate.

 

[peter k.]

B&H has a heck of a deal on the Pro 100, with 50 sheets of 13x19 paper and free shipping for $129.99 we believe it was. But we wonder on the capacity of the ink cartridges, if there larger than the Epson?

 

[Patrick Robert James]

I bought a Pro 10 a couple months ago from PROCAM. The deal was too good to pass up. There is the $250 rebate, PLUS an instant $350 rebate with the code "Pro 10", and there was no extra charge for the 50 sheets of 13x19 paper. I mean, seriously? A pigment printer with better color than Epson for peanuts. No brainer.

I just wish someone made a RIP for Canon printers.

 

[Fraunhofer]

I have a Pro100, which I got nearly for free after a mail-in rebate during last years Christmas sale by the manufacturer. Color prints are very nice and it even does do decent, for my humble tastes at least, digital negatives for Pd/Pt printing. Only drawback is that it uses a fair bit of ink.

 

[peter k.]

For those of you that have the Canon Pro 100.. have you had any paper feed issues? Checking on the internet there has been some comments about this.

 

[Sal Santamaura]

For those of you that have the Canon Pro 100.. have you had any paper feed issues?...

None whatsoever. It's my current printer, after an Epson P600 that I purchased new and used for a year (that one's sitting in a closet now), and thicker paper feed is easier and more consistent with the Pro 100 than the P600.

Here's something to consider. One can read lots of discussion about gloss differential. I found that, unless examining an area with virtually no image, pigment inks on any glossy 'art' paper were too shiny period. There was no differential. I hate reflections. I tried a large number of papers from many manufacturers and all suffered from this problem. Moving on to matt papers, the best one with a P600 was Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Ultra Smooth, but dmax, while better than most, was still inadequate. The matt paper 'blahs' seem unavoidable.

In the course of exchanging prints with another photographer who was also on a 'paper quest,' but who uses a Pro 100, we discovered that dye inks don't suffer excessive shine on glossy papers. Our ultimate conclusions agreed: optimum results came from Hahnemuhle FineArt Baryta Satin printed on a Pro 100. I strongly recommend anyone seeking a beautiful print (which also provides the side benefit of being nicely rigid and flat in the hand) give that combination a chance.

 

[mshchem]

None whatsoever. It's my current printer, after an Epson P600 that I purchased new and used for a year (that one's sitting in a closet now), and thicker paper feed is easier and more consistent with the Pro 100 than the P600.

Here's something to consider. One can read lots of discussion about gloss differential. I found that, unless examining an area with virtually no image, pigment inks on any glossy 'art' paper were too shiny period. There was no differential. I hate reflections. I tried a large number of papers from many manufacturers and all suffered from this problem. Moving on to matt papers, the best one with a P600 was Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Ultra Smooth, but dmax, while better than most, was still inadequate. The matt paper 'blahs' seem unavoidable.

In the course of exchanging prints with another photographer who was also on a 'paper quest,' but who uses a Pro 100, we discovered that dye inks don't suffer excessive shine on glossy papers. Our ultimate conclusions agreed: optimum results came from Hahnemuhle FineArt Baryta Satin printed on a Pro 100. I strongly recommend anyone seeking a beautiful print (which also provides the side benefit of being nicely rigid and flat in the hand) give that combination a chance.

This is good info. I picked up a Pro 100 recently. I had some issues but I'm convinced I just need to configure my computer properly. I have a couple other Canon printers. One is a all in one copier MX922 I use it to make snap shots, they look lovely.
I had an Epson pigment printer in the past , clogged constantly. I also have a Pixma iX6820 5 cartridges same as the MX922 makes beautiful prints on regular glossy photo paper. I have let this sit for a year and not had clogging issues.
The Pro 100 is big. Shipping weight was 53 lbs . I have been learning, this is good info on paper.

 

[dmr]

I currently have the Canon Pro 100 and I'm happy with it.

Formerly had the HP B9100 and wore it out! The repair shop guy said it could be fixed but to do it would use so much ink that it would be cheaper to buy a new printer!

 

[mshchem]

None whatsoever. It's my current printer, after an Epson P600 that I purchased new and used for a year (that one's sitting in a closet now), and thicker paper feed is easier and more consistent with the Pro 100 than the P600.

Here's something to consider. One can read lots of discussion about gloss differential. I found that, unless examining an area with virtually no image, pigment inks on any glossy 'art' paper were too shiny period. There was no differential. I hate reflections. I tried a large number of papers from many manufacturers and all suffered from this problem. Moving on to matt papers, the best one with a P600 was Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Ultra Smooth, but dmax, while better than most, was still inadequate. The matt paper 'blahs' seem unavoidable.

In the course of exchanging prints with another photographer who was also on a 'paper quest,' but who uses a Pro 100, we discovered that dye inks don't suffer excessive shine on glossy papers. Our ultimate conclusions agreed: optimum results came from Hahnemuhle FineArt Baryta Satin printed on a Pro 100. I strongly recommend anyone seeking a beautiful print (which also provides the side benefit of being nicely rigid and flat in the hand) give that combination a chance.

Sal, I checked B&H the paper you mention is available in rolls, the only sizes of cut sheets, at B&H are 4x6 cards and 13x19" Where do you get your paper? I'm looking for 5x7 , letter size etc. Mike

 

[mshchem]

Found 25 sheet 8 1/2 x 11 at Freestyle 41 USD. Hahnemuhle FineArt Baryta Satin inkjet paper 300 gsm.

 

[Sal Santamaura]

Sal, I checked B&H the paper you mention is available in rolls, the only sizes of cut sheets, at B&H are 4x6 cards and 13x19" Where do you get your paper? I'm looking for 5x7 , letter size etc. Mike

I'm not sure how you searched at the B&H Web site, but when I do it shows 16 different sizes/versions:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/sear...&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search=​

B&H is where I purchase Hahnemuhle FineArt Baryta Satin.

 

[mshchem]

I currently have the Canon Pro 100 and I'm happy with it.

Formerly had the HP B9100 and wore it out! The repair shop guy said it could be fixed but to do it would use so much ink that it would be cheaper to buy a new printer!

I'm done with HP I bought HP cartridges at Costco, the printer said they were counterfeit? Canon makes the ink and cartridges in Japan . I think this insures better quality.

 

[mshchem]

I'm not sure how you searched at the B&H Web site, but when I do it shows 16 different sizes/versions:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=hahnemuhle fineart baryta satin&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search=​

B&H is where I purchase Hahnemuhle FineArt Baryta Satin.

Thanks, got it.

 

[peter k.]

Thanks all for the info on the Pro 100, interesting.. maybe because its newer, no feedback on the Epson HD XP-15000.
Anybody out there got some comments on the Epson printer?

 

[tedr1]

When you print, is it mostly color, or do you also do B&W?

Both. I used to have a darkroom so I am used to the qualities of traditional BW prints. Being able to print color is new for me and I like it.

 

[dmr]

I'm done with HP I bought HP cartridges at Costco, the printer said they were counterfeit? Canon makes the ink and cartridges in Japan . I think this insures better quality.

I don't do Costco, but I've always bought the originals for both the HP and Canon. There's one local Real Photo Shop on the area which stocks them, fortunately. I'm sure I could find them cheaper, but then you risk getting fakes.

I did run that HP very hard. Back when I was into the photo calendar thing I ran literally thousands upon thousands of sheets through it and it held rather well up to a point.

It got to when I would turn it on it would kinda juke around for 5-10 minutes before it would come to ready. A suggestion (on line) was to leave it on, which I did for a while, but after a while it started doing its little Happy Dance with no warning in the middle of the night and would wake me up! As I said, it was cheaper to get a newer printer than to repair the old one and end up with a working but still obsolete printer.

 

[mshchem]

Thanks all for the info on the Pro 100, interesting.. maybe because its newer, no feedback on the Epson HD XP-15000.
Anybody out there got some comments on the Epson printer?

Check on how long the Pro 100 has been in production, I think it's rather mature. It's very well supported in terms of color profiles by paper companies. A buddy of mine has a camera shop, he runs up to 12 inch RA4.
He just traded a very well used Epson, 42" printer for a huge Canon model. It's got a LOT of different colors and grays, blacks. The other day I stopped by they were printing a 4x6 foot black and white print. Amazing.

 

[mshchem]

I don't do Costco, but I've always bought the originals for both the HP and Canon. There's one local Real Photo Shop on the area which stocks them, fortunately. I'm sure I could find them cheaper, but then you risk getting fakes.

I did run that HP very hard. Back when I was into the photo calendar thing I ran literally thousands upon thousands of sheets through it and it held rather well up to a point.

It got to when I would turn it on it would kinda juke around for 5-10 minutes before it would come to ready. A suggestion (on line) was to leave it on, which I did for a while, but after a while it started doing its little Happy Dance with no warning in the middle of the night and would wake me up! As I said, it was cheaper to get a newer printer than to repair the old one and end up with a working but still obsolete printer.

The cartridges I got at Costco were "Genuine HP" the package says made in "followed by 10 different countries" the point I failed to make is, that, I suspect that HP is sourcing consumables. Sourced product can be very hard to manage. Every Canon cartridge I have purchased is made in Japan.

 

[tedr1]

Check on how long the Pro 100 has been in production, I think it's rather mature. It's very well supported in terms of color profiles by paper companies.

Canon states in the fine print that they continue to supply ink for "pro-sumer" printers like the Pro100 for five years from the end of manufacture. They are still being sold in the mainstream retailers so presumably the five year clock hasn't started yet.

 

[dmr]

Canon states in the fine print that they continue to supply ink for "pro-sumer" printers like the Pro100 for five years from the end of manufacture. They are still being sold in the mainstream retailers so presumably the five year clock hasn't started yet.

I'm sure that if ink sales are strong that they will continue for more than 5 years, as that's where their profit is. I get the impression that the printer business is very much on the "give them the razor, sell them the blades" model.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

Canon states in the fine print that they continue to supply ink for "pro-sumer" printers like the Pro100 for five years from the end of manufacture. They are still being sold in the mainstream retailers so presumably the five year clock hasn't started yet.

I have a Canon Pro 100 and it's a nice printer. I used Canon OEM inks, but switched over to Precision Color Inks.

https://www.precisioncolors.com/PC42cref.html

Works great. I think they have profiles for various papers too.

 

[Fin]

I bought a Pro 1 last year and I'm very happy with it, although it seems to be older design than the 10 and the 100. I got it at a very good price in the UK.

I don't know if the software and system is the same as the 10 and the 100, but I had to make quite a few test prints and adjust various things (and turn all the auto stuff off) because prints were coming out too dark. I get stunning prints out of it now! Not tried much B&W yet as I have a darkroom, but colour (yes with a U!) prints look fantastic.


A few things, and two I didn't think about or realise, from quite a bit of research I did before buying this. And I imagine they are similar for the 10 and 100 as well as other larger machines:

Yes, it's a big printer. The cartridges are at the front nowhere near the print head, so the pipes are quite long and take quite a lot of ink to prime. Many people have moaned about printing 4 pics with their brand new Pro 1 and it running out of ink, this is why. Mine is now on set 2, and they seem to be lasting well.

According to Canon, these printers are designed to be left fully on (not energy mode or standby) all the time, although the software was set by default to power it down after 2hrs. If the printer is powered down, it has to re-prime the inks the next time it's used, and priming wastes a fair bit of ink. Although this can help to make sure the ink doesn't slowly dry on the printhead and clog it, it's best to try to make one print every month or so, which is a far better use for the ink.

Also, as I always say, be very wary of using anything other than absolutely genuine ink from an authorized seller. The PrecisionColor stuff looks like it's better made than a lot of other 3rd party inks, but genuine ink has been properly designed by people who know what they are doing to work with that particular printer without damaging pipes, seals or clogging the printhead. Unless you have an Epson which will happily clog itself whatever you use in it! Printer ink doesn't just contain pigment, there are lubricants and other chemical wizardry in there to make sure that printer will come to life and print perfectly when you need it, after it has been sat there being ignored for months!