My canon ip6600 is starting to die. So I am considering a new printer and was thinking about upgrading to a 13in wide printer. But funds are tight. I see Epson now has a $150 rebate on the R1900. Does any one have any history using this printer? Any info on this unit would be helpful.
Thanks
Mark
I just want to add, that it's not the printer price that makes it expensive or not.
its the consumables that go in it. paper / ink. Look at these things and try to
find out if the printer heads tend to clog or not, need frequent cleaning, does it
require mat/glossy black ink swapping, etc...
these are the things that make the printer more or less expensive over time.
based on those variables in the past i decided to settle on a pixma PRO9500
which has been a pretty cost effective printer till now.
and now even when i have upgraded to a 24" printer i decided on the canon
IPF6200 over the epson 7880 based on the consumable cost in the long haul.
I acquired the r1900 last Fall and decided on it for some of the same concerns. My experience has been that ink consumption is considerably less then the previous Epson printer I had. Most importantly, the heads do not get clogged after not being used for an extended period of time and I have cleaned the heads only once since I have had the printer. I'm not sure that it needed it then but it sat unused for about a month and based on previous experience with this type of printer I cleaned the heads as a precautionary measure. I don't use a lot of different papers so I can't comment on that aspect. I can say that my prints come out much sharper than before and the printer driver and settings are easy to deal with. I bought mine through B&H Photo and got a package deal on supplies that was attractive. There was a similar rebate deal on the printer at the time. All in all, I am very happy with my decision and the printer.
I have an Epson Stylus Photo 1400 which I love. It has many features and gives me clear
vibrant copies. I could not ask for a better printer. But, I also tthink (just think) that it does
have to do with your camera and how the photo was taken. (lol)
Judith
Posted by Andy Richards on March 15, 2009 at 1:25 PM
Hi Mark: I bought the R1900 recently after using a dye-based ink 1280 model for years. I print semi-gloss color almost exclusively and until the R1900, haven't found a pigment based printer that I like the results from. The R1900 does a great job on Epson's Premium Lustre paper and on glossy papers. It is said to do a good job on the Art-quality papers too.
I was also pleasantly surprised with the color management results. I have a Spyder-calibrated Monitor, but have never done any custom calibration of the printers. I read somewhere in one of the color management tomes that unlike HP and Canon, you were better off letting the Epson printer driver manage the color using ICC profiles. I have done that and got "mixed" results with the 1280. The R1900 has been DEAD ON!
But BEWARE! There are some KNOWN PROBLEMS with the ink carts. I read a number of horror stories about purchasing the printer and it not recognizing the ink carts. From what I read, after all avenues of "trouble shooting" were closed, Epson will RMA the printer but they will ONLY replace it with a REFURB. In spite of that, I bought one. I actually bought the refurb directly from Epson in the first place (the rebate was not in effect at the time). Sure enough, my first unit did not work. I ultimately had to do the RMA thing. The pay for shipping and will pick up at an office (FedEx Ground). The ship the printer and an RMA and you then ship the old one back. The second one worked as expected, I have gone through some cart changes, and all systems are working fine.
You have to decide whether you are willing to hassle with the possibility that you will run into this problem. The Epson rep was courteous and helpful. Ultimately, they let me keep the ink carts, so I got an extra set for my trouble. I understood the risks going in and IMO, the result is worth it. It is a pretty impressive printer.
FWIW, I read of some similar problems with HP printers, too. Canon seems to have less problems, from my unscientific research.
I did a sort of "everyman's" review on my blog: Lightcentric Photography (http://lightcentricphotography.blogspot.com/), which references a link to the i-Photo review.
Discussion
5 repliesThanks
Mark
If b&w printing isn't paramount, then it looks like it will do the job.
its the consumables that go in it. paper / ink. Look at these things and try to
find out if the printer heads tend to clog or not, need frequent cleaning, does it
require mat/glossy black ink swapping, etc...
these are the things that make the printer more or less expensive over time.
based on those variables in the past i decided to settle on a pixma PRO9500
which has been a pretty cost effective printer till now.
and now even when i have upgraded to a 24" printer i decided on the canon
IPF6200 over the epson 7880 based on the consumable cost in the long haul.
Just my €0.02
Wim.
vibrant copies. I could not ask for a better printer. But, I also tthink (just think) that it does
have to do with your camera and how the photo was taken. (lol)
Judith
I was also pleasantly surprised with the color management results. I have a Spyder-calibrated Monitor, but have never done any custom calibration of the printers. I read somewhere in one of the color management tomes that unlike HP and Canon, you were better off letting the Epson printer driver manage the color using ICC profiles. I have done that and got "mixed" results with the 1280. The R1900 has been DEAD ON!
But BEWARE! There are some KNOWN PROBLEMS with the ink carts. I read a number of horror stories about purchasing the printer and it not recognizing the ink carts. From what I read, after all avenues of "trouble shooting" were closed, Epson will RMA the printer but they will ONLY replace it with a REFURB. In spite of that, I bought one. I actually bought the refurb directly from Epson in the first place (the rebate was not in effect at the time). Sure enough, my first unit did not work. I ultimately had to do the RMA thing. The pay for shipping and will pick up at an office (FedEx Ground). The ship the printer and an RMA and you then ship the old one back. The second one worked as expected, I have gone through some cart changes, and all systems are working fine.
You have to decide whether you are willing to hassle with the possibility that you will run into this problem. The Epson rep was courteous and helpful. Ultimately, they let me keep the ink carts, so I got an extra set for my trouble. I understood the risks going in and IMO, the result is worth it. It is a pretty impressive printer.
FWIW, I read of some similar problems with HP printers, too. Canon seems to have less problems, from my unscientific research.
I did a sort of "everyman's" review on my blog: Lightcentric Photography (http://lightcentricphotography.blogspot.com/), which references a link to the i-Photo review.
Good luck