Which photo printer do you use?

I am looking for recommendations for a photo printer that supports 13x19. I have used both the Canon S9000 (very good printer) and the HP B9180 (too many repairs needed). Am in the market to find something that is well integrated with OS X and CS4.

Dave - Take a look at this recent thread discussing 13x19 printers. If you've used a B9180, you're probably pretty familiar with your needs, and there really aren't that many 13x19 printers out there.

And since you mentioned OS X, you might want to take a look at these two color management issues with Macs from Ctein on The Online Photographer :

Color Management Hell
Postscripts

You asked for recommendations on a 13x19 printer. The Epson 2880 produces great results. I currently use the 3880 (same ink set, just bigger). I'm a big fan of Epson printers. I've used Canon printers while teaching workshops where Canon provided the printers. IMHO, they are not on par with Epson. The thread above about color management issues sounds like it could be a nightmare, but I've never experienced any of it running OS X (10.6.4).

Dave, I have a Canon Pixma Pro 9000 II, I bought and have used very little. I'm just not printing that much and will sell for $250.00 and I pay for shipping in the lower 48 states. It is all most a year old. Prints are great and have not had any trouble. I think I paid about $500 for it. I think that would be a great value for a printer to start with. Also I have some extra ink.
Thanks Conrad Rowe 406-871-3666

You also need to decide if the dye ink or pigment ink will best suit your needs. In my experience dye give wider gamut and is faster. However it takes longer to dry and is not as archival as pigment. I believe most modern dye inks will resist fading for about 20 years (although there are claims for 100). Pigment will probably resist fading for about 75 years (although there are claims for much more). i use the Canon Pixma Pro 9500 Pigment printer and have been happy with it. I have sold many prints that were done on this machine. I really like the gamut using semi gloss paper and it is fast drying.

...it takes longer to dry

Ed (and Dave) -- I have the Canon PIXMA Pro 9000 which is dye ink. Prints on gloss papers are essentially dry instantly. I haven't tried to smudge some of the rag papers or anything like I have the gloss (and it is probably paper dependent) but I don't think the difference is enough to worry about.

Dave, I'd agree with David on the Canon PIXMA Pro 9000 Series. In the last several years at work I have worn out two Epson 2200s and am on my second PIXMA Pro 9000 Series printer. My current PIXMA Pro 9000 printer is a model 2. I had some difficulties with the heads on the Epsons clogging if you didn't use them regularly and the cost of flushing them out was pretty high because it used a lot of ink to do so. The Epson printers were pigment ink based printers (the first generation) and the Canons are dye based. I haven't tried the PIXMA Pro 9500 but I did do some side by side comparisons of the Epson 2200 and the Canon PIXMA Pro 9000 when I bought my first one and the difference was fairly significant with some images. It was particularly noticeable in the gradations of certain colors. One image from Moraine Lake in Canada had some orange lichens on a rock in the foreground and some red canoes on the shoreline. The Epson printed both colors about the same (mostly red). The Canon was able to render the colors correctly. I didn't see this a lot but on certain images it is definitely a drawback for me. I also use the Canon PIXMA Pro 9000 at home for my personal printer.

The Epson printed both colors about the same (mostly red). The Canon was able to render the colors correctly.

Bill - Sounds like you realize this, but that could also have to do with the quality of the paper/printer profile. Do you guys use custom profiles at work? Or just the canned ones that are available for download?

Thanks for the information and feedback. I think I am going back to Canon. My original s9000 was a workhorse that produced quality prints consistently. I will try the pro 9000 mk II. Thanks again

David, we use the ones we download from the web. I use mostly Canon paper with the Canon printers but have used Epson, Moab, and several others. I do download the profiles for each of the manufacturer's specific papers. I haven't really had the time to do custom profiles. I do find issues with out of gamut colors with both Canon and Epson. It is primarily yellow greens from different types of foliage. Thanks!

I do find issues with out of gamut colors with both Canon and Epson.

Oh yeah...if it's an out-of-gamut issue for the paper, the profile might be just fine. The rendering intent used would come into play though, which could contribute to what you're seeing. (Although I'm not sure rendering intents are that well behaved on some systems - I've seen cases where they don't seem to matter even when they should.)