spigidygak

I'm looking into a wide format (around 13x9+ prints) printer. Right now I've been looking at the Epson 2200p and Canon s9000. Anyone use either? Most likely no one has seen the 2200 yet since its not out yet but I'm anxiously waiting to see it in person. Also any other recomendations? Trying to keep the price under 600.

__________________

seqiro

I have had the Canon S9000 for a few weeks and I can tell you that the output is astonishing. I had the Epson Photo 1270 and that thing was nothing but headaches. Even the warranty replacements died on me. This surprised me because most of my previous ink jet printers (and all of the Photo ones) were Epson and gave me no problems. Thus, disappointed with Epson I went to Canon.

Wow. So very impressive. First off, it had both Windows XP drivers and Mac OS X drivers, a must for my cross platform apartment. Second, this printer is FAST. It can print a borderless high quality 4x6 in under a minute easy. With the Canon Photo Paper Pro, you simply cannot distinguish printouts from actual photos with the naked eye. Not easily, anyway.

Very quiet (the Epson was significantly louder), excellent drivers, and simple controls. Plus you gotta love separate ink tanks. That was one feature I missed when I switched from my Canon BJC-600 to the Epson line (though I didn't miss much else, that old Canon was a nightmare).

Caveats with the Canon:

Paper. Canon Pro paper is hard to find in stores and is only available in glossy format. Epson has a much larger variety of papers. However, I have been using Kodak Ultima Pro Satin and Epson Heavyweight Matte papers and the output is terrific. I have also printed fine on Xerox magnet sheets. So it's very versatile.

Borderless is limited to 4x6 and 8.5x11. You can do borderless for any size less than 8.5x11 though by tricking it. Tell your program of choice (e.g. Photoshop) that you want to print 8.5x11 borderless, but use smaller paper such as 8x10 instead. Then just put your image in the corner of an 8.5x11 work space and print. Voila! You cannot do 13x19 borderless however, at least not with the current drivers. I did find this a little disappointing, since it seems like you should be able to do borderless at any size. But my primary use for the printer did not require borderless at anything other than what it supports.

Overall, I love this printer. It is the best photo printer I've seen and the first that rivals the Epson Photo line (HP isn't even a player in this market as far as I'm concerned.)

I'm anxious to see the Epson 2200 prints myself, but that printer is a bit more expensive. I think you can expect a street price close to $650 on that. I got the Canon for $420.

Enjoy whichever one you buy!

__________________
Paul Beasi

spigidygak

Thanks for the input on the s9000. I also saw the hp cp1700. But anyhow still waiting 'till I can see the epson 2200p in action.

seqiro

I personally wouldn't consider that HP mostly because I have yet to see a four color printer that can hold a match to a six color printer when it comes to photo output.

Here is a review comparing the CP1700 to the S9000 and the S800.
http://www.ephotozine.com/equipment/...9/prodselect/4

I have to think that either the Epson or the Canon would make a better choice. Maybe I'm biased though, I don't like HP inket printers.

spigidygak

Well it looks like I found THE perfect printer. The epson 2100. . . fooking epson us. Its the same as the 2200 excetp for the IMPORTANT fact that it comes with gray balancer software/driver and it can print on cds which is an incredible feature especially for around 700. I was looking into printers that just do cds and those are way too expensive, this is perfect for having that capability and being one of the best if not the best photo inkjets on the market right now. SCREW YOU Epson US *ahem* pardon me . Now to find a place that will import a 2100 to me. . .