Canon i9900 or Epson R1800

I'm considering a buying a printer and I think I have reduced my candidate list to the Canon i9900 and the Epson R1800.
I'm looking for some advise based on the use of archival inks and papers, and compatibility with my Intel based iMac.

Thanks!

Sorry, I can't comment on what you're really looking for. IQ wise, I preferred my i9900. I have the 1800 now, though. Colors just don't have the pop that the Canon does, to me. That's with a calibrated monitor, too.

Every Epson I have owned or used has had clogging problems. Not the case with Canon printers.

The i9900 is getting a bit long in the tooth. That may or may not be big deal as a selection criterion, but it seems the i9900 is the last non-PIXMA branded printer, according to Canon USA anyway. The PIXMA Pro9000 and Pro9500 look poised to replace the i9900, the difference being the Pro9000 is an 8-ink dye printer like the i9900, while the Pro9500 uses the new 10-ink pigment system.

Note that since the i9900 is a dye ink printer, it is not in the same league for archival characteristics as any of the pigment-based Epsons like the R1800 or R2400, or the new Canon pigment printers (presumably). So you need to decide what you need when you say "archival inks".

I owned an i9900 and liked it okay -- fast, nice gamut, etc. But I did have to get it serviced twice under warranty, once for a head replacement (which I could do myself) and once for a faulty sheet feed mechanism (required a factory depot visit). People have had horror stories with all brands, and I suspect there is really little advantage between them in terms of failure rate. But I do like the user-replaceable print head design used by Canon (and also HP's new 13" pigment printer also).

I'm currently using an Epson R2400 since I needed the archival quality, and the simple roll feed adapter is handy for my big pano's. (I suppose I could have hand made a roll adapter for the Canon.) The R2400 is a solid performer, quick enough and very nice prints although not quite the same "pop" as the Canon had with far less profile tweaking. The R1800 is still using the older Ultrachrome inks, not the new K3 inks used by the R2400. So the R1800 probably will have more limited gamut and poorer quality for B&W, likely more or less equivalent to the old R2200. Clogging has been minor with my R2400, but then my i9900 never clogged once.

So what would I recommend? If pigment ink is a key factor, get the R1800 or R2400; or if you can wait then check out the Canon Pro9500 when it comes available. (Perhaps look at the HP Pro B9180 now.) Personally I would not go for an i9900 right now unless it was essentially free. But I am definitely looking ahead to the Canon 10-ink pigment printers.

Thanks!

I think that the dye vs pigment issue is going to be the key here. I have owned a couple of Epson printers before, back in Europe, and I can cope with their "mood swings", but I might have to wait to see what the Pixma pro9500 has to offer.

I am waiting for the pixma 9500 as well. I am impressed by the Luminous Landscape review of the HP printer as well

I have had clogging issues with the HP I have so I am hoping the new Canon's are really nice so I can do printing at home without having to clean the whole thing everytime I want to print.

I'm in the same boat... I love Canon printers but am now printing for clients and just cannot take a chance that the i9900 prints will only last 5-10 years! For personal printing... its not as important.. but for clients spending hundreds.. I need some archival prints. Which means.. I need a new printer!

So.. the real debate.. do I just buy the new HP with the pigment inks? Buy the new Canon Pro 9000 when it comes out next month (supposed to be more archival.. although I cannot find a single review about this printer! so I don't know enough about the new inks to know if it is worth it)?

I just wish the choice was easy and straightforward...

Every epson printer I've used, with the exception of the R1800 has had clogging problems. The R1800 has performed flawlesly for 6 months now with no cloggong problems. Great prints.

the new Epson is out of my budget... it looks like a R1800 for me.