Recomend me a 11x17 printer.

I currently use a Canon i860 and print 90% at 8.5x11 and on ocasion 4x6. I only use Canon Matte paper for my large prints and a generic glossy paper. I am very happy with the prints that I get but would like to be able to print larger at times.

What would you guys recommend? I am reading good things about the Epson r2400.

Thanx for any help.

You'd never regret it.

Linus

I don't think you can argue much against the R2400.

That said, Canon appears to be very interesting in the upscale printer market and you may wish to give their new (and near future) offerings a look.

Tom, the R2400 would be a fine choice in every respect except for one. You say you use both matte and glossy paper. Well, the Epson K3 inkset has separate matte and photo black inks, and in the R2400 you have to switch them when you switch media. This wastes some ink because the old black must be purged from the lines when the new cart is installed. Fortunately in the R2400 the ink lines are very short (not like the R4800 which wastes a stunning amount of ink in the switch). However ink is already the biggest operating expense in these desktop 13" printers with their tiny cartridges. Occasional head clogging is another ink waster with Epsons, although fortunately it seems to be less of a problem with the R2400 than with some past models. Anyway, this could be a problem for you in terms of hidden cost.

I have an R2400 myself and I'm happy with the results from it, I certainly don't regret getting it. But I almost never print with matte ink. If I did I'd probably have 2 of them to avoid switching the blacks. I also print often enough that head clogs are not a major issues, although they do still happen.

I used to have a Canon i9900 and was happy with it, for a dye ink printer. Since you are happy with your Canon i860, you might want to look instead at the forthcoming Canon PIXMA Pro9500. This is a 10-ink design, mounting both blacks at the same time to avoid the manual switching issue for different media. (I'm not clear how it actually handles the two blacks, it may do something like the Epson R3800, see below.) It also adds red & green so color gamut should be very good, but removes the light-light gray found in the Epson K3 inkset which may give the Epson the edge for B&W printing if you're into that. Being pigment, the new Canon should have excellent print longevity, although this inkset has not been around that long to really be proven out. This is a printer that I'd consider if I needed to replace my R2400.

Another option you may wish to consider is the Epson R3800, which is a bit larger format printer (17"). Two key points are that it takes larger ink cartridges thus reducing operating costs, and mounts both blacks at the same time. The printer automatically switches the black ink in the lines when you switch media. This wastes a small amount of ink, possibly comparable to the R2400 and certainly far less than the other large K3 printers. The R3800 has some other improvements including a new head design, but it doesn't support roll stock printing or I'd buy one in a second. The initial purchase expense is greater than the R2400, but if you factor in the value of the larger initial set of ink cartridges you get with the printer, plus the on-going reduce operating expense, this printer should be cheaper over-all than the R2400. If you don't print on roll stock this could be your best option in terms of operating cost.

HP has some interesting new pigment ink printers out as well but I'm not too familiar with them so I won't comment there.

It is becoming a 3 horse race now with Canon & HP putting out some good looking products, after Epson dominated the lower end pigment printer market for so long. You've got some really good options depending on trade-off points you may wish to make.

Dick Ginkowski wrote:That said, Canon appears to be very interesting in the upscale printer market and you may wish to give their new (and near future) offerings a look.

I’ve seen the Canon Pro9500 working back in September or October last year at a CPS meeting in Hamburg and I was extremely impressed by this printers output! I had the possibility to view and touch prints in b/w and color on all sorts of Canon media including the Canon labeled Hahnemuehle papers and their own Glossy and Semiglossy papers and I thought: THIS IS IT! Note that I’m a die hard Epson user

B/w images (printed on Hahnemuehle Fine Art media) and viewed under windows (day) light looked beautifully neutral with very smooth gray tones.

Next to the Canon printer guys a people shooter was working with a model basically to demonstrate third party studio flash stuff working together with the 1Ds. His images (straight out of the camera) were printed through the Canon printer driver (no RIP magic) on Glossy media. No gloss differential, color shine or whatever. Just stunning glossies.

Sorry for using superlatives but if this printer ever hits the shelves (delayed twice already) it will have a big impact on the A3 printer market.

The only downside (to me) is that it doesn’t come with a roll paper option.

Sven

Thank you guys for your input.

I have an HP B9180 printer sitting next to me that I am testing, and there are things to like about it. I would prefer the Epson R2400 over the B9180, but either will work just fine. Epson has a *much* larger community of users, as well as papers. Most of the third party paper companies also offer free profiles for Epson printers, while HP and Canon printers aren't supported very well.

Get the R2400.

I have an Epson 4000-bought it used from a pro. Great printer but has problems with B&W gloss. This same pro suggested the new Epson 3800 as a great replacement (someday....) No replacing inks for B&W. The difference? The 4000 uses roll paper, 3800 has newer inks but is only flat feed. A lot cheaper than the 4800 though, which is same ink as 3800 but you have to dump blacks to change to B&W inks. 4800 can utilize roll paper. You can put HUGE cartridges in 4000 and 4800- don't know about 3800. Some people save a lot on ink by investing in a CIS system (refillable bottles, etc. -very expensive at startup, but eventually cost effective. Depends on how much printing you do. )
4000 and 4800 are also monsters- you need heavy-duty racks for them and lots of space. I've had good luck with refurbs, BTW. All the bugs are pre-fixed...


Cindy Crawford

At that node I would probably get an Epson 2400

Printers are another issue i am confusing with.
I checked the features of all Epson models to see which is better for me, in fact i am still can't decide which is better for me.
I want to print from size 4x6 upt to 24x36, color and B&W, is there a good printer that can do that job for me?
let's say i want Maximum Width 17-20" but also i can print smaller (4x6, 5x7,...), so any recommendations?

I may be mistaken, but I don't think you can get that range of sizes from one printer. My Epson 4000, for instance, will not take anything smaller than 8x10. You can, of course, make multiple prints of the same image on one page and then cut them out with a paper cutter. I do that for cards- make 2-up on 8.5 x 11 and cut. It's a pain though, getting them positioned right.

Good small printers are cheap- easier to dedicate a small printer to small images. More likely to get full bleed as well.

If you are not making a LOT of 24 x36, it might be cheaper to have those done by a reputable business and save yourself some headaches!

I think the Epson 3800 is a very good deal for most large format prints. If you do B&W, it's better than 2400, I think, because of the newer inks and because you don't have to dump a lot of ink and change cartridges to get proper tone.

Just my two cents, for what it's worth. I am not familiar with Canon printers so can't compare. There must be some good web sites doing reviews on these printers, and some let you do side by side comparisons.

Good luck!

Cindy Crawford

The 3800 and 2400 use the same inks: the Epson Ultrachrome K3. The only difference is that the 3800 takes larger cartridges (80 mL instead of 17 mL) and can hold both Photo Black and Matte Black at the same time.

As Cindy noted, you have to decide what you want to optimize for. The big printers (24" and wider) mostly feed from rolls. You can't feed them 4x6 sheets. The small printers take small sheets but not big ones.

My advice is that you figure out what you print the most often and base the printer decision on that.

Eric

I print mostly 4x6 and 5x7, and 20x30, so for sure i want 4x6 print size, and i want something larger than 16x20, as i am member in photography club in my area the minimum size for print is A3, so mostly A3 up to A1 or A0 can be used alot for Exhibition or galleries show and so.
I can say i will try to be ok with 17" wide but ofcourse i can have long more than 24", so if there is a printer that can print from 4x6 up to say 17x30 or larger then it will be ok with me

most members print at size 30x40cm (A3) as minimum requirement but i have been asked many times to get large prints up to A2 or A1 so i think it is around 50x80cm or even 60x90cm. I want maximum width is say 40 or 50cm

I think the Epson R3800 is the only printer that will cover the range from 4x6 up to 17" media. The Epson marketing material states that 17x22 is the largest cut sheet media size the printer will handle, but I believe from reports it will take up to 17x37.25 sheets. Maybe just not in borderless mode. Eric will know.

As far as I know, all other 17" printers will not take any media smaller than 8" wide. And all printers 24" and up will not take any cut sheet media period.

Professional wrote:Printers are another issue i am confusing with.
I checked the features of all Epson models to see which is better for me, in fact i am still can't decide which is better for me.
I want to print from size 4x6 up to 24x36, color and B&W, is there a good printer that can do that job for me?
let's say i want Maximum Width 17-20" but also i can print smaller (4x6, 5x7,...), so any recommendations?

A point that's not being hit here is how often do you print larger than 13" wide and do you do it enough to justify the cost of a larger format printer than one along the lines of the Epson 2400. If not, you probably want to consider an online print service for the larger work. I would crunch numbers to determine how many times a year you legitimately need a larger print and weigh it against the cost of online printing + shipping vs. new printer.

Just fodder for thought.

Yup, exactly what Wayne said. I'll describe what I decided for myself and maybe it'll help you decide. I mostly print on 8.5x11 and 11x17 sheet paper. Sometimes I print on 13x19 sheets. I rarely print up to 17" wide, and I do the occasional 20" wide or 24" wide print. I settled on a 17" printer, the Epson 3800, because it handles all my common needs, an occasional need (up to 17" wide), and is better than the 13" printers in ink economy. When I need a 20" or 24" wide print, I send it to WHCC. This overall strategy has worked out well for me.

Eric

and i can't use a printer that can print larger than 16" or 17" and use to print up to say 13x19 mostly? i can't trust online services always as i have many personal prints, and most lab here saving photos and you don't know if he will use it in something else later.
Just i have many photos waiting to be printed up to 16x20 and maybe few up to 20x30 if possible, so i think i will not think of 24" large printers for now, but i think 17" wide is the maximum i have to look for and i can't buy smaller then when i need for larger then i have to replace it or buy another one, i was looking to print smaller size but after that i think i will keep smaller prints for lab as they do print 4x6 and 5x7 so cheap, but not large formats at all. and we don't have large formats lab that much, i wasted 3 days to find one nearsest to me and still not that best quality as well.
I am thinking alot about Epson R2400, but those 4800 and 3800 so tempting, what do you think of R4800? i found that it is what i look for execpt that it can't print smaller than 8".

Hi again

The 4800 takes roll and sheet paper, the 3800 only takes sheets. 4800 is very big, 3800 more compact. If you join this group

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Epson4000/

you will learn a LOT about 4800. (The group says 4000, but includes 4800.) This group discusses the 3800 briefly.

Another useful group:

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/EpsonWideFormat/

This covers ALL the big Epsons.

Good luck-

Cindy Crawford

What type of surface do you want to print on? Glossy? Luster? Matte? A mix of these? Do you intend to stick to one surface primarily, or switch back and forth between glossy/luster and matte?

Eric