Epson 2200 vs Canon i9100

[macphisto]

Okay, I wanted to know if anyone had any experience with one or both of these printers. I use an Epson 2200 on a regular basis and with the new (relatively) osx drivers, I can't rave enough about it. Great color, reliable, great quality, good ink usage and so on. It can be a little slow in the 2880dpi range, but that is to be expected at that resolution.

My company (graphic design company/video production) wants to buy one for themselves. It would be for nice comps, working proofs (for color accuracy) and professional prints. One reseller said that they have not sold any Epson 2200s since the introduction of the Canon i9100.

Can you give me any feedback? I have dealt with consumer/smaller printers of Canon in the past and have been pleased with the quality for that area. But are they up to snuff with professional/nice printers like the Epson line?

Thank you for your help.

ps-If you anyone is interested in some graphic design work/advertising/video, pm me or check us out online at [COLOR= crimson]www.artisanstudiosinc.com[/COLOR] . We are in the process of updating our site, so this is our old one. Let us know.

 

[morlium]

i have a question for you, having recently picked up an epson 2200.

how do i clean the nozzles and check the ink levels in OS X?

 

[rt_brained]

Not these printers specifically, but in general...Canon printers, such as the i950 have faired better in reviews recently compared to the comparable Epson printer.

Most small shops I know, including mine, have used the Photo 1200/1280 series Epsons, but I know some have switched to Canon. A photographer friend dumped his old $5000 dye sub for an i950 saying it's the most amazing quality he's ever seen. And he needs more exacting color than I do for my comps.

Hardly scientific, but it's what I've heard on the streets.

 

[macphisto]

Originally posted by morlium
i have a question for you, having recently picked up an epson 2200.

how do i clean the nozzles and check the ink levels in OS X?

In your Applications folder, there should be an app called EPSON Printer Utility. When you install the drivers from the CD and then update to the new drivers from Epson's site it should be there. And from there you can check and clean and align everything.

 

[evoluzione]

don't know much about the canon but epson printers really benefit from a decent RIP. and the best one for the money, is by BESTcolor. of course you could spend $4k for a RIP to go with your 7600/9600 and get contract proofs if you want the best color accuracy, but that's a bit OTT for most

i'd be interested in hearing what people have to say about the Canons meself.

oh, i have a Pro 5000 with Fiery RIP on eBay if anyone's interested (my eBay handle is the same as my MR one here)

 

[andrewh]

I bought the Canon i9100 in July and I'm really really happy with it. I've also owned a couple of Epson printers and I would say that the new Canons are at least on par with Epson printers in the same price categories.

For quite a while, I would say that Epsons were better printers overall but I think Canon has caught up. The bottom line is that you can't go wrong with either the Epson 2200 or the Canon i9100. However, it might come down to a personal preference on the printed images and the physical design of the printers. I printed the same image on my Epson Stylus Photo 820 and the i9100 and there are some subtle differences in the color tones. Not sure if one could be easily considered better, but I did slightly prefer the Canon print. It is a more expensive model than the stylus 820 though, and the 820 is not the same as a 2200.

Anyway the photos I have printed on the i9100 are absolutely fantastic. I have also printed artwork for client presentations combining text and graphics on 11x17 high res paper and the quality is so good. Some people have even asked me where I had the prints made and were a little surprised to learn they were made in my home office. These printers have come such a long way in only a few years.

So, while I can't add any valuable comparison info, I can say that the Canon i9100 is excellent and a great choice. It's fast, quiet, nicely designed, has great drivers and software, and of course amazing print quality at large formats. Worth the money.

 

[Web Wizard]

Just bought the i9100, and first impressions are good. Fast, low noise printing and amazing prints (I use the Ilford Galerie Classic Pearl).
BUT, our first job was a disaster! We should print a small picture and some text on a A4 sheet, prepressed with the company's logo. So the paperquality was unspecified, and we had to do some serious tweeking in the printer driver to get a decent result. After 15-20 test prints the result was ok. So far, so good.
The customer needed 100 prints, we started a batch of 10, and the first print that came out was totally washed out (image was way too bright, text was ok). We had to print one copy at a time, and about 40% was washed out, using the very same saved setting in the printer driver. The only way to get this done was to print one copy, change to another saved setting (almost identical), print next copy, change back to the previous setting, print next page, and so on......... Efficiency? Nope, it was a long night.
We contacted Canon, they said there is a bug in the driver, and they have to get back at it.
Ok, maybe we should have bought that RIP anyway. I checked for suitable RIPs only to find that THERE ARE NO RIPS SUPPORTING CANON FOR OSX!!
Not so happy anymore....
Check this link http://www.sportsshooter.com/news/1045
Maybe we should have put the extra cash in to get the Epson. We saved some money on the Canon, but lost a lot of time, and we don't have a product that works like it should.

 

[manitoubalck]

Go the cannon, you can refill the ink cartrages.