bobfitz Loc: Kendall-Miami, Florida

I think you have to ask yourself, "how often, what size and how many". Compare that to the cost of professional lab prints. I don't presume to know what you are doing and only pose the question. Canon and Epson make their money on ink and not printers, although they are also costly. I have a Canon 13x19 printer which is great for everyday printing but if I capture a special shot and want it printed, I will use a LAB. I do all of my own post processing in Photoshop and do not trust that to a lab. I have been a Photoshop user since 1992 when it was 2 years old. Wow! has it come a long way. Good luck with whatever you choose.

Bob

bdk Loc: Sanibel Fl.

did you clean your epson with ammonia ? Turn it on, let it sit for an hour then clean put ammonia on a papertowel and run the head over it. Thats the only thing that worked for me.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Smart people NEVER buy an inkjet printer to save money. It isn't about that at all.

If you buy an inkjet printer, you want the following:

IMMEDIACY — You need a print RIGHT NOW.

PERMANENCE — You need ultimate print longevity with freedom from fading five times better than silver halide chromogenic prints from traditional photo labs, as tested by Wilhelm Imaging Research.

PRIVACY — You have subject matter that must be kept away from the general public. Maybe it's corporate trade secrets like the next iPhone, or maybe it's porn or spy work. Printing your own can keep the prints within a limited circle of confidants, whatever your purpose.

SUBSTRATES — You want to print on all sorts of different papers, canvas, art board, and maybe other surfaces.

COLOR and TONE — You manage your own color from end to end to make stunning art prints for sale or exhibition. There is no technology better than pigment inkjet printing for that purpose. It offers the widest possible tonal and color gamut when you print from 16-bit files, straight out of Lightroom Classic or Photoshop.

CONTROL — This is really a summary word. "Inkjet printing" are the last two words in the control freak's photo printing vocabulary.

Frankly, good pigment inkjet printing is the most EXPENSIVE form of photo printing most of us will ever do. IMHO, it is also the most satisfying.

I ran the digital departments of a major portrait lab for five years. Our inkjet prints were made on three 44" Epson printers. They were the highest quality prints we sold, and they were five times more costly to make and buy than silver halide prints. We made them only in sizes larger than 12x18 inches. Yet those printers ran 20 hours a day or more in peak season, printing class composites for senior classes, fraternities and sororities, sports teams, bands, and other groups, and for high school and college senior portraits. They were capable of subtle color and tonal gradations not possible with any of our conventional silver halide equipment, whether optical or digital.

Don't buy inkjet to save money. You'll be sorely disappointed in how costly it is, if you do.

One more note: DO manage color with proper tools. It can save you a fortune in inks, paper, and time consumption. Calibrate a worthy graphic arts monitor with a color calibration kit once a month. Test it to match your printer closely. Then enjoy the best prints you've ever seen.

PSims46 Loc: Maryland

I’ve had the Epson R3000 for years. The great thing is that the printer can set unused for a long period of time and still print wonderful prints from the get go. I have only had to clean the heads a couple of times in all those years. Both times they cleaned up with no problem. I have learned to print out a photo at least once a month if I haven’t printed something during that time. If I ever have to replace it I will definitely replace it with the Epson P700 or P900.

nikonbrain Loc: Crystal River Florida

I own 2 large fomat printers a 44 inch Canon IPF 8300 Older , And a new Canon PRO 4000 I cant say enough good things about them .I started out printing for myself and ended up printing for other Photographers . It is a great way to keep the cost down for yourself . The Pro 1000 is a great printer but ink coct is more expensive per ML than than my series . The Canon imagePROGRAF TM-200 24" Large-Format Inkjet Printer is only about $800.00 more and really the ink capacity in the starter tanks is worth the upgrade alone takes rolls and single sheets .If you get good and print for others it will pay for itself in short order . Watch Canon sale My 44 inch printercame with a $ 800.00 dollar instant rebate and also bought one used at 1 trade show and was heavily discounted but came with the same warranty .

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

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Dik

I run a little program called InkJet Plumber. It runs at preset intervals (5 days for me) and prints each ink as a solid square and as a fine line pattern.

Almost never need waste ink with cleaning cycles.

Ron 717 Loc: Pennsylvania

For what it’s worth, when I read bout this subject regarding Epson Printers, I have come to this conclusion. The overwhelming majority of the problems discussed on here involve Epson printers. I have owned several Epson Printers over the past 10-15 years and each and every one of them have had print head issues. In every case I ended up trashing the printer.
I have owned a Canon Pro 100 for 6+ years and (knock on wood) have never had an issue. It is not unusual for me to not use this printer for 30-40 days at a time, and still it prints perfect prints each and every time when turned on.
Unless you look forward to posting printer issues on this forum, then I would suggest seriously looking at a Canon Printer.

ScottWardwell Loc: Maine

I moved to a Pro-200 last year after my long-term Epson R20000 gave up the ghost while I was printing for a wedding client. Under the gun, it was the only printer in town of that grade at Best Buy. The 8 color ink kit is $105. The last time I bought was from Canon directly as the retailers were starting to creep their prices up from that.
A significant improvement over the Epson as the Epson had ongoing issues with needing to clean the print heads all the time and it starting to intermittently loose comms with my PC. Overall cost me about $650 at the time. The next step would be the Pro-1000 as I want to print 17" paper at some point. I just don't have the real estate in my office to accomodate one. If you can afford the extra shock to your AMEX Black card for the 300 and ink, go for it.
Handles thicker papers and canvas with ease in the manual feed slot. I print a lot of Baryta papers (Red River and Canson) and have a roll of 60lb. linen textured paper coming soon from Red River to experiment with.
So far I have done a print head maintenance check once and that was precautionary as I was printing a commission for a client.

Wanderer2 Loc: Colorado Rocky Mountains

Obviously this is a subject where "different folks have different strokes," using an old quote from the hippie era. My experience, and the experience of some others who have posted, is the opposite. We have had major problems with Canon printers. The Pro 100 I had developed a print head that was unsalvageble and rather than buy a new one I switched to an Epson and have had no problems. And the Canon wasn't very old. It is clear that either brand can have problems and which brand has the most problems is unclear but because of my experience my recommendation is the opposite of that above. And another point - the IQ on the Epson's output is considerably better than that of the Pro 100's was and it is easier to use. I know the Pro 100 has been replaced and perhaps the newer models are better. But another old expression - "To each his own." , depending on their personal experience.

Bill_de Loc: US

I've been using an Epson P800 for quite some time. I like the results on photo paper and the canvas roll.
I set of ink runs about $500, so if you aren't going to print a lot it might not be a good choice as the ink doesn't stay fresh forever.

Bottom line, if my P800 dies it will be replaced by a P900.

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Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

I agree with you about the Canon Pro 1000, but I bit the bluet and love it. Cost of cartridges are high but the size of them are large.
I purchased the 1000 after going to Photo Expo and canon was doing prints (13X19) and using a 1000.
I then felt if Canon uses it for them to show Canon quality and after all my time and and work taking the picture with an expensive camera fixing it with a expensive soft ware and why would I cut corners on my final step to show the picture.

dbrugger25 Loc: Raleigh, NC

I bought an Epson Eco Tank ET-7750 wide format printer late in 2018. It failed in about a week. Epson replaced it under warranty. The replacement broke down a few months later and Epson replaced it under warranty. The printer always had problems with clogged nozzles and smeared ink on photos. I was frequently doing head cleanings repeatedly.

Anout a week ago it broke down and a 000101 error code appeared on the screen. I called Epson and they told me that I needed to send it to an authorized repair facility. The nearest one is about 170 miles away. With the shipping expense and the cost of parts and service I would have spent 75-80% of the price of a new printer to repair a model of printer that has broken down four times.

They offered to give me a discount coupon that would allow a 15% discount on a new Epson printer. I found that the discount would only apply to several printers that I wouldn't want.

I just took the broken Epson ET 7750 to rge Raleigh recycling center where I saw several other disgarded Epson ET printers.

I think Epson should get out of the inkjet printer business because they don't seem capable of making a reliable one. The ET-7750 was a replacement for an Epson 2200 photo printer that also didn't work reliably.

I just bought a Canon Pixma Pro 200. It has some great features. The ink cartridges are carried with the printhead and the printhead can be easily removed for cleaning or replacement without tools. I hope I made a good choice.

josquin1 Loc: Massachusetts

You did.

terryMc Loc: Arizona's White Mountains

Is there anything like that for Windows?