Epson R-2400 vs Cannon 9900i

[Maddogmd11]

We are looking at getting and Epson 2400 printer. I would be very interested in any info from folks that have this printer and any expreriences both positive and negative. I would also be interested in feedback anybody that has the Canon 9900. I am leaning toward Epson because I have always had good luck with them and their print quality is excellent. However I have heard that the Canon has more vibrant color.

thanks

Maddog

[tomrock]

The only time you'll see any difference is if you have both printers next to each other and you print the same image. And even then, some parts of that image will look better on one printer while other parts will look better on the other.

Personally, I like Epson printers (I have a 4000) although I've had many over the years.

Canon is making a strong move in the printer market but I don't know if they're there yet. Someone with more experience (i.e. they laid out the money for a Canon printer) will probably have other feelings.

I'm sure either would be fine.

[EOS_JD]

Older canon's use dye inks which are more prone to fading and are not waterproof. they may provide more saturated colours on certain papers though. B&W prints are never truly neutral.

The Epson R2400 is the better choice though. new pigment inks do an amazing job of producing realistic prints and B&W prints are as neutral as you fill find anywhere. The three black/grey inks help a lot.

Downside is if you switch between glossy and matte art papers you will need to change your photoblack cartridge to the matte black cartridge.

I only use the Pk so never a problem for me.

[aam1234]

Never had a photo printer before so pardon the somewhat silly question.

For a printer like the Epson 2400, roughly how long of a time between prints before the heads get dry.

Thanks

[aam1234]

Big Kahuna has very interesting thing to say about cleaning the heads of Epson printers. You can find his post here.

[tomrock]

I've heard about head-cleaning issues with Epsons, too, but only if you don't use them much. I use mine (4000) most days and don't have any problems and when I go out of town I put a bowl of water near it to keep the humidity high (I've heard that helps).

I have had to clean two or three times in a row when I get back a few times.

[golfer]

I have been very happy with my Canon 9900. It prints beautifully and the dye base ink is holding up on display. If you want to insure longer lasting prints, you may want to stay with pigment based ink. When I looked into this 2 years ago, the pigment based inks did not make as clear a pic as the dye based. Someone with more experence with both types may have more information and a better update than my 2 year old information.

[Tom Swaman]

I am selling tomorrow two i9900s and one i8500. I had excellent overall results with these printers, but I refuse to put in the effort any longer to watch my dye-based ink prints fade. I considered the R-2400 and bought the 3800. I figure the 3800 only costs about $200 U.S. more than the R-2400 because you receive about $400 worth of ink with the 3800 at its current price. My new, i.e. three week old 3800 is positively wonderful!!!!!

[arschr]

I've had my R2400 for almost 2 years, I like it a lot, but if I were to do it over, I would buy the R4800. The extra expense of the printer itself can be made offset by the less expensive (per print) cartridges you can use in the larger printer.

The cheapest I've found r2400 cartridges is around $10.40 each.

[Crotographer]

I use the R2400 in my business. The most important aspect of any color printing, not concerning brands, is the color management. I had problems until I told the printer to use Adobe 1998 all the way through the process. Much better color range.

As to ink, they're expensive. As to paper, use only the best for the best results.

As to ink; the Epson inks for the R2400 are expensive, comparatively. They are, however, archival. I don't mind paying the price as I know I won't have a customer coming back in 3-5 years to tell me their prints are fading.

Print times are a bit slow on mine as I have single pass dialed in to save ink. Does not, as far as I or my customers can see, affect print quality.

Of course, printing as well as most things in art and photography are subjective. I always recommend that a person searching for a printer take in a CD with a dramatically exposed photo, as to highlight and shadow, color range (no monochromatics) into a store and run it on a few printers. that should tell you which one is giving the results you are looking for. With the caveat that individual store personnel probably don't know how to properly set up a printer to begin with. Just make sure the ones you want to try are set to the same parameters and go from there.

The Epson has two black inks; one for lustre and one for matte. The Epson is wonderful, IMO, for B and W. Maybe the best.

Hope this helps as I know what an investment and difficult decision this is. crotographer

[stratcat55]

The ink cartridges are expensive. You also have to change between the matt and photo black cartridges depending on the material you're printing on which wastes ink. Lately I've been printing on canvas. It has a nice look but to me it looks a little shiny. Hands down one of the best black and white printers on the market. Not one problem in a year and a half with head clogging but I use it almost every day and print mostly roll paper. I just wish it had a print cutter. Still a fantastic printer.

[Tom Swaman]

I am somewhat amazed that no one has mentioned the time wasted changing 8ml to 10ml ink cartridges versus 80ml or larger ink cartridges. I have become very spoiled since using the bigger cartridges and both saving downtime and money. This is a sizeable difference in the economy of smaller versus larger ink cartridges.

Both printers are good printers, but the Epson 3800 or 4800 are better buys than is the R 2400. The Canon i9900 does not support the use of pigment-based inks, but it is among the fastest and quietest and most reliable printers made. I believe that Canon discontinued this in 2006 so there is a question on how long the printer will be supported, but it is sufficiently reliable to not need very much support.

[Sidebyte]

My new Epson claims 120 year fade free inks.....I intend to live long enough to varify their claim.

[Tom Swaman]

Sisebyte,
I hope to see you around..... If you look into print stability, you may want to look up the Wilhelm Research Institute report on the Epson using the K3 Ultrachrome pigment-based inks. Ptinted correctly on the oroper paper and stored in the dark in low temperature and low humidity, the report shows that both you and the print may live longer, but I think that something may take a bite out of your 120 years and 50 years to 75 years may be more of a reality. Oh well, i WILL BE WELL OVER A HUNDRED BY THEN...SEE YA IN PHOTO HEAVEN!

[happusa]

I have had the Epson 2400 for about 2 years and I love it. I use Media Street generation inks with their bulk feed system. The color seems equal to or better than Epson ink. A 4oz bottle of MS ink is cheaper than a single Epson cartridge. 10 times the ink. A previous post stated that there 2 black inks. Wrong. There are 3 shades of black. Photo black or Mat black , light black, light-light black.

I don't know about the Canon, but the 2400 will print on 1.3mm thick card stock.