HP 7900 or Canon i9900 ?

[1STLITE]

Ok, I am looking to be moving up in printers, hopefully soon. Or at least in a few months. I have always used HP, and now with HP bragging on the superior fade-resistance with their new ink systems, I had fallen in love with the 7900 series. But - I just read a few threads down about the Canon i9900. Man am I impressed! And for a couple hundred more basicly and I will eb able to print up to 13x19 - and even BORDERLESS! Wow! But I have a question - as I was not able to find the answer to this elsewhere - do any of you know if the ink is as fade resistant as the new HP inks? And what do you think ? No comparison - just go with the Canon? And so you know, this is for my business, which is just beginning to take shape...
TIA!

Oh and another thing. I really like the HP premium plus papers - is it okay to use them with the Canon, or do they have a paper from Canon that can rival the HP?

[Greg Swearingen]

Hi 1STLITE nice to see someone from close to the same neck of the woods.
(I'm from s.w. mo.).
To do some researh on fade resistance go to www.wilhelm-research.com
or www.shutterbug.net/features/1103sb_thearchival/.)
I'm an H.P. fan my self but I think if you buy a good quality photo printer from CANON or EPSON you'll be very happy.
I just bought a 7960 witch I like very much (especially in b&w, all the reveiws are right it is great for b&w),But I also think I would have been very happy with one of the better CANON or EPSON'S.(in the same price range as the 7960).
I agree on the H.P. premium plus papers there very good,I absoultly love them.
I think for the best results until you have some time to experiment use H.P. paper with H.P. printers etc.
The H.P. paper may work great with canon printers but it is going to be trial and error and you won't have any bases for fasde resistance.
Hope this is somewhat usefull.

Greg

[1STLITE]

Yeah that was useful. Thank you. Only thing thats bugging me about hte HP is that it can't print large. And if I am not mistaken it does not print borderless. Ah well, I am sure I have at least a coupel months to mull it over. Going to check out those sites now. Thanks.

[Noelf]

Make sure to include epson printers in your search.

For 8x10 printing the Epson R800 is incredible!

For larger format, the Epson 2200 or the new 4000 are both really incredible printers.

- Noel

[1STLITE]

Oh gee thanks - make it harder for me why don't ya - lol. j/k Always good to know whats worth looking at!

[figrsk8r]

Not only do I do computer graphic arts, but I also am a network administration and PC specialist. I own all three brands HP, Epson & Canon. I personally have never been very happy with any of the color HPs I've owned (they make the best bw lasers, though). I think HP is good at marketing and that's why they are so popular. HP has the largest droplet size; Epson's and Canon's droplet size are identical and are significantly smaller. DPI no longer means anything, its the size of the droplet that determines the quality of your photos. My best results have been on the Canon and I have been a die hard Epson fan.

Most commmerical photo plants use the high-end Epson (the ink is identical to the archival ink sold to consumers). However, when you use a good quality paper with a high clay content (I seem to get the best results with Kodak Professional, Epson Professional & Avery's papers (all retail consumer papers)...and I've tried them all) and I get stunning results on the Canon. I also get fabulous results on the commercial papers I use.

I touch-up action photography and people think that I took the film (from my digital only camera) and had it developed at a commercial plant. I produced one photo from a 72 dpi downloaded image (to use as a color proof) that a professional sports photographer thought I had taken on my camera and had printed digitally.

One bad thing about all these new printers is that even with the 6-8 cartridges you go through a LOT of ink. So if you print a lot of pictures it gets expensive. Check with your local commercial photographers if you know one. I have a friend that orders my ink for me at significantly reduced rate through a place that will only sell to licensed, professional photographers.

The other thing needed really fantastic photos is to make sure that every item of hardware you use (scanner, monitor, printer) and color calibrated for AdobeRGB1998. This will help ensure (but not guarantee) that what you see is closer to what you get. One other important point, when you go shopping for a printer ignore the picture samples that you can get off the printers at the store. The photos are specifically selected to make the printer appear at it's best in flourescent lighting. Ask if you can bring in a photo on a CD and print it on each of the printers you are looking at so you can make an accurate comparision. My local CompUSA has been very accommodating about this even allowing me to calibrate the equipment properly.

Hope this helps.

[catia]

Quote DPI no longer means anything, its the size of the droplet that determines the quality of your photos.

I usually avoid this kind of discussion; however, I can't resist. Let me see, so you are saying since the "droplet" that makes the dots on paper are so incredibly small it doesn't matter how many of them are on an inch of paper. Hmmmmm, that means 10 dots per inch is as good as 100 dots per inch? Funny, I thought the way the newer printers got the higher resolutions was by making the droplet sizes small enough to support the higher resolutions. In other words, droplet size is a means to an end; rather than the end all unto itself. I still need 300 dpi for good quality prints. But hey what do I know?? I can't say "Not only do I do computer graphic arts, but I also am a network administration and PC specialist."


Catia

[1STLITE]

Heck yeah! That Epson 2200. $699 Probably have to wait for Christmas for it, but I think it will be worth the wait. Thanks ya'll!!

[DannyRaphael]

EXCELLENT REVIEWS
A couple reviews to review if you haven't seen these:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_...non_i9900.html

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2002_...pson_2200.html

- - - - - - - -

A GOOD SOURCE OF INFO
There are extensive discussions/debates and a number of threads on the pros/cons of the i9900 vs. [pick some other printer] at www.DPReview.com (printers forum).

To quickly summarize i9900 discussion highlights:
PROS
* Prints FAST
* Great color
* Great B&W
* Reasonable on ink consumption
* Using a driver setting, "thick" art/watercolor-type paper will feed and work fine

CONS
* The usual arguments about Epson printers having a leg up on the archival issue

Happy printer shopping...
~Danny~