Canon S800 Printer

[Marni]

Canon S800 printer

Went looking for a printer today and saw an actual output photo of the Canon S800 printer at Best Buy. It sells for 299.00 and I have to say it was quite amazing. I have read a few reviews and at this point not sure which printer to buy. I also found a 780 Epson for $99.00. Actually, it would be FREE due to a promotion on a cell phone at Office Max. I saw a print from the 2000P Epson, but afraid its a bit rich for me. Anyone using the Canon now or could advise me or what do you think about the 780? One thing I really liked about the Canon was the ability to change only the color cartridge you need. The inks are archival to 25 years plus.

Thanks

Marni

[DJ Dubovsky]

Hi Marni,

We have had 3 Cannon printers. They are not the same one you mentioned but our experience with Cannon products leaves alot to be desired. If you go with it, get an extended warranty cause they seem to break down right after the warranty is up. I do however like the ability to change individual cartridges on our 6000. When this one dies I doubt we will get another Cannon product. I haven't had my Epson long enough to break down but so far I am very satisfied with the prints I get from it. If you can get one free then I would say go for it. I don't want to put Cannon down as this may be a good machine but this is our experience with owning Cannon.
DJ

[thomasgeorge]

Marni, My only experience with a canon printer was a few years ago and while not actually unplesant, it was somewhat disappointing. Thats not to say that the S800 would preform some of the tricks the canon I had did. Just from a personal level, I would take a hard look at the Epson and really do some prowling through reviews to compare the two. Good luck, Tom

[Marni]

Internet Search

Well, after about 5 hours searching the internet, including some photography sites and thier forums, I am REALLY confused. The reviews are ALL so outstanding it kind of scares me. One site

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRINT/S800/S800P.HTM

rants and raves about this printer. They don't seem to have an agenda, but who knows. I saw excellent reviews on every site. I read alot of comments about the Epson problem with clogged jets, does anyone have any comments on this. I have to make a decision by Monday, as Office Max is offering $100.00 store coupon thing with the purchase of a new cell phone, and I would like to take advantage of this offer.

Thanks

PS. Hi DJ my buddy, next week, we need to get together for coffee!!!!

[thomasgeorge]

Marni, I have not experienced any problems with the Epson 1270 that I own either mechanical or with the cartridges clogging. The Canon I owned did occasionally clog but nothing that running the cleaning routine wouldnt cure. It also would have an intermittent problem with "loosing " its drivers but again that was minor. I imagine that if you let the printer set without using it in dry conditions there could be a problem with jets clogging but again, I have not experienced any with my Epson. Good luck, Tom

[Doug Nelson]

About the only 'negative' I've seen about the Canon s800 compared to the Epson 1270/1280 is that it can't print on the largest paper sizes. Not much of a negative if you never print larger than 8x10

I'd say go for it, and report back here

[DJ Dubovsky]

Hi Buddy,

I too haven't had anything bad happen with my Epson, but I also haven't had it that long so I can't make claims for how it works after warranty runs out.

Since you are talking about the 780 Epson and not the 1200 series I don't know that the larger size printings are factor.

It seems like you are already heading in the direction of the Cannon and like I said, I can't speak for that machine. It may be a real good machine. Maybe mine were built by someone on a Monday after a weekend party.

Mostly reviews cover performance and results where as my problem was in longevity. Our 250 quit after 2 years, our 1st 6000 quit after the warranty ran out. We got a second refurbished because the cost to fix the first was more than getting a refurbished. Thankfully the refurbished had problems while still on warranty. These are just my experiences and I wouldn't feel good about myself if I didn't at least tell you of them so you could make an informed decision. (Or a very confused one as it may turn out ) Maybe an extended warranty is not such a bad idea if it's not too costly. But if you like it, go for it.

Give me a call.

DJ

[Marni]

The Printer

Well, today I went to check out both the Epson and the Canon.
The people at Comp USA had a booth set up where they were taking digital pix of customers and then printing them on the Epson 780. They did a photo of me and it was very impressive. The detail was excellent and very clear. they printed it out on Epson glossy paper. I have something to compare now with the one from the Canon S800. I was surprised that they actually let customers purchase a printer, take it home, try it and if you don't like it, return it for another model. I am thinking that this will be what I will do and make the decision then. I did notice with a magnifying glass on the 780 I could see a pattern of dots where on the Canon it was not as noticible. HOWEVER, the Canon pix I got from the Rep. was in perfect lighting and under perfect conditions. The best way will be to print the exact same photo from photoshop and then do the comparison. The Rep told me that there were really no appreciable differences in the 780 and the 1280 other than format. That was interesting, given the price difference in the two printers. The Epson seems to be as advertised, an excellent photo printer. I can't believe that it is only 99.00. WOW.

[akj]

Hi Marni

Your last post got me curious, so I did a comparison of the Epson 780 and 1280 on their web site. You're right--not much difference besides printable area (like Doug said). The differences I found were:

1. Sound Level--the 780 is louder

2. Input Buffer (or memory)--the 1280 can hold about 8x the amount of memory as the 780

3. Printable Area--largest area for the 1280 is 13'' x 44'' -- for the 780 it's 8.5" x 11"

4. Color Ink Life--the 1280 apparently lasts for 110 more pages than the 780 (at 15% print area)

Anyway, I'd say go for the 780 and let us know how it works! I'd be interested. I was interested in buying either the 1270 or 1280, but since it looks like photo restoration is going to be more or less a "hobby" for me, at least for know, I may be interested in spending less money on a printer.

Amanda

[Doug Nelson]

Somewhere did we switch from discussing the Epson 870 and start discussing the 780?

[Marni]

Hi Doug

I think we were discussing the 780. I get confused and always seem to transpose the numbers. Wish Epson wouldn't name two printers opposite numbers, I'm already confused enough!!! LOL LOL LOL
Anyway, My main concern in buying a printer is for printing my wedding photo's (as you all know are a disaster) as I restore them. Additionally, I am into scrapbooking and now thinking about the issue of "Archivalbility" of my scrapbook pages. A thought last night came that if I print my pages on acid free decorative paper, graphics, fonts, etc. and mount my photo's, well, are the pages going to fade very soon because I didn't print on the high quality paper? Of course the photo's themselves would be printed on the best paper Epson recommends. The hobby of scrapbooking requires all these cute little acid free papers, NOT plain paper for the journaling. The pages are kept in an acid free album in archival sleeves for safekeeping. I wonder how long they will last using the Epson printer inks??????

PS. I plan on scanning all the finished pages for safekeeping and burning them to CD (just in case) I have learned my lesson !!!!

[thomasgeorge]

Marni, Epson claims print life using the dye based Inks ( like the 780, 1270,1280 use) of approx. 4-6 years using the glossy photo paper. They have introduced a new glossy paper with a claimed print life ofaround I believe 10 + years. Using their heavy weight matte paper print life is projected 25 or so years. These numbers are based on normal display conditions. Storing as you indicate should lengthen the life. The pigment based inks, such as the Epson 2000 uses when used in conjunction with the special archival papers made for that printer have a "claimed" print life of 200+ years. At this time the Printers designed for the dye based inks cannot use the pigment based inks or the special archival papers and Epson advises to only use the "2000" inks and papers with the 2000 Printer. Tom