Best buy A3 photo printer? Canon 9000, Epson R1800, Epson R1900

[Geoff F]

Currently using a Canon 9000 but fear it is about to go to silicon heaven. It is giving problems with ink smudges appearing on the unprinted border areas and making a slight clicking noise while printing. There is also some edge bleed problems.

I have found, and mopped up, quite a lot of ink from the printing compartment so I think the nozzels have started leaking. Cheap paper mostly prints OK but I can't get an acceptable result when using top quality photo paper.

I am thinking about either another Canon 9000 or the Epson R1900, but could be persuaded to try something else. Prices are about the same if I shop around, £350 approx.

Are the next models up in either range really worth about £100 extra? As far as I can see the main difference is just faster speed and I am only printing a few images now and then. But if they are going to last significantly longer it may be worth considering. My present printer is about 2 years old and has only had occasional use.

Previously I have had 2 Epson printers but they both suffered ink nozzle leakage after around 2 years and quite a lot of nozzle clog problems. The last one was an R800. The Canon 9000 has worked well and never had a clogged nozzle but I expected a longer life span.

So, any advice regarding a future purchase?

[Geoff F]

It looks as though my printer has succumed so rightly or wrongly, after reading a few reviews, I have ordered the Epson R1900 which is an update on their popular R1800. Found one store offering it for £350 which, I hope, is a bargain.

The reasons which swayed me were (according to the reviews) a very strong construction compared with the alternatives.

Long lasting pigment based inks, 100 years or more claimed, although that won't exactly worry me too much. But I realise that there are pros and cons about pigment inks.

Two USB input ports which will enable me to connect 2 computers instead of switching plugs around as I am currently doing. For safety reasons my photo editing computer is never connected to the internet. Maybe I'm a bit paranoid here but I'm not having some spotty faced school skipping oik sending me a virus that wipes all my photos.

Auto print quality, apparently, may be a bit cool and the enhanced alternative a bit over saturated but (according to someone who sounded like an expert) the manual controls produce excellent results. Which is what I found when I used the R800.

The dearer models were recommended for black & white work but I mostly print colour and previously I found that a bit of manual tweaking greatly improved greyscale printing.

So, in a couple of days time I will know if I have made the right choice.

[SteveF]

I'll be interested in your experience with the R1900 as my R1800 has had a very high workload and will need renewing in the near future. As the first one only lasted 2 yrs I'm looking now for the eventual replacement.

Must add though they do get heavily used so this is not a problem I've found with Epson.

[Geoff F]

If you are currently using the R1800 then I don't think you will find a lot of difference with the R1900. A fairly weighty piece of kit which looks attractive and well designed.

So far, I haven't found that much difference with operating procedure from the R800 which I owned 2 years ago. Like then, I quickly learnt to ignore the basic printing options and went to the Advanced Menu. I am still trying out some of these settings but overall it is giving a good result.

I didn't use the Gloss Optimiser very often and still can't see much purpose for it when using high quality gloss paper. In fact I tend to think that it hides the paper 'grain' and makes top notch paper look cheap.

My R800 often gave problems with stiffer paper, which sometimes touched somewhere on the output slot and created a scratch line vertically along the lower third of a print.

I have found the same problem with my R1900 but the work around is the same; close up the catcher tray extension so that the paper drops slightly downwards as it exits the machine.

But all in all it is producing good quality crisp prints which are colour correct providing I choose the correct printing options. My Canon 9000 tended to be a bit high on the green while green is perhaps the weak colour of the R1900.

All I can really say, Steve, is that if you are happy with the R1800 then I think you won't be disappointed with the R1900.

[SteveF]

Thanks for the feedback Geoff.

I need A3+ 'sometimes'. Also I get on well with Epsons and refill the cartridges from one litre bottles of JetTec pigment ink. Epson paper all the way and the results are 'almost' identical. Near enough for me anyway and I am quite fussy.

The gloss optimiser I find is necessary with JetTec inks but others have told me like yourself less so if using OEM cartridges or one of the more upmarket CIS systems.

[Eric]

Hello,

Hope you are all well!

Just stumbled on this site with some luck! I am looking into to buy a A3 color printer but doubting after reading your threats wether I should go for the older models or directly go for the newer ones Canon 9000, Epson 2880 ?

Many thanks for your advice!

Greetz,
Eric

[Geoff F]

Hello Eric.

The newer printer models are simply updates on well proven models and should have slightly better technology. When doing research before buying, I never found any comments about the newer models being worse than the old versions. So, yes, I would go for the newest options.

Which make is a difficult choice. I was looking at some of the 'cheaper' good quality printers. Each make has more expensive options but I doubt that most of them would be worth while of the average amateur user. But, if you are a professional and doing a lot of high quality printing then I would get one of the more expensive printers.

My previous printer was the Canon 9000 which worked without problems and never had a nozzle clog problem. I did expect a slightly longer lifespan but around 2 or 3 years appears to be average for normal use.

I eventually bought an Epson R1900 based chiefly on the fact that it uses long life pigment ink instead of dye based ink. Although genuine dye ink will still have a reasonable life under ideal conditions.

In short I don't think there is a lot of difference between the Canon 9000 and the Epson R1900. There is also a HP equavilent which gets good reviews. Try a search for reviews and see what you think of some of the independant opinions. I found this helpful.

Whatever you decide, I would advise doing some experimentation on print quality settings because I found the auto settings were not producing the best possible quality.

[Eric]

Hi Geoff,

Many thanks for your replay!

Really helped me out.

Have a great day!

Greetz,
Eric