Epson R1800/2400 vs Canon pro5000

[Minuteman3]

I have been watching the slowly decreasing prices of some high end printers at my nearby CompUSA as they go out of business. In particular, the Canon pro5000 has slipped from $500 down to $399. They also have an R1800 for $450 (however, I see them on Epson's Outlet site for $299 and the R2400 for $500).

I am curious about the print quality of these three. I'd be looking at making some largish prints (13x19 or so) for our home and for friends. Although most would be in color, I'd like to dabble in some occasional B&W as well (I understand that the R2400 is particularly good at B&W).

Any comments or suggestions about these three would be really appreciated. I anticipate the next round of reductions soon, so I'll be stopping by early next week to check. It looks like the Canon at the store would be the only likely possibility as the Epson's are cheaper on line and it looks like they won't go down that low.

I would be upgrading from an HP 3210 which is OK, quality wise, but only prints to 8.5 X 11. (Although I have yet to get a nice looking B&W from this printer!!)

Thanks in advance.

Cheers!!

Ken

 

[Backdoctor]

Just got my R2400 this week, with coupon online and extd warranty for 2 more years, cost $503 delivered to my door.

The prints so far are super, and can print up to 13x19.

 

[W.Ray]

If you're going to do b&w then the Epson R2400 is the one. It also does superb color.

 

[Minuteman3]

Thanks for the comments on the R2400. Anyone able to chime in on the Canon?

Cheers!!

Ken

 

[Baywing]

I can comment on the R1800, I have had one for quite a while and it's very good. If you plan on printing luster or gloss, it's probably a better choice than the 2400. It isn't as good as the 2400 at B&W, so you have to figure out which you will be printing more of.

 

[Walter Rowe]

You may want to give this PDN article a read. It discuss all the major players in the printer market.

 

[davidzvi]

I haven't looked into it that much yet, but at the Epson booth at Photoshop world the Rep told me that since I was using a PC the 1800 would do B&W just fine because to the software included that is PC only. Also the 1800 has 9 inks, it only uses 8 at a time, but you doesn't have to switch the cartridges out.

As for the Canon booth, I'm not sure what they were thinking. The images they displayed and handed out as examples of what the printer could do were some of the worst prints I've seen in a while.

When I get one it will be either the 1800 or 3800.

 

[Walter Rowe]

The PDN article link I posted suggests that the 3800 is one of the best deals around right now.

 

[davidzvi]

About the only thing the 3800 can not do that the 1800 can is use paper rolls.

 

[dspeed]

Just got my R2400 this week, with coupon online and extd warranty for 2 more years, cost $503 delivered to my door.

The prints so far are super, and can print up to 13x19.

Could you expand on the coupon and where you ended up buying the printer? The refurbs from Epson wants $59.95 for the 2 yr extended warranty.

(I bought my 12xx series as refurbs and thought well of them).

Dave

 

[Minuteman3]

Well, my original question is sort of mute as the Canon's are gone from the soon-to-be-closed CompUSA. They went out the door at just under $500 which was the very top of my price range. I see that Epson has refurb R1800's for $299 and that is very close to the really sweet spot of my budget.

I guess my dilemma really involves do I want to invest some bucks for total control, then churn out 20-30 large prints a year ... or, just use a pro lab?

Cheers!!

Ken

 

[Jeff Lee]

have such a printer, for me, really completes the process, I think it was Adams who said "the image is the score, the print the performance".

I was at a clients house who had just frame a Sepia image I gave them on Epson Velvet and it look so good, lots of satisfaction knowing I created it from start to finish.

I bought a 2400 two years ago and I see no need to upgrade, from color to B&W it is really a great printer.

 

[Backdoctor]

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1003&message=22732026

the code may not be good now, but do as I did, post a question at dpreveiw. It saved me $56 off total.

Could you expand on the coupon and where you ended up buying the printer? The refurbs from Epson wants $59.95 for the 2 yr extended warranty.

(I bought my 12xx series as refurbs and thought well of them).

Dave

 

[dspeed]

Code Still Active Today

Thanks!

 

[JeffKohn]

Well, my original question is sort of mute as the Canon's are gone from the soon-to-be-closed CompUSA. They went out the door at just under $500 which was the very top of my price range. I see that Epson has refurb R1800's for $299 and that is very close to the really sweet spot of my budget.

I guess my dilemma really involves do I want to invest some bucks for total control, then churn out 20-30 large prints a year ... or, just use a pro lab?

Cheers!!

Ken

Depending on which lab and which type of paper, 20-30 prints could easily be enough for the home inkjet to pay for itself. Just look at the price of "fine art" prints on rag papers at places like West Coast Imaging and you might be surprised at just how much you can save by printing by yourself. On the other hand if you're talking about Fuji prints from Costco the money equation is a bit different.

Bottom line, if you're a control freak and want to get the best possible prints you can (and are willing to suffer a bit of a learning curve to get there), a pigment inkjet is the way to go. On the other hand if that sounds like more of a hassle than fun, stick with the labs.

 

[JeffKohn]

The PDN article link I posted suggests that the 3800 is one of the best deals around right now.

It's just a shame they crippled it by completely removing roll paper support. Artificially protecting the price of the 4800 like that really annoys me. They didn't have to include full-blown roll paper support with an automatic cutter, but they should have at least kept the same roll capabilities as the 2400 has. They'd be selling a lot more 3800's if they had (including one to me).