Suggestions for a printer I won't want to take a sledgehammer to

[rfdesigner]

I'm just wondering about the Canon printers.. will the ink/dye last, say, 3 months without use?

or will it all clog up?. I'm likely to do batchest every so often.. something inkjets really don't like.

 

[lion rock]

There is a Canon 9880 printer in my lab and normally from mid December until early April it sits power on idling without being used. Normally, upon waking it goes through an initializing cycle and starts printing. A couple of times it didn't print properly, but I have learnt to make it print about an inch or two of various colors before a real print job. I had done a head cleaning once and found it wasted a lot of ink without much change in print quality. Hope you can also share your experience.
-r

 

[rfdesigner]

thanks, I'll take a look.

I've never had any luck with printers.. even at work

My current printer is a cheapo epson XP-305, which we bought as a stop-gap. I've only managed to get half a dozen decent A4 prints off it, the pain involved is just so bad it puts me off trying which means even more time between printing. If I leave it on it drains the ink before I get to have another go (we get a LOT of power cuts, mostly just a couple of seconds, each one triggers another cleaning cycle), if I turn it off the heads end up blocked.. it would be fine for daily printing but that's not how life works.

So printers have to cope with being off for extended periods.

 

[Nitroman]

I feel your pain !

I just spent three hours trying to get my Epson R2400 to make a proper print. Epson inks clog but i found Lyson inks worse.

Now i just use really cheap ones from here. The quality may not be as good but they block less and they are one tenth the price.

http://www.cartridgeink.co.uk/

 

[JonAustin]

I've owned almost more Canon inkjet printers than I can count (OK, that's an exaggeration, but at least 5), currently using a Pixma PRO-100 that I've had for 3½ years. It gets only sporadic use, since I don't print photos very often. In fact, I use it to print envelopes more than anything else, and the bulk of my printing is directed towards a (Brother) color laser.

That being said, I've never had any problems with the print head clogging. If it's been a long while since I've used it, it might take a little longer than usual to prime the head for printing, but other that than, it's been flawless, as were all of its predecessors. The only reason I have ever upgraded has been to obtain additional capabilities (i.e., wider format, disc printing, better B&W printing, WiFi connectivity).

I've had a lot of equipment over the years that I have wanted to "take a sledgehammer to," but -- thankfully -- these Canon inkjets haven't been among them. I've also found (and this tends to be borne out in product reviews) that the higher-end models, while more expensive, tend to be less wasteful in terms of ink consumption.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I have to clean the print heads on my Epson 3880 after it has sat for a month or two. I really do not think any ink jet will be much different.

A Thermal Dye printer will not clog, but they are usually small format printers, great for churning out 5 X 7 or smaller prints, but some will turn out 8 X 12 prints.

For wide format printing, you are generally better off having it done for you. I have 24 inch and a 44 inch wide format inkjet printers, I was given the 44 inch and have never used it, I seldom use my old 24 inch Epson 7600 that I bought for $100 a few years back. It is actually a minimal headache to start up, even after setting for months. The trick is to keep the sponge like material in the docking station wet so it keeps ink from clogging.

You can have the 44 inch one, it needs ink tanks, and I've never wanted to spend $1K on them just to see if it will work.

 

[lion rock]

I got the PRO 100 as a purchase combination with a 7DII, as well as a PRO 1 (2 years ago). I have used neither because of fear of clogged printer heads.
I use the 9880 when I have to (getting an ink cartridge for payment). I have been very pleased with that printer.
Hope whatever your selection works for you without problem.
-r

 

[Pookie]

Meh, personal printers (even very expensive one) are a hassle I've given up on for this very reason. Never found one manufacture that can produce a good printer that avoids this issue when idle for any amount of time. Even as little as a week idle can cause problems in dry California. Unless you're printing daily it can be a major PITA. I'll do everything up to printing... develop my own film, process digital & analog images but no more printing. When I print, I usually print a large client packages and leave it to my go-to professional printer now.

 

[rfdesigner]

Meh, personal printers (even very expensive one) are a hassle I've given up on for this very reason. Never found one manufacture that can produce a good printer that avoids this issue when idle for any amount of time. Even as little as a week idle can cause problems in dry California. Unless you're printing daily it can be a major PITA. I'll do everything up to printing... develop my own film, process digital & analog images but no more printing. When I print, I usually print a large client packages and leave it to my go-to professional printer now.

ah.. I don't quite have your problems.

I can't remember the last time we had humidity below 50% on a warm day.. quick check of the forecast and it's showing a range of 58%-94% over the next week

The other problem I have is a UK specific one.. there's 5 of us in a 1600 sq ft house (which is twice the average here in the UK).. oversize stuff simply can't be tolerated.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

ah.. I don't quite have your problems.

I can't remember the last time we had humidity below 50% on a warm day.. quick check of the forecast and it's showing a range of 58%-94% over the next week

The other problem I have is a UK specific one.. there's 5 of us in a 1600 sq ft house (which is twice the average here in the UK).. oversize stuff simply can't be tolerated.

Size is a big strike against a photo printer. My 44 inch one is over 6 ft long
X ~ 30 inches deep and weighs at least 200 pounds. I used my tractor with its loader to unload it from my truck.

Wide format printers are huge, in fact, most photo printers are large. Some of the small format Canon Selphy printers are small, and do not clog, being dye-sub. Prints will be expensive though.

 

[Mikehit]

I have an aging Epson R300 and have considered replacing it, but when I can get high quality A3 prints done for a little over £1 it is hard to justify on grounds other than control freak. :-\

 

[Eldar]

My previous printer was the Canon Pro-1. I did not have any clogging issues with it, even though it could be months between prints. The ink dried out while it was inactive though. However, since I normally don't print during the summer months, I tried to leave the printer with as low ink levels as possible.

I have now upgraded to the new imagePROGRAF PRO-1000. Print quality is outstanding and I can go a bit further in size (17"x25"). As with the Pro-1, I can leave it inactive for a long time, without having any clogging issues. But an improvement seems to be that ink, if it happens at all, seems to dry out much less. Ink tanks are more expensive, but they are much larger and cost/print is less than with the Pro-1.

I had some issues setting up the Pro-1 and I have had a few misprints, where the printer suddenly aborts in the middle of a print, wasting both paper and ink. The Pro-1000 on the other hand, was up and running, with proper downloaded and istalled ICC profiles, within an hour and I have had no operational issues at all. Only issue I have had so far is the firmware upgrade to allow printing on 17x25 sheets (it came with a limit of 17x22).

 

[Hector1970]

I have the Pro-10 I don't use it all the time and have had no issues with it from a working point of view.

The ink tanks are way too small.
I don't think I've ever managed to print without running out of ink.
It seems mad on a printer so big they couldn't design bigger ink cartridges.
I know it's a money making racket but I'd pay more for bigger ink cartridges.

The other thing is I can't understand between printer drivers/software and Photoshop / Lightroom why they have made printing so complicated. It's a total frustration for beginners.
Printing is hard enough to get right without software obstacles.
It's becoming a huge problem with software that they need particular options for super users but they complicating basics tasks for ordinary users.
ITunes springs to mind. I'm sure it can do amazing things but the simple task of adding one new song to your iPhone or iPod is very difficult

 

[LDS]

The ink tanks are way too small.
I don't think I've ever managed to print without running out of ink.
It seems mad on a printer so big they couldn't design bigger ink cartridges.

The Pro-10 has inks mounted on the head mechanism. Larger ink tanks require to be mounted elsewhere - like the Pro-1, and that makes the feeding system more complicated (and probably expensive). I had an HP printer which often had ink feeding problems for this reason. But, yes, they like a lot making money from inks. It's not that previously companies didn't make money from films, papers, chemicals, etc. ;D

The other thing is I can't understand between printer drivers/software and Photoshop / Lightroom why they have made printing so complicated. It's a total frustration for beginners.
Printing is hard enough to get right without software obstacles.

Printing is one of the few tasks that turns digital data into physical items, and for this reason it requires some "complications". I understand your issue, but these printers are designed to deliver the best result they could, and that requires some decisions from the user (i.e. what colour matching engine to use). Other may be printer-specific features operating systems and applications have no support for - things like Canon Pro-10 coating.

Other settings, like the paper size and type, are required because the printer can't recognize them itself. Some HP printers can (could?) read codes from specific HP papers and configure themselves, but of course it worked only with HP papers. Unless a standard is adopted, there's no other solution.

LR print interface has some design issues, and could be improved a lot. PS is designed for professional use, and takes into account professional needs.

But, again, to achieve the best results some decision needs to be made by the user. Software can do a lot, but it still cannot understand what a use really want. Part of the process is complicated because printing properly is somehow a complex task with many variables.

There are other applications that adopt Eastman's motto "you press the button, we do the rest", some I guess also come with the printer itself - look if their outcomes is acceptable for you.

The LR/PS plugin that comes with the Canon Pro-10 makes printing a little easier, while still delivering an acceptable quality.

You may quickly print with default setting - both the driver and applications, but, believe me, results will be disappointing. The HP printer I mentioned above did a lot to hide from the user the nuisances of photo printing, but I never got good results from it but in an handful of cases. I switched to a Pro-1 too, and I'm much more happy now. It may takes some time learning, and probably I still have a lot to lean, but that's part of the fun.

Otherwise I would have simply my photo printed by a printing service.

 

[Hillsilly]

The Pixma Pro 100 will happily sit for extended periods without clogging. Still, I'd suggest keeping the printer turned on, or running a print through every month to keep everything working.

Dye based inks seem more resilient than pigment based inks in this regard.

 

[ethanz]

Seems like the consensus is that canon printers are typically good for not clogging after long periods of time.

 

[privatebydesign]

Seems like the consensus is that canon printers are typically good for not clogging after long periods of time.

It isn't that they don't clog, they do, it is that with Canon printers clogging is automatically mapped around, unlike Epson, so clogs are rarely apparent and don't impact print quality.

The other huge plus for Canon printers is should they become so clogged the remapping can't sort it out the print head is user replaceable and readily available. Epson do not sell heads for their printers and even if you could get one it is a very in depth process to replace them.

 

[CapturingLight]

Years ago (15+) before I got into photography I went to a small photo studio for portrits. She did a wonderful job and was able to print our photos that day on her wax based printer. I still have the photos and they have not faded and look great. I don't know much about that tech, if it is cost prohibitive or fallen out of favour but given this crowd I am surprised to not have anyone mention it.

 

[Drum]

Yet another like for the Canon Pro-10. I have had it 3 years and can be months between prints and have never had an issue. The Only gripe as previously mentioned is the ink tank size.

 

[arthurbikemad]

I have a 3880, as said it does need a clean now and then, however I often leave it stood for two or three months, now and then I run a test sheet here and there just to keep the ink moving, I have worked with large format plotters and printers for many year, as well as Dye subs and thermal wax, never loved ANY inkjets but the results are worth the time and effort imo, my 3880 gets use for A3+ and A2 most of the time, Epson Hot press and other fine art papers give BRIGHT crisp images that my customers LOVE! Its a nice thing to shoot and print, and pick the media, colour correction and so on when you like, unlike online where you wait to see the results, takes time to understand the drivers and other factors if you are new but so much info online now unlike twenty years back.
I'd not be without some kind of desktop inkjet now, its worth getting something larger than you need just for the savings in ink, I use Epson ink mainly as the cost is covered by the clients. At times a big part of photography for me is seeing it on paper, then you can stand back and admire the work, more so when mounted and in a nice quality frame.