Yesterday I spent a considerable amount of time at CompUSA exploring the differences between the Canon i990D and the Epson 2200. What I didn’t know is that many manufacturers send representatives to this store at certain times in the week to answer customer questions, and the Epson representative was there. The Canon person was not, but the store personnel went out of their way to demonstrate the i990D, including taking it into the back to find a computer that had the drivers installed.
The Epson was a very nice printer, and did beautiful work and the Epson rep even went so far as to have me talk with someone who had purchased one several months ago. And of course, there were the reviews of Epson printers in my comments in the previous post on this subject, and several people who I respect have used this company’s printers, including Jerry with the 2200 itself, and have positive things to say about them. Of course, there are those in my comments, who, like in the other reviews I’ve read, have negative things to say about Epson printers, or positive things to say about Canon.
In the end, both printers would seem to be the top of the line for high-end inkjet photo printers and I most likely wouldn’t go wrong with either choice. It really did come down to what I wanted from a printer. And to that end, I decided to go with the Canon.
Though the Epson has ability to handle rollpaper and larger prints, including a cutter for photos, I did not like having to swap the matte black ink out for glossy when switching from matte paper to glossy paper. The 2200 is also an older printer, and doesn’t come with the Pictbridge interface that would allow me to print directly from my camera. In addition, the ink is more expensive and the machine considerably slower.
Now, the Epson does have more flexibility when it comes to paper sizes, the ink is supposedly less susceptible to fading, and it has more options as to types of paper. But it was also $200.00US more than the Canon, and most of the advantages it had were ones that weren’t particularly important to me.
My main use for the printer is to create portfolios to send out to various magazine publishers in hope of fanning the barest embers of a photo career, particularly since I am now faced with the fact that I might have to find a new career (i.e. see last post, bring hankies, your eyes will tear). I also want to print out photos for myself, family, and friends, but the largest I’m interested in creating would be 8 x 10 (or I should say, 8 x 11 1/2). I might do a 13 x 9 for curiosity, but anything larger I would have my favorite photo lab create for me, using their professional equipment. I trust my lab, and I know when to do something myself, and when to invest the money and have it do the work for me.
I brought my Canon home last night, and set it up this morning. I also bought a bluetooth USB adapter and new wireless Apple keyboard for my PowerBook, and then proceeded to break the bluetooth adapter by following Apple’s blanket instruction to upgrade the firmware (not when it’s already at the version needed, I learned — kiss one adapter good-bye).
Luckily, the Canon setup went flawlessly, and after I did my first ‘lucky’ initiation print with the paper in backwards, I was able to create several 4 x 6 prints that literally had my jaw dropping because of the color and detail this printer can manage. And this was without using any specialized ICC profiles, of which I have much to learn.
After several years of taking photos and getting such good advice and encouragement from folks in the weblogging community; to getting a really decent camera (again with the help and advice from people online); to using the best software (ditto), and now using an exceptionally good printer (ditto about folks and good advice)–it’s all starting to come together and I’m overjoyed and filled with buckets full of droplets
