after seeing how much stuff i printed this semester, much of it oversize (larger than A4/ 8.5 x 11) i am pretty much convincing myself to spend the money on a wide-format inkjet printer over the summer. (also an external firewire hard drive, but thats another thread.) I will be using this for final output of color books, final smaller posters, poster proofing, layout proofing, etc.. things like like. i will generally not be making 13" x 19" photo prints or anything like that.

i am curious for anny reccomendations/comments/etc. anyone has. I am pretty much narrowed down to an Epson Stylus Photo 1280 (http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=28907797). I was looking at the Epson Stylus Photo 2200 (http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=20306147) but for what i am doing (primarily NOT oversize photos) i cannot justify a $300 price increase.

thoughts?

I found myself in the same situation as you earlier this quarter. I was considering both printers that you mentioned, but I went ahead and coughed up the money for the 2200. I really liked that the 2200 supported a 7th color, which is light black, and that has given smooth tonal gradations in my black and white photography and imaging. Also, I felt that in the long run I'll save more money on ink because the 2200 supports individual ink cartridges whereas the 1280 only has two, one for black and another for the other 5 color inks. After a couple of months of moderate usage, my light magenta and light cyan cartridges are almost due for a change, but the other ones have plenty of life left in them and they would be a waste if I had to change them all at once. Plus, if you prefer matte paper over gloss and semi-gloss, the 2200 allows you to swap out the photo black cartridge for a matte black cartridge that gives much richer shadows when using matte paper. Hope my opinion helped out a bit. Update us on what you get and how it turns out for you. Goodluck.

When you are done partying design boy I would be interested to see what you decided on.

The Ink tank thing could be quite a cost saver. Running a 7600 I have only ever replaced the tanks around the same time once over 1.5 years and even then it was over a 3 week period. I go through light cyan and magenta the most.

i was really pretty set on the 1280, but then i realized the thing with the ink tanks is a major issue - especially considering the kinds of things i print are not full spectrum photos, but often are a limited color pallette posters/proofs/etc.. i would be replacing a full tank of all the colors all the time. Also i despise glossy paper so i would only use matte anyway, and the 2200 handles it better with the matte black ink.

now i just need to find the extra $300 for the 2200. damnit. I think my 1st purchase is gonna be an external firewire HD tho - more important and a lot cheaper.

You just gotta work that street corner a little harder. :cheeky:

I don't know if print longevity is important to you, but the 1280 dyes won't last as long as the 2200 pigments (according to accelerated tests), but they do have a bit more punch. I've used both printers and I prefer the 2200, quality-wise. The stock profiles are much better than those available for the 1280, so you're more likely to be happy with color matching out of the box with the 2200.

Mike
www.independentcolor.com

I don't know if print longevity is important to you, but the 1280 dyes won't last as long as the 2200 pigments (according to accelerated tests), but they do have a bit more punch. I've used both printers and I prefer the 2200, quality-wise. The stock profiles are much better than those available for the 1280, so you're more likely to be happy with color matching out of the box with the 2200.

Mike
www.independentcolor.com

thats good to know thanks mike, and welcome aboard. :)

The 2200 is one bad ass printer. The 1280 is also really good. I work at a large computer store that did sell the 1280 and still sells the 2200. I've heard people do some crazy things on the 1280. Like these two customers wanted the 1280 because they can put tiles in the machine and print designs and different colors on tiles. The 2200 works the best on Matte paper. If you read up on it, it's not the best machine for glossy paper. The ink is chips off/ scrapes off on glossy paper. That's why alot of people use thick paper/matte paper with the machine. But personally go with that machine. HP's new large format printer which is around $400 sucks and the canon I haven't seen to good results on the printer, except for their cameras!

We should try not to mislead people here.

The ink will not chip off any paper made for inkjets or that is porous. Inkjet paper is by definition porous. Be wary of paper labled for inkjet use but not made for inkjets. Stick to name brands if you are unsure - Epson, Kodak, Canon, and IBM (though you won't find the IBM in most stores)

The ink may chip/scratch off stocks like Cast Coated (gloss) paper which is made for offset printing and has a coating of clay on the surface to make it smooth and glossy. It is actually a microscopic layer of clay that comes off with the ink.

I use all kinds of glossy paper (made for inkjets) in an Epson 7600 which uses the same ink as the 2200 and have never had a problem with it.

I know for a fact that it not just the 2200 that suffers from this "problem", it is most if not all inkjet printers. I have a Canon printer that I tried printing on cast coated paper and you were able to scratch it off and the ink was wet for quite a while after printing anyhow.

:)

Oops Sorry.

Freakyclean is right. Honestly, I wasn't trying to mislead people off the printer. It was my fault for using the wrong terminology. You are right about that most or all inkjet printers are like that. I just tried to regurgitate what I read off some website about the 2200. I'm honestly no where near as knowledgeable as you are.

I own the Epson 1280, its a good machine but I must say that I have seen better prints come out of the Epson 2200.

I got my 1280 via Epson for $350 as a refurbished model.

Both models put out incredible quality for an inkjet though.