New 10d - Printer Question

[Radtech1]

Hi,

I am new to the board and I just got a 10d as the latest in a long line of Canons (FTb - Elan ii). I have pretty much narrowed down my printer decision to one of two. Does anyone have any experience with the s900 and the s9000. Essentially, what is the difference, besides max paper size. They both use the bci6 inks (Dye or Particulate? - anyone know?), They both have the same resolution, so what, if any difference is there in print path / quality? Different heads? Drivers?

Thanks,

Matt

[kn_guy87]

The quality from both printers would be the same. Both are capable of printing up to 2400x1200 DPI resolution. Both use 6 ink tanks. Both print with same speed.
But for about twice the cost of the S900, the wide-format S9000 can also print A3+ size paper (13x19)

But for the same price of the S900, you can get its replacement model i950 (already available)
Also for the same price as the S9000, you can get its replacement model i9100 (Canon pushed the available date from Jun, 03 to July, 03)
Both the i950 and i9100 have twice the resolution (4800 x 1200 dpi) as their previous models.

http://www.usa.canon.com/html/conCprCatProdIndex.jsp?section=10199

[hurry]

i9100 is available in Europe ~ since end of May.

I am using i950 for photo printing und i550 (i850 is faster and now same price like i550 some month ago) for each day printing. Both printers are excellent, fast and silent.

In the next weeks I 'll try refill ink (6x 100 ml), because the price is 1/10 of original Canon ink.

[Radtech1]

Regarding refill inks, I have found the ink from Oddparts.com to be excellent in quality and color match and printer specificity, as well as being very well priced. If the bci6 tanks are similar in form to the bci3 tanks, here is how to refill them:

1) remove the tank and turn it upside down.

2) with a heated paper clip burn a hole between the ink portal and the front of the cartrige.

3) scrape the surface of the hole smoth with a razor blade.

4) using a 6ml syringe and an 18g needle, fill the resivour with about 3 or 4 ml of ink.

5) remove the needle from the tank and dribble 1 ml of ink onto the ink portal.

6) wipe the area of the hole dry and cover the hole with elecrtical tape. (this tape is supple enough to form to the shape of the cartrige, and the adhesive is "sticky" enough to form a nice tight seal.

7) done. Once you have done it a hundred or so times, it becomes no more than a 1 minute job.

Matt

[boyhowdy]

I've been buying my ink for the S9000 from www.atlascopy.com for almost a year now and it is fantastic ink. They use Repeat-O-Type ink which is very high quality. I bought the original kit with all six inks, drill, tape, gloves, 6-1oz. refill bottles and a nice case to put it in for $27.95! This fills the cartridges quite a few times. You will use more photo cyan, photo magenta and yellow than any other color if you use it mainly for color prints like I do. Now I buy the 8oz refill bottles for around $14.00 each and they last a LONG time!!! The only thing I don't like about refilling these cartridges is when you make the whole for the ink, most places (including Atlas Copy) gives you little round dots to seal the hole back up. This has NEVER worked good for me. What I do is put a drop of hot silicone glue from my glue gun on the hole and it seals perfectly with NO leaks. When you go to refill the next time, the silicone bead just "pops" right off with your fingernail! I also put a piece of black electrical tape over the opening in the bottom and up the sides to keep any ink from leaking out until the silicone bead is dry.

I print up to a hundred photos a month with ths printer and absolutely love it. I can't imagine the S9100 printing any better than this one even if it is twice the resolution. I also use either Canon Photo Paper Pro or, for the 13X19 prints, I use Epson's top of the line photo paper. I started a thread on birds in the "share" forum and one is a seagul's head. If you look at it, it is absolutely beautiful. I printed out a 13X19 of it last night with the S9000 and framed it and everyone I showed it to today was in awe. It is very simple and yet the printer captures it exactly as you see it...amazing!!!

I hope this helps

Patrick