Which 2008 printer for A3+ (A2?)

Two questions really:

1- what's the best A3+ printer currently and why? I know there is no such thing as a single 'best' printer, but would like opinions and experiences as to who would have/has bought what and why. [Inc. any new printers presumed to be in the pipeline and due for imminent release]

2- I would like to get a printer that allows me to print up to A3+ but wonder if it's better to get an A2 printer so as to be able to print with a 2" or wider border round an A3 printed area?(if price were no object - which of course it is - but just hypothetically) I know it sounds extravagant but when I look at the really great prints they all have all been printed with a wide white border, and of course it would save having to upgrade later for bigger prints...

thanks

Just got an Epson R1900 and loving it so far. It prints up to 13x19 inches.

Rob

The R1900 gets good reviews, and everybody (like the previous poster) who has it seems to like it, but if you want an A2 Epson has a refurbished Stylus Pro 3800 on their site for $995, about $450 more than the 1900. Look for "Clearance Center" under Epson Store at the top of the site. I've had an R1800 for a little over a year, and if the R1900 is as good it's well worth the money. Mine is good for a couple more years, but I'm going to keep my eye open for rebates on the 1900 during that time. I got my 1800 with a $100 rebate.

Look into the costs of the ink per ml - buying the smaller R1900 / R2400 is a false economy when the savings by buying a 4880 in ink will cover the purchase price very quickly

spxxxx wrote in post #5178362
Look into the costs of the ink per ml - buying the smaller R1900 / R2400 is a false economy when the savings by buying a 4880 in ink will cover the purchase price very quickly

I'm sure that's the case with a pro, who prints thousands of pictures a year, but I'm not so convinced that the enthusiast would benefit by having a 4880, as tempting as it may be to this amateur. That's why I think the 3800 would be a good compromise between the skimpy ink cartridges of the R1900 and the huge ones of the 4880. It would be very nice not to have to order cartridges constantly, and I would love to have a printer with 80 ml cartridges. I'm not sure my usage would justify the 3800 as far as economics is concerned, but that's never stopped me before!

I'm in a similar situation, having considered the following printers:

1. Canon Pixma iX4000 (312.90 €)
2. Canon Pixma iX5000 (457.90 €)
3. Epson Stylus Photo R1900 (569.90 €)
4. Canon Pixma Pro 9000 (661.90 €)
5. Epson Stylus Photo R2400 (748.90 €)

Price-wise, the R1900 seems to be a good compromise of the five, and looks like it's also getting some recommendations here. On the other hand, so has the R2400, but I may choose the R1900 anyway.

By the way: does it ship with the cartridges, or do you have to buy those separately? It's been a while since I last bought a printer, so I don't remember.

I recommend Epson 3800 as well, perfect for me to print from 4x6 up to A2 [17x22" or even 17x37"].

It comes with a set of cartridges but the initial priming of the heads can use the first set up faster than usual.

C2S wrote in post #5179678
Price-wise, the R1900 seems to be a good compromise of the five, and looks like it's also getting some recommendations here. On the other hand, so has the R2400, but I may choose the R1900 anyway.

If your choices are down to these two, you may want to see these comprehensive reviews before choosing:

Epson R2400

Epson R1900

The one thing that would be a deal-breaker for me is that on the R2400 you have to manually switch between Matte and Photo Black cartridges, while on the R1900 both cartridges are fitted, and the printer chooses the correct one. Also, the R1900 has a Gloss cartridge (controllable by the user), while the R2400 doesn't. On the other hand, the R2400 inks are supposed to incorporate gloss. The consensus seems to be that if you print primarily B & W the 2400 is the better choice, while the 1900 is better if you primarily print color photos.

My feeling is that I would like to get an Epson, BUT...the 2400 is old technology now and you have to change inks, and I suspect (hope) there;s new version in the pipeline, perhaps Photokina?

The 3800 isn't old technology but it is A2 - do I want to go that big (and still change inks)?

I prefer the idea of an Epson simply because they use Piezo heads which, should Idecide I'd want to try, can take the specialist Piezography Black and white inks

The HP and Canon use thermal heads which rules that ability out - but at the mo. it's only one of several possible considerations, not a deal breaker

However another point against the canon is that replacement heads are very expensive

Im in no hurry - just doing my homework at the moment

what I've been lookng at:
Epson 2400 or 3800
Canon PIXMA 9500 of iPF5100 ( although one arguement I saw said if you're going for the 5100 go for the 6100 instead)
I haven't entirely ruoled out HP but my past experiences with the ridiculous ink usage and roller marks and difficulty printing generally with the one HP I had ( Deskjet 970cxi) have really put me off HP printers (despite their really excellent customer service)

So IM drawn toward Epson for the ability to use specialist inks for B+W ( and their good reputation of course)
And
Imdrawn toward Canon because their printers seem to be getting great reviews ( except for print head warrenty - if that were not such a sticking point I would have probably decided on Canon already)

In my mind's eye it's between a Canon printer and the next Epson... crazy place to be..

I Simonius wrote in post #5180881
My feeling is that I would like to get an Epson, BUT...the 2400 is old technology now and you have to change inks, and I suspect (hope) there;s new version in the pipeline, perhaps Photokina?

The 3800 isn't old technology but it is A2 - do I want to go that big (and still change inks)?

I prefer the idea of an Epson simply because they use Piezo heads which, should Idecide I'd want to try, can take the specialist Piezography Black and white inks

The HP and Canon use thermal heads which rules that ability out - but at the mo. it's only one of several possible considerations, not a deal breaker

However another point against the canon is that replacement heads are very expensive

Im in no hurry - just doing my homework at the moment

what I've been lookng at:
Epson 2400 or 3800
Canon PIXMA 9500 of iPF5100 ( although one arguement I saw said if you're going for the 5100 go for the 6100 instead)
I haven't entirely ruoled out HP but my past experiences with the ridiculous ink usage and roller marks and difficulty printing generally with the one HP I had ( Deskjet 970cxi) have really put me off HP printers (despite their really excellent customer service)

So IM drawn toward Epson for the ability to use specialist inks for B+W ( and their good reputation of course)
And
Imdrawn toward Canon because their printers seem to be getting great reviews ( except for print head warrenty - if that were not such a sticking point I would have probably decided on Canon already)

In my mind's eye it's between a Canon printer and the next Epson... crazy place to be..

What do you mean? i change my inks only when one ink cartridge or more finish which is the same with all printers anyway, but if you mean changing it during the printing process i think between photo and matte, i installed all 9 inks without needing to open it to replace between matte and photo ink, the printer do that automatically when you choose to print on matte or photo, and i think with 9 inks and it is A2 printer will be more economic to print A3 by it than use A3 printer to print to its maximum printing size which i think will take more inks.

Tareq wrote in post #5181450
What do you mean? i change my inks only when one ink cartridge or more finish which is the same with all printers anyway, but if you mean changing it during the printing process i think between photo and matte, i installed all 9 inks without needing to open it to replace between matte and photo ink, the printer do that automatically when you choose to print on matte or photo, and i think with 9 inks and it is A2 printer will be more economic to print A3 by it than use A3 printer to print to its maximum printing size which i think will take more inks.

Oh sorry I thought you had to change the inks from matt and photo

If you are a casual user, I actually think you'd be better to keep your money and spend it on prints from a pro lab. Print costs are not high and with the capital cost and ink cost savings, it would mean many, many, many prints before you would have lost out....

As a more regular user, making prints can be great fun. Remember that it's very useful (almost a must) to have a calibrated monitor to try and ensure the closest match inmage>prints. I find that sometimes it takes a couple of prints to get things right - meaning more use of ink and paper.

Also if you do decide to buy, it really is useful to buy a larger printer. Might cost more at the start but there are big savings depending on how much you print. My R2400 uses very small ink cartridges and I have to change a lot!!! I only use one black though so that helps too.
All in all it's nice to print your own imaghes but I do still send out a lot to my local lab.

Good luck with whatever you choose. There are not any bad A3/A2 printers that I can think of.

The R2400 is a fantastic printer (I believe identical K3 inks to R3800 although not having to change is a bonus).

I Simonius wrote in post #5182172
Oh sorry I thought you had to change the inks from matt and photo

No, you don't need to change, and remember it is bigger cartridge than R1800/R2400

EOS_JD wrote in post #5182302
If you are a casual user, I actually think you'd be better to keep your money and spend it on prints from a pro lab.

quite happy to for colour prints but it seems B+W is difficult to get right