Looking to buy my first wide format printer and I have researched the above printers. Pricewise the HP is double that of the Epson and the Canon falls in between.
I am leaning towards the HP but it's price is a concern and I am having trouble justifying spending twice as much for the HP vs the Epson.
I would like any comments on which printer the readers have used and compared one against the other.
If I were you I would research further into the cost of the inks used in these printers. That may help you determine the upkeep of each. From what I've read they are all pretty much the same in quality printing. All use the Archival inks. Some claim the Canon gives more vivid colors. Depends what kind of photos you print I guess. Some reviews claim one sips ink and another sucks it up.
You seem to be comparing two printers that use dye inks, the Canon and Epson and one that uses pigment inks.
Dye based inks, until recently, have been rated as non-archival. Recent advances have made them more long lasting but still not quite in the same range as pigment inks. Pigment inks are archival, generally, and offer more flexibility. Generally dye inks are only used on resin coated (glossy) papers whereas pigment inks can be used on rc and matte (fine art) papers.
You may want to compare the HP B9180 with the Canon 9500 and the Epson R1800 or the R1900 (announced in Europe but not yet in North America).
Actually the HP B9180 and the Canon Pixma 9000 are pigment based inks. The Epson 1400 is not. From what I have been reading I have already discounted the Epson and I am looking very favorably at the HP B9180. Here is an interesting link discussing this same subject and the reason why I turned off the Epson.
Photo: PIXMA Pro9000
The PIXMA Pro9000 with an 8-colour dye ink system opens up your colour palette and produces a wide colour gamut to achieve vivid coloration and high glossiness. The advanced software fine tunes your output. Ready to move up to 13" x 19", or print on fine art papers?
I took a quick look at the page you reference and it's talking about the 3800, which is in another league altogether. I own both the 1800 and the 3800. I've had the 1800 for 2 1/2 years and it has produced beautiful colour pints and good b&w prints flawlessly. No problems. However, if you intend to print a lot, the ink carts are small and this becomes expensive (this is the main reason I got the 3800,although it is also a 17' printer, not 13" like the others).
I'm sure the HP is good too and if it has more economical ink usage, go for it. But I would check the number of ink carts each one uses and the size and cost of those carts and do a direct cost comparison.
My apologies - You are correct - The HP B9180 is pigment and the Canon and the Epson are ink based. This still doesn't make the choice any easier. I am looking at the Epson 1800 and the Canon 9500 now.
I recommend you take a look at the comparison test on this website; it's looking at two of the three printers you're considering. Also explore the website a bit as he also reviews the Epson R1800 and a number of other printers.
I have the HP and recommend it, nice prints, I tend to like the softer gloss of pigment inks rather than a brighter gloss from some of the dye based printers. Pigment printers also can use almost any paper you want, the choice in fine art papers is amazing.
The new dye based prints have made a quantum leap in life expectancy of their prints. The problem is that if you get beyond the swellable polymer papers recommended for dye ink you are not sure at all about life expectancy. Just because a paper says it cn accept dye ink doesn't mean the print won't fade. This is especially true of resin coated papers, while the swellable polymer papers protect the ink by encapsulating the ink (maybe not exatly the right word, not a chemist) the resin coated papers allow an open matrix to hold the ink leaving it exposed to the elements, OK for pigment inks not good for dyes. There are some coatings in between these two that may work OK with dyes but it is trial and error to find these papers. Longevity data is only released on the printer manufacturer's papers.
As for ink use and cost, the HP has the largest ink tanks (27ml) but the ink costs the same as the comparible Epson pigment ink printers per ml, but I'm not sure of the ink costs for the two dye printers you are looking at but I wouldn't expect the ink costs to be that much more. With a very good cartridge price I pay about $1.04 per ml of HP ink.
17 inch printer are where you start saving on ink my Canon iPF5000 runs about $.58 per ml. The Epson 3800 is in the $.65 range.
Hope this helps.
Everyone - your help has been fantastic and has really helped me clarify my thinking.
Dave the Photo-i link was great and just what the doctor ordered. A hands on side by side comparison from the users point of view and not a sales pitch. I would highly recommend this site for anyone who wants to compare the HP B9180, the Canon 9500 and the Epson 2400.
I use all epson printers. I have the R200, R320, R1800, and the 4000.
I love them all, they are very reliable and produce.great prints. my favorite is the R1800. it reproduces excellent color, great sharpness and great ink management. the thing I like the most is that it has the built in gloss optimizer which sprays a clear coat over the entire print or over the white areas of the print which is where the pigment ink printers don't apply ink.... ink cost way not an issue because I sell 13x19 prints for about what it costs for a full set of ink...
I am looking at the Epson 1800 and the Canon 9500 now.