Saturday, September 21, 2013

I am a fan of Canon multi-function printers, and Epson printers for photography

A friend recently asked me:

> Hey M*********** (he's an old friend and only insults me),
>
> Know anything about cheap all-in-one printers?  My dad has an epson
> workforce which has died but always sucked.  And outrageous ink
> consumption coupled with high ink cartridge prices.  A SCAM! 

I love Epson printers for my photography.  I bought my first one in 1994, the Epson Stylus Color.  This was an amazing printer for the time.  Along with a Mac, I could, for the first time, actually print color photographs that looked good on a printer rather than in the darkroom.  My other Epson printers included the large-format Stylus Color 3000, Stylus Photo 2200, and what I have been using for the past few years, a large-format Stylus Pro 3800.   That's 20 years of using Epson printers for my photographic prints, nearly as long as I have been a photographer.  

For my office, however, I am a fan of Canon Pixma all-in-one printers.  Here's what I wrote back to my pal: 

I love my Canon Pixma all-in-ones.  I have a Pixma 830 and 860, both more than a couple of years ago.  I never use them for printing, however.  They serve as scanners (both have ADFs) and fax machines.  One in Olympia, one here at Crocker.  I use a Canon laser printer to print.

I also buy inks from third parties, which is much less expensive.  The third-party inks give the same quality as far as I can tell.  But I rarely, rarely print from inkjet printers except for my photographs.

This looks very similar to what I have now:
Canon PIXMA MX892 Wireless Color Photo Printer with Scanner, Copier and Fax

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/914202-REG/canon_6992b002aa_pixma_mx922_wireless_office.html/BI/6076/KBID/6943 

and here's an example of a less-expensive source for inks for this printer: 
Canon PGI225 & CLI226 Compatible Set of 12 Ink Cartridges: 4 Pigment Black PGI225, 2 each of CLI226 B/C/M/Y

http://www.4inkjets.com/Canon-PIXMA-MX892-printer-ink-cartridges-toner

Keep in mind that this printer is made for photographers -- printers for offices are likely less expensive, with less expensive inks.  


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