Larry,
I agree with what P.J. has written in his response.
I have a couple thoughts to add to that.
I've been using Epson R2880 for some 10 years.
I am completely satisfied with the quality of the prints, but I am not
very happy with two factors:
1. The ink cartridges are very small, only 11.4 ml, and considerable
amount of that ink is consumed when you do "head cleaning" (through the
internal [comes with the printer driver] software utility), after you
haven't used the printer for a while. Also it purges ink every time you
power it up.
Also, when you replace one ink, I believe, all inks are re-initiated,
which also wastes some ink.
That sometimes forces me to replace a cartridge that is not completely
empty yet, when I am replacing an empty one, because otherwise, the
almost-empty one will become empty shortly (or immediately) after the
re-initialization, and then more ink would be wasted in 2
re-initialization procedures.
2. Photo black and matte black cannot be installed at the same time.
If you switch them, _all_ the inks are re-initialized/purged.
The subsequent models have taken care of #2, but I am not sure if they
made any part related to #1 more efficient.
I don't know how other brand printers deal with the issue in #1, but I
know that Canon imagePROGRAF (a step-up line of wider printers, 17" and
up) initializes only the cartridge that you replaced.
So, I would consider how the printer you are going to buy deals with
various re-initialization and power-up procedures.
(It is actually rather hard to find that information, short of trying the
printer... )
But what I like is the UltraChrome die ink that Epson uses in this line of
printers.
The current models, I believe are Epson SureColor P400 and P600,
and their current price after MIR is $379 and $493 at B&H.
The ink cartridge is slightly larger: 14 ml and 26 ml, respectively,
with the prices about $18 per cartridge (or lower for some colors)
for P400, and $31-32 for P600. (B&H offers a bundle where you save a few $
for a complete set).
PS. I just found this page from ConsumerReports:
https://www.consumerreports.org/printers/the-high-cost-of-wasted-printer-ink/
where they calculate the ink price per gallon (~$6400) and compare that
to the price of other frequently purchase liquids, such as gas, milk
and expensive Champagne. ;-)
Both gas and milk are about 2000 times less expensive than printer ink.
It's shocking to think about it that way, isn't it?
Good luck, and let us know what you will find in the end!
Igor
Larry Colen Sat, 29 Jun 2019 18:16:18 -0700 wrote:
Last fall I picked up a Pixma ix6820 primarily because I got a really good
deal on it. I've since bought ink and am somewhat less enamored. I've
mostly been using it to print out floor plans for my boss and might have
the option of selling it to him and picking up something that suits my
needs a bit better.
Ideal specs would be:
able to print at least 12" wide
photo quality
reasonably inexpensive to purchase and to feed
reasonably good quality/longevity
1) Are there any specific printers that you would recommend buying or
avoiding?
2) Are there any details in particular that I should try to look for?
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