Is it time to get a new printer? Will you get better prints of photos and artwork

[@bobsheridan6692]

I always appreciate your clear and honest explanation on various subjects pertaining to printing. I am yet to decide whether I want the Epson or Canon pigment based 13x19 (A3+) size, but hope to make a decision soon. I have learned a tremendous amount since following your channel and greatly appreciate your time to educate me and others on what to look for in determining the correct printer for my needs.

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - much appreciated

[@fred5968]

Thank you for another excellent video on an interesting subject. With great regret, I’ve had to accept the need to replace my trusty Epson Stylus Photo 2200. It hurts to say good-bye to this printer because despite its age, the darned thing still functioned fine and met my needs. However, ink has become impossible to find. Even third-party inks don’t seem to be available. My printing needs have somewhat changed over the years, so after debating the dye vs. pigment question, and reviewing the generous information you've provided, I concluded that the Epson ET 8550 should be a suitable replacement.

[@KeithCooper]

Yes - of printers I've looked at over the last couple of years, it's the one that most surpassed my pre-testing expectations.

[@tjmanou6422]

VERY USEFUL thank you very much Keith.

[@KeithCooper]

Glad it was helpful!

[@streetshooters]

I had a 3800 that needed replacing. I was looking at an Epson P900 and then I thought a P700 would do. Had Thanksgiving weekend (here in Canada) lunch with my brother and sister-in-law and she had an Epson Artisan 1430 that she wasn't using. Seems she only ran one set of ink through it. While it's not a 700 and doesn't have network connections (struggling to get the WiFi working but not essential) it's a 13X19 printer so for Zero dollars I'll make do for now :) A quick print came out looking pretty good.

[@KeithCooper]

That's a result! :-)

[@jessekoskinen]

Well, since you mentioned you like to receive questions from people. I do actually have one. You have made excellent videos on different printers. One particular printer I'd love to see in your tests and videos is the Epson SureColor SC-P20000. Though I understand it probably won't happen, as it is a very expensive printer. I just thought to mention it, just in case you'd had a contact in Epson and it would be possible.

[@KeithCooper]

As if by magic... www.northlight-images.co.uk/epson-sc-p20000-printer-review/ I've been writing reviews for 20 years - the videos only started in 2020 ;-)

[@jessekoskinen]

@@KeithCooper Thank you! I got the information I needed, from your article. Also subscribed to the newsletter.

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - the newsletter is an occasional update to latest significant articles and reviews.

[@kenblair2538]

Great video Keith. I was faced with that situation last year. My old Epson 1280, no more Epson inks. And no printing grayscale, you know the old sheen issue. I'm shooting B&W film, again. So I found a new Canon ix pixma 6820, that had a grayscale function. And wow !, that dreaded sheen is gone. Plus, I love the individual cartridges. Now I taking a break from digital and using B&W, color film, predominantly. Thanks. KB

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks!

[@hellooohowareudoing]

Great video as always - no nonsense advice!

[@KeithCooper]

I appreciate that!

[@Silvergum]

I'm an Oil painter and I'm deciding between the SC P706 or the XP15000 for my first printer, longevity is important so I'm thinking of going for the pigment inks but the price gap is daunting, how much difference is there really in terms of longevity and vulnerability between the dye based and the pigment based inks? and how much does a coat or two of varnish effect things? It would be cool to see a comparison of what the sun will do to different inks and would I be spending less on ink in this scenario? the surecolor has bigger carriages but more of them and how long do they last? sorry about all the questions, it's a difficult decision Your channel has been very helpful with learning the ropes of inkjet printing Thanks you

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - glad it's been of help The 15000 is very much a consumer printer - for your work it's as much about marketing and the level you pitch your products at, as any significant differences. I wouldn't sell dye based prints, but that's _my_ market... Varnish? - never tried it other than on canvas. As to testing, find someone in a sunny climate and far more patience and space to leave things than I have ;-) I'd suggest asking this on the printing forum at DPReview - just remember that like any forum, responses will vary from helpful, to 'so bad, it's not even wrong' :-)

[@ateliercunha2876]

Hi Keith, a possible idea for a next video, based on a phrase of yours. "Printing improved my photography." How does this happen? What are the benefits of printing for our photographic practice? Thanks.

[@KeithCooper]

www.northlight-images.co.uk/better-photography-by-printing-your-work/ Includes a video for those averse to reading :-) I will look at a less practically oriented video to add to it... That said. I have never had, nor ever will have a 'practice' :-)

[@ateliercunha2876]

@@KeithCooper Thanks a lot ,-)

[@ronboe6325]

I've been asking that question for a few years now. But the ol' Epson 1432 finally started printing rubbish (banding mainly) that simply could not be corrected (due to lack of use no doubt). I have also been looking for a good excuse to get a printer that will do decent B&W. Finally pulled the trigger on the P900 after looking around. Almost went with the Canon version but it Red River has cost per page better for the P900 and the Epson seemed to suffer low use better than the Canon (but I have also resolved to print more often and have picked up some paper to force that issue).

[@KeithCooper]

Hope it goes well for you!

[@rkdazet]

Thank you, Keith! Great explanation of whether one should consider a new printer! Atm, I don't feel I need one, unless support in the way of ink, drivers etc. ends for my Epson R1900. I do have a question, however. I did all my editing and printing previously on a Windows 10 PC. But more recently I've been migrating to all Apple products, including my more recent upgraded from the PC to a Mac Mini M1. I have an issue printing with the Mac Mini that I never had with Windows. My prints lack contrast and deep blacks. I'm using the same software and setup with both Windows and Mac. Monitors color managed, soft proofing, printing on Epson Ultra Premium Photo Luster paper, perceptual rendering, printer color management turned off. I printed again, the same image in Windows and the print looks fine, just like my soft proof. I think I have a driver issue on the Mac Mini, running Ventura 13.2.1. I do my editing in either Lightroom CC and On1 Photo Raw 2023 -- same results with both. Have you heard of issues like this with Ventura or M1 Macs? Do you think I'm getting to the end of the line with this R1900 as far as drivers, paper profiles and ink. I know it's hard to predict these things. I don't have good experiences in this regard with anything related to Microsoft and Windows. So often I've spent money on hardware for Windows only to have it deemed "legacy" after a few years and no longer supported with drivers when Windows or other software makes updates. No idea how Epson is with these things. I'm not a pro, but am passionate about photography and especially railroad photography, so I make many photos of steam locomotives. So as you can image, blacks are important when I'm printing. My advice from personal experience to others -- don't let your Epson photo printer sit! These printers use an enormous amount of ink when doing nozzle cleaning cycles for clogged print heads. That gets very expensive. One need to print with them on a regular basis.

[@KeithCooper]

Make sure you've not selected the AirPrint driver on the Mac - I helped someone this afternoon set up an 8500 and did this by mistake. The R1900 driver is listed as being available for Mac OS 13 - delete the printer instance, go to Epson.sn and read the install instructions VERY CAREFULLY - as I said it caught me out... I have a video about the 'airprint problem' ...

[@rkdazet]

@@KeithCooper Thank you Keith! I don't see an Airprint driver on my Mac for the R1900 which only has USB connectivity. I do have an office all-in-one printer on my network, the Epson WF-3640 which has wifi. When I go to Epson's page for the R1900 it oddly identifies my computer as having OS-X 10.5, but I have manually selected OS-X 13. I will try uninstalling the driver and reinstalling to see if that helps. I've also contacted Epson about this issue. Hopefully I get a response, other than my printer is a legacy product and I need to buy a new printer! 😉 Thanks again.

[@KeithCooper]

I checked the UK epson site and the Mac OS 13 driver is listed for the R1900 (V12.62 iirc) The printer this afternoon was connected by USB - the AirPrint driver is not just wifi Take care to check the printer driver info after installing it.

[@rkdazet]

@@KeithCooper Thank you, Keith. I will indeed check the driver info to make sure I'm not using the AirPrint driver. The driver list in the printers setting was listed a v12.62 and the OS listed as Ventura 13.2.1. I'm sure I will get this figured out. I greatly appreciate your input!

[@rkdazet]

Ok, I understand better what an AirPrint driver is and checked if it is available for the R1900 when installing a new printer driver and it is actually not an option for my printer.

[@colinfieldgate4719]

OK, so I have a 10+ year old Epson R2400 that I use to make a few A3 prints with every month or so. I use genuine inks and paper, but the ink is expensive and getting harder to come by. So, should I replace it with a more modern printer? Perhaps an Epson P700 or Canon 300? Or just wait for it to fail? Or try Marrutt inks? Are they any good?

[@KeithCooper]

I'd wait, if you like the prints. 3rd party inks may cause issues with any icc profiles - is it worth the hassle of swapping? Maybe for an old printer, long since paid for. 700 and 300 are not printers pitched at the same level Look at ongoing costs and how happy you are with what you've got.

[@colinfieldgate4719]

@@KeithCooper Thanks for your prompt reply. I'm less familiar with Canon printers, so I'll do some research. But I'm minded to wait as you suggest.

[@elizabethandiosa4579]

I am confused about what paper I should use to print greeting cards . Also when I look at the specs about media the printer can handle, it says fine art papers. Can I use a 340 gsm watercolour paper to print on to copy original painting? Right. I guess I have to do more research.

[@KeithCooper]

Yes, but ideally only if it is a paper coated for inkjet use Results of using actual art papers vary - from OK to bad

[@pauld7827]

Hi Keith, you come across as a really knowledgeable guy. Would you be able to do a video on setting up printers to take advantage of the full capability of the device on a Mac? I have an OKI laser, an Epson ET 2714 for dye sublimation, and my new (after your review) Epson A3 ET- 8550. I have recently switched to using Mac's and I find that the settings seem really limited when compared to the Windows environment. For example my OKI is great for printing A4 card stock etc, but the Mac doesn't allow me to choose the manual feed for example... It's really frustrating to work a design on the mac and then have to fire up the PC to print the work out! I believe one of your informative video's would be really helpful for those of us starting in design (although I'm probably too old to be doing this!) and wanting to print out.

[@KeithCooper]

Ah - have you read the 8550 set-up article and review? www.northlight-images.co.uk/epson-et-8550-printer-review/ Have you possibly set it up with the Airprint driver? I cover this in all printer set-up videos/articles - it regularly catches people out (me too on a couple of occasions)

[@Stephen_Baker]

I still don’t have a printer and keep delaying this decision because I see an emerging roadmap, especially in colour management. Apple and the rest are stuck on say a RGB gamut whilst consumer TV maybe moving on to wider gamuts. Do print vendors provide drivers that allow for wider gamuts and how is saturation managed in print? In any case I see no prospect of a printer or camera covering the colours seen by the human eye. Is this correct?

[@KeithCooper]

What do you mean by 'stuck on RGB'? Newer broadcast standards are all essentially RGB based - they may have different encodings for dynamic range and different primaries, but nothing emerging is particularly relevant to print. Other than reminding people that prints and screens are two distinctly different things... All the printers I look at are RGB devices and profiled accordingly, this is irrespective of the number and variety of inks, or the gamut of the paper/ink/printer combo. There is no 'roadmap' in print... If you have any references to what you mention, please do let me know, since this is an area I follow. The fundamentals of subtractive colour mixing [inks on paper] have not changed in years. The 'human eye' aspect is also a bit of a canard in this respect - prints and what a camera records are two very different things and I'd suggest have no significant relevance in printer choice for most people ;-) If you want hyperspectral imaging and printing systems to go with it, it's available, just not in a very usable form outside of research institutes and specialist technical uses. Even if it were commonly available, few would spot the difference, yet alone pay for it ;-) If you are waiting for some new technology to appear in printing, you will have a long wait, unless you mean a new screen display technology which looks like a sheet of paper... That will likely happen one day, but I'm not holding my breath

[@Stephen_Baker]

@@KeithCooper sorry I meant sRGB. A typo apologies! eRGB is the standard used in club based PDI competitions, as I understand it, so I guess that this applies to print submitted to those same competitions. Then there is aRGB, which I understand is “wider” than sRGB but is far less used. One reason may be again club competitions because I assume that most cameras allow the choice between the two systems. I’ve never checked it but I assume expensive monitors can use even a wider gamut (and have other “advantages” such being over a 1,000 nit brightness). I need to visit a consumer TV shop but understand that there is gamuts such as ProRes2000 and ProRes2020. These gamuts capture almost the entire range of colours that the human eye sees. Plus they conform to BBC / NHK broadcast standards but can also include “dynamic HDR” and such things. But where does this leave printers? Can I print an image comparable to a high end consumer TV? The key driver for all of this is the HDMI roadmap, which camera manufacturers and computer vendors are only just catching up with;- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI It’s perhaps possible to imagine that version 2.1 has a realistic data speed (if it’s transferring between devices with the right level of chipsets) to move “full gamut” video at 8K at 120 frames per second. The latest Canon can shoot 8K at 60 fps. Does this mean that printers in the near future will also have HDMI that will be able to print a frame delivered from such a camera? (I sorry I don’t know what the gamut is for that Canon.) The HDMI roadmap is important to the computer etc industries because then the human eye cannot tell the difference between cgi (special effects) and reality but where does this leave print?

[@KeithCooper]

There is no 'standard' for prints - you use whatever you want. Competitions or otherwise "aRGB' is not a commonly used term, A98 or Adobe RGB [1998] is less ambiguous. It is much more commonly used for print by people to whom print quality matters. Some would prefer a larger gamut still, but that's another question. sRGB is just a common 'standard' - lowest common denominator, some would say. The last thing you want for print is an overly bright monitor - guaranteed to make things look bad if editing for printing. Broadcast standards are nothing whatsoever to do with actual printer choices - there is no such thing [meaningfully] as " the entire range of colours that the human eye sees". There is no print technology commonly available which will "print an image comparable to a high end consumer TV" in terms of colour, contrast and brightness. Apples and Oranges in so many ways My feeling is that you are looking in entirely the wrong direction if you want prints. That or you are hoping for a print technology that simply doesn't exist, and as someone who follows the print industry, is not something I can can see for many years What you mention is all very interesting, but has no real connection with making prints. Your 'roadmap' is for display, not print. The print is not the screen and the screen is not the print - they are two different things. If you don't like the look of prints, then so be it, but don't expect any changes any time soon ;-)

[@dougbuchanan3435]

I have to disagree (sarcastically), my new printer did improve my prints, just as my new camera improved my photography. Granted I went from an Epson R1800 (A3+) to a Canon pro 1000 (A2). Only took me 18 years to upgrade the printer and 13 years to upgrade from a Canon 1D mk 3 to a 1DX mk 3. But upgrading for the sake of upgrading is not going to fix bad practices. Thank you for the videos, I have found them very helpful in my continuing photography learning experience.

[@KeithCooper]

Indeed - that's a hefty jump In 2004 I went from an A3+ Epson 1290 to a 44" Epson SP9600 - that definitely made a difference ;-)

[@__Mr.White__]

I like this guy.

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks ;-)

[@thomaseriksson6256]

The difference between a professional photographer and an amateur is that the later get new equipment because it will be nice to own. The professional photographer only gets the most necessary equipment.

[@KeithCooper]

Yes, that's what many pro photographers want you to believe ;-) I've come across several who just got stuff to look good and impress people...

[@thomaseriksson6256]

@@KeithCooper Well, more of a personal quality then. Personaly I have a problem with lenses and I have to fight the need to buy lenses that I might be able to use in the future.

[@larrywhite8590]

I keep thinking of finally getting a printer but you keep talking me out of it. Le sigh. 😂

[@KeithCooper]

Ah, you noticed that I don't sell printers ;-)

[@larrywhite8590]

@@KeithCooper yes pretty much exactly this. It’s funny, I am really ambivalent about post processing photos but the actual printing workflow I’ve always enjoyed. But, and this is the problem, I know to get good results I’d have to dedicate real time to this and I know I don’t have it. So, no printer, because I see no reason to just have one sitting in the office. Sadly I know I’d print more if I had a printer rather than using a service.

[@KeithCooper]

Yes, it's that convenience aspect as well as time which people need to consider. Even as a big fan of print, I know it's not for everyone. In some ways I want some of my videos to be a bit of a counter to marketing which makes print seem so easy, yet still disappoints quite a few people.

[@larrywhite8590]

@@KeithCooper It’s not easy. We had a big roll feed HP in the office for a while. It was great and a huge PITA the rest of the time. Technology has improved but there is no way you are going to get consistent high quality photo prints in the first pack of paper, unless you are very lucky. On top of this I have a good local source for prints, but there is always the hassle factor. I want to shoot in the morning and have the print in the afternoon. And I want to do 3-4 variations of the same print, which I never do with a service. So I remain on the fence not printing nearly as much as I want to. :-). Thanks again! Seriously though your videos are great, high quality content.

[@realtyonegrouphomelink5553]

Hi Keith, do you sell printers? If so can you please contact me?

[@KeithCooper]

No - I'm commercial/architectural photographer ;-) I quite specifically don't sell stuff - particularly anything I'd review...

[@PhillCurtis]

Unsure what age group this is addressed at, this all seems common sense 😆

[@KeithCooper]

Yes - I would hope it seems obvious... However, the number of questions I get, related to this, would suggest otherwise. It is not an age thing...