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09/16/2011 10:39:08 AM · #1 |
The first part of this post describes my situation; the second part has the questions I'd like some help with.
Part One - The Situation
A long time ago, I used to make my own prints. I went through a wide variety of printers with varying degrees of success and frustration. One constant rankle was my inability to get a true cost per print. Ultimately, between escalating print sales and cost of printing, I abandoned making my own prints and started using a local professional lab.
The HP Nightmare
Four years ago an organization approached me with an opportunity to do onsite portraits and prints. After researching all my options, I settled on purchasing three HP D7160 printers for about $200 each. The basic idea was to have two running in tamdem with one as a backup. For all intents and purposes, it worked out. The printers got the job done and paid for themselves in one weekend. My only real issue was that they were drinking ink; one of them especially enjoyed yellow.
Three months later, this yellow-holic issue was getting out of hand. After spending hours on the phone with HP tech support and not getting any resolution, they decided that it was a defective printer that they would replace under warranty. That was when I found out that the reason I got such a great deal was that this model was being discontinued; consequently, my replacement was the newer model, the D7200. It also had a drinking problem, but not as bad as its predecessor.
Over the next few years, I used the D7200 for some day-to-day printing, but mainly for onsite event work. (I should point out that these were mainly golf outings where I was only printing 100-300 4x6s.) Just over a year ago the D7200 died. As I had an upcoming event, I pulled the reserve D7160 out of the box and started my pre-event prepping (I always test everything out ahead of time because when it comes to onsite printing, you can't afford for anything to go wrong.). I plugged it in, put in some authentic HP ink cartridges, and...it wouldn't print.
Thinking the inks might be old, I went and bought a full set of new inks and installed them. Still, it wouldn't print. I called tech support and after a lot of going around, I was told that it wasn't printing because I needed to install the original "initialization" cartridges that came in the box.
Guess what? I had used those years ago when I needed ink and didn't have time to go out and buy some.
I wouldn't have done that had there been anything in the printer setup documentation that said not to use those cartridges for anything but setting up a new printer. However, there was no such warning on the box or in their documentation. To compound the issue, as this model had been discontinued for over four years, HP no longer manufactured the initialization cartridges, let alone had any in stock. I was told that it was my problem for not having put the printer in service when I bought it and that all I could do with this never-used printer was to throw it out.
To say I was furious would be an understatement. I resolved then that I would never buy another HP product of any type.
On-site Printing
To solve my problem, I started researching and immediately found that the dye-sub solutions that were not feasible four years before were now within reach. While I still couldn't justify spending $1,000-$2,500 on the better machines, the Canon Selphy CP800 at $80 was perfect (it normally retails for about $100, but they were on sale for $20 off). With a cost per print fixed at under 35cents, it was a no brainer: I bought three of them.
They have been and are great little printers. Even though they take 45-60 seconds per print, running them in tandem is more than adequate for my purposes.
Part Two - "The Dilemma"
At the moment, I don't have to buy a printer. However, B&H is offering a Canon PIXMA Pro 9500 Mk II printer for $250 when bundled with a 7D. I've read through a couple decent threads (Does anyone own/know about Canon 9500 printer?) and (user thoughts - canon pixma pro9000), and even though the printer is well thought of, those reviews are nearly two years old. My concern is to avoid repeating the HP "end of life" nightmare.
I'd love your feedback, suggestions, and experiences. Feel free to share them here, but more importantly, please take my simple survey. As in the past, once I have a large enough sample, I'll post the results back to this thread.
Thanks!
Click here to take the survey
Note: all replies to the survey are anonymous and there is no login or registration required.
Message edited by author 2011-09-16 10:43:59. |
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09/17/2011 04:34:25 PM · #2 |
thanks to those of you who have taken the survey. i still need a larger sampling...
click here to take the quick, anonymous, no-registration-required survey. THANKS! |
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09/17/2011 06:03:10 PM · #3 |
Hey Skip, good survey. Now, my 'problem' is that I have two printers, the i9900, an old, very old, workhorse that has been around the horn a couple of times and still plugs along. I even print 100 copies of a full color 8-page newsletter on it once a month. Once upon a time, it did just fine color prints but not so good black and whites. I also have the Pro 9500II series that I reserve only for artwork.
So, I took the survey for the i9900 but it wouldn't let me re-take it for the 9500. For what it's worth, that is one fine printer for artwork, both black and white and color. But dang, those ink cartridges cost a bundle and, yes, it is slow. Not a problem, as long as it continues to turn out the beautiful work it does for me. I would not dream of using it for every day printing, however.
I have to note though, that I have never tried to cost out a per-copy amount for prints. That somehow, seems like something I don't want to know.
:(
Alice |
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09/18/2011 01:57:34 AM · #4 |
| I'm in the same boat, sort of, as alice. I took the survey based on a Canon i9900 printer that is an old workhorse. Difference is I keep waiting for it to fail so I can buy a new higher tech one like the 9500. As a side I think Alice and I are the only two DPC people who still have a working 9900. |
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09/18/2011 06:27:32 PM · #5 |
Hey Skip,
I just replaced a Pro 9000 MKI with a Pro 9000 MKII, not because there was anything wrong with it, but because I got a smoking deal on the new one. If you were closer I'd hand deliver this one to you for a $100 with some ink still in it! I love being able to print on site and control everything(except cost). I've loved my 9000 and the speed of the MKII is the only difference I've seen.
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10/16/2011 08:33:20 PM · #6 |
I have the 9000 and find it hard to calibrate, and have a magenta color cast when printing greyscale. It's also hard to overide printer controls. I'm thinking about selling it.
Could be just me, I don't print that much. I see them for sale on line all the time for $200 & less so I bet it's not just me.
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