First Pigment Ink Printer - P900 or P5300?

[Alexis]

Hello all!

I currently own a very non professional Canon G560, but is has been excellent in letting me learn from my mistakes, print a lot since Ink is cheap. But I am definitely at a point I feel the limitations of this printer compared to more Photography Centric Ones. ANd most of All, Being mostly using Mac OS, this is a nightmare as I have to keep loging into my Windows Machine to Printer from Canon Native Drivers only available in Windows for proper Color Management.

So, to give a bit of an idea of what I am looking for: Main Focus will be Black & White, although I sometimes also do some Color Printing. But B&W must be the best. And while I am initially goign to be printing for my own, there is an idea to try and see if I can sell some prints of my photos in the future, so it would be best I dont need to be replacing printer in the next few years.

About Initial Cost vs Ink Replacement Cost. I dont know which one would make the most sense. I am at a rate of 4/5 A4 Prints a week, since it is the maximum size my current printer allows. Another issue is that I live in a 2 bedroom apartment, so size is a consideration. I have never seen a P5300 up close to see really how much space it needs, but it wont be a printer to sit on my desk, thats for sure. I have a furniture away that I put my printer on top and doesnt bother anybody.

Is there any consideration I might be missing? Is the P900 going to do the job well for years to come? Most importantly, does a the P5300 make any sense for a non commercial setting?

Thanks!

 

[thebestcpu]

Hi @Alexis
If you have not seen this youtube video it very well may cover the tradeoffs for you:

Hope that is helpful
John Wheeler

 

[Alexis]

Hi @Alexis
If you have not seen this youtube video it very well may cover the tradeoffs for you:

Hope that is helpful
John Wheeler

Thank you!

The P5300 scares me for two reasons. First: 70kg is incredibly heavy, so much I don't know even if my furniture would be able to handle it!

Second: it seems the P5300 is more sensitive to being constantly in use than the P900, even though it's the same print head inside? Not being in a commercial use, I wonder how hard it is to keep it from clogging.

Now the P900 has issue with paper feeding it seems. And also seem to be much more prone to need maintenance?
Also, the Roll Paper Adapter seem to be badly engineered compared to the P5300, and this increases the price of the P900 to much closer to the P5300, so I have to think if I will ever consider Roll Paper or not.

 

[thebestcpu]

Hi @Alexis
I have a p900, and my use is similar to yours.
I have not had any issues with paper problems or any other, for that matter, with the p900.
- As far as the roller unit, I did buy it yet have not used it. You could always buy one later if you really find a need
I am sure the p5300 is more of a tank yet personally, I would not go that direction.
- The p5300 is much larger and much heavier, and moving it would likely take two strong people.
- At low usage, I think the p900 will last a long time for me
- The cost of ink of the p900 is twice that of the p5300 , yet cost per print is only about 40% higher on the p900 when you take into account the cost of paper (which is the same on both printers
- One thing that is not talked about much is maintenance. For simple fixes, you can ship the p900 in. The normal expectation for p5300 is that it stays in place, and a technician comes to you. This is typically done through a maintenance extension plan, and those are not inexpensive. If you ever needed a major repair, it may make sense to pay the big cost associated with the p5300, yet with the p900, the repair cost could exceed just buying another one. At low usage, the risk of a major repair is low.
- The p900 has more flexibility in borderless printing options than the p5300. So if borderless is important to you, the p5300 may be an issue.

The reality of the p5300 is that it does cost money to move or a bigger hassle to round up people who are strong enough.

Given the volume you use (and I use), most guidance indicates the p900 is the better way to go.

Also, just as a heads up on both the p900 and p5300:
Changing all 10 50ml cartridges on the p900 is ~$450
Changing all 10 200ml cartridges on the p5300 is ~$1000

This can be a sticker shock issue when that occurs. Fantastic larger prints though, and I'm very happy with my p900.

Just some quick thoughts
John Wheeler