Epson P400 Alternative

[Charles218]

I purchased my P400 directly from Epson 6 or 7 years ago, at the time it was my understanding that the print quality was excellent, plus I would be able to print up to 13 wide. I am a 100% certified amateur and I enjoy tinkering but not much more. As it turns out the Epson got very little use and because of this I have had many issues with head clogs. I used Inkjet Plumber to try to keep the ink flowing, but it was not to be. I've given up, the printer is out of service with no ink flowing from the yellow channel and I'm tired of spending days trying to get it going.

It is my sense that Canon printers are much kinder to folks like me and tend to withstand in frequent use, at least better than Epson. My question then is which Canon/s should I look at as a replacement for the Epson. I do want a large format printer, and would prefer a used unit and one that is a bit more tolerant of second party inks. Other than the initial original Epson carts that came with the printer, I used Precision Colors refillable carts exclusively with the Epson.

Is there a Canon that anyone can suggest that would satisfy my casual amateur needs? If not Canon, what other machines might I consider?

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I assume that you are looking for a 13" printer if you refer to large format. ?

I'm not aware of evidence that an Epson printer would clog earlier and/or stronger than a Canon printer, the best maintenance for a printer is printing - on a low level even if you don't have actual printjobs. Just a print of a very small image twice a week or so would avoid clogs very much - on Epson or Canon printers. And that requires less effort than extended cleaning/flushing etc cycles.

You first should become clear if you are better off with a dye ink printer or a pigment ink printer - that could depend on you if you arelady have a strong preference or what you are doing with the prints - are you printing for the family - are the prints exposed to the environment for a longer time .

Since you are focussed on refill you might consult the web pages of precisioncolors - they list in detail what is required for various Epson or Canon printers like (original ) cartridges) or (one time) chips or a resetter or........and like to sell that to you. This varies pretty much by printer model.

And there might be more criteria only one or the other printer would offer - like a straight paper patch for thick papers or poster length prints , and tehre could be more exclusion criteria for one or the other model other members here may contribute

and a last personal comment - I would not go for a used printer

 

[Charles218]

Yes, 13" is what I am looking for, nothing larger. I originally purchased the Epson over the Canon for the ability to print banner size. I don't have the exact numbers in my head at the moment, but I wanted the ability to print genealogy family charts. Epson allowed something like 44" paper, while Canon's longest was considerably less. I no longer need the longer prints.

Dye vs pigment, this is a non issue for my purposes, either would be fine. Looking at Precision Colors' offering is a good idea, thanks for the tip.

I purchased the P400 directly from Epson, it was in their refurbished, or whatever they call it, category. Finding the same kind of deal, or a well maintained used unit would be considerably more budget friendly, especially considering my casual needs.

So is it just my bad luck that causes my Epson, along with a couple of earlier Epson models, to be plagued with clogged heads? As I mentioned earlier, I do use Ink Jet Plumber to print test pages every couple of days, and yet the Epson has always been prone to clogs. I would at times spend several days and use lots of Piezo Flush to get the thing printing again. We have a couple of Canon MX922 that we use in our home office for various jobs, and over the past several years we have had maybe one clog per year, which was easily cleared with a single cleaning.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

You may have a look to the ET-8550 - a dye ink printer as an ink tank model and a user replaceable waste ink/maintenance box. Even the OEM inks in bottles are very affordable, or you may use inks by pecisioncolors or other suppliers. But when it comes to longevity - only OEM inks - Claria by Epson or Chromalife (+) by Canon - deliver the best performance, there is no test at all showing that a 3rd party ink would match the OEM inks in this respect. You won't have the need for any refill accessories - additional cartridges, chips, clips etc for such a printer. And longevity performance is not just a matter of the ink but as well very much influenced by the type of paper - actually the coating of the paper - on any printer.
It is not possible anymore to get to your clogging problems, but I don't see here or on a German forum that Epson printers are clogging much more, there can be issues with the printer, the ink, the ink flow from 3rd party cartridges and more. There are typical issues with Canon printheads reaching the end of their usefull lifetime which are misinterpreted as clogging problems

 

[palombian]

Let's face it, there are no refillable printers anymore, and those that were are getting old (and should be avoided to buy used). Refill tools and ink are not cheap either.

If I had to start over I would go for the Epson ET-8550 (as long as Canon doesn't offer something comparable).