Your opinion on printer purchase - Epson vs. Canon Multi-Function

[Sticks1977]

I am looking to purchase a Multi-Function Printer and have narrowed it down to two choices as to which printer I will purchase:

Epson Stylus CX3700

Canon Pixma MP450

I am unsure which to go with at the moment as they both seem similar, the Epson has separate cartridges for the ink (CMYK) which seems an advantage to me on the consumables side of things.

I have been trying to find some reviews on the Internet but there has not been all that much information to view and there does not seem to be many reviews - hence why I'm posting here.

Hopefully some of you have had experience with Canon and Epson printers that are reading this - if so would love to read some replies and find out which printer I should lean towards... or if there is another brand or printer that I should also consider around this same price range or quality.

Regards, Shaun (Sticks1977)

 

[Sticks1977]

Well due to the high volume of replies that I received, I took action and decided myself without any reviews of assistance...

Ended up purchasing a Epson Stylus CX4700.

as originally looking at the CX3900 but found the CX4700 for around $150 at Officeworks (a local office supplier store here in Australia).

Regards, Shaun (Sticks1977)

 

[ghwellsjr]

One of the major differences between these Epson and Canon printers is that Epson uses Durabrite ink which is pigment based for all cartridges while Canon uses dye based inks for color and photo paper and pigment black for use on plain paper. Pigment inks are superior for plain paper because they will not run if the paper gets wet. However, if you want to print on photo paper, you must use a special photo paper designed for Durabrite ink. I really like the Epson Durabrite ink but it is expensive. So is the Canon if you buy OEM cartridges. So if you plan to buy OEM cartridges, you have made an excellent choice. If you are thinking about reinking yourself or using third-party cartridges, be aware that most suppliers use dye-based inks so you lose the advantage of the Durabrite ink, so do your research. If you do end up replacing with dye-based ink, use photo paper designed for dye, not Durabrite ink.

Another thing you need to be aware of is that the pigment based ink in these Epson printers have a greater propensity to clog so you need to use your printer regularly. If you let it sit idle for a couple months, there is an excellent chance that it will stop printing. But even if this happens, you can still unclog it. The key is to realize that the clog is usually in the tubing used for priming and purging the print head. If I were you, I would periodically drop some Windex on the pads where the print head is parked to keep these tubes clear of ink. You should do this every time you change a cartridge or at least every couple months. You then need to get the printer to do a cleaning cycle. It will not do this automatically every time you turn on power like the Canons do. You either need to command it from your printer or put an empty cartridge in the printer, turn the power on, put back the non-empty cartridge, and it will do a cleaning cycle. You need to observe that the Windex on the purge pad has been sucked into the tubing to assure yourself that it is clear.

If it ever does clog, you can disconnect the clear plastic tube that is easily accessible near the purge pad and force Windex into it with a syringe and then suck back into your syringe the dried ink in the tube. You should also place Windex on the purge pad and suck it up from the place where the tube was connected.

Good luck and happy printing.

 

[petru]

I would Recommend the Epson - there are two basic reasons- Canon is good too, but supplies sometimes can cost You
as the Epson is a budget choice - you can make the choice easier by comparing prices of the main supplies here: http://bulgle.com/ads/123inkjet.php
The second is that this kind of epson is one of the most used one around- you can get a cheap repair service, and/or support from forums like this etc.

 

[ghwellsjr]

I would Recommend the Epson - there are two basic reasons- Canon is good too, but supplies sometimes can cost You
as the Epson is a budget choice - you can make the choice easier by comparing prices of the main supplies here: http://bulgle.com/ads/123inkjet.php
The second is that this kind of epson is one of the most used one around- you can get a cheap repair service, and/or support from forums like this etc.

You will note that the Epson compatible cartridges offered at this site are dye based at $8 each. They also offer the pigment Durabrite inks at higher prices than Office Depot or Staples.

Again, if you're going to buy a printer designed for pigment ink and then put in dye ink, you've lost the main advantage of the Epson printer, in my opinion.