HP vs Epson: Share Your Experiences

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xDsrtRat

I'm considering two printers, an HP 9600 series or the Epson 2200. Based on
budget, print requirements and my expected usage, I've narrowed my field to
these two as a replacement for my present aging wide carriage inkjet.

Can anyone share their experiences about these printers?
 
xDsrtRat said:
I'm considering two printers, an HP 9600 series or the Epson 2200. Based on
budget, print requirements and my expected usage, I've narrowed my field to
these two as a replacement for my present aging wide carriage inkjet.

Can anyone share their experiences about these printers?
Click to expand...

All I know is that the Epson pocket print server for networking their
stuff is wonderful. I can't imagine the HP stuff is any worse, the the
Epson networking is fantastic.
 
Elmo P. Shagnasty said:
All I know is that the Epson pocket print server for networking their
stuff is wonderful. I can't imagine the HP stuff is any worse, the the
Epson networking is fantastic.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the input, but networking is not an issue. I have an external
JetDirect that will be used to share the printer. I was hoping to get some
idea of reliability and versatility from the users of either of these
choices. The specs of both sound good, so it comes down to listening to user
feedback to see how users rate these two printers.
 
I'm considering two printers, an HP 9600 series or the Epson 2200. Based on
budget, print requirements and my expected usage, I've narrowed my field to
these two as a replacement for my present aging wide carriage inkjet.

Can anyone share their experiences about these printers?
Click to expand...
For photographic printing the Epson is way ahead. But text, like most
Epson Photo printers, isn't the best. You don't say what you want the
printers for so I can't comment any further.
 
Hecate said:
For photographic printing the Epson is way ahead. But text, like most
Epson Photo printers, isn't the best. You don't say what you want the
printers for so I can't comment any further.
Click to expand...
I'll be using the inkjet primarily as a graphics printer. I'll be doing more
prints from photographs and digital photo prints than previously I
previously did, but I also want to print "created" color graphics. I have a
good Black & White laser printer to handle text, so text printing, other
than imbedded in a graphic, is a secondary concern. I'd also like to do full
bleed color prints, something my present printer won't handle.

I've read your some of your comments in one of the PhotoShop newsgroups. I
don't post often there as I'm still learning PhotoShop. There's people a lot
more experienced than I am giving good advice there. PhotoShop, and
InDesign, will be the primary applications used with this printer. That
should give you a feel for what I'm looking for in the printer.
 
I'll be using the inkjet primarily as a graphics printer. I'll be doing more
prints from photographs and digital photo prints than previously I
previously did, but I also want to print "created" color graphics. I have a
good Black & White laser printer to handle text, so text printing, other
than imbedded in a graphic, is a secondary concern. I'd also like to do full
bleed color prints, something my present printer won't handle.

I've read your some of your comments in one of the PhotoShop newsgroups. I
don't post often there as I'm still learning PhotoShop. There's people a lot
more experienced than I am giving good advice there. PhotoShop, and
InDesign, will be the primary applications used with this printer. That
should give you a feel for what I'm looking for in the printer.
Click to expand...
Yes, it does. Go for the Epson, IMHO. But be aware that using Epson
inks you won't be able to get a glossy print. The inks are pigments
and using glossy paper results in bronzing. But that is true of most
pigment inks.

However, there are independent solutions (the one I use is Permajet)
which will provide you with a black pigment ink which *can* be used on
glossy paper. If you don't need glossy then they also produce a Giclee
black (but that's mainly for Fine Art B&W prints). Note that this
solution is a CIS (Continuous Ink System) which is a fairly major
outlay (mine cost 4/5 of the price of the printer). However, IMHO, it
is worth it in the long run as the CIS system is much more economical
and produces excellent prints.

Hope that helps,
 
Hecate said:
For photographic printing the Epson is way ahead. But text, like most
Epson Photo printers, isn't the best. You don't say what you want the
printers for so I can't comment any further.
Click to expand...

I believe the DeskJet 9600 series with the optional #58 color cartridge will
make better photo prints than the Epson 2200. The DeskJet can print up to
13"x19" full bleed on glossy media. I would suggest comparing prints of the
two printers side by side and make your choice. If you can find someone to
make you a print on the 2200 I will do the same on the HP and mail it to you.
If you want to do this send me an email mailto:[email protected] and we can work
out the details.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP
 
On Sun, 6 Jun 2004 08:01:14 -0400, "xDsrtRat" <[email protected]>
wrote as underneath my scribble :

HP dont provide fully functioning updated drivers for their priners
when new Operating System versions come out, you have to put up with
the cut down and crippled basic drivers that come included with the
new OS. So I would be very wary if you think a newer as yet unissued
version of Windows for example might be on your horizon. You then
have to buy a new printer to get the full quality back! Good one!
Charlie+
 
Hecate said:
Yes, it does. Go for the Epson, IMHO. But be aware that using Epson
inks you won't be able to get a glossy print. The inks are pigments
and using glossy paper results in bronzing. But that is true of most
pigment inks.

However, there are independent solutions (the one I use is Permajet)
which will provide you with a black pigment ink which *can* be used on
glossy paper. If you don't need glossy then they also produce a Giclee
black (but that's mainly for Fine Art B&W prints). Note that this
solution is a CIS (Continuous Ink System) which is a fairly major
outlay (mine cost 4/5 of the price of the printer). However, IMHO, it
is worth it in the long run as the CIS system is much more economical
and produces excellent prints.

Hope that helps,
Click to expand...
Yes it does and Than You! I don't do too many glossy prints, so the bronzing
is not a major problem for me. I've read some other discussions on CIS, but
I'm going to see if my volume will justify such a system.
 
Bob Headrick said:
I believe the DeskJet 9600 series with the optional #58 color cartridge will
make better photo prints than the Epson 2200. The DeskJet can print up to
13"x19" full bleed on glossy media. I would suggest comparing prints of the
two printers side by side and make your choice. If you can find someone to
make you a print on the 2200 I will do the same on the HP and mail it to you.
If you want to do this send me an email mailto:[email protected] and we can work
out the details.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP
Click to expand...
Thanks for the offer, Bob. If I can't find someone local to me, I might take
you up on your offer.
 
Charlie+ said:
HP dont provide fully functioning updated drivers for their priners
when new Operating System versions come out, you have to put up with
the cut down and crippled basic drivers that come included with the
new OS. So I would be very wary if you think a newer as yet unissued
version of Windows for example might be on your horizon. You then
have to buy a new printer to get the full quality back! Good one!
Charlie+
Click to expand...
I don't change operating systems too often, so this is not a consideration
for me. I'm using boring, tried and true Win2K and don't see myself changing
operating systems anytime in the near future.
 
I don't change operating systems too often, so this is not a consideration
for me. I'm using boring, tried and true Win2K and don't see myself changing
operating systems anytime in the near future.
Click to expand...
Charlie is right though. I used to run NT, then 2k then XP. When I
changed to 2k HP told me to use the NT drivers for a couple of HP
printers. They didn't work and the only response I got from them was
<shrug>. We normally have three or four printers - a couple of lasers
and a couple of inkjets. We used to have 3 HP printers and a Kyocera.
Now we have a Kyocera, a Samsung, an Epson and an HP. Guess which is
the oldest and going to be replaced with another make as soon as it
dies? ;-)
 
xDsrtRat said:
I don't change operating systems too often, so this is not a consideration
for me. I'm using boring, tried and true Win2K and don't see myself changing
operating systems anytime in the near future.
Click to expand...

HP Currently has drivers for the Deskjet 9600 series printers including MS-DOS,
MAC OS 9, MAC OS X, Windows 2000, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT 4.0,
Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP available for download from:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsuppor...skId=135&prodSeriesId=306780&prodTypeId=18972

HP also supports Linux drivers through the Source Forge project, available at
http://sourceforge.net/projects/hpinkjet/

Few companies support such a range of operating systems....

- Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP
 
I dont blame you Bob in your defence - but you dont answer the
customer's problem if a new Operating System comes out when your HP
printer is no longer in production - very likely now as the model
numbers proliferate like chaff in the wind! - from HP there will be no
updated proper drivers for your new Operating System and your HP
printer will be partially crippled as a result. Even if HP had to
charge a few dollars for the updated software it would be decent
service as opposed to very underhand, a pity as the print is good and
fast - if using original dedicated HP drivers.
Charlie+
 
Well when XP came out my HP959c was still in production but guess what.
No full drivers on the XP CD and a stoney silence from HP when I mailed
them.
I went back to ME and when the printer dies I will chose a differen make,
probably
Epson. I will NOT buy another HP even though it has and still is a good
printer.
Regards
Derek
 
(A little long......)

I had a HP895Cse for a long while running Win98se. When I upgraded to XP,
as stated by others earlier, the driver from XP was barely basic with no
features. I did get into polite converstions with support, but there were
no upgraded drivers and was very disappointed as others have mentioned.

But not all being lost, I gave my 895 to my daughter (who really needed it)
and got my photosmart 7660. (I guess I really would have been upset if I had
to junk the 895 because of the OS upgrade!)

The street price today for the photosmart is $130 and it is a great
performer for me. I have seen outputs from Epson that are outstanding too.
The main reason I stayed with HP is that the heads are part of the
cartridges and not the printer.

I have to mention that I also have an HP 4200C ScanJet that ran well with
Win 98. There was no sutiable driver built in to XP but talking to support
they provided one on a CD. I think it was around 30-50 meg in size. It has
something to do with digital signatures needed for XP which neither the 4200
or the 895 has one. But the XP driver for the 4200 overrode it I guess.
The XP driver peforms identical to the driver under Win98. Too bad that
couldn't have been done for the 895 printer.

The upside of all this is that the 7660 printer has many more in features
than the 895 even though I do not need some of them, but it worked out OK.

--
Dave C.

(e-mail address removed)9et

Remove the five 9's (leave the 4) for email.
 
HP Currently has drivers for the Deskjet 9600 series printers including MS-DOS,
MAC OS 9, MAC OS X, Windows 2000, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT 4.0,
Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP available for download from:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsuppor...skId=135&prodSeriesId=306780&prodTypeId=18972

HP also supports Linux drivers through the Source Forge project, available at
http://sourceforge.net/projects/hpinkjet/

Few companies support such a range of operating systems....
Click to expand...
And few companies tell you that when a new OS version comes out
they're really not bothered if you can't get your printer to run on
the new system or not.

HP printers, as I said, are gr4eat when they;'re working, are great
when you don't want to upgrade to a new OS. But if wei6ther of those
conditions changes, they aren't so great.
 
There is one major difference between these two printers, which should weigh
heavily in your choice: the Epson uses pigment-based inks whereas the HP
uses dye-based. If you are looking for longevity then there is no real
contest--you have to go with the Epson. I am not familiar with the HP; I
have the Japanese equivalent of the 2200 and had a 2000P before. I have
found the Epson excellent and well behaved in every respect. The print
driver software is very accurate and easy to use. As some others have
pointed out the colors are slightly more muted than with dye-based inks, but
they are accurate and the print quality is excellent. A downside is that the
range of paper surfaces is rather limited, but if that doesn't bother you
and the slight bronzing doesn't bother you then I think the Epson is
definitely the way to go.

I have some real problems with HP in general; I hate their corporate
philosophy and lack of decent after-sales service (I have an old scanner
that wasn't even eligible for e-mail support after a short period of time,
and the drivers they posted for Win 2K were a joke and an abomination). I
have sworn never to buy HP again and so far I have been happy with that
decision.

It's worth noting that Epson's new pigment-based printers with Durabrite
inks offer even better quality than the Ultrachrome inks in terms of gamut
and tonality, and they also have a kind of "varnish" that gives you the
option of a true glossy surface with some papers. However there is no A3
size printer available. Nor is there one here in Japan, and we usually get
new models released about a year before the rest of the world, so they seem
to be at least 18 months off in the wide carriage version, if not more.


Toby
 
The Epson will also make full bleeds.

Toby

Bob Headrick said:
I believe the DeskJet 9600 series with the optional #58 color cartridge will
make better photo prints than the Epson 2200. The DeskJet can print up to
13"x19" full bleed on glossy media. I would suggest comparing prints of the
two printers side by side and make your choice. If you can find someone to
make you a print on the 2200 I will do the same on the HP and mail it to you.
If you want to do this send me an email mailto:[email protected] and we can work
out the details.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP
Click to expand...
 
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