It’s the big rematch. Almost two years since Epson and Canon went head to head in the photo-quality A4 inkjet printer division they’re now competing for the A3 inkjet market. It’s a market that’s growing in the education sector. Art, graphics and design projects; they’re all enhanced by well produced A3 portfolios.
First impression; the Epson R2400 and Canon i9950 are sturdy machines that take inkjet printing into the realms of professional hi-fidelity reproduction. In fact, either of these printers could produce images the equal of, if not better than, anything you’d get at a high street print bureau. They’d certainly be cheaper. You’d expect to pay a minimum of £8 for an A3 colour print; the Epson or Canon will do you one for less than half that.
Second impression; the two printers are remarkably similar in both specification and performance. Both offer an eight cartridge ink set that makes for extremely accurate colour reproduction. Epson’s new K3 (three shades of black) system greatly improves black and white photo printing and eliminates cast (faint colour tinting) The R2400 printing panel also includes a dedicated black and white section that allows the user to fine tune the printed image.
Both will deliver a flawlessA3 print in around 2 minutes (both, in fact, can print to super A3) and both offer a selection of print media that is, quite simply, unrivalled. Epson, particularly, have Watercolour, Velvet, Ultra Smooth Art as well as the more common gloss, semi-gloss and matte finishes.
That thing of beauty, a joy forever, that will “never pass into nothingness”? Sorry, John, unless you print with archival inks it most certainly will, as the inkologists at Epson and anyone who has ever watching a vivid digital print begin the slow fade to oblivion will tell you. While Epson claim that their new Ultrachrome technology will give colour prints a life of 80 plus years and monochrome ones a life of over 100, Canon’s ChromaPLUS system promises a relatively modest 25 years. Realistically, that’s likely to be more than enough for any print displayed in school.
Final impression; two excellent printers that use cutting edge technology to produce stunning prints. You’d be hard pushed to choose between them when it comes to colour reproduction but the Epson R2400 definitely, er, shades it in the monochrome stakes. The Canon’s CD-printing facility, however, is a significant consideration for any school or college that wants to produce high quality CD or DVDs.
There’s one other – and it’s perhaps the most important – factor to take into account. When these printers were first released the suggested RRPs were £599 and £645for R2400 and i9950 respectively. Since then, however, the price of both machines has dropped. The street price of the R2400 has settled around £500 but the Canon is – wait for it – just over £350.
Let’s put this diplomatically; at £500 the R2400 represents very good value for money but at £350, the Canon i9950 can’t be considered anything but an absolute steal.
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