Canon I860 better than Epson c84, and Hp
Written: Dec 12 '03 (Updated Dec 13 '03)
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Pros: 5 different ink trays. Quality, costs, and price and great printing.
Cons: Tech support. They could include a lil bit of extra features.
The Bottom Line: Its feeder is smart. Ink consumption is great and the best part. Ink set can be found for Under 20 bucks on eBay.
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| robfactory's Full Review: Canon i860 Photo Bubble Jet Printer 23/16ppm Print... |
Well I was in the market for a new printer after my Lexmark Z55 had taken a dive. Mind you, Lexmark printer are the disposable type. The ink is worth the same if not as much as the printer. Not to mention that their ink consumption is horrible. So, I started to read reviews and check online for prices and ink cartriges. There are only 4 companies that have a name in printing; Hp, Canon, Epson & because they are cheap, Lexmark. I was looking at all the features and cost cutting technology out there. Now mind you, I'm a college student who prints out paper and charts quite often. Occasionatelly, doing a few photos here and there for friends or Mp3 cd's.
1. Quality of machine and printing.
I went to a couple of stores around my neck of the woods and checked out the price range of $150 and less. The color quality on HP is just great. They seem more of a professional type of printer. HP and Canon take this away from the rest. They look solid and steady. The printing quality is great on a HP and Canon. Actually, according to many tests and testimonials, the Canon has better grays than most. Something most injet printers faulter at is printing and adjusting to grays. With the software bundled with the printer you can edit the picture and enhance them. Instead of printing right away, go to printing preferences. They have a few tabs that get the most out of your printing and a few tweakings.
2.Design
Hp and Canon's design is cool and they look well built. The Epson printers all have a similarity that makes them a bit reliable. Yet the Epson is just not as kewl or futuristic looking as the HP and Lexmark. The Canon, just looks like a big cow at times. It's design is not too kewl. However, the colors chosen make it seem sophisticated.
3. Ink Consumption.
Lexmark, HP and Epson; their ink consumption is something to worry about from time to time. However, the neat thing about these 2 printer (Hp 7000 series and the Epson c84) is that their ink cost is in the $30's. You can look on eBay for generic/oem ink. Mind you I don't know how well the quality of the generic/oem ink is. I'm a student cutting costs and getting the best item for my $$. That's why I wont even include the Lexmark brand on this section. The cool thing about Epson & Canon is that the ink vessels are separated into diff colors. So if you run out of magenta you dont have to throw away the 3 color ink cartrige, just the magenta. The kewl and most surprising thing about this printer is that the Canon's ink can be bought in the $20's on many websites and $15-19 on eBay. That's for the set of 5 colors. Furthermore, they have 2 black tanks. One for text and the other black for pictures and graphics. This is something no other printer offers. Also, the print heads are not on the ink cartriges, nor built into the printer. This is something that makes cartriges cost a lot less. The good thing about the print heads not being built into the machine is that they can be replaced without replacing the whole printer. The fact that the heads and the ink colors come separate will cut costs in the long run.
4. Overall
Canon won because it has cheap cartriges and its superb quality and history. I've been happy with my Canon i860 and Canon N1240U scanner. I don't need a lil Card Screen to look at the photos I took. If you are a perfectionist, you will edit the photos taken in your digicam. There are always little adjustments that can be made to a photo. Overall, screw znet's opinion. I've tested and researched online as well as on the store. I've wasted the testers ink and checked the results. It costs less in the long run than all of the printers; Hp, LEXMARK, & Epson. Better printing technology than most, even HP. PLus this printer has a Quiet feature in which you hardly hear the printer work;however, it will shake like hell. Or you can leave it to make the normal paper feeder noise.
5. Drawbacks
Color printing on a normal paper will get a warped printing. The ink actually drains the paper. So if you print a lot of graphs, print as draft. The printing quality on draft is just as perfect as most normal printing setting. That or use quality paper. That's really the only thing I noticed that did cause a minor problem. However, it can be fix in the preference tabs and the settings. This is the minor draw back.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 149.99 Tax
Operating System: Windows
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Epinions.com ID:
robfactory
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Reviews written: 26
Trusted by: 0 members
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