Photo Printer: Canon vs Epson

I'm trying to decide whether to get an Epson Stylus Photo R380 or a Canon PIXMA iP6700D. The Canon is about $50 more but thats not a big deal to me. The Canon gets a max. 9600 x 2400dpi, while the Epson gets a max. 5760 x 1440dpi. Pretty much all the other specs are equivalent. I don't know anything about their individual build quality.

Does anyone have experience or suggestions with either of these printers? Or would you recommend a different printer? I want this printer mostly for printing photos to hang on my wall and make nice albums so I want the quality to be the best i can get without spending over $200.

 

My dad has an older Epson Stylus photo printer and I think the color reproduction on it is HORRIBLE. Very washed out, not at all true-to-life, even with photo paper and all the correct settings (and good quality images). Now, it is a few years old, so Epson's quality may have improved. Canon is a photo-centric company, so I'd probably be inclined to say they have the better photo printer. I'd google for reviews of both before I made any purchases however.

 

I have the r300, which is three models removed from the Epson you are looking at. I can't tell you the compliments I receive on the print quality from this printer. Six colors reproduce color matching to the letter. Printing on CD's is quite impressive as well. I have also owned Canon, before. At the time, most prints were dark and grainy. I am sure that they have improved their technology quite a bit. What I like best about Epson is the Micro Piezio technology, where all prints come out of the printer, already dry. I use Epson Premium Glossy Photo papers and keep strictly to Epson brand ink and when the time comes...I will purchase Epson again.


What I did when I purchased the epson, was to take the memory card out of my camera and bring it to the store. The salesperson let me print two pictures to see how they would come out, without computer. I was impressed.


Bob

 

Note, I think canon is the only one that has "refillable" cartridges. They do have the chip, but just refill and flip over a few times to refresh the chip. Unless canon changed it. I know epson can become very expensive due to their expensive ink.