Is 6 ink better or 2 ink? epson vs hp

boons4 · 21st December 2004

Hi I am thinking to buy a printer. Currently using epson c63, $120 only yet the quality i quite satisfied already. However review says that epson r210 much better and 6 ink like more pro. I wanted to buy until i saw hp psc 1350. As it has scanner function it is also quite good but the downside is it is 2 ink catride only.
Q : Is 6 ink much much better than 2 ink?
- between Epson r210 and hp psc 1350 which one is better in terms of pic quality if u happen to try before?

- Is psc 1350 prinout much better than c63 if u happen to try??

- last impt question - will hp psc 1350 ink take ages to dry as this is what happen to my sis hp printer.. took few hrs to dry and epson c63, siok - straight away dry when out!

I am a newbie here.. Thanks for your help folks

boons4 · 22nd December 2004

Sigh.. nobody reply. Maybe no one used such models hee hee hee.
especially my epson c63. Looks like i have to make my own decision by today .....
Last nite when i ask the salesman he says
hp 1350 prinout jus make it only while epson r210 ok ok.....
not sure what he mean.
Any way thanks to all for seeing this thread.

megaweb · 22nd December 2004

cannot comment on epson c63 & hp psc 1350 as I never use them b4. recently got epson r210 and I like it very much

- super quality
- quiet
- can print CD
- cheap ($200++)

chaotic · 22nd December 2004

yup i think the r210 is unbeatable for that price point. the only draw back is the full set of ink will cost you $100+

yaoxing · 22nd December 2004

Originally Posted by chaotic

yup i think the r210 is unbeatable for that price point. the only draw back is the full set of ink will cost you $100+

Canon's full set of 6 colours cost 6 x $15.90 = $95.40.

Epson's full set of 6 colours cost 6 x $18.30 = $109.80

$15 difference for longer-lasting prints, and perhaps more prints as well. Anyone who the printing capacities of the two sets of cartridges can confirm?

yaoxing · 22nd December 2004

Originally Posted by boons4

Sigh.. nobody reply. Maybe no one used such models hee hee hee.
especially my epson c63. Looks like i have to make my own decision by today .....
Last nite when i ask the salesman he says
hp 1350 prinout jus make it only while epson r210 ok ok.....
not sure what he mean.
Any way thanks to all for seeing this thread.

Salesman? Most of them know nothing except the profit margin and the commision they'll earn for each printer I suppose. One has to believe in what they are selling. How many of them actually witnessed every printer they are selling churning out the prints to make comments about those printers?

If I were to buy a desktop A4 printer now, I would go to Epson Stylus Photo R210. Great quality and really quiet. Epson printers cost more in Singapore than in US, but the consumables cost more in US than in Singapore.

boons4 · 23rd December 2004

Really thanks so much for all the advice..
i read alot and many of my other friends all say epson r210 good..
looks like i really need to get that
however what hold me back is the possibity of using a scanner.
nontheless i shall shop this weekend and decide

my current epson c63 already very good.. only that it drinks ink abit
cost $100 yet got that quality.. thats y i trust that r210 sure lagi good one

kcsum · 23rd December 2004

I have a Espon C830 and did some research on the canon iP3000 as well. I think printing quality of both printers is very good. But having using espon printer, I found out that Espon's ink level reading detection is not very reliable. On the other hand, canon's way of detecting the ink level is very accurate. In addition, canon also have individual ink tank. The following are quoted from canon website :

Optical Ink-level Detectors :
The optical system monitors the amount of ink remaining by measuring the light reflected from the prisms in each tank.

http://www.canon.com.sg/index.cfm?fu...prod_type=cost

Do consider the cost of replacing ink cart. I am considering changing to the Canon iP4000 actually.

yaoxing · 23rd December 2004

Originally Posted by kcsum

I have a Espon C830 and did some research on the canon iP3000 as well. I think printing quality of both printers is very good. But having using espon printer, I found out that Espon's ink level reading detection is not very reliable. On the other hand, canon's way of detecting the ink level is very accurate. In addition, canon also have individual ink tank. The following are quoted from canon website :

Optical Ink-level Detectors :
The optical system monitors the amount of ink remaining by measuring the light reflected from the prisms in each tank.

http://www.canon.com.sg/index.cfm?fu...prod_type=cost

Do consider the cost of replacing ink cart. I am considering changing to the Canon iP4000 actually.

Do bear in mind you're comparing an older Epson series with a newer Canon series.

But I also wonder how the R210 check its ink level. Is it still the same old method?

imaginary_number · 24th December 2004

Originally Posted by yaoxing

Canon's full set of 6 colours cost 6 x $15.90 = $95.40.

Epson's full set of 6 colours cost 6 x $18.30 = $109.80

$15 difference for longer-lasting prints, and perhaps more prints as well. Anyone who the printing capacities of the two sets of cartridges can confirm?

Longer lasting prints from the Epson R210? From what I know, the R210 is using dye-based inks, like the Canon printers. I was at Epson square testing out the R310 and from the way I was told, the prints from it are just as susceptible. Epson's reputation for long lasting prints comes from their pigment-based printers.

jjch_sg · 24th December 2004

I have HP 1350 (using black and color cartridge, not using the photo cartridge) and Epson R310 (R210 uses the same print engine). Both can print good photo picture. In normal viewing distance, both has acceptable quality of print. But when you looking at the photo very closely (for me, I took off my glasses and view it within a few inches), the HP 1350 has bigger dots, especially noticeable in lightly coloured area. The Epson is very very fine with no noticeable dots. However, the Epson has slightly more banding than HP (I think HP use a more diffused approach in dithering). In terms of colour range, the Epson seems to have richer colour ranges but this may due to the difference of 6 inks vs 4 inks. I do not have the photo cartridge for HP and if HP uses 6 inks, the situation may be different.

Snowcrash · 24th December 2004

Originally Posted by jjch_sg

I have HP 1350 (using black and color cartridge, not using the photo cartridge) and Epson R310 (R210 uses the same print engine). Both can print good photo picture. In normal viewing distance, both has acceptable quality of print. But when you looking at the photo very closely (for me, I took off my glasses and view it within a few inches), the HP 1350 has bigger dots, especially noticeable in lightly coloured area. The Epson is very very fine with no noticeable dots. However, the Epson has slightly more banding than HP (I think HP use a more diffused approach in dithering). In terms of colour range, the Epson seems to have richer colour ranges but this may due to the difference of 6 inks vs 4 inks. I do not have the photo cartridge for HP and if HP uses 6 inks, the situation may be different.

keep both prints at the same condition and compare 3 or 6 months down the road. Do the colour fade

Mine canon s800 print on matte paper last longer than canon photo pro glossy..

Alpc · 24th December 2004

Originally Posted by yaoxing

Canon's full set of 6 colours cost 6 x $15.90 = $95.40.

Epson's full set of 6 colours cost 6 x $18.30 = $109.80

$15 difference for longer-lasting prints, and perhaps more prints as well. Anyone who the printing capacities of the two sets of cartridges can confirm?

But I think Canon's cartridges are smaller than the rest of the competition.....

yaoxing · 24th December 2004

You may be right. I suspect so too. Go around look for 3rd party cartridges that tell you the volume of ink in them, and 3rd party Canon BCI-6 series has 14.5 ml in each, while 3rd party Epson cartridges for R-series printers have 16 ml each. While they do not present the original cartridges volumes, it gives some idea how much each design can potentially contain.

But then again, the actual volume used to print a photo from each printer may not be the same. Canon's cartridges MIGHT contain less, but they might also use less ink in each photo. That no one knows for sure, unless a test is done. To see how many identical pages each set of cartridges can churn out.

imaginary_number, sorry for the mix-up. I kept thinking about ultrachrome when I talk about photo printers. Guess I'll have to buy a 2100 soon... hehehehe.....

Watcher · 24th December 2004

Originally Posted by yaoxing

You may be right. I suspect so too. Go around look for 3rd party cartridges that tell you the volume of ink in them, and 3rd party Canon BCI-6 series has 14.5 ml in each, while 3rd party Epson cartridges for R-series printers have 16 ml each. While they do not present the original cartridges volumes, it gives some idea how much each design can potentially contain.

But then again, the actual volume used to print a photo from each printer may not be the same. Canon's cartridges MIGHT contain less, but they might also use less ink in each photo. That no one knows for sure, unless a test is done. To see how many identical pages each set of cartridges can churn out.

Or even better, the alleged cost per page

Some magazine (was it PC Mag

) did a review on this. It showed that Epson was marginally more expensive (like 5% or something like that). However, IIRC, it was more than 1 year ago, which may not be relevant.

Ink-Specialist · 28th December 2004

Originally Posted by yaoxing

You may be right. I suspect so too. Go around look for 3rd party cartridges that tell you the volume of ink in them, and 3rd party Canon BCI-6 series has 14.5 ml in each, while 3rd party Epson cartridges for R-series printers have 16 ml each. While they do not present the original cartridges volumes, it gives some idea how much each design can potentially contain.

But then again, the actual volume used to print a photo from each printer may not be the same. Canon's cartridges MIGHT contain less, but they might also use less ink in each photo. That no one knows for sure, unless a test is done. To see how many identical pages each set of cartridges can churn out.

imaginary_number, sorry for the mix-up. I kept thinking about ultrachrome when I talk about photo printers. Guess I'll have to buy a 2100 soon... hehehehe.....

canon 3e & 6e cartidges volume of ink is about 10ml as same as epson r210,r3ten & rx5ten.

tunster · 28th December 2004

Go for Epson if you want superb quality. Its print out is comparable to lab prints. The ink is water proof and I'm sure Canon Pixma has way to go before reaching the quality of Epson's print. Though, the printing speed of Epson is VERY SLOW. Don't rely on it if you want to do mass printing.

Neo · 29th December 2004

Hi Tunster,

I don't know where you got the impression that "Canon Pixma has way to go before reaching the quality of Epson's print". I can assure you (as many of the users here can also testify) that Canon's print quality can easily match the best of Epson's.

yaoxing · 29th December 2004

Canon can match, why not? I agree that Canon does produce fantastic prints that "blow people away", but quality is subjective, and so different people prefer different kind of printouts. I don't quite like Canon's printouts because they tend to be warm and oversaturated. The colours look very vibrant but appear unrealistic to me. The photos printed from Epson printers are neutral and accurate in colour from what I see. It may not be very beautiful but I like the natural colours.

mscommerce · 29th December 2004

H/P has the following in its favor.

1. Prints are very long lasting (ink-jet). Over 70 years with H/P Premium Glossy.

2. After sales service in SIngapore is superb. My H/P printer had a problem 6 months after purchase. I called them, and they had a guy come over the same day, and gave me a new one, no questions asked!

3. Epson and Canon were ahead of H/P a few years ago. Epson in particular is riding on its reputation at the low end of the market, though still superb at the higher end.

21st December 2004	#1
boons4 New Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 8	Is 6 ink better or 2 ink? epson vs hp Hi I am thinking to buy a printer. Currently using epson c63, $120 only yet the quality i quite satisfied already. However review says that epson r210 much better and 6 ink like more pro. I wanted to buy until i saw hp psc 1350. As it has scanner function it is also quite good but the downside is it is 2 ink catride only. Q : Is 6 ink much much better than 2 ink? - between Epson r210 and hp psc 1350 which one is better in terms of pic quality if u happen to try before? - Is psc 1350 prinout much better than c63 if u happen to try?? - last impt question - will hp psc 1350 ink take ages to dry as this is what happen to my sis hp printer.. took few hrs to dry and epson c63, siok - straight away dry when out! I am a newbie here.. Thanks for your help folks

22nd December 2004	#3
megaweb Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: East Posts: 8,106	cannot comment on epson c63 & hp psc 1350 as I never use them b4. recently got epson r210 and I like it very much - super quality - quiet - can print CD - cheap ($200++) __________________ See my Photo Gallery at the Clubsnap \| Pbase

22nd December 2004	#4
chaotic Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 738	yup i think the r210 is unbeatable for that price point. the only draw back is the full set of ink will cost you $100+

23rd December 2004	#7
boons4 New Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 8	Really thanks so much for all the advice.. i read alot and many of my other friends all say epson r210 good.. looks like i really need to get that however what hold me back is the possibity of using a scanner. nontheless i shall shop this weekend and decide my current epson c63 already very good.. only that it drinks ink abit cost $100 yet got that quality.. thats y i trust that r210 sure lagi good one

23rd December 2004	#8
kcsum Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: East Posts: 132	I have a Espon C830 and did some research on the canon iP3000 as well. I think printing quality of both printers is very good. But having using espon printer, I found out that Espon's ink level reading detection is not very reliable. On the other hand, canon's way of detecting the ink level is very accurate. In addition, canon also have individual ink tank. The following are quoted from canon website : Optical Ink-level Detectors : The optical system monitors the amount of ink remaining by measuring the light reflected from the prisms in each tank. http://www.canon.com.sg/index.cfm?fu...prod_type=cost Do consider the cost of replacing ink cart. I am considering changing to the Canon iP4000 actually.

24th December 2004	#11
jjch_sg Deregistered Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Singapore Posts: 172	I have HP 1350 (using black and color cartridge, not using the photo cartridge) and Epson R310 (R210 uses the same print engine). Both can print good photo picture. In normal viewing distance, both has acceptable quality of print. But when you looking at the photo very closely (for me, I took off my glasses and view it within a few inches), the HP 1350 has bigger dots, especially noticeable in lightly coloured area. The Epson is very very fine with no noticeable dots. However, the Epson has slightly more banding than HP (I think HP use a more diffused approach in dithering). In terms of colour range, the Epson seems to have richer colour ranges but this may due to the difference of 6 inks vs 4 inks. I do not have the photo cartridge for HP and if HP uses 6 inks, the situation may be different.

24th December 2004	#14
yaoxing Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Bedok, Singapore Posts: 773	You may be right. I suspect so too. Go around look for 3rd party cartridges that tell you the volume of ink in them, and 3rd party Canon BCI-6 series has 14.5 ml in each, while 3rd party Epson cartridges for R-series printers have 16 ml each. While they do not present the original cartridges volumes, it gives some idea how much each design can potentially contain. But then again, the actual volume used to print a photo from each printer may not be the same. Canon's cartridges MIGHT contain less, but they might also use less ink in each photo. That no one knows for sure, unless a test is done. To see how many identical pages each set of cartridges can churn out. imaginary_number, sorry for the mix-up. I kept thinking about ultrachrome when I talk about photo printers. Guess I'll have to buy a 2100 soon... hehehehe.....

28th December 2004	#17
tunster Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 1,438	Go for Epson if you want superb quality. Its print out is comparable to lab prints. The ink is water proof and I'm sure Canon Pixma has way to go before reaching the quality of Epson's print. Though, the printing speed of Epson is VERY SLOW. Don't rely on it if you want to do mass printing.

29th December 2004	#18
Neo Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 947	Hi Tunster, I don't know where you got the impression that "Canon Pixma has way to go before reaching the quality of Epson's print". I can assure you (as many of the users here can also testify) that Canon's print quality can easily match the best of Epson's.

29th December 2004	#20
mscommerce Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Orchard Area Posts: 304	H/P has the following in its favor. 1. Prints are very long lasting (ink-jet). Over 70 years with H/P Premium Glossy. 2. After sales service in SIngapore is superb. My H/P printer had a problem 6 months after purchase. I called them, and they had a guy come over the same day, and gave me a new one, no questions asked! 3. Epson and Canon were ahead of H/P a few years ago. Epson in particular is riding on its reputation at the low end of the market, though still superb at the higher end.