Am I defecting to Canon ?

[palombian]

Thank you for your un-bios opinion on both of these printers, it won’t be easy for someone to make up their mind as to which one to get because they both have their pros and cons, but at least with you post it should make it a bit easier..

Very valuable information from @Ink stained Fingers indeed.
He should start Youtube video's as Keith Cooper a few years ago

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Thanks for your positive comments , I appreciate very much publications like Keith Cooper's very detailed test reports, he is spending quite some effort in his public presence to make his reports that comprehensive as they are. But I must admit that I'm not a fan of videos and barely look to them or not at all like those by Jose R. , I didn't understand what he was talking about. I would see a benefit for a video when it shows specific steps for handling or maintenance a particular product.

 

[The Hat]

But I must admit that I'm not a fan of videos and barely look to them or not at all like those by Jose R.

I reckon we’re one of a kind..

 

[Lothman]

I reckon we’re one of a kind..

I agree you could transport the same amount of information in 10% of time, but nevertheless Rodrigo is a valuable source of information, no need to bash him.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Rodrigo is a valuable source of information, no need to bash him.

which is not intended - it's much more me having the feeling that I'm not getting much from most of those videos, but let's close the case here.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I can report another difference between the Canon TC-20 and the Epson T2100 printers. Most Epson printers print the number of pages printed together with the nozzle check, I have seen these page count prints since a very long time with lots of different Epson printers - even on the 20 y old P7600 24" unit printing the total length of roll paper used and the total ink usage up to the time of print. Some printers even split the data in B/W and color prints and blank pages. The T2100 printer is the first printer which does not print any of such data, and there is no way via some menu setting to get to such data. The usage data is hidden in the printer firmware and only accessible via maintenance software . The TC-20 lists the number of sheets fed via the sheet feeder, and shows as well the paper usage of the rollpaper and even recalculates that paper usage into A4 equivalents and prints it underneath the nozzle check print.
But once you get the Epson maintenance software (inofficially) you have access to much more internal technical/operational data like the count of cartridge changes per color - head temperature and more.

 

[lemons]

Mr Fingers - just to say I really appreciate the time you've taken to write up your experiences. It's been most useful to read. I've just ordered a T2100 and I hope you don't mind if I ask you one or two questions? I plan to use it to print various illustrations I've chosen as I have too many bare walls in my home and I want control over the pictures I hang.

I chose the T2100 because it will accept (individually) sheetfed media of any size, unlike the Canon TC-20. If it hadn't been for this limitation I almost certainly would have chosen the Canon, based on Keith Coopers review and for the refillable ink, which would have been great.

My only concern, having read this thread, and not having picked this up from my research (competent user feedback is very scarce for this printer), is the lack of black in gloss prints. It's not a deal breaker for me, as I intend to print almost entirely on matt paper as this suits the illustrations I wish to print. However, for when I want to print on gloss, I guess I could keep a refillable cartridge handy. Do you have suggestions for the specific ink to use? Also, how do you go about purging the matt ink first and is there a lot of loss?

I have no intention of paying Epson prices for ink. I will take my chances with compatibles from cartridgesave.co.uk which are about £120 / 145€ for a full high capacity set. However, I read that you mentioned AliExpress (at least for empties), but do you have any experience with ink from Aliexpress? I only mention it because I spotted a full set on there for £55 / 65€ with the brand name Xiong Cai. Now it might be very unwise to risk using these, and I've found nothing online about it, but I would bet good money that half the people with these printers in China use this same ink in their machines.

The prints are only for my own enjoyment, so if they look rubbish or fade quickly it will only be disappointing. I am of course much more concerned about the risks to the printer.

Thanks again for the info you've already provided, I hope to be able to contribute myself to this forum going forward.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Let me respond to your questions as I can answer them based on my experience with the T2100. I'm using the sheet feeder just for A4 paper to print some internet stuff as a partial replacement of a desktop printer. But the driver does not limit you just to use copy paper - The driver gives you all options and settings for roll paper and sheet paper alike. But I didn't test photo papers beyond creating some icc profiles for them - just in case I would want to print with pigment inks on sheet paper. I use the ET-8550 to print with dye inks up to A3. But I didn't do any comparative testing - handling etc - vs. the Canon TC-20 so I cannot tell you about any differences or limitations.

It's pretty much Epson standard for their 4 color printers that the driver uses the (matte) black ink for matte etc papers but not for glossy papers. And yes - I do it as well on the T2100 and an old WF-2010W to swap the cartridges - matte black vs. glossy photo black - and keep the driver paper selection on matte paper - 'Enhanced matte Paper' . The cartridges ride on the printhead carriage - there is not much ink in the black ink channels from the cartridge outlet to the nozzles - most of the ink is already washed away with the cleaning cycle the printer does after a cartridge change. You could do a test once you have both black ink cartridges - print with the matte ink on glossy paper - you'll see that you can wipe off the matte ink from the paper - but not the glossy black. I print half an A4 sheet with black and the ink swap is done - it is actually even somewhat less, so you are not loosing much of the inks from swapping. That would be different on a tank system printer so the Canon PFI-050 is used for the TC-20 prints on both paper types , and that black is a kind of compromise black. The black level is pretty good indeed both on matte or glossy papers. It is one of the possible options - Canon inks print in Epson printers without problems - but not the other way around. You can as well use the 3rd party refill cartridges and just do refill for swapping black if you need a good photo black. The good thing is here that you have an option. And I wouldn't mind to buy 3rd party cartridges via Aliexpress, I did it for one set to see if I can use them for refill but I didn't get it working very well - I use OEM cartridges at this time.

I was using a wide range of pigment inks on a previous P400 and a 24" P7600, I got as well expired Canon ink cartridges at low prices via Ebay and used Canon pigment inks this way, and as well pigment inks from China via Aliexpress. You have the typical bronzing and glodd differential issues using 3rd party ink on 3rd party papers , there are wide differences in regard to these effects so it is impossible to make a recommendation here. I just remember that the InkTec pigment photo black had a strong metallic reflection which I didn't like. I'm pretty sure that octoink has inks for you .

And as always - you most likely will need custom icc profiles for your inks on your particular papers.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Let me just add a tip to buy a waste ink box or two ahead of the time when the waste ink box reports empty, they are easily available via Aliexpress at affordable prices.