Time to be done with Epson

[stratman]

As I said a few posts ago I am going to try to dial up the performance of the Canon via the supporting software.

What are these supporting software you think will help you "dial up the performance". Unless things are significantly different, no Canon software has improved my images beyond a couple basics effects. There are third party apps for enhancing images.

If in fact the Canon can produce the same sort of color performance that the Epson does

Images printed on Canon printers may look quite different than on Epson printers and vice versa. One paper works well with Canon inks and not with Epson inks. Profiling your printer, paper, inks, and monitor can help with continuity of performance.

I would expect that the higher quality settings also mean a reduction in speed

You are correct. No free lunch.

it will be easier for a guy like me to use remanufactured tanks and aftermarket ink

Remove from your thoughts about using aftermarket or "remanufactured" carts. The former may lead to catastrophic ink leaks and/or print head failures, while the latter is not something I am aware of being offered. Instead, do you mean "refurbished" such as buying a used empty OEM Canon ink cartridge from Precision Colors: http://www.precisioncolors.com/c6c2cart.html?

(The above link is for refilling products for the MG8220)

 

[turbguy]

Droplet size is most important.

Not necessarily. At first glance it may appear to be so. Here's why. Though the 8220 has droplet sizes as low as 1pl, it would at first appear that at those droplet sizes it would make for perfectly smooth gradations. The Pro-100 has droplet sizes much larger. Yet, if one inspects output carefully, one can pick up grain on the output of the 8220, yet the Pro-100 is grain free at the same magnification. The real answer as to why the smaller doplets are used might be difficult to understand and is largely unknown really. Same for the Epson as well. The Pro Line of printers use larger droplet sizes as compared to the desktop line. Yet output quality is superior.

Nozzle count has a huge impact on print speed and it should as there is no magic in covering the page with ink. So it stands to reason that more nozzles always means more speed...unless the cell matrix increases. And that is where the unknown of what the printer does ends up. How are the cells of each droplet matrix really addressed by the printer? Like so many things with specifications, they can sometimes raise more questions than are answered. A consumer goes in to purchase an automobile and gets the spec of a motor/engine. Like peak torque in an engine.....meaningless spec in real use...the complete torque curve is more telling. Unfortunately most consumers will gobble up the single number and come to a faulty conclusion......just as marketing intended.

Your gonna have to define "cell matrix" for me...seems to apply to 3D printers, but...

What's the "cell"?

What's the "matrix"?

And it's easy to get rid of granularity via smearing/ink spreading. I believe the best way to make a comparison is to print a test chart for resolution.

 

[stratman]

What's the "matrix"?

Oh no you didn't!

Depends whether you take the red pill or the blue pill.

Too good to pass up, turbguy.

 

[Emulator]

Creepy! Is this a documentary? Does The Hat feature?

 

[The Hat]

It’s the Matrix man… You can’t hide behind the Hat ! !
@stratman knows all..

 

[mikling]

Take a look at the maximum resolution stated by the printer. Then take a look at the native resolution that the printer prints at. Divide it through. Then you see a matrix cell.

 

[turbguy]

Take a look at the maximum resolution stated by the printer. Then take a look at the native resolution that the printer prints at. Divide it through. Then you see a matrix cell.

Thanx, but can you give me an example, as I still don't grasp the concept. Sounds like you would come up with a dimensionless number...

I realize that all our printers, screens, and TV's are dot-matrix devices of some sort (unless there's the rare Vector device out there).

 

[jnug]

In response to some of the earlier questions regarding enhancing the color performance of the 8220, I don't have much experience with this printer as yet. But in looking through the documentation there appears to be options to change color balance, brightness and contrast and a number of other color variables using either "Easy PhotoPrint Ex" or "Easy PhotoPrint Pro". Pro appears to be mated to Adobe in its efforts to improve color performance while Ex appears to be stand alone with Pro providing more variables than EX. There also appears to be some sort of a software slider that is even available in the printer driver according to the manual. I am going to have to check into all of these before even developing the beginnings of an opinion regarding how they actually impact the output. In any event there appears the means to change a whole host of color settings and while change and improve are not interchangeable terms of use, I would not bother to change settings without intending to make some sort of improvement. Not worth the effort otherwise.

As for the tanks, remanufactured and refurbished seem to be used interchangeably by ink and tank suppliers. I guess it would be easier to understand a difference if remanufactured always referred to OEM used tanks that were supplied with ink already in the tanks and refurbished always referred to OEM tanks that were simply cleaned out drilled out and supplied with the associated accessories, caps and seals and resetters etc. But that does not appear to be the case. The only true distinction I find is between OE tanks that the vender processes in some sense and tanks that are simply used tanks that have not been processed at all. These unprocessed tanks maybe would be most useful for those that are willing to purge them (clean them out), drill them either for bottom filling or top filling and then buy the needed seals, caps etc for the holes they have drilled into the OE tanks that they purchased intending to refill them and reset the chips on an ongoing basis. I would be willing to bet that most OE used tanks processed and sold in NA are processed for top filling and that most OE used tanks processed and sold in Europe are drilled for bottom filling. But I have nothing to back that up other than the apparent popularity of bottom filling in Europe. Seems to be getting popular in NA as well but European users seem to have come upon that method earlier and have adopted it more broadly.

It would appear at first blush that learning how to use the squeeze bottle cap accessories for refilling with ink makes a good bit of sense whether bottom or top filling. However from what I can see, care must be taken to keep air out of the process with that being the one drawback of using the squeeze bottle accessories. Everything else again at first blush appears to suggest that using the squeeze bottle accessories has a distinct advantage over using syringes and needles all be it with the understanding that there will always be uses for syringes and separate needles when refilling on an ongoing basis.

 

[mikling]

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/suppo...n/pixma_mg_series/pixma_mg8220#Specifications

Take a look at footnote 3. up to 9600 dpi. But the highest native resolution is .....600 dpi....what gives. there are groups of dots that form the 600dpi or 300 dpi.

Now take a read here to get a grip on what native resolution is about.

http://www.digitalphotopro.com/technique/workflow/the-right-resolution.html#.U_tl_WMl8bY

 

[PeterBJ]

You can also adjust the colour balance and saturation from within the Canon printer driver. See this thread, and I think your printer also has this nice feature.

Normally remanufactured or refurbished means that an OEM cartridge has been professionally cleaned and refilled and tested. This is a more involved process than simple refilling. It is not allowed to advertise this type of cartridge as OEM. That is reserved for new cartridges produced by the printer manufacturer and filled for the first and only time by the printer manufacturer.

Cartridges not made by the printer manufacturer do also exist. These are normally called third party, after market or compatible cartridges. They can be refillable or made for single use. These are not OEM cartridges.

Empty OEM cartridges can be sold as OEM as they have not been altered and contain no third party ink. You can buy empty OEM cartridges from Precisioncolors and Octoinkjet UK. You might also find them at Ebay and Amazon.

Normally empty OEM cartridges are sold "as is" and not processed in any way. The exception is the windowed PGI-x20/CLI-x21 cartridges from Precisioncolors, that have been cleaned and prepared for topfilling and have the PGI-225/CLI-226 chips attached, so they are ready for use as replacements for the opaque PGI-225/CLI-226 cartridges.

I guess that you by "bottom fill" mean the "German" or "Durchstich" refill method. Apart from possibly needed cleaning preparation for refill only involves piercing a refill hole using an awl, which is much better than drilling. So I don't think cartridges processed for German refill are sold in North America or Europe.

The topfill and the the German refill method are the most popular, but I don't think the Americans prefer the topfill and the Europeans prefer the German method. I think it is around fifty-fifty on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.