Epson Photo 870 or HP 970c?

[whateveryasay]

I've narrowed my printer selection down to the Epson Photo 870 or the HP 970c. As far as I can tell, these seem to be the top of the line from each manufacturer. Has anybody had experience with both these printers and can point the finger in any particular direction?

 

[Wingznut]

"I've narrowed my printer selection down to the Epson Photo 870 or the HP 970c."

Me too... *bump*

 

[AMB]

I would go with the Epson, that is my personal preferance over the years

 

[Wingznut]

C'mon... how about a couple more opinions.

*bump*

(btw AMB, I lean toward Epson too... simply because of my past experience with their products)

 

[Sunner]

I wouldnt go HP simply cause I HATE their petty excuse for driver support.
Still no "real" Win2K drivers for lots of their products.

Once I used to think HP was IT for printers, I have since changed my mind greatly.

 

[Dug]

Epson Photo 870. Unbelievable photo output.

 

[Quickfingerz]

Ummm... how about a Epson 880 (2880x720 DPI) VS a HP 932C (2400x600 DPI)

Ehhh... then again, these aren't PHOTO versions.

 

[JellyBaby]

Quickfingerz,

I'm not exactly sure what "photo version" means but my 932C using premium photo paper and the bundled software produces amazing photo outputs, 1 pic per page, 2 per page, 4 etc.

 

[Caliber]

Epson produces photos that last longer, and generaly the prints are more vivid and "alive"

 

[Schola]

I personally own the Epson Photo Stylus 870 and my mother owns the HP Deskjet 970 and I would have to say that the Epson is better for printing pictures and things like that. However the HP has better text ouput and seems to be a little faster. But thats all subjective, your best bet is to find someone with either one and compare them.

Schola

 

[PCAddict]

Both printers are good choices. But, there are some things to look at. Don't buy an Epson if you want to print on glossy photo paper and have the prints last a long time. It was recently discovered that the blue ink will turn a yellowish orange over time due to some chemical reaction with the glossy paper. It's not an issue on other types of paper.

Also, I prefer HP because you get a new printhead with every cartridge. With Epsons, the printhead is built-in. If there is a printhead problem, worst case with an HP is that you spring for a new cartridge. With Epson, it's a major repair. If the printer is still in warranty, no big deal. They will replace it. But, if it's after a year and the warranty is over, you gotta pay for it. In that case, it's probably better to just buy a new printer.

 

[Soccerman]

"Don't buy an Epson if you want to print on glossy photo paper and have the prints last a long time."

really? didn't know that..

I'd have to say that BOTH are excellent choices. one has small advantages over the other in different ways.

as long as you print fairly often, you won't have any problems with the Epson.. The main cause for Epson problems is that the owner doesn't know the quirks of this printer, and therefor doesn't maintain it properly.

with Hp, you have to be careful (still) with touching the paper after a print. it will smear. Epson won't.

I once downloaded a picture (of the Star Ship Enterprise NCC-1701A), that was in JPG format. I printed it using Glossy photo paper, and I have to tell you, it looks absolutely amazing.. the only problem with it, is that because it was JPG, the artifacts were VERY EASY TO SEE. I never saw them with as much clarity before I did that print.

 

[freeflap]

Both have their +/-'s .
I've owned two prior epsons and now have the HP 970.
My prior 750 photo epson was great, but suffered the common problem all Epsons have: deteriorating output over time. Since the print head isn't replaced, it will get clogged and decrease the quality of your output with time. Further, you'll find the head self cleaning more and more and thus waste ink.


My HP is a great printer. The photo quality is terrific and superior to my prior Epson 750. Perhaps it's not as great as the new 870 series, but I was willing to trade ~2-5% or so less photo quality and get consistence reliability and a fresh printhead with each cartridge. The HP's consistency and convenience were worth the trade offs. Further, the two sided printing is a great feature. I print photo greeting cards and such and the two sided option really is a plus.

In summary,

get the epson if absolute photo quality is your goal and you don't mind the increase in user maintenance required or the loss in b/w text quality. Also if you print frequently and don't let the printhead dry you're even better off.

get the HP if consistently high quality is important to you and you will use it not only for photos but b/w text. Also the HP is better if you're only an occasional photo printer and the printhead drying won't be an issue.



IMHO

 

[*kjm]

whateveryasay

One of the best photo printers out is the Canon BJC 8200. I got it and it is great. BestBuy has a book of printouts from the printer and you can see they are great. It has 6 colors and they are all separate. I have found them online for $6.95 and the photo paper is $9.95 for 15 sheets. Read some more input from here.

link
Link2
Link3

 

[gplracer]

My dad has the epson and i have the hp 930. He does not like the text output of the epson at all. Also the detioriating print quality may be attributed the the fact that the print heads get worn overv time on the epson. This requires service. Teh HP has the print heads on the cartridge so you get a new print head each time you get a new cartridge. Go to this site for lots of infor and lots of photo people in the forum that have tried everything.
Digital Preview

 

[randomlinh]

what exactly are you aiming for? Photo, i'd say epson (altho, that glossy paper thing is new to me, may want to look into that).

Text, I'd say HP, as well as HP's being quieter, and they don't go thru the annoying printhead cleaning.

 

[*kjm]

One last thing for whateveryasay......
You have not responded to the posts but I have this to say. I was so impressed by the Cannon 8200 that I took a printout to BestBuy to help them sell more. They had no printouts and had no idea how good the printer was. Now that is a 20-mile trip for me to spread the word!

 

[Billybuck]

Buy the HP. I have found that Epson printer are nice for about 6 months and then the seem to go downhill. Also, their technical support and customer suck. HP's tech support is great and they answer quickly. The 932 has PhotoRet III so you won't see banding when printing in NORMAL mode. In PHOTO mode, the images are breathtaking! Also, it is much easier finding cartridges for the HP. And the HP doesn't suck as much ink. One benefit of the Epson is that their ink technology give you longer lasting image life. But HP is the one to buy.

 

[Tikerz]

HP for me

 

[Susan]

HP is just coming out with new printers. So far I've seen the output of the 990 and the Photosmart 1215. Although they use the same print engine, the 1215 does a better job.

The output of the 1215 is fantastic. If I were you, whateveryasay, I would check it out before buying.

 

[PCAddict]

Epson color fading issue

The above link references the story that explains what the deal is regarding the Epson ink fading over time.

 

[Doggiedog]

FYI: I've noticed that when printing out pictures using Photoshop 6.0 I would get a lot of aliasing and jagged lines in my pictures.

My Visioneer scanner software and Microsoft Photodraw printer drivers do an excellent job of printing out pictures.

 

[Larvae]

epson is cheaper. hp print quality is much nicer due to better ink. however hp printers arent very durable.overall i much prefer hp