Epson (and Canon) Photo Printer Updates

Since writing about Epson’s new photo inkjet line back in April, I’ve gotten a lot of email, mostly from readers curious about the SureColor P900, the 17-inch version (and its 13-inch sibling, the P700). I’m happy to say that the first shipments of the P900 appear to be dribbling into the States. Both models were supposed to be available by early summer, but it does seem that the pandemic wreaked havoc on manufacturing and shipping channels.

All that said, I’m not sure about how full the channel actually is at the moment. I have a P900 arriving today, but it was ordered five months ago. I also know of a few other folks who’ve received P700s in the past 60 days, but Adorama and B&H have both the printers back-ordered. My advice to anyone looking for these units would be to order one from your preferred source, to get into the queue. I believe that a big part of the reason they’re back-ordered is that most arriving units are being sent right back out to folks who preordered theirs.

I’m hoping to get a first look at the P900 up on the site in the next few weeks. In the meantime, our friends at Red River Paper have a review of the SureColor P700 on their website that is well worth reading if you have any interest in this new generation of desktop-based inkjets for fine-art work.

Canon slips one in under the radar

At some point in the next month or two, I should also have a first look at Canon’s new imagePROGRAF PRO-300, a $900, 13-inch archival inkjet printer that Canon rather quietly announced in mid-July. (It is in stock at both B&H and listed as ‘coming soon’ at Adorama.)

The PRO-300 is poised to go up against Epson’s P700, and it appears well-matched, with the following basic specs:

  • A new 9-color Lucia Pro (with a gloss optimizer) inkset, with an expanded color gamut.
  • New matte black ink with a greater black density (dmax).
  • A smaller footprint than the previous generation of Canon 13-inch printers.
  • A new nozzle-recovery system designed to help prevent clogs.
  • A skew correction function.
  • Improved media handling, including “support for panorama-sized paper, and multiple feeding methods for media of varying thicknesses.”

Over the past decade, Canon has been improving their pigment-based inkjets. In many cases, we’ve recommended them as a worthy alternative to Epson’s best. We’ll be interested to see how the new model stacks up.

Canon has not yet updated its 17-inch printer from 2015, the imagePROGRAF PRO-1000. That model is looking a bit longer in the tooth now, given the release of the SureColor P900. We haven’t received any indication that a PRO-1000 successor is on hand. Canon’s 17-inch printers tend to have a different feature set than their 13-inch models, including different inksets, while Epson carries both prosumer and professional 17-inch models, so Canon might be working on a different timeline for a PRO-1000 replacement.

3 thoughts on “Epson (and Canon) Photo Printer Updates”

  1. Excellent article. I use the Canon imagePROGRAF -1000 and love it. If I had the space I would have the PROGRAF-2000. One thing that happens when you start printing a lot is that you start wanting bigger and bigger prints especially if you are doing sweeping landscapes. I print regularly and have no problems with clogging. I will be interested to see what Canon will come out with next for a 17-inch printer.

  2. Elizabeth, I’m very interested in the 1000 replacement as well. It’s five years old, and due for an upgrade.

    Regarding bigger and better, I agree completely. I went all in on 24- and 44-inch printers and never looked back. I still like the 17-inch size for basic everyday printing, though.

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