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All three printers use a USB 2 port as standard. The Epson also has a Firewire port, this doesn't mean the printer is going to produce a faster print, but it does mean you can daisy chain several Firewire devices to the one port. Unfortunately the R2400 printer would have to be the last unit in the chain as the printer only has one port.. Firewire cables are generally more expensive than USB cables.
The HP also has a USB port and it also has an Ethernet port, so this printer can be used on a network, this makes the HP a good choice for a photographer/ designer who needs to share with other users.
The Canon only has USB, but there is a PictBridge port on the front. I am puzzled as to why Canon have included this on an A3+ pigment ink printer, I can't imagine anyone wanting to print directly from a digital camera onto expensive media and inks.
The HP printer uses a three pin mains cable, whereas the Epson and Canon use a two pin cable.
Connectivity
Head alignment
All the printers do an automatic Head alignment when installed. Both the Epson and HP printers require Photo quality media, whereas the Canon is quite happy to use plain paper. I have just performed a head alignment on all three printers and the times are as follows.
1 min 31 sec |
1 sheet |
9 min 15 sec |
5 min 55 sec |
The Epson printer required one sheet of Photo Quality paper and produced a very minimalist looking chart. I guess that the technical department must be more than happy that this contains sufficient information for a head alignment The HP required 3 sheets off HP Advanced Glossy media and was the slowest printer to perform the head alignment. However, it seemed to do a very comprehensive looking test. The Canon uses plain paper, which makes this the most economical printer in our head alignment test. You have the option for an Automatic or Manual alignment, I have used the default Automatic setting.
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Epson Head Alignment |
Canon Head Alignment |
Canon Head Alignment 2 |
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HP Head Alignment 1 |
HP Head Alignment 2 |
HP Head Alignment 3 |
Head alignment
Running total
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