Epson Stylus Photo R340 (printer, color, ink-jet)

Summary: first off I Sale photos... im a full time photographer...part time computer repair guy... i work for a manhamdale photos and they use digital cameras and inkjet printers they use a very high end epson r2400... in my spare time i like to take pictures and sale them ive owned many epsons in the past.... but i found on older epson printers the heads were problematic and need head cleanings way to often.....so when i was looking for a new photo printer around $200 i was considering the HP 8250...The canon ip6600d ...and the epson r340.... i was leaning twords the 8250 but my cousin bought it before i did.... after several printed photos on his printer ... i found that the only reason to buy an hp is because they are economical with the ink and paper pack at $35 ... but they are not waterproof what so ever i could seriously lick my finger and take the ink right off the paper... the printer boasts 14 second speeds on 4x6 prints but the only way his photos look half decent in on advanced paper in best mode settings which take 10 times longer then that... and they stil are not waterproof or fade proff... and hp is currently tied with lexmark at the DPI of 4800x1200 which is lowest on the market.... since i had issues with old epsons i decided to buy the canon ip6600d.. now it had some cool features like double sided printing and the sketch of the photo... but they still use dye ink .... the problem with canon and hp is that they use dye ink... now if you dont sale photos might not be a problem... but dye is not fade proof!!!!!! no matter if canon says it is they rate up to 105 years what a joke... i took a photo from on glossy 4x6 canon paper form the ip6600d and a photo from hp 8250 on its advanced paper they both claim long life but the true test is to put a photo in direct sunlight a see if it fades... if it fade this means the photo probably wont last even 10 years... and if you deleted those digital photos that means memories gone... after a few weeks the canon photo faded!!... and the hp not only faded but turned blue lol....... Epson uses pigmented ink which unlike dye in is a small caplet that is protects itself from fading ... is waterproof ... and is just plain brighter... if you go to wilhem universities website they did a study on pigmented ink vs dye ink... study showed that pigmented ink could not fade!!!... is waterproof... very fast drying... and is more vibrant then any type of dye ink.... i was a little depressed to find out that canon's new print head the one that boast 9800x2800 DPI had nozzles to small it to ever use pigmented ink... the only a canon can use pigmented without using epsons Piezo technology is by printing at 4800x1200 dpi which canon wont do because the DPI of thier new printer is the thier edge.... i also studied and found even though Epson is at 5760x1440 DPI they still can produce a better photo with pigmented ink because pigmented ink droplets are much rounder and smoother then dye ink droplets.... Then the ip6600d's head clogged and i had to call canon and find out that i should take my print head and run it under water lol... well this made me want to try a new epson... i sold the Ip6600d on ebay and bought the epson r340.... the R340 comparing the r340's photos to the canon's i have i found the epson to be tied in detail and excell in very saturated photos and really excell on b&w... the b&w matte photos done on the ip6600d couldnt even compare to the EPSON's ... and the direct cd/dvd printing is very cool and i use it all the time... i found on the ip6600d that you could covert it to do cd's but you have to buy a $120 mechanical tray and reset the complicated software... if you care the life of your photos or if you sale your photos you have to purchase epson because they are the only prints that will last!!!!....the only thing i found with the epson is that its slower then the canon the canon printed a 4x6 photo in best mode at around 50 seconds.. the r340 takes about a minute and half... but its worth it.. and so far knock on wood not a single head cleaning has been needed!!!!!!