Canon - imagePROGRAF PRO-2600

Do you have space for the 2600? I have an older version, and it's *huge*, takes up half my studio. It's been well worth the investment, but the desktop versions are more convenient for most people. And around $2000 cheaper if purchasing new. The 9000 is dye ink, so not really a 1-to-1 equivalent (and I think it's been discontinued). But the 17" PRO 1100 is a really fantastic option. If my current printer died and I was shopping right now, it's the one I would go with. Still big by home printer standards, but not the size of an upright piano. Ink and good paper are expensive, but buying them isn't any more painful than paying for archival prints was. Where I personally save tons of money is from not having any unsold inventory. That along with not having to store hundreds of prints have been the biggest benefits of owning a printer. (It feels a bit weird to not recommend the 24" one considering how much I love it, but I do have to admit I look at it frequently and think "this thing is very impractical...")

If you’re printing on standard size paper get the epson 900 or canon pro 1100. They have a sheet feeding tray and this makes it very easy and convenient. You buy cut sheets and not have to worry about trimming paper to size or decurling. The pro 2600 is designed for roll paper and it will be a hassle doing small prints on it. If you need larger prints than 17” wide then the 2600 is the only option. Many people get both a smaller and larger printer for this reason

The PRO 2600 standard cartridges are 160ml, but can also use 330ml and 700ml cartridges. The cost per ml drops dramatically as the cartridge size increases, but of course with a much higher initial outlay. The smaller printers use smaller cartridges, at a higher cost per ml and without the possibility of larger capacities.

Indeed, I missed the casual use bit, I use one professionally with hahnemuhle archival Paper its superb and i suck up the cost of the odd auto cleaning cycles

I had a similar canon. Just make sure you print regularly. The print heads dry out fairly fast if you don’t. I sold mine cause replacing the heads got really annoying.

Canon imagePROGRAF or Epson Sure Color photo printers are the best you can get for home use. They are expensive but will be noticeably better than any normal 4-5 color printer.