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I bought this printer 2-1/2 years ago, and it has performed flawlessly since the day I unboxed it. Of course, I bought it for a specific reason: to print fine art quality, pigment ink photographs. If you are a photographer looking for a printer that that can accept a variety of papers and deliver beautiful permanent prints (up to 13x19) every single time for a reasonable price, then I can highly recommend the Pro 9500 Mk II. I have used it for numerous professional jobs and it has never let me down.
Who should NOT buy this printer?
Don't buy this if you want an everyday printer to print out email, Google maps, web pages, etc. The LUCIA inks that this printer uses are designed to produce beautiful photographs that last 100 years. It's a complete waste of money to use them for everyday trivial prints. Buy a cheap inkjet for $100 if that's what you want to do.
Don't buy this printer and attempt to feed it cheap 3rd party inks. The whole reason this printer exists is to delivery highly stable LUCIA inks to fine photography papers. Cheap inks defeat the purpose of owning this printer, and won't give the same results. The LUCIA inks for this printer run about $120 for a set. I go through several sets a year, so the expendables for this printer are not insignificant.
If you want to print 500 photos in ten minutes, please go to a photo printing service. This printer is designed to produce spectacularly beautiful high resolution fine art prints one print at a time. It takes 5-10 mins to produce a single 13x19 photo, but it's worth the wait. It's not designed for super high volume speedy printing.
Don't buy this printer if you are not willing to devote the time to master ICC color profiles and professional level photo applications such as Lightroom, Photoshop, or Aperture. Sure the 9500 can print from any photo program, but if you want to realize the highest quality fine art prints that you can produce, then you'll have to use professional tools. This means having a proper workflow, a calibrated monitor, and the willingness to learn how to get better at producing fine art prints.
Don't buy this printer if you plan to purchase cheap paper in bulk at Staples. You are wasting your time and money. Buy quality fine art papers and this printer will reward you every time. My favorite papers to use with the 9500 are:
Ilford Gold Fibre Silk one of the best all around Baryta coated papers. Absolutely beautiful
Canson Infinity Baryta another great Baryta paper
Hahnemühle fine art papers such as Museum Etching, William Turner, and Bamboo wonderful heavy matte papers
Red River Polar Pearl Metallic a stunning paper that makes photos punchier and dramatic
Ilford Premium Photo Glossy a resin coated paper that I use for high gloss photos or for printing proof sheets
-Don't buy this printer if you plan to leave it unused for six months at a time. You are just asking for a head clog. I sometimes go a month without using it, and have never had a problem, but I wouldn't push it much longer than that. If you don't need to print anything, then run a test print through every three or four weeks to keep the inks flowing and the head from clogging with dried ink. You don't want a stubborn head clog when you are under deadline.
How to get the most out of this printer.
Download and use the specific ICC color profiles for each paper for which you intend to print. Most fine art paper companies provide downloadable profiles for this printer.
Calibrate your monitor.
Work in a high gamut colorspace such as ProRGB or Adobe RGB. If you are shooting and working in sRGB, you simply won't realize the full potential of this printer.
Know how to use your photo application software specifically for printing. Look into getting pro-level software if you don't have it. These applications will allow the computer to do the color management instead of the printer, and you will get much finer control. Plus the editing capabilities of these programs will allow you to make very fine adjustments and tweaks.
By using the paper manufacturers ICC profiles, you won't be limited to the wide borders that this printer imposes on prints done with the built in profiles
Make sure you have up-to-date drivers.
Keep the printer doors closed up when you are not using it to keep the dust out.
Alway keep an spare set of inks handy so that you can replace a cartridge that runs out in the middle of a print. If you replace the ink promptly, the 9500 will continue the print without a hiccup.
If you want to print on heavyweight (or thick) papers, learn to use the front feed feature. This printer has a fantastic straight paper path for thick or heavyweight media.
If you do all of these things, I hope you will find this printer as enjoyable as I have over the last two and half years.
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