jimleicam3 Posted July 21, 2009 Share #1 Posted July 21, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have just finished a digital printing course, in which I got to use an Epson that could print 44 inches wide. Of course I have no place to put a large in printer in my house, or could afford one. Has anyone had experience with some of the smaller Epson printers? Thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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BenMacPhoto Posted July 21, 2009 Share #2 Posted July 21, 2009 Yes I have used almost every one of their printers. the 7880 is a fantastic printer which can do 24" wide prints. The 4880 is also a fantastic printer which can do 17" prints. Even their 3800 is great, due to the design of the print head. My personal favorite is the 11880, but at that price tag I would take a 7880 instead. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilfredo Posted July 21, 2009 Share #3 Posted July 21, 2009 I have a 2880 and a 2200. The 2880 is tempermental. You have to load thicker papers just right in order to avoid a paper jam but the quality of printing is excellent. You can print up to A3 and roll paper on both. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chroma project Posted July 21, 2009 Share #4 Posted July 21, 2009 3800 is my favorite, quality. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
delander † Posted July 22, 2009 Share #5 Posted July 22, 2009 I thought about this for quite some time and finally decided on the Epson 3800 I just took delivery this morning. First prints look great, it is supposed to excel at B&W but have not checked that yet. It will do A2 and is somewhat larger than the normal A3+ printers but sits quite comfortably on a separate desk in my office. The ink cartidges are 80 ml which is an advantage and it comes with a full set worth quite a bit of cash. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted July 22, 2009 Share #6 Posted July 22, 2009 Another vote for the 3800. Got it a few months ago and am very pleased with both bw (using Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Pearl) and color (using Ilford Gold Fibre Silk). The following FAQ might be useful... Epson Stylus Pro 3800 FAQ Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grober Posted July 23, 2009 Share #7 Posted July 23, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Whatever model you select, I think it is important to push ONLY genuine Epson inks through it. -g Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cirrus1 Posted July 23, 2009 Share #8 Posted July 23, 2009 Another very satisfied 3800 owner. I use it with Roy Harrington's Quadtone Rip for my black and white prints using the epson inks(program is free but a donation is requested). It allows you to do split tones or even build your own profiles. The ABW mode in the 3800 is no slouch either. Us black and white printers have lots of choices these days! Regards, John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overgaard Posted July 23, 2009 Share #9 Posted July 23, 2009 This may not be applicable, but I changed from Epson to Canon due to ink prices. I use a Canon Pixma IP4600 for inhouse A4-prints on 180 g glossy paper which cost me 0.40 $ a print why I can afford to print A4-prints to everyone I think deserve their photo. I buy paper in packs of 100 (Avery 2496) which is inexpensive compared to 10 and 25 pcs packs of Canon paper. If I print "pro" prints and larger, I know it will cost money, and then I use a facility outside that offer the paper, framing, etc that I want. But the Canon IP4600 with original ink and a glossy paper will do 90% results for 5% prices. I love that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
delander † Posted July 23, 2009 Share #10 Posted July 23, 2009 This may not be applicable, but I changed from Epson to Canon due to ink prices. I use a Canon Pixma IP4600 for inhouse A4-prints on 180 g glossy paper which cost me 0.40 $ a print why I can afford to print A4-prints to everyone I think deserve their photo. I buy paper in packs of 100 (Avery 2496) which is inexpensive compared to 10 and 25 pcs packs of Canon paper. If I print "pro" prints and larger, I know it will cost money, and then I use a facility outside that offer the paper, framing, etc that I want. But the Canon IP4600 with original ink and a glossy paper will do 90% results for 5% prices. I love that. I've done the opposite, gone from Canon to my new Epson 3800. My Canon i9950 used a massive amount of ink and great deal of it wasted with auto head cleaning at every opportunity. I was for ever buying the measly little cartridges. The new Epson has much bigger ink cartridges and hopefully I'll spend less time waiting for new cartridges arriving in the post. The other thing about Epson is that there is so much info and experience out there from the enormous number of users. Of course it helps if you like printing as I do and the control you get if you do it yourself. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Pope Posted July 23, 2009 Share #11 Posted July 23, 2009 Yet another vote for the Epson 3800. The print quality is excellent and is is very economical. The 80ml cartridges make a big difference and if you have the space and can take the hit on the initial outlay for the printer, make it very worthwhile. Being able to print up to A2 / A2+ is a boon, though the majority of our prints are A4 and A3. Cheers Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
miami91 Posted July 23, 2009 Share #12 Posted July 23, 2009 I agree with the Epson recommendations. I have the 4880, which image quality wise is equivalent to the 3800 (far as I know), but can give you even more options and economies of scale. Someone above mentioned the benefit of buying ink in 80ml size? You can buy it in 220ml cartridges for the 4880, or 110ml, and you can mix and match at will (buy larger sizes for black, smaller sizes for colors). I also really like having roll paper support, as fine art paper is cheaper to purchase this way and easier to use more efficiently. 4880 is physically larger though, which could be a consideration if space is tight. However, you get a more powerful printing engine for the increased size, which will give you faster print speeds and (likely) longer life. Jeff. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimleicam3 Posted July 24, 2009 Author Share #13 Posted July 24, 2009 With the Epson 3800, can you refill the ink on your own? It seems as though on the 4880, by buying larger volumes of ink and refilling on your own, the cost difference between the two printers goes away after the first ink refill. That is the info that I got from someone that owns the 4880. Is that so? Thanks for your comments and advice. Jim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Pope Posted July 24, 2009 Share #14 Posted July 24, 2009 No I don't think you can refill the cartridges yourself. Cheers Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
antistatic Posted July 24, 2009 Share #15 Posted July 24, 2009 I'm very happy with the 2880 for both colour and B&W. The ongoing cost of the ink is an important point to cosider. I suspect the 2880 is not the most efficient ink user. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaraldL Posted July 25, 2009 Share #16 Posted July 25, 2009 Why Epson? I have a Canon ipf 5100. Less costly then Epson, prints faster, excellent printing quality, 17 inch on roll paper, cost of ink is moderate compared to the smaller printers. A bargain for Leica (m8) users. Harald Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Pope Posted July 26, 2009 Share #17 Posted July 26, 2009 Why Epson? Harald, the simple answer from my perspective was that I wanted to use a printer that used pigment based inks rather than dye based. My first (as it happens Epson) printer used dyes and the prints faded in a very short time. I've not had any problems with colour shift or fading since I have used pigment based inks. Until relatively recently, the Canon printers used (to the best of my knowledge) dye based inks, so they were a no-no from my point of view. I settled on the 3800 because economically, it made more sense than an A3 printer from either Epson, HP or Canon owing to the much greater capacity of the ink cartridges and consequnt drop in price per ml of the ink. I was initially reluctant to go for another Epson after my 2400 gave up the ghost as the parts that had caused it to lock up were not user-replaceable. But in the end, the fact that Epson were running a promotion whereby I got a £150 rebate just for owning a dead 2400 made all the difference. So far, I haven't regretted my decision. Cheers Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
delander † Posted July 26, 2009 Share #18 Posted July 26, 2009 Why Epson? I have a Canon ipf 5100. Less costly then Epson, prints faster, excellent printing quality, 17 inch on roll paper, cost of ink is moderate compared to the smaller printers. A bargain for Leica (m8) users. Harald Surely the Canon ipf5100 with 12 pigment inks is a step up from the Epson 3800, but more expensive. I chose the 3800 for its well received B&W capabilty. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jose Posted July 26, 2009 Share #19 Posted July 26, 2009 I have the Epson 7800 with K7 Piezography inks, refilable cartdridges. If you love the BW print, the diferents K7 (Neutral, Sepia, Selenium or Special Edition) are superb. Good election! Jose. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
topoxforddoc Posted July 26, 2009 Share #20 Posted July 26, 2009 I'm very happy with the 3800. I print mostly B/W. Colour output is great too. We have two 3800s in our hospital photography department, which are flogged every day. Their colour output is excellent. Charlie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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