terrycioni Posted April 5, 2007 Share #1 Posted April 5, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Greetings... I decided to replace my Canon i9900 printer - and the Epson 3800 was recommend to me by a good friend who knows these things. I got it today - and I am totally impressed with how much work Epson has done with the print driver for this printer. It is very easy to use and understand and no ink swapping sillyness. I was promised that the black and white would be outstanding and it is beyond my expectations. The M8 files look good printed on the 3800. Cheers. Terry. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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Guest sirvine Posted April 6, 2007 Share #2 Posted April 6, 2007 I'm printer shopping, so this is good to hear. Does the 3800 require swapping out the photo black for matte black and vice versa? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmb_ Posted April 6, 2007 Share #3 Posted April 6, 2007 Yes, you have to swap inks but you do not have to replace the cartridges. Both black cartridges are installed into the printer at the same time. Depending on the media you select, the printer will switch inks if necessary. It does consume some ink but not very much. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrycioni Posted April 6, 2007 Author Share #4 Posted April 6, 2007 I'm printer shopping, so this is good to hear. Does the 3800 require swapping out the photo black for matte black and vice versa? Auto sharing - auto swapping... which is really nice not to have to worry about. T. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill vann Posted April 6, 2007 Share #5 Posted April 6, 2007 after 3 epsons, each with the promise of no more clogged nozzles each clogged with insane repair prices i threw in the towel and have a DJ 130 which i'll replace with a pigment next year and a 9180 that makes spectacular prints. btw each has user replaceable heads even though neither have clogged, the 130 is 16 months old and the 9180 only a month, but no epson has lasted a month without clogging. at $50-100 to unclear it was an exercise in stupidity even when i could clear them all of which died anyway. fwiw you could not give me an epson anymore. maybe in a few years after they change their head technology but not now. i know how many folks use them but not me. the HPs make incredible prints both color and B&W (better than a 2200 with dedicated B&W inks as well bill vann Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sirvine Posted April 6, 2007 Share #6 Posted April 6, 2007 Bill, I can relate--I'm replacing a 1280. I hate it. The heads need cleaning every single time I use it, at least once. Now you're adding HP to the mix, which is good and makes my decision harder, too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chetccox Posted April 6, 2007 Share #7 Posted April 6, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) after 3 epsons, each with the promise of no more clogged nozzles each clogged with insane repair prices i threw in the towel and have a DJ 130 which i'll replace with a pigment next year and a 9180 that makes spectacular prints. btw each has user replaceable heads even though neither have clogged, the 130 is 16 months old and the 9180 only a month, but no epson has lasted a month without clogging. at $50-100 to unclear it was an exercise in stupidity even when i could clear them all of which died anyway. fwiw you could not give me an epson anymore. maybe in a few years after they change their head technology but not now. i know how many folks use them but not me. the HPs make incredible prints both color and B&W (better than a 2200 with dedicated B&W inks as well bill vann Bill- I have the Hp B9180 as well, and have had it for about 7 months. It makes beautiful prints as you have stated. I have never had to execute a cleaning cycle, nor have I had a clogged head. The secret is to never turn it off, as you may well know. It draws very little power when asleep, and takes a miniscule amount of ink to keep its' printheads clean. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sirvine Posted April 6, 2007 Share #8 Posted April 6, 2007 I read on inkjetart that the B9180 exhibits some bronzing on glossy papers. Is that your experience? Bronzing is once of the "features" of my 1280 that I'm trying to rid myself of. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillBrittain Posted April 6, 2007 Share #9 Posted April 6, 2007 I agree with everything Terry has said. The black-and-white from my 3800 is exceptional. I can hardly bear to look at prints from my 2200 any more. The ink cartridges are great, paper handling is problem-free, and the driver seems to behave as asked on the Mac. I actually bought in becasue I wanted to print larger images in-house, but I have found that to have been the least of the benefits. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogopix Posted April 6, 2007 Share #10 Posted April 6, 2007 I would look at the HP Z2100 and Z3100 printers. regards Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesphoto99 Posted April 6, 2007 Share #11 Posted April 6, 2007 Never had a problem with clogged heads on my 4800. I do try and run it at least once every two weeks and do a head check at that time. I never do power clean though it prompts me too - I've heard that can cause as much problem as solve and uses lots of ink. I don't live in a dry climate - I've heard that can lead to clogging issues. The K3 inkset takes care of most bronzing - I think users still on 1280's or even 2200's will find a great difference in the next generation of Epsons. I don't use the Epson driver but have heard it's very good (I use Imageprint RIP). I've heard good things about both the new HP and Canon's - I wouldn't discount any of them. But ultimately it comes down to the operator and how savy you are with color management, adjusting the original file, choice of paper, etc. Like everything in this world, there's no magic bullet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted April 6, 2007 Share #12 Posted April 6, 2007 Been thinking about the 3800 myself but this damn leica stuff keeps sucking my small puddle of money down the black hole. LOL Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrycioni Posted April 6, 2007 Author Share #13 Posted April 6, 2007 Been thinking about the 3800 myself but this damn leica stuff keeps sucking my small puddle of money down the black hole. LOL Guy, Out of the box it is producing some neutral black and white prints without the metamerism of the early Epsons - even the very inexpensive Costco paper looks good, although I really like the Epson Luster stock. I have not been an Epson fan because of the complicated drivers, etc. I did have a 1280 before the Canon i9900 and I never had print head problems - I passed it on and it is still working hard and the person I gave it to - loves it. I believe Epson has addressed many of the outstanding issues with the (new) 3800. I helped a friend set-up an HP 9180 and have seen excellent results from the printer (this is not an attempt to be critical) but I still opted for the Epson for a variety of reason, one big reason is third party paper stock supported profiles and things like that. By the way color is excellent as well. Cheers. Terry. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
newyorkone Posted April 6, 2007 Share #14 Posted April 6, 2007 Gave up on Epson because of the clogging print heads. I can't tell you how much time I've lost trying to unclog those damn printers but it must be at least a few weeks of my life in total. Enough was enough. Have had the HP B9180 for about 8 months and love it. B&W prints using the fine art papers are amazing - gallery quality. Bonus, print heads are user replaceable! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sirvine Posted April 6, 2007 Share #15 Posted April 6, 2007 Steve, Any gripes, other than overall satisfaction with the B9180? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
newyorkone Posted April 6, 2007 Share #16 Posted April 6, 2007 Steve, Any gripes, other than overall satisfaction with the B9180? None. Loads of fun and easier than ever to get exactly the print that I had imagined. Regards... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted April 6, 2007 Share #17 Posted April 6, 2007 Now you guys made it a harder decision. Guess i am going to have to read http://www.macworld.com/2006/12/reviews/hpb9180/index.php http://reviews.cnet.com/Epson_Stylus_Pro_3800/4505-3156_7-32082353.html http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/printers/epson-3800.shtml Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
newyorkone Posted April 6, 2007 Share #18 Posted April 6, 2007 Now you guys made it a harder decision. Guess i am going to have to read Macworld: Review: HP Photosmart Pro B9180 Epson Stylus Pro 3800 Reviews. Inkjet Printers Reviews by CNET. Epson 3800 Review HP Photosmart Pro B9180 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHAG Posted January 30, 2008 Share #19 Posted January 30, 2008 I would look at the HP Z2100 and Z3100 printers. regards I did. I'm about to plunge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Flatline Posted January 31, 2008 Share #20 Posted January 31, 2008 I like my 3800 a lot. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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