How well would Epson 3880 cope with being unused for 6 months?

[wlaidlaw]

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My HP 9180 A3+ printer has finally and irretrievable died. I had 6 (yes 6) warranty replacements during the extended warranty period and it has had numerous repairs and head replacements since the end of the warranty period. As I got a new set of cartridges with each warranty replacement, I never had to buy any, so it was extremely economical to run  . The feed mechanism has now broken and my excellent and very good value local repairer, says no parts are now available and it is uneconomical to repair further anyway. Pity as when it worked, it was an excellent printer. 

 

I have been offered an Epson Stylus Pro 3880 A2 printer, which has only had 400 prints and has been refurbished by the local official Epson agent to as new. It will be around €450. That is not quite the bargain it seems, as the inks are nearly empty and a new set is €400. What I am worried about is the printer dying when it is left over the winter, with the ink drying out in the heads. I know you can get a service cartridge and I would propose to run one of these ever autumn, prior to putting it to bed for the winter. 

 

Has anyone any experience of leaving one of these printers for extended periods? 

 

Wilson

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[Jeff S]

The 3880 replacement, the SureColor P800, was just announced (for June shipment), so I expect discounts/rebates to increase on the 3880.

 

I wouldn't attempt your approach on the already clog-prone 4900, but you should be ok on the 3880 with thorough flushing and then using a reasonably fresh ink set.

 

There was a thread on the forum (now inaccessible) that discussed placing a product used to humidify cigars inside the 4900 and then covering, which seemed to work for extended periods.  You might find similar recommendations with a search.

 

Jeff

[hoppyman]

Hi Wilson. I have had this printer for I guess a few years and lately have had some periods of months without printing. Cartridges which are 12 months or more out of date still perform perfectly and a normal cleaning cycle works for any gaps in the nozzle check test. I don't know how the climate affects the ink. Of course I am not dealing with any winter frigid conditions here.

I have heard of the new model but I don't know if it uses the same ink set?
You will know your local proces of course. My inclination would be to purchase a new printer with its full cartridge set rather than a used one with little ink in it plus a complete ink set.
Depending on your habits somewhat I guess, but I would use up several of the inks much more frequently than others so it is a waste to have to pay for a full set, I think. That's how I ended up with some out of date cartridges ;-)

I'm not familiar with the service cartridge that you mention. There is a maintenance cartridge which is a big sponge to soak up the wasted ink from cleaning etc.

[peterbengtson]

Go to a cigar store and buy 1 or 2 small humidifiers and the propylene glycol humidifier solution.   After charging put the humidifiers inside the printing compartment and cover the printer.  This will help keep the heads from drying out.  Remember to remove before printing. 

[Jeff S]

I have heard of the new model but I don't know if it uses the same ink set?

 

 Nope, new ink formulation (but same colors).  P600 reviews (the 13" version) so far show higher d-Max for photo and matte blacks, as well as other color improvements.   The marketing hook seems to be increased ink longevity (as rated by Wilhelm)….hence the name SureColor for the entire new line.

 

Jeff

 

https://luminous-landscape.com/epson-surecolor-p600-review/

[Jeff S]

Go to a cigar store and buy 1 or 2 small humidifiers and the propylene glycol humidifier solution.   After charging put the humidifiers inside the printing compartment and cover the printer.  This will help keep the heads from drying out.  Remember to remove before printing. 

Yours must be the comment I referred to in post #2 above.  

 

Jeff

[wlaidlaw]

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Hi Wilson. I have had this printer for I guess a few years and lately have had some periods of months without printing. Cartridges which are 12 months or more out of date still perform perfectly and a normal cleaning cycle works for any gaps in the nozzle check test. I don't know how the climate affects the ink. Of course I am not dealing with any winter frigid conditions here.

 

I have heard of the new model but I don't know if it uses the same ink set?

You will know your local proces of course. My inclination would be to purchase a new printer with its full cartridge set rather than a used one with little ink in it plus a complete ink set.

Depending on your habits somewhat I guess, but I would use up several of the inks much more frequently than others so it is a waste to have to pay for a full set, I think. That's how I ended up with some out of date cartridges ;-)

 

I'm not familiar with the service cartridge that you mention. There is a maintenance cartridge which is a big sponge to soak up the wasted ink from cleaning etc.

Geoff, 

 

Thanks for the information. The cheapest I can find a new 3880 for is €1150 so even if I have to buy a whole cartridge set, the one at €450 is quite a bit cheaper. The P800 is going to be €1250 plus VAT = €1500. I am going to the USA in July, where I can buy a whole set of carts for around $350. I was getting confused between the maintenance cartridge and the Magic Bullet print head cleaner system. It is the Magic Bullet system I would use before leaving the printer for six months, which cleans off all surplus ink from the heads. The maintenance cart is of course, just to accept excess ink from the normal ink flush process. I think what I may do until I go to the USA, is as you say and just replace carts as they empty. I too have ended up with various expired carts, which on some HP printers, you have to jump through hoops (resetting computer dates etc) to get them to run. I just hate not having a spare cart for when I am in the middle of a print session and run out. 

 

Wilson

[Jeff S]

Jon Cone sells product to flush Epsons (used for his Piezography system).

 

The 3880 has been significantly discounted (including Epson rebate) in the US in anticipation of the P800.  It should only get better here…don't know about elsewhere. B&H is currently $879.

 

Jeff

[wlaidlaw]

Just another thought - I can get a new P600 for €658. I only rarely want to print larger than A3+. I have an excellent print shop in my village which has the large format Epson printers (7880 and 11880). I wonder if it might make make more sense to get the P600 A3+ printer and use the print shop for the few times I want larger sizes, as I have up till now. I have avoided the non-pro Epson printers for some years after terrible service experience with the R800 and R1800 models, where the service "engineers" had I reckoned, been on a one week course after leaving school and even then, had not been paying much attention.

 

I have a Canon Pixma Pro-1 A3+ printer back in the UK, which when it does print, gives fantastic results (12 inks), However, it drinks ink doing head cleaning from its quite small and very expensive carts and like all the larger Canon printers seem to have, has paper feed issues. It will not print on 4" x 6" or 5" x 7" paper at all, other than very lightweight gloss, unlike what its spec says. It misfeeds about 50% of the time on 250 gsm lustre and matte paper in A4 to A3+ sizes, when you have to clear the print spool file, reset the printer and try again. 

 

Wilson

[Jeff S]

Price-wise depends a lot on how much you print.  The small 25.9ml cartridges on the P600 get costly for frequent printing, especially since Epson machines stop printing when the cartridges are really not fully empty.  Epson machines are loss leaders to get you to buy inks…and paper….much like razors and blades.  I prefer the 80ml cartridges on my 3800 (same as P800), and it's been running fine for 6 years.  

 

In the US at least, a new 3880 is about the same price as a P600, and it's proven to be reliable.

 

Jeff

[Edward Louis Marit]

I have a 3880 which frequently sits idle for 8 months at a time. ( I print in batches)I have a 2nd set of carts which I fill with piezography flush solution, and I then do a couple of power cleans to run it through the lines.

I have not had any clogs with this method and it prints like new.

I am surprised at the cost you were quoted. I paid $1000 Canadian for a new one with a full set of inks in 2013. $1000 cdn = about 600 GBP.

[wlaidlaw]

I have a 3880 which frequently sits idle for 8 months at a time. ( I print in batches)I have a 2nd set of carts which I fill with piezography flush solution, and I then do a couple of power cleans to run it through the lines.

I have not had any clogs with this method and it prints like new.

I am surprised at the cost you were quoted. I paid $1000 Canadian for a new one with a full set of inks in 2013. $1000 cdn = about 600 GBP.

I too thought the price of the 3880 would have come down more but in Europe, it seems not. There are not that many around and when they do come up in good condition or refurbished second hand, there is a fair amount of competition for them. If I could get a new one for even close to £600, I would jump at it. I will make sure I save my empty carts and fill them will Piezography cleaner to flush. I assume you need a chip resetter to tell the printer they are full again. 

 

Wilson

[wlaidlaw]

I have agreed a price of €425 for the refurbished 3880. I go to collect it next week-end, as I don't trust couriers with these heavy printers, especially as it would not be in its original packing case. It is only about an hour away. 

 

Wilson

[Jeff S]

 I will make sure I save my empty carts and fill them will Piezography cleaner to flush. I assume you need a chip resetter to tell the printer they are full again. 

 

 

http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.362672/it.A/id.5757/.f

 

Be sure to follow instructions….for your model….or email Inkjet Mall for questions.  Bottles come in different sizes.

 

Jeff

[Edward Louis Marit]

I too thought the price of the 3880 would have come down more but in Europe, it seems not. There are not that many around and when they do come up in good condition or refurbished second hand, there is a fair amount of competition for them. If I could get a new one for even close to £600, I would jump at it. I will make sure I save my empty carts and fill them will Piezography cleaner to flush. I assume you need a chip resetter to tell the printer they are full again.

 

Wilson

What you do is save your empty carts so that you can reuse the chip from them, and order refillable cartridges which come with a chip re setter. The Epson chips get installed onto the refillable cartridges in a socket just below the chip resetter and filled with ink or flush solution as you desire.As Jeff suggests inkjet mall has lots of information online.

I was intimidated by it at first, but it's actually dead easy.

[hoppyman]

A worthwhile conversation to read, thanks all. I hope it all goes smoothly and well, Wilson.

[sanyasi]

Do not buy the 4900 if you will let it sit idle for a week or more.  I am on my second one.  After 2 months heads are clogged and can't be cleaned.  I here it may be humidity, but I am not going to babysit a machine by buying a humidifier for it.  I used my 3880 yesterday.  It sat idle for 2 months.  Worked fine.

 

i am headed to the Palm Springs Photography Festival this weekend.  Just got an e-mail saying that Epson will be pemeiring new printers there.  I will report back, but I would hold off because something new is coming.

[wlaidlaw]

Do not buy the 4900 if you will let it sit idle for a week or more.  I am on my second one.  After 2 months heads are clogged and can't be cleaned.  I here it may be humidity, but I am not going to babysit a machine by buying a humidifier for it.  I used my 3880 yesterday.  It sat idle for 2 months.  Worked fine.

 

i am headed to the Palm Springs Photography Festival this weekend.  Just got an e-mail saying that Epson will be pemeiring new printers there.  I will report back, but I would hold off because something new is coming.

I have bought the 3880 for €425. I was warned off the "Blockson" 4880/4900 by others. I am going to get the Piezography flushing kit so that when I leave it for the winter, there will be no ink in the heads. I gather that you should stick a piece of duct tape over the ink outlet on any non-empty cartridges while they are out of the machine, to stop the ink drying out.

 

I could pre-order the new P800 printer but I could not justify the €1500 cost of that. It would be far more economical to use my local print shop who charge around €10 per A2 print on art paper and they do a brilliant job with their 7880 printer and the professional RIP software. They did some 24" x 36" prints for me from my M8 and M9 that are fantastic and have had favourable comments when exhibited. 

 

 

Wilson

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[Edward Louis Marit]

Yes I put painters tape over the outlets and vent holes on the cartridges and then seal them in ziplock sandwich bags.

[Guest]

Thanks very much to everyone who has posted on this very interesting thread. I was about to order a 3880 when Calumet sent me details a few days ago about the new p800 model.The price of the 3880 has dropped a little since the new model was announced .I am tempted to go for the 3880 because of its good reputation. The P 800 is about £100 more expensive  but possibly give better quality. I am going to an open day at Calumet manchester next week where Epson should have the new model on demo. 

Thanks again for the info on this thread.

Brianp