wlaidlaw Posted October 8, 2007 Share #1 Â Posted October 8, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have finally lost patience with the Epson R1800 I have at my UK base. It has totally blocked print nozzles yet again, which would mean another expensive trip to Epson UK. It gets left unused for 6 months at a time, while I am in France and unlike the Canon or HP photo printers, I cannot take out and clean the print heads. It is therefore, going to the municipal dump. I have an HP B9180 in France and whereas I think it is a great printer and HP are nice helpful people, the printer(s) have been hopelessly unreliable and after 6 months I am now on number 5. Each failed one has had a different fault. It is not due to hard work as my total output over that period was around 50 A4, 20 A3 and 80 A3+. Â Even though the problem of non-removable print heads remains, I am thinking of either a refurbished Epson 4000 or 4800. The Canon Pixma Pro 9500 looks a bit over-priced for what is in essence, a semi pro printer. The heavier duty HP, the DJ 90R, looks slightly old technology and the definition does not look to be up to that of the more modern designs. What troubles have people had with blocked print heads on the Epsons, as that would be the main concern with them? Â Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 8, 2007 Posted October 8, 2007 Hi wlaidlaw, Take a look here What's my next big printer?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
gepetto Posted October 8, 2007 Share #2 Â Posted October 8, 2007 Wilson the Epson 3800 might be a better choice. It still prints A2 but is a much smaller footprint than the 4000 or 4800. You don't have to physically change the matte and photo ink cartridges to print from one to the other. The 3800 also has built in Ethernet so you can place the printer were ever it fits best. It has a cheaper price point too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesphoto99 Posted October 8, 2007 Share #3 Â Posted October 8, 2007 Read the end of the thread on big prints in the M8 forum. Any printer you must run at least once a month and run the nozzle check often as well. If while you are away you can have somebody run the printer for you then you will be better off. Otherwise switching printers isn't really going to help you. Printers that actually do some printing tend to have less problems than ones that sit in my experience. Sounds like you might be better off saving your $ and having a lab do the printing for you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_x2004 Posted October 9, 2007 Share #4 Â Posted October 9, 2007 Had a very expensive Epson ...two... in the early days and always found the print head problematic. I live on the coast. With what I think of canon I was hoping to return to an E. Not sure a monthly head clean would help me. It seemed if I didnt use the E every day it would be no good. Unfortunately the C hasnt missed a beat mainly I figured due to the nozzle tank arrangement that gets replaced. New pixmas have a separate head but havent looked at replacement cost yet, though probably a no goer from dollar point of view. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Likaleica Posted October 9, 2007 Share #5 Â Posted October 9, 2007 Epson 3800. No question, unless you want 24" prints, then it's the 7800. Â I've had problems with the smaller consumer models (800, 1800, etc). But the professional series printers are built like tanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted October 9, 2007 Share #6 Â Posted October 9, 2007 Wilson, I have a 3800 printer. It doesn't take paper on rolls - the 4800 does, but changing from matt to glossy inks is a lot less cheaper than the 4800. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venkman Posted October 9, 2007 Share #7 Â Posted October 9, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) I can't speak out of experience, but from my research so far (I'm in the same position - which printer will it be?) the Canon 9500 wins handsdown so far. Â Why? Â Because every source I found (and yes, they are not as frequent as the Epson sources) mentions two things: no clogging and virtually no problems at all (which is totally different if you move up the line to the 5000 - not as many bad news about the 5100 so far). Â There are just too many reports of problems, failures and expensive spare part madness about the Epson line for my personal taste, but this might be caused because there's a much larger sample size being used. Â The HP B9180 seems to be a little bit like an M8 - some people love it, some others say it's not really bad but does leave wheel marks on the prints, so it's not good for anything. Â Dirk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted October 9, 2007 Author Share #8  Posted October 9, 2007 I can't speak out of experience, but from my research so far (I'm in the same position - which printer will it be?) the Canon 9500 wins handsdown so far. Why?  Because every source I found (and yes, they are not as frequent as the Epson sources) mentions two things: no clogging and virtually no problems at all (which is totally different if you move up the line to the 5000 - not as many bad news about the 5100 so far).  There are just too many reports of problems, failures and expensive spare part madness about the Epson line for my personal taste, but this might be caused because there's a much larger sample size being used.  The HP B9180 seems to be a little bit like an M8 - some people love it, some others say it's not really bad but does leave wheel marks on the prints, so it's not good for anything.  Dirk   Dirk,  If an HP B9180 is leaving wheel marks or print head lines on the print, HP regards that as a fault and replaces the printer. My second one made wheel lines and my third after four months started to make print head lines, which HP said was a feed roller alignment fault. The problem is that you waste expensive paper with these faults and loose roughly 4 to 5 days over each replacement. On the Canon Pixma Pro 9500, I don't like the tiny ink tanks - I have had enough of that on my R1800 and the Canon is only A3+, whereas I would really like A2, having seen how wonderfully the M8 files print up on A2 and larger. I may well end up with an HP DJ90, simply because I can take the heads out and clean them by covering the nozzles with a PecPad soaked in 50% isopropanol for 5 minutes. I know I could leave instructions at my UK house for a print to be run off an Epson 3800 every 2 weeks or so and I am sure it would happen for the first month or so! I know the output of the DJ90 is inferior to the Epson's but a printer that works fairly well all of the time is better than a printer which works brilliantly only some of the time and has to go back to base for blocked nozzles.  Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venkman Posted October 9, 2007 Share #9 Â Posted October 9, 2007 [...]but a printer that works fairly well all of the time is better than a printer which works brilliantly only some of the time and has to go back to base for blocked nozzles. Â I couldn't have said it better. And thanks for the heads up regarding the B9180. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wparsonsgisnet Posted October 9, 2007 Share #10 Â Posted October 9, 2007 Wilson, have you considered a printer sitter? Â If you're going to be gone for these periods of time, and cannot take the printer with you, how 'bout lending it to someone you trust so that it gets driven? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted October 9, 2007 Author Share #11 Â Posted October 9, 2007 Wilson, have you considered a printer sitter? Â If you're going to be gone for these periods of time, and cannot take the printer with you, how 'bout lending it to someone you trust so that it gets driven? Â Bill, Â I could see that getting VERY expensive on ink. Â Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedi996sps Posted October 9, 2007 Share #12  Posted October 9, 2007 Hi Wilson, I hav been looking at the epsons as my next printer..not apparant from any of the replies, but i thought u might like to know a updated modes are available in each category (i think?). The one i hav been looking at is the 4880 or the 7880 depending on whether i can justify xtra cost. From what i hav read, they use a different ink, which includes a new vivid magenta.  Regards  Ali Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted October 9, 2007 Share #13 Â Posted October 9, 2007 From what i hav read, they use a different ink, which includes a new vivid magenta. Â Ideal for prints from an M8 then <grin>. Â Sorry, it's a cheap shot, but I couldn't resist. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wparsonsgisnet Posted October 9, 2007 Share #14  Posted October 9, 2007 Bill, I could see that getting VERY expensive on ink.  Wilson  Wilson, NOT implied at all. This person you trust would buy his/her own consumables, of course.  The idea is to get the printer driven by someone. How 'bout another photog you know who's nearby? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedi996sps Posted October 9, 2007 Share #15  Posted October 9, 2007 Ideal for prints from an M8 then <grin>. Sorry, it's a cheap shot, but I couldn't resist.  lol..but unlike the M8, no free filters! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riccis Posted October 9, 2007 Share #16 Â Posted October 9, 2007 While the Epson 3800 sounds like a great printer, in the long run it will cost more to operate due to the price of the ink when compared with the 4800... Â I have a 4800 with the ImagePrint RIP and Phatte Black cartridge and don't have to worry about swapping the Matte/Glossy inks... Great printer, but has a huge foortprint. Â Cheers, Â Riccis Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted October 9, 2007 Share #17 Â Posted October 9, 2007 While the Epson 3800 sounds like a great printer, in the long run it will cost more to operate due to the price of the ink when compared with the 4800... Â I've just found a web page that claims that 15% of the ink in the 4800 cartridges is lost each time the ink is changed from gloss to matt or back again... Â Epson Stylus Pro UltraChrome K3 Printers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riccis Posted October 9, 2007 Share #18  Posted October 9, 2007 I've just found a web page that claims that 15% of the ink in the 4800 cartridges is lost each time the ink is changed from gloss to matt or back again... Epson Stylus Pro UltraChrome K3 Printers  You are right, Steve... That's why investing in the Phatte Black is a great idea since you can print matte or glossy without having to worry about changing ink cartridges anymore...  Regards,  Riccis Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedi996sps Posted October 9, 2007 Share #19  Posted October 9, 2007 While the Epson 3800 sounds like a great printer, in the long run it will cost more to operate due to the price of the ink when compared with the 4800... I have a 4800 with the ImagePrint RIP and Phatte Black cartridge and don't have to worry about swapping the Matte/Glossy inks... Great printer, but has a huge foortprint.  Cheers,  Riccis  hi, ?? if u look at the spec for the 'latest' 4800 ie 4880 it has 9cartridges and 8 slots which implies that u hav to change cartridges and then presumably run the clean/purge head routine, which is the bit i cant get my head around ie wasteful. link to epson website for techy stuff... EPSON Inkjet Printers - Epson Stylus Pro 7880 Specifications  Ali Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedi996sps Posted October 9, 2007 Share #20 Â Posted October 9, 2007 phatte back it is then :-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.