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Author Topic: Second Hand Epson 3880 testing  (Read 1190 times)

philaitman

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Second Hand Epson 3880 testing
« on: November 26, 2015, 05:59:56 am »

Hi,
I've managed to get (legitimately I must Add) two used 3880's one I'm told doesn't recognise the new maintenance tank which was fitted, the other I'm told is in working order. The problem being neither have any ink installed. So I have no way of testing them for sure.
I guess the only way is to risk buying a full ink set. Can anyone in the UK recommend the cheapest place to get a full set? The only cheaper ones I can find are all 3rd party and I don't want to risk that.

Thanks for any help offered :)
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howardm

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Re: Second Hand Epson 3880 testing
« Reply #1 on: November 26, 2015, 07:40:08 am »

This is, IMO, a marginal situation.  At least right now (and I'm using USA prices along w/ rebates etc), you can get a brand new P800 for around $845 along w/ their 'almost full' carts (aside:  screw you Epson for doing that).  I know that the UK is usually more expensive than the US but here, 3880 carts are around $50-55 each and maybe a bit less if you buy a 'kit' of them (BH does/did that).  So figure you're in for at *least* $500 US just for the inks and you first have no clue if the printers are functional or not.  There is absolutely no way to test w/o the carts and often, carts that are very low will be rejected (insists on replacement) by the printer if the printer needs to go through a cleaning cycle (although after the cycle, the low carts can be reinserted).

I might just bypass the whole deal or maybe reach out to local camera clubs and see if anyone is willing to 'lend' you carts in exchange for some amount of $$ or maybe someone's got a 'used' partially full set they are willing to sell.

The sensor 'fingers' that read the maint. cart chip are on a little arm and I've heard of them being damaged by rough handling of the maint cart during insertion/extraction.

So what's it all worth to you?

philaitman

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Re: Second Hand Epson 3880 testing
« Reply #2 on: November 26, 2015, 08:28:56 am »

Thanks Howard,
You make a valid point unfortunately a new P800 in the UK is the equivalent of $1,327.31 and a P600 is $768.483 so we do get royally screwed on price.


I might just ebay the printers for spares/repairs if I can be bothered to ship such heavy items. I'm tempted to just go for a P600 but am put off by the smaller carts and respective high print price.
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dgberg

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Re: Second Hand Epson 3880 testing
« Reply #3 on: November 26, 2015, 09:07:34 am »

Buy a new 3880. You get the full carts to test the other printers and you may find out one of the 3880's is still good. If it is then order a second set of inks.
You may think that 2 printers of the same model does not make sense but quite a few people do it for the following reason.
One setup for matte the other one Pk.

philaitman

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Re: Second Hand Epson 3880 testing
« Reply #4 on: November 26, 2015, 09:24:41 am »

Buy a new 3880. You get the full carts to test the other printers and you may find out one of the 3880's is still good. If it is then order a second set of inks.
You may think that 2 printers of the same model does not make sense but quite a few people do it for the following reason.
One setup for matte the other one Pk.

That would be a good idea if I could find a 3880 in the UK which wasn't being sold for more than the P800 costs :(
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RHPS

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Re: Second Hand Epson 3880 testing
« Reply #5 on: November 26, 2015, 10:46:01 am »

Can anyone in the UK recommend the cheapest place to get a full set? The only cheaper ones I can find are all 3rd party and I don't want to risk that.
The cheapest I have found is Toner24, but they are still £36.68, so £330+ for a full set. https://www.toner24.co.uk/Epson/Ink/Epson-Stylus-Pro-3880/
On the positive side delivery is quick and free!
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AFairley

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Re: Second Hand Epson 3880 testing
« Reply #6 on: November 26, 2015, 12:25:31 pm »

This would be more work, but I would think about buying a new 3880, using its carts to test the two old ones you have, and then, assuming they work OK, sell them.  You might get enough to break even. 

An alternative is to buy a set of inks, test the printers you have, and if they don't work, sell the set of inks to reduce your loss.

BTW, when my 3800 developed head problems, I didn't want to risk spending several hundred dollars to get it world on with no guarantee that it would be OK, and I was able to sell it for $125 with full disclosure without ink.
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Ferp

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Re: Second Hand Epson 3880 testing
« Reply #7 on: November 26, 2015, 05:58:39 pm »

People outside the US are often amazed and jealous of the deals that those in the US can obtain, and people in the US often don't realise what a poor deal those outside the US often get.  This especially applies to printers, particularly service and parts.

I am sympathetic to the OP's predicament. I think what I'd be tempted to do in this situation is to purchase a set of refillable cartridges for the 3880, perhaps from InkJetMall, and some of their Piezoflush solution.  See if you can manage to get a good flush-based nozzle check in either printer.  If you can do that then you should be ok.  You could also use the flush solution to perform one of their printer cleaning routines.  If this doesn't succeed on either printer, the flush solution may still be useful for maintaining other printers and you could probably sell the refillable carts to another 3880 owner for printer maintenance. 

One of the challenges that you're likely to face, especially if neither printer has been used for some time, is clogged dampers.  These are cheap to purchase, at least in the US, and not all that hard to fit if you're handy, but not trivial either.  I have a feeling that IJM may sell dampers for the 3880, but I'm not entirely sure.
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