would you gamble on buying a printer which had been idle?

[Endeavour]

I've got the opportunity to pickup a Epson 9900 cheaply but which hasnt been used for a couple of years and has no ink. of course it worked perfectly before going out of service, as much as that can ever be relied upon.

is this a "run for the hills" scenario? or with some care, attention and a bucket full of inks, would it be feasible to bring it back into service?

[Mark D Segal]

Run for the hills.

[Endeavour]

thanks Mark

it could be an absolute bargain, but wary of it being a money pit (I wouldnt want to be paying $000's for technician to replace the heads etc.)

my trouble is, I used to be a computer engineer plus I own old classic cars, so have an attitude of "I could probably fix that"

[Randy Carone]

I won't buy a used printer unless I can print some files on it. Would you buy a car that needed several hundred dollars of your money to test drive it?

[Mark D Segal]

As my late father used to say: "You're buying some one else's trouble."

[mikev1]

Even free would be a gamble considering how much ink you would have to put into it.

I would pass on this.

[Ernst Dinkla]

Even free would be a gamble considering how much ink you would have to put into it.

I would pass on this.

It would take that chance with an HP Z3200 but never with an Epson 9900.


Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
March 2017 update, 750+ inkjet media white spectral plots

[mearussi]

Replacing the heads (an absolute requirement after being idle for 2 years) will cost you $1500 for the heads and $500 for a professional technician to put them in. Plus another $800 for ink. Is that a bargain to you? If it is I have a bridge I'd like to sell you.

[Pete Berry]

thanks Mark

it could be an absolute bargain, but wary of it being a money pit (I wouldnt want to be paying $000's for technician to replace the heads etc.)

my trouble is, I used to be a computer engineer plus I own old classic cars, so have an attitude of "I could probably fix that"

I am likewise blessed (?cursed?) with the same attitude that once led me back in the late 50's to install a free, but untested WWII surplus Harley V-2 25HP motorcycle engine in a little 12' speed boat I had rebuilt, inventing (or re-inventing) the "V-drive" with engine facing forward, in the process. I had no doubt it would work, and it did, with twin un-muffled exhaust pipes out the transom, sounding like the hounds of hell were coming! Unfortunately, it ran about three MPH slower than the old Evinrude 15 outboard it replaced, and I ran out of money before getting the optimum propeller/drive ratio sorted out. But the process itself was worth it.

Fast forward to last year when my 4 year old Canon iPF5100 threw a paper sensor error code after refusing to print. Yeah, I can fix that little problem! After a half-day disassembly to expose the sensor and replace it, then buttoning things up and re-starting, not only a sensor error, but two others, including a head error. Rather than plunge on with the service manual, I knew I had met my match, consigned it to the electronics graveyard after harvesting inks, roll spindle, and cassette tray, and ordered a new one. The $1500 price (free delivery, no tax) was identical to the retail value of the $600 worth of the twelve 90ml starter carts, and the two new printheads at $450 each.

Lesson learned: Few things in our lives are as complex as the microsecond choreography of even the most basic inkjet printhead's dance across the page while laying down thousands of precise dots per second. And a single failure will often be followed by a concatenation of interrelated problems.

There's an instructive enormous thread several years past in this forum, of 80+ pages, regarding the rehab of the 9900's little brother 7900. Reading this, I think, would discourage even the most fervent DIY'er from the seduction of a long dormant, unproven LF printer. Anyone with the link?

[BobDavid]

I would not risk using ink that's been in an idle Epson printer for two years.

[Endeavour]

Just to round off this thread

I decided, based mostly on the advice from here, to pass on the used epson

Instead I went for a freshly serviced HP Z3100

I am new to the world of wide format printing, and the 24" Z3100 seemed to have everything I was looking for:
Great price
good size - a 44" wouldnt fit down into my basement studio (the 24" required a door and some trim removal)
Can be left unused for a month or two before needing a job
built in spectrophotometer so I can create new custom paper profiles
cheaper inks than the Epson

I've fired off some test prints and I'm delighted with the results. Now I just need to prepare myself for buying paper in rolls not sheets

[deanwork]

If it was a canon or an hp and had been plugged in no problem. If an Epson, no way.

Just to round off this thread

I decided, based mostly on the advice from here, to pass on the used epson

Instead I went for a freshly serviced HP Z3100

I am new to the world of wide format printing, and the 24" Z3100 seemed to have everything I was looking for:
Great price
good size - a 44" wouldnt fit down into my basement studio (the 24" required a door and some trim removal)
Can be left unused for a month or two before needing a job
built in spectrophotometer so I can create new custom paper profiles
cheaper inks than the Epson

I've fired off some test prints and I'm delighted with the results. Now I just need to prepare myself for buying paper in rolls not sheets

[Larry Heath]

I think I will simply point you to this thread.

http://forum.luminous-landscape.com/index.php?topic=61585.0



My view is just how cheap? If its cheap enough that you don't feel taken advantage of if you can't make it work ok fine. Go for it. Otherwise, don't be poking that hornets nest even with a long stick.

Later Larry

[deanwork]

I've learned the hard way over the past 15 years that if you have to work on an inkjet printer it's not worth having.




quote author=Larry Heath link=topic=117636.msg975066#msg975066 date=1493658164]
I think I will simply point you to this thread.

http://forum.luminous-landscape.com/index.php?topic=61585.0



My view is just how cheap? If its cheap enough that you don't feel taken advantage of if you can't make it work ok fine. Go for it. Otherwise, don't be poking that hornets nest even with a long stick.

Later Larry
[/quote]

[Garnick]

Just to round off this thread

I decided, based mostly on the advice from here, to pass on the used epson

Instead I went for a freshly serviced HP Z3100

I am new to the world of wide format printing, and the 24" Z3100 seemed to have everything I was looking for:
Great price
good size - a 44" wouldnt fit down into my basement studio (the 24" required a door and some trim removal)
Can be left unused for a month or two before needing a job
built in spectrophotometer so I can create new custom paper profiles
cheaper inks than the Epson

I've fired off some test prints and I'm delighted with the results. Now I just need to prepare myself for buying paper in rolls not sheets

Hi Endeavour,

Sorry, but when you sent the first personal email I didn't associate that with your moniker here on LuLa, even though I should have, due to the fact that we have previously done some business.  I knew you had purchased a "used" HP 3100 obviously, and I hope you'll have good luck with it as I have already mentioned.  Even though I did have my share of issues with the NEW 9900, all of which were solved under warranty of course, I agree with every reply to this thread.  I sold my 9900 in Feb(after 7 years of use) to a fellow in Toronto, and he has been very happy with it.  However, given the circumstances you described surrounding the 9900 you were interested in, I too would run in the opposite direction of that "deal".  Given the posts on this forum about the HP's forgiving attitude toward lack of work, I would imagine you would have few problems with that printer.  I also believe that even the HP would perhaps balk at the situation you have described concerning the Epson 9900 you looked at.  One warning though - if you do decide to venture into Eric's thread mentioned above, be prepared for a very long read, interesting as it may be.  Eric's odyssey surrounding the 7900 was in many ways a blessing to all of us using the x900 series of printers.  He and his techie friend offered a number of maintenance procedures unknown to most of us until that thread.  His thread became somewhat legendary in its length on this or any other forum, so approach at your own risk  . 
 
Again, good luck with the printer, and I hope you will find a source for all of the supplies you need within the GTA.

Gary