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Author Topic: Which Inkjet suits my needs?  (Read 7655 times)

Steve B

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Which Inkjet suits my needs?
« on: February 11, 2007, 11:43:57 am »

I am new to this forum.  I had an Epson 1270 printer which is now history.  I need a printer capable of printing 13 x 19 prints.  I do both color and black and white.  Budget is somewhat limited.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance
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Lisa Nikodym

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Which Inkjet suits my needs?
« Reply #1 on: February 11, 2007, 01:48:37 pm »

I used to have a 1280, which is a one-model-later version of the 1270, so I know where you're coming from.  If you're really budget-limited, the 1280 is still in production ($400 from Epson), and will be more or less what you're used to.  If having a longer print lifetime is of interest to you, it's worth upgrading to the 2400 ($850 from Epson), which has longer-lasting pigment inks.

Lisa
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picnic

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« Reply #2 on: February 11, 2007, 01:57:40 pm »

The new 1400 seems to be the replacement for the 1280--though the 1280 is still on the Epson website.  You may even find a refurbed one on Epson's site.  The 1400 is now using the Claria inks--longer lasting than the old dye inks and is many generations newer than the 1280 though they are the same price.  Speaking of refurbs, you may find a 2400 refurbed also which would be a good choice.

Diane
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DarkPenguin

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Which Inkjet suits my needs?
« Reply #3 on: February 11, 2007, 02:10:45 pm »

Need a $$ amount for your budget.

The epson 1400, canon 9000 and hp b9180 can all be had for $550 or less. (You may have to shop around for the hp.)

If B+W is important to you I wouldn't get the 1280.
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Steve B

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« Reply #4 on: February 11, 2007, 04:17:34 pm »

I would really like to get the Epson 2400 I guess.  It appears to do black and white better than the rest.

Does anyone know if it really uses alot of ink.

Thanks.
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DarkPenguin

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« Reply #5 on: February 11, 2007, 05:05:22 pm »

No idea.  

But if you are going to print a lot then something like the epson 3800 might be a good idea.  It will be expensive up front but should pay for itself in ink.

You might want to check out this group on B+W....

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Digital...dWhiteThePrint/

They might be able to tell you more.
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madmanchan

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Which Inkjet suits my needs?
« Reply #6 on: February 11, 2007, 05:07:05 pm »

Quote
I would really like to get the Epson 2400 I guess.  It appears to do black and white better than the rest.

Does anyone know if it really uses alot of ink.

Thanks.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=100366\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

That's tricky to quantify, Steve. Not sure there's any hard data out there on how much ink it consumes per square foot compared to other Epson models (or other non-Epson printers, for that matter). It also depends somewhat on the kind of images printed as well as the printer driver settings you use. The ink carts for the 2400 hold about 17 mL each, but that still doesn't directly answer your question about how much ink is used.

One thing to be aware of is that if you plan to do a lot of printing, you'll end up spending money in the long term on the papers and ink, not the printer itself.

Also, what types of papers do you plan to print on?

Eric
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Eric Chan

picnic

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Which Inkjet suits my needs?
« Reply #7 on: February 11, 2007, 06:18:32 pm »

Quote
Need a $$ amount for your budget.

The epson 1400, canon 9000 and hp b9180 can all be had for $550 or less. (You may have to shop around for the hp.)

If B+W is important to you I wouldn't get the 1280.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=100343\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Agreed on that.  YOu will get pretty decent monos with QTR but there are better choices nowadays.

Diane
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Steve B

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Which Inkjet suits my needs?
« Reply #8 on: February 11, 2007, 09:00:05 pm »

I don't know what my budget is exactly.  It would sting to buy a 2400 right now, as I have a daughter going to school in England and that is costly.

My main thing is historical photos.  I have a huge collection of black and white photos from the area in which I live.  I display them in my office and people come each year to see them.  I used to use the 1270 with matte paper mostly.   I can see no color change or fading.   But now, I want to use glossy.

My photos come from postcards and old photos that I can find.  People actually bring me old photos of the area quite often.  I scan the photo and then start the retouching process.

I display them in my law office, so I suppose I could write the 2400 off as a tax write-off.  Also the inks and paper.

I actually thought the black and white and sepia from my 1270 was quite good.  Now I am a little confused.

I guess I am in the 500 to 900 range.  I would pay the extra if I knew the quality was good.  Also, how durable is the actual 2400 printer itself, I wonder as I write this.

Thanks for the input.
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DarkPenguin

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Which Inkjet suits my needs?
« Reply #9 on: February 11, 2007, 09:09:20 pm »

I think the black and white you'll get from either the epson 2400 or the hp B9180 will come as a revelation.

I do not have the 2400 but I haven't heard of any early deaths.  (Some clogging but if that isn't an issue with your 1270 it is probably not going to be an issue with the 2400.)  What is the warranty on the epson?

Nice project you've got going there, btw.
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Bill in WV

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« Reply #10 on: February 11, 2007, 10:20:10 pm »

I haven't done a lot of B&W with it, but the color is great and very long lasting. About 200 years on Epson Papers. A full set of inks (8) including the gloss optimizer is only about $110 +- a few bucks from Epson. And the purchase price is right in the $500 range, I believe I gave $503 and got free shipping from Amazon, but it has been a while. Swapping the black ink on the 2400 is an expensive process not encountered here and I think the inks are a lot less expensive (not positive on that one). On tests it has received rave reviews, and it does niftey CDs too. Give the Epson 1800 a close look.

And it appears there some great things happening at both HP and Canon, so it is definitely a moving target.

Bill in WV
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Bill Evans
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Steve B

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« Reply #11 on: February 11, 2007, 10:42:53 pm »

The Epson R1800 is very interesting.  It appears that some critics say it is not a good black and white printer.  But it is more in my price range.

Anyone had good luck with the R1800 with black and white?  Overall quality?

Thanks again.
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Jonathan Wienke

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Which Inkjet suits my needs?
« Reply #12 on: February 12, 2007, 06:47:43 am »

Quote
The Epson R1800 is very interesting.  It appears that some critics say it is not a good black and white printer.  But it is more in my price range.

Anyone had good luck with the R1800 with black and white?  Overall quality?

Invest in some good custom profiles, and the R1800 does B&W just fine. Print quality is excellent for the price.
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paul55555

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Which Inkjet suits my needs?
« Reply #13 on: February 24, 2007, 01:53:07 am »

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Invest in some good custom profiles, and the R1800 does B&W just fine. Print quality is excellent for the price.
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

 I purchased an 1800 about three months ago. I still have much to learn. But, it seems to have a large number of profiles built in. Are none of them sufficient for high quality B/W? My results have been great (subjective of course). The prints are actually better than the on-line results.  ( "Grayscale World" at   [a href=\"http://www.pbase.com/paul55]http://www.pbase.com/paul55[/url]  )

Thank You-Paul
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donalds@lycos.com

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Which Inkjet suits my needs?
« Reply #14 on: May 20, 2007, 12:52:24 pm »

Quote
Invest in some good custom profiles, and the R1800 does B&W just fine. Print quality is excellent for the price.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=100455\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


I'll show you how new I am to this whole business -- Where do find "custom profiles" to purchase(?)

Thanks,

DonaldS
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madmanchan

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Which Inkjet suits my needs?
« Reply #15 on: May 21, 2007, 03:31:43 pm »

There are a number of custom profiling services available. Just to name a few: Chromix, Cathy's Profiles, Andrew Rodney (the Digital Dog), InkJetArt.com, Edmund Ronald, and yours truly (i.e., me). Do a Google search on these names and you should be able to find info.
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Eric Chan
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