Getting Started with my New 7880

[fike]

Well, my 7880 arrived yesterday.  By the evening, I had it setup and configured to run.  I didn't have any 24" paper on hand, but I used 17" instead.  I loaded the cartridges.  They consumed about 1/4 to 1/3 of the ink in each cartridge, just as everyone complains.  I don't care; I'm just happy to have this printer.

I stuck the roll paper down in the slot and loaded the paper.  Without a hitch, the paper was loaded.  I didn't have to decurl the paper.  I didn't have to fight with the feeding mechanism.  I didn't have to struggle with my makeshift roll holder that I have used for 2 years with my 2400 (3" rolls don't connect to standard 2400 roll holder).  

After a few minutes of searching around to get the network configuration set right, I had a connection and was ready to make my first print.  The documentation didn't describe the network config very well.  

I didn't even think to go and see if Moab Paper had a new profile for Entrada on the 7880 (they do), so I used my 2400 profile.  The  image came out the other end, looking a bit dark and not very vibrant.  I attribute this to the wrong profile....oh, and the other problem: they shipped the printer with the glossy ink.  I print on matte paper.  I have ordered a matte cartridge (which is backordered).  So, when I get the new cartridge, everything should be golden.

Another oddity, I got 4 empty ink cartridges, I forget what they called them.  I think they were conversion cartridges.  There is no mention of them in the documentation.  I don't know what to use them for.  I was thinking they might be used as dummies to put in the cartridge slots while you convert to matte ink, but I haven't investigated this yet.

The kicker of all this.....I had to get up this morning and head out for a two day business trip.  Then, I will be out of town for the weekend.  So, I don't have the matte cartridge, I don't have any time, and on top of all that 24" moab entrada rolls are backordered.  

I guess these are nice problems to have when I can brag about my new printer.

A friend commented that my printer was bigger than his mother.  I don't think he was kidding.

[Wayne Fox]

Well, my 7880 arrived yesterday.  By the evening, I had it setup and configured to run.  I didn't have any 24" paper on hand, but I used 17" instead.  I loaded the cartridges.  They consumed about 1/4 to 1/3 of the ink in each cartridge, just as everyone complains.  I don't care; I'm just happy to have this printer.

I stuck the roll paper down in the slot and loaded the paper.  Without a hitch, the paper was loaded.  I didn't have to decurl the paper.  I didn't have to fight with the feeding mechanism.  I didn't have to struggle with my makeshift roll holder that I have used for 2 years with my 2400 (3" rolls don't connect to standard 2400 roll holder). 

After a few minutes of searching around to get the network configuration set right, I had a connection and was ready to make my first print.  The documentation didn't describe the network config very well. 

I didn't even think to go and see if Moab Paper had a new profile for Entrada on the 7880 (they do), so I used my 2400 profile.  The  image came out the other end, looking a bit dark and not very vibrant.  I attribute this to the wrong profile....oh, and the other problem: they shipped the printer with the glossy ink.  I print on matte paper.  I have ordered a matte cartridge (which is backordered).  So, when I get the new cartridge, everything should be golden.

Another oddity, I got 4 empty ink cartridges, I forget what they called them.  I think they were conversion cartridges.  There is no mention of them in the documentation.  I don't know what to use them for.  I was thinking they might be used as dummies to put in the cartridge slots while you convert to matte ink, but I haven't investigated this yet.

The kicker of all this.....I had to get up this morning and head out for a two day business trip.  Then, I will be out of town for the weekend.  So, I don't have the matte cartridge, I don't have any time, and on top of all that 24" moab entrada rolls are backordered. 

I guess these are nice problems to have when I can brag about my new printer.

A friend commented that my printer was bigger than his mother.  I don't think he was kidding.
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The "empty" cartridges are for conversion from PK to MK.  See pages 148-149 of the 7880 User manual.

[fike]

The "empty" cartridges are for conversion from PK to MK.  See pages 148-149 of the 7880 User manual.
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Ah, well that explains it. I guess my skim through the manual wasn't that careful.  

thanks.
fike

[fike]

So I finally got a matte cartridge in the mail.  The printer shipped with the glossy black.  I ran a few prints on Moab Entrada Bright.  The printer operation is flawless.  the detail and accuracy is perfect, but the profile isn't yet to my liking.  I may have a custom profile made (in the past I have always been satisfied with the canned profiles on my 2400).

The process to change black ink was INDEED very convoluted.  I always kind of dismissed the moaning and b!tching from people about the cost and annoyance of changing inks.  Okay, I was definitely wrong.  You have to stand in front of the thing for 10 or 15 minutes and shift levers and all sorts of other junk.  What a pain.

What is actually happening when you raise and lower the levers?  

I am very happy with the printer.  Now, I just need to get my workflow back together.

[Janos Lanyi]

So I finally got a matte cartridge in the mail.  The printer shipped with the glossy black.  I ran a few prints on Moab Entrada Bright.  The printer operation is flawless.  the detail and accuracy is perfect, but the profile isn't yet to my liking.  I may have a custom profile made (in the past I have always been satisfied with the canned profiles on my 2400).

The process to change black ink was INDEED very convoluted.  I always kind of dismissed the moaning and b!tching from people about the cost and annoyance of changing inks.  Okay, I was definitely wrong.  You have to stand in front of the thing for 10 or 15 minutes and shift levers and all sorts of other junk.  What a pain.

What is actually happening when you raise and lower the levers? 

I am very happy with the printer.  Now, I just need to get my workflow back together.
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I got my 7880 Monday last week, and having anticipated that it would come with PK, had a cartridge of MK handy. I loaded it with MK from the beginning.

As for you, the canned 7880 Epson color profiles are not entirely to my liking. For both Velvet Fine Art and Ultrasmooth Fine Art papers the soft proofs (in CS2) and prints come out less saturated as on the Epson R1800 with the Epson profiles for that printer. I can regain the same image quality on the 7880 prints but only with aggressive manipulation of the contrast, brightness, etc.

Does that mean that the new ink is less well matched to these papers than Ultrachrome, or is it a problem of the profiles? I will see if making Printfix Pro color profiles and tweaking them gives a significant improvement.

All in all, though, the prints are not too bad. I like Ultrasmooth, you can (and it says should) use it at the highest print resolution (2,880) even though it is matte. The details are great.

[Wayne Fox]

What is actually happening when you raise and lower the levers? 

I've always wondered that as well.  I can understand why you might do it once, but never figured out why you had to do it several times.

[fike]

Still working on that profile for Entrada.  I am getting a custom one made.  That should fix it.  

I also learned to print with letter-sized paper for doing small proofs.  But...for some reason whenever it is done, it sits there and tells you it is out of paper.  Well of course, it's out of paper.  It only holds one sheet, and it just printed it.  To get it out, you need to flip the paper feed lever back and slide the sheet out.  then the driver really screams at you.  I know there has to be a more graceful way to handle this.

I am still remaining patient with this.  I know from experience that no new equipment just slides into your workflow without some trial and error.

[canlogic]

Still working on that profile for Entrada.  I am getting a custom one made.  That should fix it. 

I also learned to print with letter-sized paper for doing small proofs.  But...for some reason whenever it is done, it sits there and tells you it is out of paper.  Well of course, it's out of paper.  It only holds one sheet, and it just printed it.  To get it out, you need to flip the paper feed lever back and slide the sheet out.  then the driver really screams at you.  I know there has to be a more graceful way to handle this.

I am still remaining patient with this.  I know from experience that no new equipment just slides into your workflow without some trial and error.
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I got my 7880 a week ago and have been printing on 8.5x11 up to 17x22 with no problem. You do need to make sure you have the correct paper setting on the printer. I think the left arrow key and icon of a single sheet with corner turned up. That and selecting the correct paper in the driver should give you no problems. The print will hang in the printer until you flip the lever or press the enter key to release it, I think this is normal.

[Janos Lanyi]

I got my 7880 a week ago and have been printing on 8.5x11 up to 17x22 with no problem. You do need to make sure you have the correct paper setting on the printer. I think the left arrow key and icon of a single sheet with corner turned up. That and selecting the correct paper in the driver should give you no problems. The print will hang in the printer until you flip the lever or press the enter key to release it, I think this is normal.
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What paper and profile are you using? I have no problems with paper handling either (although for letter size sheets I need to do what you write also), but with the Epson profiles matte prints come out with low contrast and saturation. See my earlier post in this thread.

The printer prints what is on the monitor, but the soft proofs (in CS2) need to be manipulated aggressively to correct the faded look, and the prints look harsh and overprocessed. I am now thinking of switching to glossy pints, and therefore from MK to PK. The soft proofs, at least look much better for Epson Premium Luster and Semimatte.

It is not a problem of the Epson color profiles because I made a profile for Hahnemuhle Photo Rag (also matte) and it was even worse.

[canlogic]

What paper and profile are you using? I have no problems with paper handling either (although for letter size sheets I need to do what you write also), but with the Epson profiles matte prints come out with low contrast and saturation. See my earlier post in this thread.

The printer prints what is on the monitor, but the soft proofs (in CS2) need to be manipulated aggressively to correct the faded look, and the prints look harsh and overprocessed. I am now thinking of switching to glossy pints, and therefore from MK to PK. The soft proofs, at least look much better for Epson Premium Luster and Semimatte.

It is not a problem of the Epson color profiles because I made a profile for Hahnemuhle Photo Rag (also matte) and it was even worse.
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I am printing through Lightroom on an iMac running Leopard. I print mostly on Premium Luster using the profiles that came with the 7880. I have also made my own profile for the Harman fb al gloss with the new Spyder3 system. It is the first profile I have ever done so still need to evaluate it a little and maybe tweek it. I am only using the PK inks with this printer and will do any mat printing on my 4000 through Imageprint for now.

[Janos Lanyi]

I am printing through Lightroom on an iMac running Leopard. I print mostly on Premium Luster using the profiles that came with the 7880. I have also made my own profile for the Harman fb al gloss with the new Spyder3 system. It is the first profile I have ever done so still need to evaluate it a little and maybe tweek it. I am only using the PK inks with this printer and will do any mat printing on my 4000 through Imageprint for now.
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Thanks. I have contacted Epson help on this but they have not replied yet. I cannot imagine that Epson produced a printer not well suited to matte papers, so they might tell me something I might have missed.

Judging from the soft proofs, Premium Luster and all other papers with PK ink should be fine, and I am glad you confirm this independently. I may have to change to PK.

I will download the 7800 profiles tonight to see how the earlier K3 inks look.

[canlogic]

Thanks. I have contacted Epson help on this but they have not replied yet. I cannot imagine that Epson produced a printer not well suited to matte papers, so they might tell me something I might have missed.

Judging from the soft proofs, Premium Luster and all other papers with PK ink should be fine, and I am glad you confirm this independently. I may have to change to PK.

I will download the 7800 profiles tonight to see how the earlier K3 inks look.
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Forgot to ask what system you are using and what you are printing from but I found the same thing when I upgraded my Mac to Leopard. If you are on a Mac make sure you have installed the latest drivers from Epson (specifically for Leopard) and that in LR or CS3 when you print make sure that they are handling the printing not the printer and that color management is turned off in the printer driver.

[Janos Lanyi]

Forgot to ask what system you are using and what you are printing from but I found the same thing when I upgraded my Mac to Leopard. If you are on a Mac make sure you have installed the latest drivers from Epson (specifically for Leopard) and that in LR or CS3 when you print make sure that they are handling the printing not the printer and that color management is turned off in the printer driver.
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I use Mac Tiger and CS2, still, and the 7880 driver version 3.90 that came on the CD because on the Epson website they have the same. The profiles are in the driver, and unlike the 7800 you cannot download the color profiles separately. It says on the website that this driver is compatible with both X10.4 and 10.5.

I do turn off the color management when printing and let PS handle the color, but the problem arises before printing already. I can tell from the soft proof what the print will be like when the color profile is sent to the printer.

[Wayne Fox]

Still working on that profile for Entrada.  I am getting a custom one made.  That should fix it. 

I also learned to print with letter-sized paper for doing small proofs.  But...for some reason whenever it is done, it sits there and tells you it is out of paper.  Well of course, it's out of paper.  It only holds one sheet, and it just printed it.  To get it out, you need to flip the paper feed lever back and slide the sheet out.  then the driver really screams at you.  I know there has to be a more graceful way to handle this.

I am still remaining patient with this.  I know from experience that no new equipment just slides into your workflow without some trial and error.
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You can eject it by pressing the paper advance button as well.  It holds the sheet there until you are ready to take it out, rather than dropping it into the basket.

The paper out function is working correctly ... as soon as you are done printing it is out of paper, (as you said), and of course remains so until you load a piece of paper.  No different than any printer when in single sheet manual feed mode.  

If you have multiple sheets queued up, you can't get a sheet loaded and ready fast enough after one print finishes before the the computer gets the paper out message,  On a mac you can ignore the dialog box, just load your next sheet, and as soon as the printer is ready, the box will go away and printing resumes.

[fike]

You can eject it by pressing the paper advance button as well.  It holds the sheet there until you are ready to take it out, rather than dropping it into the basket.

If you have multiple sheets queued up, you can't get a sheet loaded and ready fast enough after one print finishes before the the computer gets the paper out message,  On a mac you can ignore the dialog box, just load your next sheet, and as soon as the printer is ready, the box will go away and printing resumes.
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Thanks, I've got the hang of it now.  I think the really annoying thing was that the alert had a really obnoxious beeping noise that it made.  Once I disabled that, it was far less difficult to take the error.  I think it is odd that they call it an error.  It isn't an error.  It is merely notification that you need to load another sheet of paper. A better message would be "Please load another sheet."  insolent little printer ;-) (sarcasm)