Any feedback on the differences these two printers yield in print quality. I have not done much printing on paper bigger than 11x17 (the quality premier papers) but I wonder if the quality of the print is better even at 8 x10 on the 3800, considering I profile my monitor and print from Lightroom.
I am getting a small windfall and was considering upgrading the printer. Is it worth it?
Cheers
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I'm not that active on this forum, but I will take a stab at this. I have the 2400 and have been nothing less than thrilled with what has come off of that machine. I also profile my monitor.
I bought my 2400 a little over a year ago when the 3800 was just coming out and still difficult to get. If I had to make the decision today, I might be inclined to get the 3800. Let me explain.
My understanding is that the inks are exactly the same, except that the cartridges on the 3800 are much larger. I go to class with a number of people who use the 3800 and the prints are quite comparable. Unless if you used a magnifying glass, not so sure if the eye can see much, if any, discernible difference. The matte and photo black cartridges are in residence full time on the 3800; there is no swapping. The printer does that on its own and supposedly there is a price to pay in ink loss every time you switch between printing matte or gloss so batch printing is probably not a bad idea. And although the 3800 sells for about $400 more than the 2400, it comes with $400 more worth of ink, which you will probably spend in a year or less when you replace the 2400 cartridges. The 3800 will also print up to 17 inches versus 13 on the 2400, but no roll paper capability. The reasons why I would consider it over the 2400 are the last two. You will essentially spend the same in ink, the 3800 will just last longer in between expenditures and it can print larger, up to 17 inches.
Another reason. Because the 3800 is considered by Epson to be in a different class (wide format professional, I think is what they call it) sometimes they will make papers that are meant for that printer and not the 2400. For example, I had seen some prints made on the Epson semi-matte paper (which I think has been dicontinued) and decided that I wanted to try the paper. But it's not meant for the 2400, there are no profles. But I figured, the inks are the same and I took a chance and ordered a roll (only comes in a roll, have to cut the roll ot sheet sizes as the roll is 16 inches wide). And the prints have been beautiful. Because it is very similar to the epson semigloss, I use that profile for color and just use the advanced B&W mode for B&W.
Hope tihs helps. I don't think you could go wrong with either one. I think it comes down to whether or not you want to lay out more money for the initial expenditure and if you have the desktop real estate for the 3800; it's probably a little bigger.
