Epson 4880 great price, footprint?

[kate the traveler]

I just ordered an Epson 4880 printer at the boston NAPP show for $1120 with shipping and no tax. Can't wait to start printing.
Now I am trying to figure where to put it and need some help please on size of footprint.
I went to the Epson internet site and saw that they recomment 15.7" behind. Is this really necessary (maybe to change the roll of paper?).
What is the smallest footprint of the machine?
Anyone have the model number of the Ikea stand?
Anyone using a 20' UBS cord with success? At the show I was told that I could go up to 25' but saw on Epson specs 10'.
What I would like to do is use 3 file cabinets which would be 36" across with 2 and one behind which would be smaller than the footprint for sure. So I would get a board cut for the top and level it with cork underneath but then it would definitely be stationary so I need to know how much space behind.
Am really concerned about space.
Thank you for any help you can give me.
By the way the sample prints at the show looked extroadinary!

[colinm]

If you're not using the front feed (which you probably won't if you're using rolls), you can have the rear of the printer much closer to a surface than Epson's recommendations.

As for connecting the printer, is there any reason you can't use the network interface?
20 feet is pretty darn iffy with USB—the spec only allows for ~16 foot cables, and going beyond that is often a recipe for disaster. There are workarounds involving Rube Goldberg-esque chains of standard-sized cables and powered USB hubs, but it wasn't designed for long runs and it shows. Using the Ethernet interface would be much more reliable, allow you to easily print from any computer you've got, and in most network setups these days it would literally be plug-and-play.

[Jeff Magidson]

For USB extension, I would recommend the Trendnet cable linked below. Its a 15' usb extender cable. You can reliably connect up to 3 for 45' of extension. I regularly use a few for tethered shooting and they work great. They are reasonably priced too.

Here is the item at B&H.  

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller...is=REG#includes

-Jeff
http://artslidesboston.com

[Tklimek]

Congrats on your purchase!

I think the 4880 is a great printer.

Check out my post in this thread:  http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index....mp;#entry251758

The edge of my table is about 5 inches from the wall and I have no problem changing paper rolls but most likely would need to move it out from the wall for large cut sheets or thicker material which need a straight through pass.

Sounds like you got a great deal on that printer!

You do need to make sure you are familiar with the 4880 quality control module though as indicated in this thread:  http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index....c=27799&hl=    

As far as the USB, I would just use the Ethernet connection for distances that great, but that's just me.

I would also make sure you consider the "solidness" of whatever stand you choose to put your 4880 on; I know that the stand others in this forum have used seems to work well for them, but I didn't like the idea of a possible "shimmy" when the printer was printing so I opted for a very sold stand.  The dimensions of the TABLETOP of the stand I got from Ikea measures:  26 1/4 " deep by 36 2/16 wide.  The 4880 is flush with the back of the table and just the sheet feeder tray sticks out the front by about 3 inches.  You can see this in the "Quality control issue" picture although it doesn't really look like it sticks out by much there, it really is about 3 inches.  One other thing to note, this table was practically made for the 4880!  The small top drawer is great to put prints in to degass.  The two lower drawers almost perfectly fit 4 rolls of 16" or 17" Epson paper (in their boxes).  In my setup, top drawer is for degassing prints, middle drawer houses 4 rolls of paper (and managed to stack two 25 sheet boxes of 17x22 Epson Exhibtion fiber on top of that....and the drawer still closes!), and the bottom drawer holds some boxes of 8.5x11 Exhibition fiber and Brilliant Luster, a 10" roll of Premium luster, and matting supplies, etc.

Have fun!  The output from the 4880 is very good (IMHO!).

Cheers....

Todd in Chicago

I just ordered an Epson 4880 printer at the boston NAPP show for $1120 with shipping and no tax. Can't wait to start printing.
Now I am trying to figure where to put it and need some help please on size of footprint.
I went to the Epson internet site and saw that they recomment 15.7" behind. Is this really necessary (maybe to change the roll of paper?).
What is the smallest footprint of the machine?
Anyone have the model number of the Ikea stand?
Anyone using a 20' UBS cord with success? At the show I was told that I could go up to 25' but saw on Epson specs 10'.
What I would like to do is use 3 file cabinets which would be 36" across with 2 and one behind which would be smaller than the footprint for sure. So I would get a board cut for the top and level it with cork underneath but then it would definitely be stationary so I need to know how much space behind.
Am really concerned about space.
Thank you for any help you can give me.
By the way the sample prints at the show looked extroadinary!

[kate the traveler]

Congrats on your purchase!

I think the 4880 is a great printer.

Check out my post in this thread:  http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index....mp;#entry251758

The edge of my table is about 5 inches from the wall and I have no problem changing paper rolls but most likely would need to move it out from the wall for large cut sheets or thicker material which need a straight through pass.

Sounds like you got a great deal on that printer!

You do need to make sure you are familiar with the 4880 quality control module though as indicated in this thread:  http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index....c=27799&hl=    

As far as the USB, I would just use the Ethernet connection for distances that great, but that's just me.

I would also make sure you consider the "solidness" of whatever stand you choose to put your 4880 on; I know that the stand others in this forum have used seems to work well for them, but I didn't like the idea of a possible "shimmy" when the printer was printing so I opted for a very sold stand.  The dimensions of the TABLETOP of the stand I got from Ikea measures:  26 1/4 " deep by 36 2/16 wide.  The 4880 is flush with the back of the table and just the sheet feeder tray sticks out the front by about 3 inches.  You can see this in the "Quality control issue" picture although it doesn't really look like it sticks out by much there, it really is about 3 inches.  One other thing to note, this table was practically made for the 4880!  The small top drawer is great to put prints in to degass.  The two lower drawers almost perfectly fit 4 rolls of 16" or 17" Epson paper (in their boxes).  In my setup, top drawer is for degassing prints, middle drawer houses 4 rolls of paper (and managed to stack two 25 sheet boxes of 17x22 Epson Exhibtion fiber on top of that....and the drawer still closes!), and the bottom drawer holds some boxes of 8.5x11 Exhibition fiber and Brilliant Luster, a 10" roll of Premium luster, and matting supplies, etc.

Have fun!  The output from the 4880 is very good (IMHO!).

Cheers....

Todd in Chicago

[kate the traveler]

If you're not using the front feed (which you probably won't if you're using rolls), you can have the rear of the printer much closer to a surface than Epson's recommendations.

As for connecting the printer, is there any reason you can't use the network interface?
20 feet is pretty darn iffy with USB—the spec only allows for ~16 foot cables, and going beyond that is often a recipe for disaster. There are workarounds involving Rube Goldberg-esque chains of standard-sized cables and powered USB hubs, but it wasn't designed for long runs and it shows. Using the Ethernet interface would be much more reliable, allow you to easily print from any computer you've got, and in most network setups these days it would literally be plug-and-play.

Thanks! Have decided to rearrange my office and put it closer.

[kate the traveler]

For USB extension, I would recommend the Trendnet cable linked below. Its a 15' usb extender cable. You can reliably connect up to 3 for 45' of extension. I regularly use a few for tethered shooting and they work great. They are reasonably priced too.

Here is the item at B&H.  

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller...is=REG#includes

-Jeff
http://artslidesboston.com

Thanks! Will buy this.

[PeterAit]

Thanks! Will buy this.

I have a 4880 - great printer, by the way! I have the back of the roll holder 2 inches from a wall. With the paper tray collapsed, it extends 32" from the wall - expanded, for large paper, 45". Width = 34". It's heavy, so you need a sturdy support.

Peter