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Author Topic: Going From Epson 2200 to 3800?  (Read 3847 times)

Tom H.

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Going From Epson 2200 to 3800?
« on: July 06, 2009, 11:12:05 pm »

I've thought of getting a used copy of ImagePrint to get a little more from my old 2200, but the advice I've been getting here is; walk away.
After a recent trip to the Southwest (Bryce, Monument Valley, Upper and Lower Antelope) I've started printing off the images.
Shot with a Canon 5D Mk II in RAW and processed with DXO - on screen these images pop, but when printed they are flat and muddy.
While all the shadow detail is all there, they have no life.
My monitor is calibrated (Spyder 3), the profiles are the ones downloaded from Epson (for Ultra Premium Presenation Matte/Enhanced Matte), and I'm using a colour managed work flow.
Maybe I'm expecting my prints to match my monitor too much (an old IBM P260 CRT), maybe I'm expecting too much from matte paper.
But these prints have no LIFE (my wife on the other hand loves them)!
Given the good price of a 3800 these days (200.00 mail in rebate), I would consider the plunge, given the number of images I'd like to print off.
Has anyone made the leap and what has been your experience?
Many thanks in advance!
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Wayne Fox

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Going From Epson 2200 to 3800?
« Reply #1 on: July 07, 2009, 01:24:42 am »

Quote from: Tom H.
IHas anyone made the leap and what has been your experience?
Many thanks in advance!

Well, I'm guessing most have made the leap, probably a long time ago. I've got a 2200 sitting in a closet that hasn't made a print in several years.  The 3800 (I have 2 of them) is light years ahead of the 2200, on both PK and MK papers.  In addition, your ink costs will plummet since it uses much larger ink cartridges so the cost per ml is much lower than your 2200.

As good as the 3800 is, i still uses the original K3 inkset, which has been superseded quite some time ago by the K3 with Vivid Magenta inkset (48/78/98/11880 printers), and now by the K3 HDR inkset of the 79/9900 printers.  There has been speculation for a long time that Epson would update the 3800 to the K3/Vivid Magenta inks, but no one has a clue if they are even working on such a printer.

So despite that fact, the K3 inkset is still a big jump over the original Ultrachrome inks used in the 2200, so the 3800 is still a terrific buy.  If you calculate how much ink comes with the printer and compare that to what you are paying for 2200 inks right now, I'm guessing you'll find the actual printer is only costing you around $600.

One other thing you may want to consider ... the newer papers designed for PK inks are stunning .  I have pretty much moved completely away from matte inks.  You may want to spend some time searching the forum and read some of the main site articles on these phenomenal papers.  There are several threads discussing them, as well as links to some other reviews.

Here's one link to check out...

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/...rs/baryta.shtml
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K.C.

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Going From Epson 2200 to 3800?
« Reply #2 on: July 07, 2009, 05:33:08 am »

I have a 2200 with Imageprint and a 3800. I can't think of a good reason to print anything on the 2200 anymore. I just haven't bothered to sell it or give it away.

Move up and you'll see a significant improvement in image quality plus the cost savings per print.
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picnic

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Going From Epson 2200 to 3800?
« Reply #3 on: July 07, 2009, 07:47:07 am »

I agree.  My 2200 sits unused for several years.  All of the pros for the 3800 have been listed.  I don't believe it was mentioned how little trouble a 3800 is (or at least mine and I've seen this repeated many times).  I haven't had a clog since I bought the 3800 the December it came out--not one.  I do check it religiously before printing important series, but haven't found a clog yet.  I've used it with a variety of media and have not had a problem with any---and the prints are wonderful.

Diane
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Eric Myrvaagnes

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Going From Epson 2200 to 3800?
« Reply #4 on: July 07, 2009, 10:41:23 am »

Ditto to everybody else here.

I got my 3800 only a couple of months ago, and it is a wonderful machine. My only regret is that I didn't do it much sooner. I could certainly have bought the 3800 several times over with all the tiny/expensive ink carts I have gone through in the 2200. And yes: Now I can use theose nice glossy papers like Ilford Gold Fibre Silk and Harman Glos FB AI.

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francois

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Going From Epson 2200 to 3800?
« Reply #5 on: July 07, 2009, 11:30:16 am »

Quote from: EricM
Ditto to everybody else here.

I got my 3800 only a couple of months ago, and it is a wonderful machine. My only regret is that I didn't do it much sooner. I could certainly have bought the 3800 several times over with all the tiny/expensive ink carts I have gone through in the 2200. And yes: Now I can use theose nice glossy papers like Ilford Gold Fibre Silk and Harman Glos FB AI.

I fully agree with you Eric, I wished that my 2100 (Euro equivalent of the 2200) had died much sooner. I almost never used glossy or non-matte papers. My 3800 has been running great with a couple of head-strikes only. No clogs either, what a difference with my 2100.
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Tom H.

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Going From Epson 2200 to 3800?
« Reply #6 on: July 07, 2009, 12:10:55 pm »

Quote from: francois
I fully agree with you Eric, I wished that my 2100 (Euro equivalent of the 2200) had died much sooner. I almost never used glossy or non-matte papers. My 3800 has been running great with a couple of head-strikes only. No clogs either, what a difference with my 2100.


A big thank-you to everyone for their input!

All I need to do now is convince my lovely wife - who by the way, noticed the chroming on glossy paper before I did, way back when!

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Eric Myrvaagnes

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Going From Epson 2200 to 3800?
« Reply #7 on: July 07, 2009, 04:37:42 pm »

Quote from: Tom H.
All I need to do now is convince my lovely wife - who by the way, noticed the chroming on glossy paper before I did, way back when!
Here's how to convince her. Calculate (generously) the cost of three years worth of 2200 ink cartridges. I trust you have noticed that one of them indicates "empty" on every other print you make on the 2200. Assuming each 2200 cartridge has about 10 ml of useable ink (not including the ink left in the "empty" cartridge and wasted), see how much you spend on ink in three years time. Then do the same for the 3800 cartridges (each holding about 8 times the amount of ink of a 2200 cartridge.) The ink savings should be enough to warrant buying the 3800.

Good luck!


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Ken Bennett

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Going From Epson 2200 to 3800?
« Reply #8 on: July 07, 2009, 06:07:55 pm »

I agree with Wayne, I have moved entirely away from matte papers on my 3800. My usual paper is just a standard pearl finish, but using the PK ink the images just pop off the paper. Much better than the same image printed on matte paper using the MK ink. I have tried sample packs of the fancy gloss fibre papers, but that's too rich for my wallet.

The ink savings should pay for the printer in a year or so.
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Gellman

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Going From Epson 2200 to 3800?
« Reply #9 on: July 08, 2009, 12:27:40 am »

I agree with everyone else about the 3800 vs. the 2200. I made the same switch about six months ago and am very pleased with the 3800. But I'm not adding this comment to simply say me too. If anything, I think you are expecting way too much from an old IBM CRT monitor, even if it is calibrated. In my opinion, the monitor is just as critical as the printer. You can't adjust what you can't see, and I don't think you can see the fine differences in tone and color on such an old monitor as you could on one of the better LCD monitors, such as the NEC 90 series. I waited way too long to replace my Sony Artisan with a NEC 2690. The NEC monitor is just a pleasure to look at, calibrates as easily as the Artisan, and I think allows me to produce better overall image quality going to the printer.

John
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Tom H.

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Going From Epson 2200 to 3800?
« Reply #10 on: July 08, 2009, 01:18:50 am »

Quote from: ncjohnboy
I agree with everyone else about the 3800 vs. the 2200. I made the same switch about six months ago and am very pleased with the 3800. But I'm not adding this comment to simply say me too. If anything, I think you are expecting way too much from an old IBM CRT monitor, even if it is calibrated. In my opinion, the monitor is just as critical as the printer. You can't adjust what you can't see, and I don't think you can see the fine differences in tone and color on such an old monitor as you could on one of the better LCD monitors, such as the NEC 90 series. I waited way too long to replace my Sony Artisan with a NEC 2690. The NEC monitor is just a pleasure to look at, calibrates as easily as the Artisan, and I think allows me to produce better overall image quality going to the printer.

John

Good point, but I always thought the gamut of my old moniotr was closer to a printer (and my profiels) than the new 98% Adobe RGB capable LCDs.

While the images on these moniors blow my sox off, I have a big enough challenge matching this old CRT!!!!

that said maybe it's time to update both.
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