Epson R2880

[Morris Taub]

I want to buy a printer. I love b&w and color printing.

I'm thinking R2880 because I don't do much printing now, can't justify expense of the 3880. But I've read about how it mixes color into the b&w prints it does and that the color fades at different rates than the black inks over time. I'm not sure if this is true in the ABW mode of printing.

I also like the idea of buying an epson 1400 and then using a carbon based b&w pigment solution from places like MIS or Jon Cone.

So, I can't afford both now. I'm thinking maybe the R2880 now to satisfy both color and b&w printing and maybe down the road, when budget allows, set up a b&w only solution. But I just want to be sure I won't be too disappointed now with the b&w print quality. I've read about how good the color printing is though maybe more expensive because of the small ink cartridges. I just don't do enough printing right now to justify the 3880.

I'd like to print on a semi-gloss type of paper. Kind of looking for detail in the prints without going full gloss. I've also been playing with an old epson 1270 and matte papers and the MIS b&w inks (black and grays) and like that a lot too but this old printer is just not giving good quality prints.

Ok, that's my story. Thanks for any experience you can share. I guess I need some knowledge to help me make a jump one way or the other at this point. R2880 for color and maybe a compromise in b&w prints, or the 1400 for b&w and some suffering on my part, wanting to also print in color...

thanks...

[John R Smith]

Morris

Both the R2880 and the 3880 will produce excellent B/W prints. In the ABW mode I find that prints of my 30-year old negatives on Harman FB Gloss are pretty much indistinguishable from my wet darkroom prints on the old Ilford Galerie paper.

The ABW mode does still use the colour inks as part of the mix - to be specific, the L Cyan, L Magenta, and a very small amount of yellow. It does this to obtain neutrality from the black inks (which are not really black), and to give better tonal gradation in the highlight areas. As you say, in time this may well lead to hue shift as the colour inks could fade at a faster rate. The HP Vivera ink set gives better permanence results on the Wilhelm Labs site, but having tried both I have to say I like the look of the Epson ABW mode much better.

John

[Jonathan Ratzlaff]

If colour inks fade at different rates, it makes little difference if you are printing colour or black and white.  You can also use a program like Quadtone RIP to do B&W printing on the 2880.  This has direct control over the inks being used and there are curves available for many combinations of printers and papers.

[Morris Taub]

Morris

Both the R2880 and the 3880 will produce excellent B/W prints. In the ABW mode I find that prints of my 30-year old negatives on Harman FB Gloss are pretty much indistinguishable from my wet darkroom prints on the old Ilford Galerie paper.

The ABW mode does still use the colour inks as part of the mix - to be specific, the L Cyan, L Magenta, and a very small amount of yellow. It does this to obtain neutrality from the black inks (which are not really black), and to give better tonal gradation in the highlight areas. As you say, in time this may well lead to hue shift as the colour inks could fade at a faster rate. The HP Vivera ink set gives better permanence results on the Wilhelm Labs site, but having tried both I have to say I like the look of the Epson ABW mode much better.

John

thanks for this info John...that bit about looking like your darkroom prints, that caught my attention...and I'm not sure about worrying too much about the color fade problems...I might be doing prints for shows/portfolio and maybe, if sold, will use a pro lab that can duplicate look/feel as many times as i need...not sure about that, but it's an option...

[Morris Taub]

If colour inks fade at different rates, it makes little difference if you are printing colour or black and white.  You can also use a program like Quadtone RIP to do B&W printing on the 2880.  This has direct control over the inks being used and there are curves available for many combinations of printers and papers.

Jonathan...I don't know the science behind all this...just some tech things I've read by people far more knowledgeable than I...I'll have to research how the QTR would work doing b&w prints off the 2880...wondering if it would still use some color ink to achieve final result...

Also, I've read that Inksupply and Jon Cone now offer continuous ink supply systems for the 2880 that work with QTR...that would certainly be less expensive than the tiny cartridges Epson offers for the 2880...no idea if the pigment/dilution quality is as good though...

thanks...

[DougieC]

I've had an R2880 for about a year and a half and I can't fault it. The B&W images it produces are utterly stunning (*ahem* print quality anyway, I'll let others judge the actual photos!). I can't vouch for the longevity, though all the reports I've heard about the K3 inks are good, but I doubt you'll be left wanting in the quality department. I was at the framer's this afternoon and they commented on it. I image they see a lot in there too....

[Robert Boire]

Oh, I know where you are coming from since I am pretty much in the same boat. I do not expect to have a large print volume and so I have been agonizing over the choice between the 2880 and 3880 for several weeks. In the end though, I do not think print volume matters so much as the overall life-cycle cost during the life of the printer. If you are going to do enough printing with the 2880 to require you to change cartridges a few times, then the 3880 come out ahead. The fact is that if you account for the cost of the ink that comes with the 3880 vs the 2880, the two printers are almost equivalent in cost. And I understand that the 3880 ink will remain stable in the cartridge for quite a while-at least based on the experience of other users (search in the forums for more info).

Two additional things you may not be aware of.  The 3880 has a mail-back rebate of 300$ which currently makes it cheaper than the 2880 (after accounting for ink). Also the 3880 include dedicated support which can be helpful when you run into problem.

So there I have pretty much convinced myself... again