Help choosing printer

[Ian Moody]

Hi

Any advice would be appreciated!

Our second Epson R2400 has just given up the ghost after a good few years service (apart from the fact that the paper feed almost never worked) and we always said that when it finally went we would move up to an A2 sized printer.

We have a large collection of images that we print and we have only ever used the Epson Archival Matte and original Epson Ultrachrome inks with images in sRGB / Adobe RGB space and printed using the stock Epson profiles.

The last thing we want is to get an expensive new printer and find that the prints "look different" and end up having to make levels / colour changes to hundreds of images.

With two kids, time is not available to have to "fix" hundreds of prints - so would it be sensible to stick with an Epson of some kind?  Or could you switch to say a Canon and expect your prints to largely look the same, even down to the overall level of brightness etc?

We previously used Epson 2100 and noticed that the R2400 prints were a bit darker, but not enough to be a pain.

So, any advice?  Stick with Epson to avoid prints looking "different"?  We're definitely looking at an "affordable" A2 printer, but would anticipate the larger print size being able to cover the cost of the printer pretty soon.

Looks like it would cost £300 or so to fix the R2400 from what I read on the net.


Ian

[Ian Moody]

ps. Time is of the essence, as orders keep coming in and we have no printer, plus xmas is coming up 

[digitaldog]

I don’t know that you can even find new 2400’s anymore. You could fix it, it should continue to “match”. Or just get a 2880 and move on.

[David Saffir]

well, you've got a bit of a problem.

It's like this: when you are locked into using one manufacturer's printer/ink/paper combo, you are locked in. You could try to get a lightly used printer like your old one, but that is only a temporary expedient.

If this is an important part of your business, you may want to consider investing in equipment that allows you to make your own color profiles (printer instructions, really) and then standardize on a good quality paper manufacturer that's not tied to a printer company - Premier, Parrot, Lexjet come to mind.

For display and printer control, the ColorMunki is hard to beat.

David

PS - I just posted the first installment of a review of Parrot papers on my blog - here's the link.

[langier]

I'd move up a notch and get an Epson 3800 or 3880 refurb and if you were already using the canned profiles, continue to do so.

The cost difference between a 2400/2800 series printer and the 3800/3880 would be that after paid for a similar quantity of ink, you almost get the printer for free, you get a newer print engine, faster production and the ability to print up to 17x22 all in the same package, and as a bonus, your cost per cc of ink will be 20-40% less...

The refurbs come with a full warranty so the clock starts anew.

If you are by a large city, you may be able to find a place for repair. Next best thing is to go to eBay and find the same printer and hope it's in good shape and doesn't get jostled too badly in shipping to you.

To find a refurb, start at Epson's website.

I always recommend to my clients that it's usually money ahead to go to newer generations of printers/computers since in the long run they'll be money, time and frustration ahead for not much more up front. Since this seems to be a business for you, it's even better advice to move ahead, cry once and keep things moving.

[Ian Moody]

Thanks,

A friend has 2 Epson 4000's he not using any more and would be happy to sell for a few hundred quid, including inks.

But I'm vary wary of a second hand 6-8 year old printer.... could just be a waste of time and cash, though they are well looked after.

Thinking more along the lines of a 3880 with 3 years epson cover.....

I will definitely look at the refurbished option first though, especially if you can get the three year cover with those also.

This is definitely a business for my partner who uses it day in day out - and even though the cost of a new 3880 would only be a fraction of her turnover, it's still quite a lump of cash just before xmas once you factor in some new inks and extra warranty etc.

[Bill Koenig]

I wouldn't even consider a used Epson 4000, I wouldn't consider a new one either.
Go with a new 3880 and don't look back.
Also, I wouldn't get the extended warranty either, if something happens, it usually happens right out of the box, or a few months down the road, if nothing breaks in the first year, more than likely it will just keep going with out problems.

[Ian Moody]

Thanks,

I ended up ordering a new 3880 this afternoon (couldn't find any reconditioned ones), but went for the extended warranty also, as they were doing it for just over £100 - and £50/year for two years peace of mind seemed like something I could live with - even though like you say, it will probably either go wrong within the original warranty or never!

Fingers crossed it all works magically out of the box without too much fiddling.

[Alan Goldhammer]

You will be pleased with the prints.  My 3880 was up and printing within an hour of receipt and I've had no problems with it in the 7 months I've had it.  I just had to change the first two ink cartridges.

Alan

[mfryd]

I think you have made an excellent choice.

The Epson 3880 produces excellent results, and is much cheaper to operate than the smaller Epson printers.  Epson 3880 ink runs about $0.56 per ml, Epson 2880 ink costs over twice that at $1.17 per ml.


Here in the states they are running a $300 rebate on the 3880.  That brings the price of the print engine to within $42 of the price of the 2880 print engine.  At first glance it seems like the 3880 print engine demands a much higher premium.  The truth is that the print engine is cheap, but you have to buy it bundled with $400 of ink (the 2880 comes bundled with $108 worth of more expensive ink)

If you buy the same amount of ink with both printers, the difference is clearer.

You can buy an Epson 3880 with 80 ml of ink for each color costs about $835.
An Epson 2880 with 80 ml of ink for each color costs about $1,148

If you print a lot, the Epson 3880 will save you a fortune compared to the 2880.

[Waltere]

Ian, you are going to love the 3880! I have had mine for all of two weeks and made 20 prints for a show now hanging. Only one reprint that was too dark. And, it's my first printer!

Let us know how you like it.

Waltere

[Ian Moody]

Should arrive today.

Anyone have any idea if two R2400s with dead print heads are worth anything to anyone, or should be just bin them?