Epson 4900 US Availability

[stefano]

Greetings all,

I recently ordered a new Epson 4900 from my local photography store, who is an Epson Pro retailer and has a fairly large store front and online retail operation. I was told on the phone that one was in stock in their warehouse, then that one would be delivered in 3 to 5 days when i showed up to the store to pay for it... that became a week, then an undetermined time, and that was more than 2 weeks ago. Last I heard today is that Epson cannot say when they will be able to ship one.

Needless to say i am growing frustrated, having shelled out 2500 dollars two weeks ago for what became an undetermined delivery date. I do try to support my local pro store when I can, but I am curious to hear if other forum members are having the same experience in trying to purchase a 4900, or if I am still not getting the straight story from my dealer.

Any comments you can share will greatly help me decide to either be patient or to try to get a refund from this vendor and pursue another avenue to buy this printer.

Thanks,

Stefano

[langier]

Sounds like when I ordered my Epson 4000 back in 2004. Promised and promised and then all of a sudden, somebody went to Europe and missed the call... My dealer snagged it and I got it six months after ordering.

I hope you get your's sooner than I got mine!

[Schewe]

Last I heard today is that Epson cannot say when they will be able to ship one.

Correct...4900's are in very short supply because they are selling pretty much like hotcakes...there are some around but the supply is very, very limited and they'll be in short supply for a while yet. From what I've heard, the initial sales exceeded Epson's expectation and demand has outstripped supply. It takes a while for Epson to catch up to demand...not really any body's fault, just an unfortunate situation–believe me, Epson would LOVE to be filling demand but they can't just turn up the volume...heck I still don't have mine!

:~(

[stefano]

Larry, thanks for the thoughts.

Jeff, thanks for your feedback! From an Epson expert like yu it does lend credibility to the last story I got from my dealer... I will probably stick with them for the moment, not wanting to get on the bottom of the list somewhere else. I wish that they would have been straightforward with me from the beginning, but oh well... lesson learned.

I hope to get the priner before the $500 coupon offer expires though! That is a significant discount, and would hate to miss out after having paid or the printer in advance!

Will keep the group updated when I receive my 4900!

--Stefano

[Zave]

I and a friend of mind, each bought one machine from Shades of Paper in NJ.  Because I was in the middle of printing a portfolio I drove there and picked it up two weeks ago (I am in Philly).  My Boston based buddy had his shipped with no waiting.

www.shadesofpaper.com

[Zave]

I had a Canon IPF 5000 which I have had since they first came out.  My comparison between the two machines.

The Canon was about twice as fast.
The Epson prints on glossy stock are amazing and seem to jump off the page.  On Matt Stock I am not seeing any difference between the two printers.

I print my glossy on Ilford's Gold Fibre Silk and the Matt on Innova's High White Cotton Duo.

The print head on the Canon died, the cost difference between replacing two print heads and buying the new Epson with a couple of rebates that I had was not very much hence the new machine.

 

[Wayne Fox]

The Canon was about twice as fast.

 

What quality settings did you have for each printer?  I haven't tested a 4900 yet, but was assuming the output speed gains from the new model epsons would carry forward with the 4900 - certainly a disappointment if they didn't.  Currently Epson 78/9890 and 79/990 and Canon's ipf63/8300's have similar speeds if you use comparable quality settings for output.

[Zave]

I am using the top quality settings.  For the Epson that is 2880 and honestly don't remember for the Canon.  The hang up for the Epson is how it feeds the file to the printer.  When I sent an image to the Canon to print, it would start printing right away.  The Epson seems to think about it for a while before the printing begins. It is really comes down to how the spooling software is written.

Does anybody have a hint of how to make the Epson faster?

[Shane Webster]

I bought mine at ImagingSpectrum in Dallas.  As far as speed is concerned--I do not have a Canon printer--the 4900 seems noticeably faster than my 7880 at similar print settings.  Both of my printers are connected to my network via ethernet as is my main computer processing the print jobs.

[Randy Carone]

Zave,

Are you running Bi-directional (high speed) or Uni-directional? If you are printing uni-directional you will see your speed double when you click High Speed and you should see no difference in quality. I only use Uni-directional when I'm printing material that needs extra drying time, such as backlit films.

[abiggs]

I have had my 4900 for about 3 weeks now, and the printer is just as fast as the Canon 5100, if not a little faster (given similar quality settings). The 4900 is a huge improvement over the 4880 in so many areas, and is quite the workhorse.

[stefano]

Looks like 4900s are shipping again! After having cancelled my order from my local store (mainly due to less than optimal customer service throughout the process) I placed an order a couple of weeks ago with Shades of Paper, and I just got a note stating that my printer had shipped. Props to Shades of Paper for great communication and customer support, they have found a new customer!

Stefano

[chocodog]

Thanks for the tips. I tried the profiles for the larger printers and they worked and looked great. cheers