Initial Ink supply in Epson 4900?

[mikeguil]

Right off the bat I think it sucks that Epson only puts in a token ink supply to get you started... but that aside, how much ink does it really supply?  I'm not talking about ml, but is it only enough to get the system running or can you actual print some images after the setup?  How soon am I going to have to purchase ink?

[wtlloyd]

I just picked up a demo 4900 a week ago...I just installed the first full cart (photo black), all the others are still the initial carts. Shows 250 prints on the counter, I'm pretty sure they were only printing on 8x10's. All the other black inks are flashing, but I got 20 prints on photo black after it started to flash. All the colors are between 1/2 and 1/4 full (on the initial 80ml carts).

This thing is crazy frugal on ink compared to my 4800. Oh, and I changed from photo to matte black 3 times, AFTER the photo black started to read low ink. Ink changeover is a non-issue in this printer, from what I can tell.

[Randy Carone]

You'll probably use about 30-40ml of the 80ml starter carts to fill the printer lines and head assembly. You should be able to print a fair amount after the initial set-up, but you should think about buying a set of ink so you are ready when your first ink runs out. The printer will use about 1.5ml of total ink per square foot so you can print a fair amount before the starters will be depleted.

[stefano]

I just unpacked my new 4900 (Joy!) and set it up. The hardest part of the job was to lift the printer to its final resting stop in my office - it is a beast! The machine just finished charging its ink system, and below is a screen shot of the web based Epson utility showing the status of consumables. It looks like about 70% of the ink in each cartridge is left for printing - not bad for the small starter cartridges!

Time to get busy printing!

Stefano

[Mike Guilbault]

Time to get busy printing!

Stefano

Please give us an update when you have some prints run through.  Would like your views on the whole experience!

The ink supply sounds better than I expected.  As soon as I get the printer I'll start buying cartridges as backup.  Any specs on which cartridges are the first to go?

[stefano]

Mike,

for the moment my experience with the 4900 has been great. Setup was straightforward and quick, the printer is pretty speedy and very quiet, with hardly any noise when idle. The printer is interfaced to my Mac via ethernet, and the network setup was also very straightforward.

Nozzle check after ink loading came up perfect, and I did a print head alignment (based on suggestions from Jeff Schewe gleaned from this forum) which completed successfully in a few minutes.
Tonight I will be loading my first roll paper through it and will be doing some profiling, and I expect to have a few prints through it over the weekend. This is my first Epson pro printer, and I suspect I will have to spend some time figuring out the right settings for my Breathing Color papers and canvas, but I am overall very pleased with my first impressions of this machine.

More to come,

Stefano

[Shane Webster]

I've had my 4900 for approximately a month and a half and have been very pleased with its initial ink supply.  Since Feb. 15th (the date I was able to setup the printer with MEP), I've printed 190 pages using 39m2 of paper and consuming 149.24ml of ink.  Prior to that, I had some profiling jobs and test prints consuming another 9.9ml of ink.  Currently, only LLK (47%), VLM (39% (I think everything prints with lots of VLM--it's the most consumed on my 7880 as well)), and LK (49%) are below 50% remaining.  The least used inks are green (63%) and orange (65%) but that is not surprising given the print jobs on which I've been working. 

Two of the more surprising things so far regarding the printer is the low amount of ink used for a nozzle cleaning (2.89ml) and the amount of ink used when printing an image using PK versus MK.  I printed the same image--first on Epson Somerset Velvet and then on Ilford Gold Fibre.  The ESV job took 6.26ml of ink while the IGFS took 12.48ml of ink.  The only tricky thing on its use (at least for me) has been consistent manual rear paper loading.  I get very few misalignments now but it does take a little bit to get used to the proper "snapping" in place of the paper.

[Mike Guilbault]

I've been hearing that about the rear loading.  I'll keep an eye out for that.

Stefano... I'll be interested to hear how your profiling goes.  This will be my first Epson Pro as well... my last Epson being the 1280 that is still going strong but has been relegated to my home office.

[wtlloyd]

rear loading is easy - nothing like it was on the 4800 or 4000

I just ran 16 8x10 sheets of Hot Press Bright. Push the paper down until it starts to "bow" out a bit, continue to push and it will take a little "jump" along with a "chunk" sound, then it will feel like it has hit a positive stop. The sound, I think, is the "pawls" that hold the paper giving way at the last. Press the down arrow as prompted, and you are good.

I didn't have a single failure to load on the 16 sheet job I ran, vrs 5 to 10 attempts on the 4800 per page.

[stefano]

Stefano... I'll be interested to hear how your profiling goes.  This will be my first Epson Pro as well... my last Epson being the 1280 that is still going strong but has been relegated to my home office.

Mike,

I just got my first batch of prints on BC Vibrance Rag, and I am very impressed. Thus morning I created a profile for this paper using a Xrite Colormunki, measuring the two default target plus an optimization target extracted from a shot from Bryce Canyon. I then proceeded to print one of my favorite shots of a pine tree clinging on the edge of Bryce Canyon - an image with lots of shades of red, orange and purple as well as brilliant greens and subtle sky shades, and tons of detail at all scales.
WOW! The results of this first print were amazing! Very close match to the soft proof on my screen, beautiful colors and an incredible amount of detail.

I printed at super fine 2880 dpi, 16 bits, no high speed. Will try high speed next and see if I get any noticeable difference. By the way, I used Photokit Sharpener 2 for output sharpening, and the combination of it with the 4900 produces amazing fine detail in the myriad of pinnacles of Bryce. I am definitely excited at the possibilities of this printer!

Stefano

[Mike Guilbault]

Stefano...

That's GREAT!  My supplier is out of them at the moment but is supposed to have more in by the end of the month.  I can't wait! 

My studio is on the main street of a small town in Ontario and we're having a large Festival in April.  I hope to have it up and running before that so I can have some prints on display by then.  You've got me very excited now.

cheers,

Mike

[stefano]

The wait is tough, believe me! You'll love the printer though, and best of luck for your April festival! The good part is that the setup is really quick and straightforward - by now I have 3 papers profiled and a dozen test prints - I am planning to start mounting and framing this week for a local show.

Best,

Stefano