Introduction and new 4900 owner

[John Parry]

Hello,

Just want to introduce myself and say thanks to all for your invaluable help.

I hail from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and am just embarking on the printing process. I have no experience whatsoever printing except from local labs so I can imagine this is going to be a challenging, but hopefully a fun and interesting, learning experience. I just recently (Jan 2) started printing from my long awaited Epson 4900 which was ordered Aug 30 from Henry's, arrived at my doorstep early December, and then was unpacked over the holidays. My printing will be for my own personal use.

So far I've been printing 8 x10's and just this past Thursday printed my first 13 x 19" Ilford GFS print. I have to say I am blown away by the quality of the prints and am so far extremely happy with the printer. The paper was chosen based on comments from people on the this forum.

Now comes the learning curve about printer operation, color management, paper types (I never knew choosing paper would be a new and completely different world altogether!). I have to say I am very intimidated about cleaning cycles, nozzle checks, etc.

But enough rambling - just want to say thanks again to all (you really don't know how helpful you've been)and I have a ton of learning to do and questions to ask and hopefully I'll be able to add to the forum once I've got some usage time on the meter.

Regards,
John Parry

[designpartners]

Good luck with the 4900! it's going to be fun!  

[MichaelWorley]

   Welcome to the club!

   I've got you kind of bracketed. Friends in AB, ON and QC, where my wife is from.

   In fact, I know a photographer in Winnipeg. Peter Blahut, but he may be up in Churchill for the winter by now.

   A tip about printers I've found useful: Don't worry about things going wrong until they actually do. Having said that, I'd do a nozzle check before printing something big.

   Good luck!

Mike

[Mark D Segal]

Welcome. I own a 4900 (in fact wrote the first LULA review of this printer especially for this website) and I too find the print quality - well as I said in the article - superb. I am leaving the auto nozzle checks and auto cleanings activated. I find it is the best protection from clogging and I am assured by Epson technical staff that these auto cleanings use a minimal amount of ink. The easiest way of using such equipment is to leave the machinery-related settings at their defaults until you come across some kind of issue that warrants very targeted intervention and amendment. Also, if you haven't done so already, buy Michael and Jeff's Camera to Print Tutorial. It's very comprehensive and you'll learn pretty much most of what you need to know, plus some.

[KeithR]

Also, if you haven't done so already, buy Michael and Jeff's Camera to Print Tutorial. It's very comprehensive and you'll learn pretty much most of what you need to know, plus some.
[/quote
+1. One of the best buys for the price. Order it, down load the chapters(it'll take a while, so do it in batches-one at a time), sit back and enjoy the banter. By the time your done, you'll come away with a tremendous amount of printing knowledge.

[John Parry]

Muchos gracious everyone. I will absolutely order the M & J's print tutorial - it's on the to do list.

Mark, I spent hours going over your review - thank you ever so much for taking the time to put that review together. I was initially going for the 3880 but the very attractive rebate and your review turned the tide towards the 4900.

Cheers,
John

[Mark D Segal]

John,

You are welcome - but take care please - all that said, if you think you will not need roll holder functionality (panoramic prints), the 3880 may be the better option - print quality also superb, much smaller footprint, and perhaps less nozzle cleaning. The 4900 is a production machine that wants to keep being fed with work, while the 3880, based on my experience with its predecessor the 3800, may be less demanding in terms of maintenance after varying periods of non-use.

[Wayne Fox]

John,

You are welcome - but take care please - all that said, if you think you will not need roll holder functionality (panoramic prints), the 3880 may be the better option - print quality also superb, much smaller footprint, and perhaps less nozzle cleaning. The 4900 is a production machine that wants to keep being fed with work, while the 3880, based on my experience with its predecessor the 3800, may be less demanding in terms of maintenance after varying periods of non-use.

Yes, well done review.  After a few months with my 4900 I think your post sums it up nicely ...

[Mark D Segal]

Thanks Wayne.