Epson 7900 / 9900 Thoughts

[SpiritShooter]

I am very sorry to hear of the issues that some of the folks here on LL are having with their printers. It is clear that these are real and highly frustrating issues for those that have them.However, what I see as a bigger concern is some of the statement being made with respect to Epson, what they know and what people think they know.

Over the past 15 years I have used HP, Canon, Xerox and Epson printers in my business. We have had Epson printers ranging from the 4,000, 4,800, 7000, 9000, 7600, 9600, 7800, and 9800. Currently, we have a 2 year old 7900 and a 1 year old 9900.

Our printers get moderate use, certainly not a service agency type of use, but what I would call moderate weekly use. There are times that a printer might not be used for several weeks at a time. They are always left on, and do their thing. Occasionally we have a slight clog that a cleaning cycle clears. Our office stays at roughly 44-48% humidity, perhaps higher when our a/c shuts down at night. We are in the tropics so dry air is not something we deal with.

The 7900 and 9900 have run issue free. (Knock on wood). As a business, we maintain the service contracts and since we take 3 year leases on the printers with a fair market value buyout, we give the printers back after the 3 year term and lease new printers every three years or so. We feel that the service contract is an insurance policy and with our methodology we are never without a service contract. The monthly lease payments are extremely low, we expense them 100% and have found that this methodology results in little or no heartburn.

In 15 years we have had one major printer issue that could not be fixed. It was with a 9600 that Epson replaced after service could not fix it.

We have also had few issues with the HP printers. We find that the Epson output is second to none with respect to the printers we have and currently use.

I realize that many people do not run businesses and as such can't structure their purchase as we have, but i also want to say that not every Epson 7900/9900 printer is problematic and has these severe clogging issues.

Bill.

[Mark D Segal]

Bill, this is a real breath of fresh air and so good to hear. It is not often that we have the opportunity of getting "bird's-eye" feedback from moderately intensive users who have the vantage point of comparing various models/brands under one roof - and take the trouble to report on good experience. While you were quite specific about the lineage of Epson printers you use, it would be interesting to know which Canon and HP models you have that enter the frame of reference for comparing performance and your impressions of print quality.

[KenBabcock]

My thoughts have to echo what Bill has said.

I have used most of those models, and some others, in over 10 years of printing.  I currently own 4 LF Epson's, including a 7900 and have never had issues at all with any of my Epson printers.  I still have a 7600 that runs almost every day.  These printers are always left on too and rarely do I get a clog on any.

Never ran HP so I can't comment.  Have a Canon 8300 that also has not given me problems but it doesn't run all the time.  I only bought it cause the price was too good to pass up.  Most of my work goes to the 9880.  7900 receives a bit less because I primarily use it for paper.  I print more canvas than paper, that's why the 9880 gets the majority of the work.

I have been following the other threads about the 900 series.  Can't say I have experienced anything like that, ever.  My Epson's have run smooth and reliably for over 10 years.

[designpartners]

i also want to say that not every Epson 7900/9900 printer is problematic and has these severe clogging issues.

I too am knocking on wood as I say this, but we are also very happy with our 9900... it doesn't get a lot of use, it may print 20 A1 prints in day then not be used for 2 weeks. I haven't noticed the cleaning using a lot of ink also, the black ink swap does use a bit however.. but we don't do that often.