Upgrade to Epson 3880 or buy new ink for 3800

[DaveAdams]

It is time to buy a new set of ink cartridges for my Epson 3800.  Before I do so I thought I would check to see if those who have the 3880 think an upgrade would be worthwhile.  The 3800 has worked well for me but $500 worth of ink goes a long way toward a new printer.  Thanks in advance, Dave.

[Wayne Fox]

If you're in the U.S., there is currently a $300 mail-inrebate on the 3880, so considering the costs of inks you'd probably be getting a new printer for about $500.  You might be able to get a few hundred out of the old 3800 ...

[Ken Doo]

....or upgrade to the 3880 (or better yet, go bigger) and convert the old 3800 to a B&W K7 piezography printer.

[dgberg]

It is time to buy a new set of ink cartridges for my Epson 3800.  Before I do so I thought I would check to see if those who have the 3880 think an upgrade would be worthwhile.  The 3800 has worked well for me but $500 worth of ink goes a long way toward a new printer.  Thanks in advance, Dave.

Why do you need to buy a whole set? I have never had to purchase more then one or two inks at a time.
They just cannot all go low at the same time. I am about ready to replace my 3800 with a 3880 and plan to take all the inks out of the old one and use them up in the new one. I believe I have a little more then 500ml's of ink in the 3800.
Just may get a set of Cone inks for the 3800.

[DaveAdams]

Thanks for the replies.  The Photo Black does not need replaced, I have managed my way down replacing some over time to where all but the Photo Black and Matte Black are 20% or lower.  Just looked at B&H and Adorama and neither have the 3880 listed or 4900 for that matter.  They don't show them as out of stock, just not even listed.  Are they no longer carrying them due to a replacement that is on the way?

[dgberg]

Check with Randy Carone at Shades of Paper.

[Alan Goldhammer]

+1 to Dan's recommendation of Shades of Paper.  Curious that B&H does not list any Epson large format printers for sale.  I wonder if they are not carrying the brand any longer?

[elolaugesen]

Epson store in the UK is alsoout of stock for the 3880?

Cheers.  Elo

[JohnBrew]

There could be a replacement for the 3880 coming, but if you really have to buy that much ink (!) at one time, then a 3880 should certainly be on your radar. I only bought mine because after three years of yeoman work my 3800 developed a clog that could not be cleared. I expect the 3880 to last at least as long.

[irvweiner]

If you are happy with the 3800 print quality (as many of my friends are) but concerned with running hi cost of ink. I suggest you purchase a refillable system form Inkjetcarts, InkRepublic or Jon Cone. You can use the ink set of one with the cart set of another.

I purchased the 3880 & IJC at same time and installed inkjetcarts system when the OEM carts 'emptied'. Actually you can use the OEM carts side by side with IJC's, profiling needed, if you choose to waste none of the original ink or in a emergency. Yes, quite a bit can be left over.

: http://store.inkjetcarts.us/epson-pro-3880-refillable-cart-systems-p5529.aspx

I profile all my paper-ink combos (including the Epson OEM), on an infrequent seasonal schedule, temp & humidity take their toll. Print IQ is high, Color or B&W

The 3880 vs 3800 quality as seen by my 'friends' is either minor, trivial or ignored-how do you nitpick hi IQ?? One big advantage for the 3800 is the ability to create long (~8+ ft) print using the 'usdm' prgm and an earlier driver set. Sadly, Epson removed this go-around in the 3880 driver set--minimize competition and sale losses for their larger pro printers.

Bottom line, the 3800 is great and you want to reduce your op costs by a factor of 4-5, get one of the reliable, robust refillable systems. Aching for the 3880 or its potential newcomer, go for it! Life is too short and fleeting.
For more info on 3rd party refillables, check my posts (and others) on this site and dpreview.com printer forum.

For 'info' on where to buy a 3880 today???; it is being reported that 3880 is no longer available at the big guys (B&H, Adorama, Atlex..etc). Epson UK says 'out of  stock', however, Epson US shows 'in stock'--'go figger'!

Nevertheless, best of luck  irv weiner

[Steve House]

Why do you need to buy a whole set? I have never had to purchase more then one or two inks at a time.
They just cannot all go low at the same time. I am about ready to replace my 3800 with a 3880 and plan to take all the inks out of the old one and use them up in the new one. I believe I have a little more then 500ml's of ink in the 3800.
Just may get a set of Cone inks for the 3800.

  Remember while the other cartridges are compatible, the magenta inks are different in the 3800 and 3880 so you can't just switch the whole batch over.

[DaveAdams]

Thanks so much for all the help! I think I will go the upgrade route but I guess I'll have to do a bit of checking to see if the 3880 is still available. Strange that Epson still shows them but none of the big resellers do. I will also look into the refillable ink systems.  All of the advice is greatly appreciated.

[Wayne Fox]

It is strange ... since it includes printers that aren't even close to being replaced (4900) it's either a decision to not deal Epson wide format pro grade printers or Epson has decided not to sell them through that channel.

We just ordered one for inventory and it showed up on when expected, seems nothing wrong with supply.

[aduke]

I just checked with ITSupplies. They want $1119. The $300 rebate applies.

Alan

[mmurph]

Atlex.com $1,120-$300= $820

As to the old 3800. Might I recommend:

1) For cheap color proofing, I run the OCP Claria Dye Match inks.  Ther Cyan is not quite as good as Claria.  I use it to run cheaop proofs on thinneer - 170 weight - paper.

It matches my Ultrachrome prints quite well.  32 oz of each  of 6 colors is about $100 - it comes to $4.65 for a 220ml cart, $.02 per ml.  Forget about the cost of ink for proofing!

2) For B&W: Pick one of the mix it yourself ink sets from Paul Roark.  I am builing a 6 Glossy Black + Gloss Optimizer ink set based on the HP Pigment black.  It is my 3rd or 4th custom mixed ink set.  Paul is big on carbon prints on matte. I print 100% glossy, so I am diverging a bit from his recommendations.

Cost of the ink plus about $40 for a glycerin base. Total comes to about $10 per 220 ml cart (quick guess - probably less.)


A printer is really just a print engine - you can run all different types of ink through it!  I never found the Cone or other inks to be significantly cheaper than buying large Epson carts on eBay (for the 10800 or similar) and putting real Ultrachrome in refillable 220 ml caerts (on my bigger printers.) But the two options above are both way cheap!

Have fun!!

Michael

[Farmer]

A printer is really just a print engine

Not really.  Driver settings, optismisation of ink and printing mechanism are all part of the package.  You may be absolutely happy with your 3rd party results, but it's misleading to suggest that the printer is just an engine.

[CoyoteButtes]

Dave, I have an almost new 3880 that I am going to pack up and resell. I decided to get a 4900. I've printed perhaps two-three dozen prints with the 3880. It's excellent. If I can figure out how to safely repack it (I have all the original packing material), and you might be interested, let me know. The printer would include nine new Epson ink cartridges in original packing (purchased from Atlex) and a Tumi printer cover.

Stan

[DaveAdams]

Stan, thanks but I already purchased the ink.  My 3800 has been (knock on wood) very reliable and after not locating a new one in stock I just decided to buy the ink and stay with it. 

Thanks again,

Dave