Looking at an Epson 7900 for photos and card making.. few questions

[joe_cardmaker]

Hi all,

I've been looking through the forum for a long time now and just thought I'd get some good feedback on some questions I had before going out and buying a new printer..

I am a casual photographer who would like to make larger prints (I've used Epson's 13" models for a decade and just hate how much ink they waste). I'd like to keep the printer printing on a regular basis and I'd like to use this to make some money though and I design cards (invitations, postcards, business cards, etc). I've printed on wood using inkaid with Epson's smaller 13" models with the dye based inks. I'm just curious if anyone thinks there is a better route to go than the 7900. I'd love the WT7900 for the white ink (on dark papers), but I can't justify going solvent-based, spending a lot more money, and losing the justification of also making photo enlargements.

Can anyone with the 7900/9900 with experience of printing things other than photos on various materials, give me a little feedback?

Greatly appreciated

Joe

[davidh202]

 I think wide format printers are great for large prints... I luv my 7900 and 9890!
 My experience making note cards of my wifes artwork and a limited amount of my photos on cards on my 7900 says it's ok for my own stuff,but a wide format printer with only single sheet hand feeding is slow if you need to do large runs for customers. It also means that laying out multiple cards -etc, on wide format sheet paper to get the greatest yield,requires a good program for layouts (Qimage works fine) and then alot  of after printing trimming that needs some sort of registration marks to get the separation cutting accurate. Cutting is labor intensive.Print shops that do alot of card stock usually have specialized equipment to do the trimming such as heavy duty guillotine cutters,
Roll paper works- I actually use Epsons Enhanced Matte in 24" roll form, but it finishes with a curl which needs to be addressed at some point I don't mess with anything other than photo papers.

David

[joe_cardmaker]

Well, I have a Summa S75 24" tangental cutter, so that helps take care of cutting part. I guess lining up prints for double sided printint (and for that matter getting a good weight, double-sided, coated paper) would be my next issue. I just didn't know if there was a new printer coming down the line. I can get the 7900 for about $2,300 delivered and that's hard to beat.

I haven't tried them yet, but Epson's paper made with Somerset cold press and Crane velvet seem interesting.

Thanks for the advice!

[davidh202]

$2,300 delivered and that's hard to beat.

 That's what I paid for my 7900 2 years ago.
If I had to do it all over again, I'd have saved the almost $1000 extra over the  7890 and  put it out right for the 9890 in the first place (had it been available at the time), as the extra gamut of the orange and green inksIv'e discovered is inconsequential in mymind .
I do a lot of canvas wraps in my business the 7900 24" is limiting, the 44" is a must

[joe_cardmaker]

I thought the 7900 had a newer printhead and some other advantages over the 7890? I wish there was a better solution for what I wanted to do. I also wish I had room for the 44", but then I'd want the 44" cutting machine too!

...anybody know if Epson is coming out with any new 24" models soon? I've been out of the loop so not sure if they usually put these out at certain times every couple years..

[davidh202]

 The 7890 came out after the 7900 and shares is virtually identical and uses the same inkset  minus 1 pair color nozzles on the head (green and orange) accounting for the price difference between the models.
 As I understand it the green and orange inks are more suited for the graphics industry in order to meet specialized color matching requirements.
I cannot distinguish the difference by eye, the difference between the same print off the 7900 compared to one off the 9890!
 I'd save  the difference in cost and put it toward your first replacement inkset or paper!
No clue as to when Epson will update the current models.As with all tech stuff,if you  always wait for newer, you will never have anything.

David 

[joe_cardmaker]

Oh, I didn't realize it came out around the same time... Also would love to know where it can be picked up for $1000 under the 7900! But isn't the HDR ink better than the K3? I guess you would know.. I'm looking for a printer that if I don't use it for weeks, I'm not going to be wasting tons of inks, one reason I wanted to step up to the pro models.

[Randy Carone]

The 7890 and 7900 both use the same ink set. The Orange and Green is what makes the 7900 inkset HDR. All the other colors are the same and interchangeable between the two models.

BTW, the WT7900 with white ink is NOT a solvent printer.

[davidh202]

  First off...
 If you say you have been reading this forum, then you should be very aware of the possibility of ink clogging if the printer is not used "for weeks".

  These WF printers are professional industrial quality, and meant to be used on a consistant basis to keep them in good working order.
The head clogging problems usually start to arise when they are either misused or 'infrequently' used.

[John Nollendorfs]

I've been doing note cards for 10 years, and doing them on a wide format printer is a royal pain and expensive if you are ding more than a few at a time. Red River's note card papers work fine in letter size printers if the sheet feed rollers aren't glazed from age or use. But the stock is expensive at over 30 cents a sheet--and then you have to add the cost of ink--easily totaling 60 to 75 cents a card.

I use a KonicaMinolta 4650 with great results, (there is a newer model now) good paper feeding, and more than 10 cards a minute speed. I have a commercial print shop custom cut stock to 7x10 size and pre-score it. I figure my paper and toner costs at about 25¢ each. No, the quality is not as good as ink jet, but on par with good commercial off set printing.

[joe_cardmaker]

No no, I realize there have been clogging issues, but then I've heard from those that leave it for a few weeks at a time and just say clean the heads and it'll be fine. This is a part of my business that I want to get moving and that means perhaps the I don't have the quantity to keep it moving on a daily basis. Which was one reason I wanted something I could use for a wide variety of things so I had more oppurtunity to make use of the printer.

I realize large format might be a huge pain in terms of cutting things out when the print is done, but since I have a cutting machine that'll make short work out of a sheet of say 200 business cards, it turns out to be cheaper and less time consuming than using a regular desktop printer.. or at least thats what the numbers I've tried to figure out (paper, ink, time). It might be easier to outsource them, but I wouldn't have a way to prototype them quickly and settle on designs or do short runs.

..and yes I know the WT7900 is NOT solvent. Just thinking white might come in handy on darker paper, for say cards. It's either that or look into Roland's eco-sol printers with white and metallic.

[Randy Carone]

Epson has a new light solvent printer called the S70670, which is a 10-color printer that has white, metallic and light black ink in the inkset. This may suit your needs better than the Roland since the white is a high density white not found in the Roland version. The Epson also has the latest print heads, one step ahead of the Epson heads that are used in the Roland. Give us a call.

[joe_cardmaker]

Randy - that does sure sound like a great idea. However it's like I'm looking at miata and you want to sell me a ferrari. The 7900 is a $2,400 24" printer... the one you're suggesting is 64" and what, $24,000+? Although I do appreciate the suggestion, I have a space constraint as well as a some what budget I need to stick to. AT the price of that surecolor, there's no return on my investment and I think I need to make an addition on the office to fit it 

[Randy Carone]

I get it. I was only responding to your comment that you were going to look at the Roland, which is not a Miata.

[joe_cardmaker]

Haha, true.. but if I can sell my new $6k summa cutter and get a roland all in one for $15k, that makes a world of difference. Honestly, if I could afford it I'd buy Roland's LEC flatbed machines with the spot uv, emboss, crease, cut, white, and metallic. I just don't have a spare $70k for a 30"