Epson SS cleaning versus SSCL cleaning? Damper replacement for clogs?

[alan a]

Many thanks in advance for any responses from the experts in the forum.

My questions pertain to an Epson 7900 that was not turned on or used for many months.  (I now realize, from having read the posts here, that I'm lucky that half the lines and colors aren't clogged.  I will, from now on, turn on the printer and print a test pattern every few days.)

My problem is one color, namely Light Light Black.  I can clear the clog, but it will return after 3 to 5 prints, resulting in light but visible banding.   The last time it happened, CL3 in the service manual wouldn't clear it.  So it is time to try something else.  In that regard:

What is the difference between  SS Cleaning in the Maintenance Mode VERSUS SSCL in the Service Mode?  If there is a difference, which is recommended?  And how do both of these differ from Power Cleaning in the Main Menu?  

What about Service Man CL or Service Mode Cleaning in the Service Mode -- what does it do?

Another option, based on reading prior posts, is to clean or replace the wiper.  I am happy to try that (it appears to be easy) -- but wouldn't the wiper impact more than one color?

Finally, another option discussed in various posts is to replace a damper for LL Black and/or yellow.  Based on the service manual, that looks like a relatively advanced job.  Does anyone recommend that a complete novice, like myself, who has never opened one of these printers, try that?  

And where can I order a damper from?

Again, many thanks for any responses.

[Paul2660]

I would ask, what does the clog appear as, a couple of lines missing from LLK or 1/2 or 2/3's of the entire pattern missing.  If you are getting 3 good prints, then losing LLK, that really sounds like an ink delivery issue, not a clog.  I can't see a clog occurring during a print cycle, however I can see a damper/pressure or other issue causing this. 

To replace the damper on the 7900 is not an easy task, however Erik G did document the process somewhere in the epic post he created on this site, and the instructions may also be on his website. 

For a damper replacement, you don't need to remove the so a "realignment" is not required, which is good since that needs the special Epson software. 

The super strong cleaning more than likely won't help on this, just will use a lot of extra ink. 

I would look to the damper replacement or even a new LLK cart as it might have an issue.

Paul

[Mark D Segal]

Alan, I have no insight on the repairs for that printer, but do have considerable experience trying to keep a 4900 humming (similar technology in a smaller package); printing a test pattern every few days will not be adequate - you should print something that flows a sufficient amount of all colours through the system to keep it full of fluid ink. I created a sheet of solid fill patches that stress each of the colours and make sure it is printed at least once every two to three days when I am not otherwise using the printer consistently and frequently. This has proven to be very helpful.

[alan a]

I would ask, what does the clog appear as, a couple of lines missing from LLK or 1/2 or 2/3's of the entire pattern missing.  If you are getting 3 good prints, then losing LLK, that really sounds like an ink delivery issue, not a clog.  I can't see a clog occurring during a print cycle, however I can see a damper/pressure or other issue causing this.  

To replace the damper on the 7900 is not an easy task, however Erik G did document the process somewhere in the epic post he created on this site, and the instructions may also be on his website.  

The super strong cleaning more than likely won't help on this, just will use a lot of extra ink.  

I would look to the damper replacement or even a new LLK cart as it might have an issue.

Paul

Many thanks to Paul and Mark for their responses.  Paul, it isn't even missing a couple of lines.  The LLK pattern is missing 4 to 5 segments.  That results in, for lack of a better description, light banding in grey areas that use black ink.  The banding is light enough that the average person might not immediately notice it, and maybe not ever.  However, any of us would spot it immediately.  All other patterns from the nozzle check are perfect under careful inspection with a magnifying glass.  I did try every other method recommended by Epson in the manual to eliminate banding, and none of them make any difference.

Yes, it can start out printing OK, then it loses three to five segments, and the banding appears.  To force black ink through it, I print a B&W  "test" pattern consisting of large areas of gray and black ink, and it does not solve the problem.

I am getting new yellow and LLK cartridges tomorrow, so will start by replacing them.  If that fails, what is my next step? I found the posting by "Eric Gulbransen"   It provides a huge amount of information, and i didn't go through all 70 pages of the thread.  But I didn't immediately see directions on how to only replace the dampers.  And it looks like quite an operation in the service manual.

I wonder what Epson charges to send out a technician to do that?  Of course, I must note that when the printer was under warranty, and having huge problems (as were many of the early 7900s) the 3rd party repair technician sent to my home, by Epson in Washington DC, was a complete boob.  For an example, I'm not sure what purpose is served by the Epson button to release the ink cartridge doors, but the tech did not even know the button existed, and just pried the doors open.  Even after I showed him the button, he continued to do so.  I seriously wonder if he could even replace dampers.

Anyway, it sounds like I should not try the SS Cleaning in the Maintenance Mode or the SSCL cleaning in the Service Mode -- they will just waste ink and not solve the problem?  (What is the difference between those two --are they the same?)

Eric does not have specific instructions on his web site to replace dampers.

It has been a few years since I posted actively in this forum, and the one change I have noticed is that the partisan wars over which printer is the "best" have declined.  That has been replaced by serious debate as to which printer is the worst.  Epson with ink clogs, or Canon or HP with their own crippling problems.

I guess it is impossible for any of the big three companies to produce a 24" or wider printer that simply works reliably.  A sad state of affairs for all of us who are their guinea pigs and pay the price for their engineering and manufacturing incompetence.  (What is even more striking is that some 7900s work fine while others suffer from crippling problems.  They are clearly not even manufactured in a consistent fashion.  When you buy one of these printers, you are rolling the dice as to whether you get one that is a lemon or works fine.)

Thank goodness Epson, Canon and HP do not produce weapons and are not responsible for the national security of the United States.  We would be toast if the safety and national security of our nation depended on the engineers who build printers for Epson, HP or Canon.

[Mark D Segal]

I guess it is impossible for any of the big three companies to produce a 24" or wider printer that simply works reliably.  A sad state of affairs for all of us who are their guinea pigs and pay the price for their engineering and manufacturing incompetence.

Thank goodness they do not produce weapons and are not responsible for the national security of the United States.  We would be toast if our safety depended on the engineers who build printers for Epson, HP or Canon.

Alan,

Take it easy. Web forums are terrible data sets for making any generalizations about the quality of these products. Web forums are places that quite naturally collect problems and complaints more than you see people reporting kudos to the manufacturers. That is human nature - we expect things to "just work" and if they don't we get justifiably upset, and what better place than the internet to make these problems known and sensitize the manufacturers accordingly.

The fact is that most of these wide-carriage professional printers are owned and operated by service bureaux and other kinds of professional operations involving a lot of printing who make intensive use of them. Any time I've discussed printer performance with several of these outfits here in Ontario they are generally very positive about how well they work on a consistent and continuous basis. That is what they were designed for. Personally, I continue to be amazed at the quality of photographic prints I obtain from my Epson 4900; yes it needs baby-sitting, but the flip side is QUALITY, and at prices that must be very reasonable by the standards of the former film era. Remember how much we paid for enlargements back then in dollars of the day, when money was worth something? Remember the various limitations of colour printing back then? Our expectations change very quickly because the technology has become so rewarding. I don't know whether you ever owned an Epson 2000P. That was the first desktop, pigment ink archival print Epson manufactured and there was no other product of its kind at the time; it was a path-breaker. I owned one and still have the photos I printed with it. Fast forward to the Epson 4900 and it's like night and day. This is the "big picture" - we should not lose sight of how this segment of the photographic tool-kit has matured within the past 15 years.

OK, turning back to the micro-reality of your repair experience - here again, yes, there have been numerous complaints on the internet about the apparent incompetence of service technicians sent to owners' houses at very high cost. Each time such an incident occurs, I think it essential that the aggrieved party systematically file complaints with printer manufacturer's local HQ offices and demand that they make good on it. There comes a point where incompetent service borders on commercial fraud and these companies need to know that is the potential exposure they face when things like this happen. Sometimes, combined with good manners, one needs to be very hard-nosed, pointed and persistent with them.

I do hope you manage to get the LLK problem licked, but don't go down the route of trying to become an instant printer technician. These are very complex machines and the probability of success in trying to do this needs to be carefully evaluated. If the usual recovery practices we have ready access to don't work, be a believer in the theory of comparative advantage and seek QUALIFIED help. It does exist. :-)

[alan a]

Mark, many thanks for your advice and assistance.  In my case, as I already acknowledged, my problem is at least partially due to my own user error, and not turning on the printer and using it frequently enough.  If I do go down the road of paying for a costly repair, I will insist that the tech bring the dampers with him and replace them.  If replacement is recommended each year, then that just seems logical.  I will also ask what the 3rd party repair company will charge for them.  Eric says it is about $250.  What do you want to bet the local 3rd party repair company charges double that, and with the full blessing of Epson?

As for the engineering of these printers, my comment in my last post was a few concluding sentences and two short concluding paragraphs.  But as you focused on those brief comments, well, we will have to agree to disagree.  

Yes, forums attract those with complaints and problems more than the success stories.  But this forum probably attracts more commentary on printers than any other.  The hundreds, if not thousands, of complaints about HP, Epson, and Canon, over any five year period, speak for themselves.

It is not rocket science for engineers to build reliable printers that are well designed.  Epson never did fix their automatic ink clogging detection system, and most of us were forced to turn it off, including me.  And we kept it off.  To my knowledge, Epson NEVER officially told their customers about the Service menu, or included those four levels of cleaning in one of the firmware releases so that all customers could benefit from it.  To put that a different way, the four levels of cleaning in the service mode that we all utilize should be part of the main menu system, and easily accessible by ANY consumer.  Why is it that the only way that an owner of a so-called professional and expensive printer would know about the service menu is by reading web sites like this?  It is, frankly, a pain in the a** that we must turn off the printer when we get a clog, and turn it back on in service mode to clear it, and then turn the printer back on in regular mode.  Talk about a clutzy and poorly thought out design.  For all of the owners of the 7900, think about the time you waste because you must turn the unit on and off to get to the service mode.  Epson has known that we all use the service menu, which would have to be a duhhh moment for them.  "Gee," an Epson engineer might say, "since many, but not all customers, are using the service mode cleaning because it works, maybe we should release new firmware and include it in the main menu so all customers can utilize it?"  Of course, that would be an open admission of failure by Epson that the system now included in the main menu does not work for many, if not most, of their customers.  Nor, for that matter, did Epson USA ever tell us about the Maintenance Mode, at least not that I recall.  I only learned about that from the Epson Australia site.  Why aren't the additional settings for the ink detection system included in the main functions of the printer, instead of being hidden?

If the printers need to have a print run through them every few days, as you suggest, how difficult could it be for Epson to tell us that, and supply the tiff or jpeg file they want us to use?  Why did you have to figure out that work-around on your own?  If the printers need $500 or more of maintenance EVERY YEAR (that is probably pretty close to what labor and parts would be to replace dampers every year) why doesn't Epson tell us that?  Could it be that everyone would be sure to sign up for the maintenance contract and then use that for such a purpose?

Auto manufacturers provide detailed information on what is required to service a car, and at what intervals.  Where does Epson supply that information to consumers?

Why do we all read sites like this?  Because there is no other way to learn about the work-arounds and hidden secrets that we need to know to get our printers to operate correctly.  We sure can't count on Epson to supply the information.  Their record speaks for itself.

Epson is not alone. Read the thread about Canon that was recently posted.

None of the big three manufacturers have yet released a printer that simply works.  That works reliably.  And where the software and mechanical design make common sense.  If anything, we are going backwards in reliability.  If I am being too critical, you are making too many excuses for the manufacturers.  Frankly, our biggest problem is that there is not enough cut-throat competition between Epson, HP and Canon.  The factors that motivate Apple and Samsung to improve are certainly not present in the market for printers.  The result is that bad designs stay in the market for sale for far too long.  The Epson 7900 has way too many problems, and should have been withdrawn and replaced two or three years ago.  Ditto with the complaints about Canon.  

There simply is so little competition in the marketplace, that these lazy manufacturers keep selling flawed designs for years and years.  If the consumers of these printers complained and protested more, maybe we'd finally see a reliable printer released into the marketplace, and sooner, rather than years later.

Like I said, if the engineers who design these printers were responsible for designing weapons to protect our nation, our nation would be forced to unilaterally surrender.

[BobDavid]

Alan, I have no insight on the repairs for that printer, but do have considerable experience trying to keep a 4900 humming (similar technology in a smaller package); printing a test pattern every few days will not be adequate - you should print something that flows a sufficient amount of all colours through the system to keep it full of fluid ink. I created a sheet of solid fill patches that stress each of the colours and make sure it is printed at least once every two to three days when I am not otherwise using the printer consistently and frequently. This has proven to be very helpful.

Great suggestion. This will help you avoid clogging problems. These are industrial machines and perform best when they are used on a daily basis.

[Mark D Segal]

................  The hundreds, if not thousands, of complaints about HP, Epson, and Canon, over any five year period, speak for themselves.

It is not rocket science for engineers to build reliable printers that are well designed.  Epson never did fix their automatic ink clogging detection system, and most of us were forced to turn it off, including me.  And we kept it off.  To my knowledge, Epson NEVER officially told their customers about the Service menu, or included those four levels of cleaning in one of the firmware releases so that all customers could benefit from it.  To put that a different way, the four levels of cleaning in the service mode that we all utilize should be part of the main menu system, and easily accessible by ANY consumer.  Why is it that the only way that an owner of a so-called professional and expensive printer would know about the service menu is by reading web sites like this?  It is, frankly, a pain in the a** that we must turn off the printer when we get a clog, and turn it back on in service mode to clear it, and then turn the printer back on in regular mode.  Talk about a clutzy and poorly thought out design.  For all of the owners of the 7900, think about the time you waste because you must turn the unit on and off to get to the service mode.  Epson has known that we all use the service menu, which would have to be a duhhh moment for them.  "Gee," an Epson engineer might say, "since many, but not all customers, are using the service mode cleaning because it works, maybe we should release new firmware and include it in the main menu so all customers can utilize it?"  Of course, that would be an open admission of failure by Epson that the system now included in the main menu does not work for many, if not most, of their customers.  Nor, for that matter, did Epson USA ever tell us about the Maintenance Mode, at least not that I recall.  I only learned about that from the Epson Australia site.  Why aren't the additional settings for the ink detection system included in the main functions of the printer, instead of being hidden?

If the printers need to have a print run through them every few days, as you suggest, how difficult could it be for Epson to tell us that, and supply the tiff or jpeg file they want us to use?  Why did you have to figure out that work-around on your own?  If the printers need $500 or more of maintenance EVERY YEAR (that is probably pretty close to what labor and parts would be to replace dampers every year) why doesn't Epson tell us that?  Could it be that everyone would be sure to sign up for the maintenance contract and then use that for such a purpose?

Auto manufacturers provide detailed information on what is required to service a car, and at what intervals.  Where does Epson supply that information to consumers?

Why do we all read sites like this?  Because there is no other way to learn about the work-arounds and hidden secrets that we need to know to get our printers to operate correctly.  We sure can't count on Epson to supply the information.  Their record speaks for itself.

Epson is not alone. Read the thread about Canon that was recently posted.

None of the big three manufacturers have yet released a printer that simply works.  That works reliably.  And where the software and mechanical design make common sense.  If anything, we are going backwards in reliability.  If I am being too critical, you are making too many excuses for the manufacturers.  Frankly, our biggest problem is that there is not enough cut-throat competition between Epson, HP and Canon.  The factors that motivate Apple and Samsung to improve are certainly not present in the market for printers.  The result is that bad designs stay in the market for sale for far too long.  The Epson 7900 has way too many problems, and should have been withdrawn and replaced two or three years ago.  Ditto with the complaints about Canon.  

There simply is so little competition in the marketplace, that these lazy manufacturers keep selling flawed designs for years and years.  If the consumers of these printers complained and protested more, maybe we'd finally see a reliable printer released into the marketplace, and sooner, rather than years later.

Like I said, if the engineers who design these printers were responsible for designing weapons to protect our nation, our nation would be forced to unilaterally surrender.

Alan, you are welcome, but do you mind my asking what professional credentials you have to opine on the technical possibilities for more trouble-free design and manufacture of professional pigment-ink based printers, and from what data base you are making the generalizations you make about printer reliability (for example, the number of individual complainants on web forum relative to the total number of these printers in operation world-wide)? Do you have professional training in industrial reliability and failure analysis, so you would be able to properly interpret the failure data base if you had access to it? Does it occur to you that Epson may have valid technical reasons we don't know about to reserve the Service menu for technicians? Does it occur to you that such a company would have zero interest in depriving customers of safe options that would make their products look better in the eyes of their customers? Are you formally trained in the economics of competitive markets to know whether there is inadequate competition between Epson, Canon and HP for this niche of professional inkjet printers? Do you know whether the size of this market niche relative to the cost of designing, manufacturing, marketing and supporting these machines would justify more than three major players? Did you stop to think whether your analogy with the auto industry makes any sense? Perhaps the simple fact is that on the whole these printers need much less routine maintenance than our autos do for all kinds of reasons?

You make one really valid point here that I would support: we were never adequately advised in the marketing material that these machines need to be kept in frequent use to assure continuous trouble-free operation. Had they done that from the get-go, fewer of these printers would have been sold and far fewer words on these issues would have spilled in Forums such as this one.

Anyhow, to be clear - I have no interest in supporting any particular manufacturer - I am a consumer with no ties to the industry and I have my share of nozzle clogs and periodic dropouts with my 4900; but I still consider it a fine printer, and so far I have spent NOTHING other than ink on keeping it in first class condition. "Touch wood". Since I started using this particular machine over two and half years ago I've printed about 1600 sq.ft. with it - not a huge amount, but paced well enough to keep it fit for purpose. I did consider buying an extended warranty for it, but after making some inquiries and doing some reasoning based on whatever information I could pull together I determined that the risk of calling on this insurance would not be worth the cost. I am indeed hoping this judgment continues to prove correct over the technical life-cycle of this printer, but of course one never really knows for sure. (A "technical life cycle" is the period of time until the next "must have" new model promising significant improvement comes out!)

Been an interesting discussion; as I said, I hope you end-up getting the RIGHT technical assistance. We all get frustrated and upset when these things happen, but it is more helpful to keep a balanced perspective on the matter and just look for proven, reliable solutions to get you up and running again.

[alan a]

Alan, you are welcome, but do you mind my asking what professional credentials you have to opine on the technical possibilities for more trouble-free design and manufacture of professional pigment-ink based printers, and from what data base you are making the generalizations you make about printer reliability (for example, the number of individual complainants on web forum relative to the total number of these printers in operation world-wide)? Do you have professional training in industrial reliability and failure analysis, so you would be able to properly interpret the failure data base if you had access to it? Does it occur to you that Epson may have valid technical reasons we don't know about to reserve the Service menu for technicians? Does it occur to you that such a company would have zero interest in depriving customers of safe options that would make their products look better in the eyes of their customers? Are you formally trained in the economics of competitive markets to know whether there is inadequate competition between Epson, Canon and HP for this niche of professional inkjet printers?

Wow.  On Sept 2, at 8:46 pm, I posted two very short paragraphs noting that most of the debates about which printer is best have been replaced by which is worst.  You couldn't tolerate that, and in a condescending tone, replied in a long paragraph.  So, as a user and consumer of both HP and Epson printers, I posted a longer explanation on Sept 2 at 11:55 pm.  So in an even longer and even more condescending response, you demand to know my "professional credentials."

Let me guess.  You probably think YOU meet all of the "professional" credentials you asked about.  Whether you do or not, you are asserting that none of the owners of these flawed products have any right to post an opinion in this forum unless they meet your personal standards and criteria for expertise.

Baloney to that and to your condescending tone. And your attempt to silence and censor views that are critical of these defective products.  Did it ever occur to you that what drove other owners of the printer to post a 70 page thread on how it works -- or doesn't -- is an attempt to figure out why it keeps having problems that Epson can't fix?

To respond to two of your points:  Quoting you -- "Does it occur to you that Epson may have valid technical reasons we don't know about to reserve the Service menu for technicians? Does it occur to you that such a company would have zero interest in depriving customers of safe options that would make their products look better in the eyes of their customers?"

Ironically, if you search past posts, you will discover that it was an Epson technician who told one of the owners of a 7900 how to access the service menu, and use those four levels of cleaning, because it is the only alternative to wasting huge amounts of ink.  It should be noted that we waste huge amounts of ink when we use the Epson approved and authorized method of cleaning as provided in the main menu.  So much for the "valid reasons" that Epson may have to not share that information.  And we can be grateful that an Epson repair technician shared with us what Epson did not.  You implicitly criticized that action in your post.  You would leave us with nothing but the main menu, and the cleaning method that consumes huge amounts of ink.  Wasted ink that Epson profits from, by the way.

As for "zero reason to deprive customers of safe options," well, as I already explained, all that Epson had to do was to build the four cleaning levels (for pairs) from the service menu into the main menu, so all customers could -- to use your choice of words -- SAFELY make use of this superior way to clear clogs.  Epson could have done so, and applied any level of "safety" that they chose to.  As all owners of the 7900 know all too well, that is precisely what Epson did NOT do.  Epson didn't fix the problem, and never included the four levels of cleaning in the service menu into the main menu in a firmware release.  So, whether it is safe or not, we are forced to turn the printer off, and then back on, to access the service menu.

My guess is that most owners of the 7900 would agree with most of my points that I expressed in my immediately previous post.  Heaven only knows, we have been forced to struggle with a defective product for years, that never was properly fixed by Epson.  And kudos to the Epson repair technician who told us how to access the service menu.  Even if you disapprove.

It is because of guys like you -- who make endless excuses for defective products -- that manufacturers don't feel the pressure to retire defective products and release new models.  Our problem is that the market is dominated by three complacent manufacturers who profit from this situation.

If I understand correctly, you do not own a 7900.  Maybe you should actually buy one and suffer through its defective operation before you denounce any of us for offering our own opinions.

Anyway, I have had my fill of this debate, and of your silly set of questions, and implication that only if we met your self-imposed standards for expertise do we have a right to offer a critical opinion about these manufacturers.  I will let my views, as posted on Sept 2 at 11:55 pm, speak for themselves.  

As I said, I'll bet that many Epson owners feel the same way.  So with that, I am signing off on this thread.

[Mark D Segal]

I wasn't denouncing you or anyone else. This is a free and open forum in which anyone can express their opinions. You expressed some pretty strong views about the manufacturers and their products which I thought pretty questionable, therefore I was simply looking for a way to evaluate your basis of knowledge and expertise from which to make those claims, so that I could then come to a view of their possible validity. That is all I shall say about this matter.

[Paul2660]

Alan:

I was thinking a bit more on your issue.  I have used a 9900 about 3.5 years now.  Mine has had a few Epson warranty repairs, (head, and dampers). 

If you are starting out with a good check and this problem is always happening in the one channel LLK, I believe you do have an issue on the ink delivery side of the printer.  After Eric G finally tore open his bad head, he was surprised to fine, no ink, no dirt, nothing visible under extreme magnification.  So, this does point to the fact that his head had some form of electronic failure, somewhere in the ink delivery area.  More than likely the actual pizeo parts themselves, as I believe these are delicate. 

Your printer, may have a short that is starting this same part of the head or in a damper.  If it's a damper, the replacement cost is high, but not as much as a head.  The head has more work involved as you have to realign it and that requires the magic Epson software (Eric talks a lot about this). 

If the new cart's don't fix it, you are looking at a some work being done and from what you describe, sadly I don't feel it's dampers.  Dampers problems, (from my personal experience) seem to show up with one color suddenly going from full to 1/2 or 0.  This usually gets fixed with a CL2 on the problem channel.  My 9900 was very bad about doing this is PK or MK after about 2 prints, (immediately after a PK to MK or MK to PK switch).  The fix for this was a damper/pressure problem and since I have had that done, it seems fine. 

You may have a head that is starting to drop pizeo nozzles.  More than likely there is a bit of heat build up (since they are electronic) and over time a few of the nozzles are just no longer firing.  The cleaning you are running may take a bit more pressure/power and thus gets them to refire.   I was curious if the same group of LLK nozzles are the problem ones.

Epson in the U.S. uses Decision One for their service.  The tech that services me, is very knowledgeable on this printer so for that I am lucky. 

You might consider a new head, it's expensive and only given a 90 day warranty, you also might try an appeal to Epson Corporate.  I did this with my 9880 constantly skewing issue and Epson finally agreed to give me a partial trade in and take the 9880 back. 

Eric's site did have a video that covers the head replacement process.  I took a look at it and realized it was a bit more than I wanted to do, but Eric does show the process in a very nice step by step.  The biggest issue is not buying the head as Epson will sell that, but getting the software to realign the new head.

Paul

[Mark D Segal]

Hi Paul,

I see you have both a 9900 and a 9880. On a neighbouring thread "Larry451" is trying to make a decision about whether to buy a 7900 or a 7890 http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=92932.0, essentially about technical, maintenance and quality differences between x900/x800 series. Perhaps you have some valuable comparative insight that would help him in his choice?