Epson 4900 Printer frustrations, whats the alternative?

[hacimd]

I work within the photography department of a university and we are incredibly frustrated with our Epson 4900 printers.  We have 3 Epson 4900's, purchased over the last 3 years.  The extended warranty has expired on 2 of our 3 printers.  Each of the printers have been swapped out at least 3 times, 1 of the printers has been exchanged 4 times within the last year.  I think that part of the problem is that Epson swaps out the 4900 for refurbished models.  It's come to the point where I run heads cleaning and print 2 files on each printer, every morning, hoping that this will help to avoid any inevitable nozzle clog or other epson disasters. 

All of our printers are carefully monitored and stored in a clean, climate controlled environment.  We've had multiple unrecoverable nozzle clogs, front load paper errors, epson maintenance request code 0010, problems with printing stopping mid print with no error message,ink dripping out of the bottom of the printer,  network failure..basically you name it and there is a good chance we've experienced the problem (probably multiple times). 

We have 2 x 9800 printers and 2 x 9900's, all are working with minimal issues from time to time.  We are heavily invested in Epson and I have yet to find a printer manufacturer who's print quality could match Epson.  But, the unreliability of our 4900's are having a huge impact on students and faculty.  So, I'm looking for some suggestions.  Basically a printer that can handle different types of cut sheet media, with a printer driver that allows you to access paper profiles and makes some nice looking prints.  The different media options of the 4900 were ideal, especially for cut sheet printing, which is how we currently instruct students to print.  Any thoughts on the Epson 7900 for cut sheet printing?  I'm not sure it would be the right solution for that type of printing and quite honestly our frustrations with the 4900 has us very interested in other options.  Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[Jim Kasson]

I work within the photography department of a university and we are incredibly frustrated with our Epson 4900 printers. 
<snip>
We have 2 x 9800 printers and 2 x 9900's, all are working with minimal issues from time to time. 
<snip>
 Any thoughts on the Epson 7900 for cut sheet printing?  I'm not sure it would be the right solution for that type of printing and quite honestly our frustrations with the 4900 has us very interested in other options.  Any info would be greatly appreciated.

I have a 4900 and a 9800. You will find people who have no problems with the 4900. I believe it is a reliable printer if used often. I use mine maybe once a week. It is not reliable. Ink clogs are a recurring problem. If you look around this forum, you'll find people who have had lots of nozzle problems with the 9900.

I believe the main problem with swapping printers with the factory is not that you get a refurbished printer back. I think a big problem is that they ship the refurbished printers full of ink, and it causes clogging problems. I once went through four swaps before I got a printer that worked, and I know that they all worked when they were shipped, because they came with nozzle test sheets that looked good.

My 9800, OTOH, runs like a hound. I don't use it much, but I can turn it on after 6 months of idleness and get perfect nozzle checks the first time I try. I got an order for a bunch of big prints last week, fired up the 9800 after 9 months, felt guilty that I hadn't deep cleaned it in years, did a deep cleaning, and got a perfect nozzle check.

The manual sheet paper feeding in the 9800, and, I presume, in the 7900 and 9900, is as hassle-free as the manual paper feeding in the 4900 is frustrating. I've figured out most of the 4900 paper feeding tricks, but you can't expect your students to do that. The big printers won't make little prints, though, and they won't feed a stack of paper.

And no, I don't know of an alternative. It's the devil I know. I've heard rumors of a new line of Epson aqueous photo printers. I'm waiting eagerly.

Jim

[Alan Goldhammer]

For student work why not get 3880s?  The print head is not nearly as prone to clogs as the 4900 and the only thing you are sacrificing is the roll paper (and a little smaller gamut which is probably not terribly important).

[Mark D Segal]

Alan's recommendation makes a great deal of sense.

[Paul Roark]

Only somewhat as an aside, I run Noritsu dyes (Epson made Claria clones in large carts) in an Epson 4000 and have no clogs, not bronzing, no gloss differential.  And if you look at Mark's work at http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com/ you will find that when sprayed, they can leap up to nearly the UC ratings. 

Epson has gone to dyes in the SureLab series, calling them the UltraChrome D6.  I think I know several reasons Epson is going that route and putting the UC name on them.  The UC D6 inkset uses an LC and LM.  Noritsu does not.  I dilute the M and C with the generic base that I designed and MIS sells.  (I mix my own.)  See http://www.inksupply.com/roarkslab.cfm for the product and formula.  See http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/4000-Noritsu-2K.pdf for what I do in a 4000.

I mix an LK for the 4000.  In a K3, of course, people would need an LLK.  Generally a 30% dark ink to 70% clear base works for the dilutions.

Profiling is DIY.

I actually use the K2 setup for B&W, not color, but it's not so far off there that I suspect standard profiling software could control it, but I have not bothered to try.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

[hacimd]

Thanks for the advice Mark, Alan and Jim.  I appreciate the ink information too, Paul.  I'll keep you posted on how it goes.  Have a good day.