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Author Topic: The Canon iPF8300 printer in its declining years…your experiences please.  (Read 5154 times)

bill t.

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My dear old 8300 is very high mileage.  I’m now in a situation where I will have to replace both heads out of warranty.

I’m trying to evaluate the wisdom of carrying on with my current printer, which needs $900 of immediate repairs but is otherwise working great, versus buying a new machine for $3300.

What can I expect in the following months from a printer that is 1494 days old with 35,000 square feet through the output slot?  I know the firmware monitors 16 “parts” in its design, and as of now they are all rated “OK.”  I’m not sure exactly what those parts are.  Who has run into the requirement  for a monitored “part” replacement?  And how difficult was it?  And what’s the most likely disease that might develop?

I’m tempted to simply buy a new 8400, but my old 8300 has been so solid I worry about the possibility of discarding a reliable machine for one that may or may not have problems early on.

Would greatly appreciate your experienced input on this.
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jferrari

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Bill, I feel for you, but if any of us had a crystal ball life would truly be quite different. My only advice on this would be to make a brain (business) decision not a heart (emotional) one. Your 8300 has been very good to you so far but what would you do in this situation if this was your car?    - Jim
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Nothing changes until something changes.

bill t.

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Bill, I feel for you, but if any of us had a crystal ball life would truly be quite different. My only advice on this would be to make a brain (business) decision not a heart (emotional) one. Your 8300 has been very good to you so far but what would you do in this situation if this was your car?    - Jim

I needlessly replaced my last car at 150,000 miles on a whim.  My current Tacoma pickup has gone 153,000 miles with nothing but two batteries, a set of spark plugs, and the belts.  Reliable machines are such a curse!  I wish my machines would have the decency to simply break down once in a while.
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jferrari

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I wish my machines would have the decency to simply break down once in a while.

Oh no! You didn't just say that did you? :o
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disneytoy

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What I'd say is divide your initial cost by how much you were able to print. Either square footage or days in operation. If that $900 gets you rolling again, do you think it will give you equal value:

You didn't say what you purchased it for but lets say $3300 =

Not including ink obviously, that works out to:

less than 1 cent a square foot. If you spend that $900 on heads do you think you can print another 8,500 square feet?

Likewise, your equipment cost has been about $2.20 a day for the 1494 days. Will that $900 get you another 409 days?

If you can get 409 more days or 8,500 square feet or more, than that is a smart deal.

If you think you'd get less than that the $900 would be best invested in new equipment.

Unfortunately, we have to consider printer hardware as expendables. As long as we get a good run from them.

Good Luck

Maxi



« Last Edit: March 15, 2015, 11:51:21 pm by disneytoy »
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aaronchan

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If I were you, I will replace the head for the lower cost.
8300 is a work horse and why not just keep it?
And since it has been a real work horse for you, what if the new 8400 that came to you isn't?

aaron

Erland

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Attached a screenshot with the parts carrying a lifetime counter.

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Service Technician Digital Printers and Peripherals.
Epson Stylus Photo 1400.

BillK

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I have an 8300 but not near the mileage you have, so can't help you there.
 I think a couple other factors should be considered. With a new 8400 you are getting a full set of
330ml carts. A substantial value lessening the blow of 3300.

It seems odd that both heads would go out at the same time. Is there possibly another issue,like a bad board.
I would hate to find myself in the position of just replacing both heads to find out something else is wrong.

Tough choice, good luck.
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mstevensphoto

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Bill,

   Having just been through what you are experiencing I must go against my tree hugger heart and recommend that you call John at Shades of Paper or Chris at It Supplies and get the 8400. New warranty new ink new heads. I experienced a string of things gone wrong and $1800-2100 in cut my losses and was stuck with an unsellable printer. yours is still able to be sold on craigslist for a couple hundred bucks. I hate that something this big is basically disposable but the repair costs (not to mention ink consumed during repair) rapidly eclipse the cost of a new machine.
   If you keep going with the 8300 I would consider the $1500 single event repair option from canon.
   For me the transition to the 8400 was seamless and I enjoy it's speed and lower sound levels.
Mark
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bill t.

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Thanks for all the input!

I guess I need to look closer at the service manual, thanks Erland.  It seems Canon's projected lifetime for those monitored parts is 20,000 A0 sheets, or 200,000 square feet, so I'm barely started!

One head is dying of of old age, almost 700 days and well past 10^12 dots.  It's still working, but it's got the tell-tale slight leaking that means the end is nigh.  The other nearly new head died of a piece of metal embedded in some media.  Not happy about that.

It looks like the 8300 will be a keeper for now, since I already replaced the dead head to keep going on a special order that came in this morning, and I also ordered another head.  Had been holding that backup head since December to cover me in case the old head died during the 4 day holiday weekends, since January is my biggest month.  The 1 year warranty on heads starts ticking on the invoice date, so I didn't want to delay much longer.

And quite frankly, the logistics of swapping printers is no fun at all.

Yeah I hate to create a landfill bump that big, and Jolene deserves so much better than that.  I think I will look into the school donation option in a few months.
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deanwork

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I just went through this decision.

I went for the $1,500.00 repair and replaced the main board ( or anything else that might have needed replacing for that amount), which took about 2 hours and now the printer is like new.

Whether you are using an 8300 or 8400 you are going to have to replace those heads at least every 3 years. The fact that the heads don't last as long as they should for $450.00 each, really has nothing to do with the rest of the printer.

I thought about buying the 8400 too but the hassle of moving that sucker in the studio taking 4 men, having to recalibrate all my media and all that crap I just kept mine. It's a great printer. I love mine and there is no advantage to the 8400 that I have ever heard. But I don't know whey they have to make these things so damn big and heavy.

There is something seriously wrong about buying one of these giant, fat, super heavy,  Canon or Epson 44" machines that are built like a sherman tank and then having to replace the whole monster in 3 or 4 years when some tiny little circuit is compromised. It's just crazy having to call four big guys over here to do that. And then what do you do with the fucker?
Ironically the Hp Z I have is about a third the weight and half the bulk of the Canon and Epson  printers I have and it has already lasted me 8 years. I can move it and set it up with one other person, easily. Go figure.
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hugowolf

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Remember the TV repair shop? Remember family doctors that would actually visit you?

I am not quite ready for it yet, but the idea of replacing my Epson 9890 does not bring good thoughts to mind. My studio is on the third floor (US, second floor Int). I mostly paid in beer, for the guys that helped me bring the beast in, but the removal of the printer is even more problematic – it has to be carried near absolute horizontally, if it is to run again.

Some things in life get better, but for the most part there is much more waste.

Brian A
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bill t.

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I mostly paid in beer, for the guys that helped me bring the beast in, but the removal of the printer is even more problematic...

Have you considered Jim Beam?  I found it very helpful on my 8300 installation.
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mstevensphoto

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Have you considered Jim Beam?  I found it very helpful on my 8300 installation.

I went with taskrabbit.com this go-round. $105 got me strong people who are insured and actually listened and followed directions. new one in old one out, problem free. better than any proper movers I've had.
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Chris_Brown

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And quite frankly, the logistics of swapping printers is no fun at all.

Yeah I hate to create a landfill bump that big, and Jolene deserves so much better than that.  I think I will look into the school donation option in a few months.

I think you made the right choice.

When my iPF8000 reached EOL (no print heads, no software support, hard-to-find inks), I contacted Canon USA to see if they had some kind of recycle program. I told 'em I was willing to pay shipping to anywhere in the country but they had/have nothing in place to recycle the printer carcasses. It was a bit shocking to me. Here was a company touting green/environmental policies on their corporate web site, but with no policy for absorbing used printers.

I sold it on Craigslist for $1. The buyer thought he'd won the Lotto. Two years later, it was still parked in his garage.
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deanwork

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That's right. I gave away an Epson 10K, a giant super heavy Scitek flatbed scanner, and two 9600s on Craigs List. The were all picked up within one day. I hope somebody got some use out of them. That is the best way to go for sure.
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mstevensphoto

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having been on the school end of things please consider this: a donation that ends up costing them money is no donation at all. they don't need your problem/ non working stuff any more than the hungry people need your canned food that is too gross to use. sell it on ebay or craigslist. I cleared my ipf8300 out to an engineer who said that all of the little motors and gears had huge value to him and on the resale market. He got motors with the promise of recycling the rest, I got enough cash for a nice dinner with the lady.
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bill t.

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Not wishing to seem small or crass, but I'd rather not put a local competitor into business, if even for a short while.  Hey, that thing will have 2 low mileage heads!  I was thinking of the local technical/vocational school that already has a 9800 online, which they actually manage to keep printing!  If they have the cojones to keep that baby clog-free, the 8300 will be a walk in the park.  Those guys are mostly point of sales vinyl types, which is a place I do not wish to compete, except for the girls-in-underpants stuff.
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