3800 life expectancy

[Conner999]

Anyone have any idea on what the life expectancy* of a 3800 (or similar sized printer**) would be in terms of print count?  Would vary somewhat by average size of print, but I'm just looking for an probable range/estimate.

*Life Expectancy being the number of prints to the point where it not economical to repair/service it. Given the rapid depreciation of printers and the high cost of ink/heads, carriage bits, shipping outside of warranty, I expect this tipping point would be reached at the first major non-warranty service..

** I am assuming larger-format printers would handle higher volume printing with less wear & tear

[jjlphoto]

The 4800/4880 are built for large production runs where-as the 3800 is a bit less substantial. I bought the 3800 when it was first released three years ago, and it has been humming along fine for my light to medium use.

[hsmeets]

Anyone have any idea on what the life expectancy* of a 3800 (or similar sized printer**) would be in terms of print count?  Would vary somewhat by average size of print, but I'm just looking for an probable range/estimate.

*Life Expectancy being the number of prints to the point where it not economical to repair/service it. Given the rapid depreciation of printers and the high cost of ink/heads, carriage bits, shipping outside of warranty, I expect this tipping point would be reached at the first major non-warranty service..

** I am assuming larger-format printers would handle higher volume printing with less wear & tear

The culprit could be the software side of things, as you may have seen there was/is a thread about driver update for the 3800 series for OSX Snow Leopard.....

even here a solutions as keeping a small/cheap/2nd hand computer aside with the last supported OS just for printing.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

My 3800 seems to be built like a tank compared with my old 2200 that it replaced. The 2200 worked fine for 6 years with one modest (roughly $150) repair. It was still going strong when I sold it. I don't have an exact count, but it went through several hundred of its tiny ink cartridges and a few thousand prints, A4 through 13x19". I expect to use the 3800 until I feel the desparate need for better technology. Maybe ten years???

[Schewe]

My 3800 seems to be built like a tank compared with my old 2200 that it replaced.

To be accurate, the R2400 and then the 2880 replaced the 2200. They were consumer level printers with tiny ink carts actually on the head (which does limit it's long life expectancy).

The 3800 was a new product category for Epson. They are pro level printers with larger ink carts and lines to the print head. They are not built quite as heavy duty as the 4800/4880 but they don't need the same paper grabbing system since the 3800 uses a paper drop instead of sheet pickup. The 3800 also doesn't have paper cuttings since it doesn't use roll paper.

The 3800 (and the new 3880) printers should last a pretty long time but I think it's really not tie that is the issue more like wear on the parts. So a better gauge may be square feet of paper. What that number would be I would have no idea...

[Conner999]

Just curious. Have a 3800 with just under 300 prints thru it and while will use it until it goes 'boom' (or a big enough boom to not justify shipping and repair costs at any rate) was curious as to what life expectancy (from pure wear and tear) would be - 1200, 2400? No idea.