Would you buy Epson 7900/9900 over again?

[Paul Ozzello]

I bought a 9890 less than two years ago and on my third head replacement.

Hell no.

[highway0691]

NO  -  I'm on my second 7900 after two heads went on the first. I live remotely away from a service centre, so a head malfunction is fatal. Canon I'm told you can replace heads like their an ink cartridge. I am sick of waiting for a new generation printer which addresses the clogging issue. If all the other companies can do it why not Epson?

[uaiomex]

Inkjet technology came right from the dungeons of hell. We need an entirely new kind of printing technology. Otherwise I'm done printing myself for life.
Eduardo

[PeterAit]

I am curious as to why there is such a divergence of experience with the Epson printers. Some people have a miserable time with clogs and head replacements while others, such as myself, sail along for years with at most a few minor issues. Could it be a quality control issue with the manufacturing of the heads, some are just not quite up to spec and are prone to problems? I cannot think of any other possible reason. In any event, I am thankful to be one of the lucky 7900 owners.

[datro]

... Could it be a quality control issue with the manufacturing of the heads, some are just not quite up to spec and are prone to problems? I cannot think of any other possible reason. In any event, I am thankful to be one of the lucky 7900 owners.

There's always the possibility of quality control issues, but I generally doubt this is the primary source of the wide range of reported experience with these printers.  What is often (usually) missing in users' reports of problems is a history of the printer's usage (volume, media, frequency, etc) and environmental factors.  We hear about the clogs, but we may not hear about the "external" factors which may have some bearing on the reported problems.  So it is really hard to tell.  But I think those external factors are quite likely to be heavily involved since it is the one aspect that we know can vary widely from one user to the next.

It would be really interesting if there were instrumentation in the printer itself that could record (over a long period, say 2-3 years) things like humidity, temperature, pages printed, ink volume used, paper types used, AID nozzle check results, etc. etc.  I bet there would be some interesting correlations that could be extracted from an analysis of that data.  But of course adding this type of instrumentation would add to the cost of the machine, not something Epson (or any manufacturer) would likely implement.

Dave

[Ernst Dinkla]

For a long time already I suspect that my HPs make regular internet calls to HP about their treatment etc. At least the ones that have a Windows driver. The OfficeJet driven from Ubuntu keeps on running without errors, the moment I print from Windows the printer starts to complain that something is wrong with the cartridges. Quite right as there are modified Z3100 130 ML cartridge ink bags in the cart slots with third party chips that say "we never get empty" and I think they will never empty in the lifetime of that printer. So I treat my Windows driven HP Zs with some care and make sure not to alarm big brother with tricks it knows already, the rest I will not make public here. BTW, all run on official HP Vivera pigment ink, the Officejet sort off.

Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
December 2014 update, 700+ inkjet media white spectral plots

[Landscapes]

I am curious as to why there is such a divergence of experience with the Epson printers. Some people have a miserable time with clogs and head replacements while others, such as myself, sail along for years with at most a few minor issues. Could it be a quality control issue with the manufacturing of the heads, some are just not quite up to spec and are prone to problems? I cannot think of any other possible reason. In any event, I am thankful to be one of the lucky 7900 owners.

From what I can tell after reading so many posts, much of the problems with Epsons has to do with ink delivery, not the printhead.  Even when I had an Epson 4000 and 4800, when clogs appeared and I did some clean cycles, it would often make the problem worse.  More clogged nozzles shouldn't appear, and they shouldn't jump all around the print pattern.  This to me is indicative of sufficient ink not reaching the printhead.

Over time, I think perhaps the heads could get damaged after too many clean cycles and such, but initially, I think its the ink delivery system.  Others have said that its the capping station which someone sucks ink from the bottom through the head, from what I understand, and so it this isn't working properly, this would once again affect the flow. 

This also explains I think why the problems are so random. There are a few things that can fail in the chain of ink leaving the ink cart to getting squirted out of the printhead.  If any of these fail, that is where the bottleneck lies.

[DeanChriss]

From what I can tell after reading so many posts, much of the problems with Epsons has to do with ink delivery, not the printhead.  Even when I had an Epson 4000 and 4800, when clogs appeared and I did some clean cycles, it would often make the problem worse.  More clogged nozzles shouldn't appear, and they shouldn't jump all around the print pattern.  This to me is indicative of sufficient ink not reaching the printhead.

Over time, I think perhaps the heads could get damaged after too many clean cycles and such, but initially, I think its the ink delivery system.  Others have said that its the capping station which someone sucks ink from the bottom through the head, from what I understand, and so it this isn't working properly, this would once again affect the flow. 

This also explains I think why the problems are so random. There are a few things that can fail in the chain of ink leaving the ink cart to getting squirted out of the printhead.  If any of these fail, that is where the bottleneck lies.

I totally agree with that. When I run a cleaning due to one or more missing nozzles in the nozzle check pattern, it's not unusual for the missing nozzle(s) to be restored and other nozzles that previously printed perfectly to go missing. Sometimes nozzles go missing in different colors than the initial clog was in. If I were to guess I'd say the vast majority of "clogs" are lack of ink at the nozzle, not real clogs caused by hardened ink. Also guessing, I'd say the most likely cause is ink getting pulled back from the nozzles (and pulling in air) when the ink system is not pressurized. I say that because, at least in my case, I see "clogs" only when initially starting up the printer for a printing session. Once a perfect nozzle check is established everything is fine for the rest of the session, and often for days, weeks, or months thereafter (a bit over 3 months is the longest for me) if I am printing on a reasonably regular basis.

[davidh202]

Hell yes !
  
 I have a 7900 (now 5 years old), and 9890 ( 5 1/2), and both have performed very well from day one. I print for myself ,my wifes art, and customers. Mostly use the 9890 with MK for canvas  and fine art papers, and the 7900 with PK for Premium Luster, Ex Fiber, etc. Every few months I switch PK and MK inks in both just to keep them exercised.  
Started my 7900 today after an unusual lack of printing on it for a month, and it went right to work with no missing nozzles

I have stated many times that I believe they are somewhat self aware, and I let them do regular periodic nozzle checks. I just give them whatever ink they desire to drink when they need nozzle cleaning. I figure my ink usage into my overhead costs, and price my printing services accordingly!!
A few $ worth of ink down the drain, is more than acceptable to avoid head problems and costly maintenance replacements!
 
  

[mikev1]

No.  There are much easier ways to flush my money down the toilet.

[jerryw]

I have stated many times that I believe they are somewhat self aware, and I let them do regular periodic nozzle checks. I just give them whatever ink they desire to drink when they need nozzle cleaning.

Just to make sure I understand... you mean you have Printer-Setup/ Auto-Nozzle-Check/ On-Periodically selected, correct?

[PeterAit]

No.  There are much easier ways to flush my money down the toilet.

That's like saying changing you car's oil is a waste of money.

[BobDavid]

I've had far less clogging with the 7890 than with the X900s. The X890s were brought to market later, and I think (might be untrue) that the heads are less prone to clogging. Another thing about the X900s--unless you have to match PMS colors, the orange and green inks only have a very marginal, if at all any, effect on photo output.

[davidh202]

Yes Jerry , from day one on both.   

[davidh202]

Yep,  I'd be hard pressed to see the differences in regular photos and most people would never notice anyway! 

[Benny Profane]

I am curious as to why there is such a divergence of experience with the Epson printers. Some people have a miserable time with clogs and head replacements while others, such as myself, sail along for years with at most a few minor issues. Could it be a quality control issue with the manufacturing of the heads, some are just not quite up to spec and are prone to problems? I cannot think of any other possible reason. In any event, I am thankful to be one of the lucky 7900 owners.

All I can add is that after working next to about ten 7900s and 9900s in professional, high volume shops, hardly any issues. So, keep those things churning, I guess.

[jerryw]

I have stated many times that I believe they are somewhat self aware, and I let them do regular periodic nozzle checks. I just give them whatever ink they desire to drink when they need nozzle cleaning.

Just to make sure I understand... you mean you have Printer-Setup/ Auto-Nozzle-Check/ On-Periodically selected, correct?

Yes Jerry , from day one on both.   

Thanks for clarifying David.  And thanks for the tip.

I haven't been doing this, but I just might experiment with this.  Since I am an intermittent printer, if it drives down my clog risk, it will be worth it.

[jerryw]

... Makes me wonder:

• If you had it to do over, would you buy your 7900 or 9900 again?
• If not, what would you buy that is at least 24" wide?

This is just a curiosity for me, nothing more.  If you would be so kind, please respond only if you are an actual 7900/ 9900 owner.

This thread achieved my objective - which was simply to distill experiences from actual owners in the form of "would you buy again" responses.  And to share those around the virtual water-cooler.

Of course, we cannot draw any statistically valid conclusions about the 7900/ 9900 from this thread.  But it has been interesting to share experiences, and I certainly learned a thing or two.  And I am going to make one change as a result - the suggestion David made to do regular periodic nozzle checks.

Thanks to all who responded.  And thanks for keeping the thread on-topic and civil.

Cheers

Jerry

[cybis]

I have had the auto nozzle check turned on since the start, but unfortunately this has not prevented printhead failures in my case.
(low volume, room: peak temp 88F, average temp 77F, min humidity 8%, avg humidity 50%, low dust) We may learn something if everyone shared environmental data along with their experience.

[Garnick]

This thread achieved my objective - which was simply to distill experiences from actual owners in the form of "would you buy again" responses.  And to share those around the virtual water-cooler.

Of course, we cannot draw any statistically valid conclusions about the 7900/ 9900 from this thread.  But it has been interesting to share experiences, and I certainly learned a thing or two.  And I am going to make one change as a result - the suggestion David made to do regular periodic nozzle checks.

Thanks to all who responded.  And thanks for keeping the thread on-topic and civil.

Cheers

Jerry

One of my first tasks when I took possession of the 9900 in April2010 was to turn ANC off.  I've done that with every Epson printer I have owned.  What I do not want is for the printer to govern when a cleaning cycle is or is not necessary.  I have adopted the "habit" of printing a nozzle check pattern before I start my days work.  I suppose to some extent that habit is a carry over from the darkroom RA Colour process days and long before RA as well.  Running a QC control strip and plotting the graph was always the first task of the day.  Otherwise one could never know for certain whether or not the process was in complete control.  And of course the same set of disciplines pertained to the C22, C41 and E3, E4 and E6 processes.  When the Kodak Q-Lab system was devised for the E6 process that was a rather involved procedure, but again the only way of determining whether or not the process was in control.  A lot of chemical testing as well as PH and Specific Gravity tests involved, every day.  Then the numbers fed into the Q-Lab software and sent to Kodak in order to maintain one's Q-Lab status.  OK, somewhat off topic, but just making the point that I do not understand how anyone would simply assume that all nozzles are firing properly before starting a print session.  A totally foreign approach to me, but of course I suppose I might also be considered a bit of a throw back in this case.  Hey, works  for me.

Gary