Epson P 20000

[deanwork]

Now they have been in service for a couple of years, I’m very interested in hearing how the Epson 20000 64 inch printer is holding up in real world situations? That also should apply to the P 10k that had kind of a shaky start for some people in terms of firmware.

I’m most interested in how the new generation of head/pump/ cap station is working out. Are we seeing less clogging, defective nozzles, and expensive service calls?

These seem to be using the same heads as the more recent 12 channel  9570 series only with two less channels.

I just don’t see people talking about a comparison between the P 90000 heads which are the same as the 9900 that were so problematic, and the newly designed ones.

[deanwork]

I guess there is not much improvement and people would rather not talk about it.



quote author=deanwork link=topic=134589.msg1163173#msg1163173 date=1586704081]
Now they have been in service for a couple of years, I’m very interested in hearing how the Epson 20000 64 inch printer is holding up in real world situations? That also should apply to the P 10k that had kind of a shaky start for some people in terms of firmware.

I’m most interested in how the new generation of head/pump/ cap station is working out. Are we seeing less clogging, defective nozzles, and expensive service calls?

These seem to be using the same heads as the more recent 12 channel  9570 series only with two less channels.

I just don’t see people talking about a comparison between the P 90000 heads which are the same as the 9900 that were so problematic, and the newly designed ones.
[/quote]

[ssgphoto]

I have had the P20000 for over three years and recently added another. Yes there are clogs and I have had a few service calls over the years including a pump capping replacement and new head. But I cannot imagine owning one of these machines in a professional environment without a service contract. Its really worth it. I did have a small plastic tab on the lid break, and that required a massive disassembly that took longer than than a new printhead! All the service calls have been prompt and the Decision One techs all super great. In general, I do run thousands of prints through the machine and it is pretty darn dependable. The production capacity has been a game changer. That said, there are still some flaws in the firmware that are annoying and stupid that Epson seems oblivious to fixing years later. Running sheets can be frustrating and time consuming considering the speed of this printer. I'm really hoping the 9570 will feed sheets better.

[NeilPrintArt]

I am a P10000 user. Bought it new about 6 or 7 months ago. At first I struggled with some of the quirks as mentioned (media loading/auto cleans etc). A combination of firmware updates and turning off all auto options in the menu (including things like 'paper skew') have sorted out most of those issues. And I have had a head replacement. A persistent missing nozzle eventually spread to 3 and then 4 adjacent nozzles and no amount of cleaning would get rid of it. Machine under warranty so Epson swopped it out for a new head.

When I initially looked at buying the P10000 I was hoping that the new bigger head with wider spacing would somehow mean less clogs then my previous Epson's (9800's and 9890) but not really. My experience is that dropped nozzles is a fairly common thing. In a busy week I will often need to do at least one clean a day. But nothing persistent since the new head. Sometimes need 2x consecutive cleans but generally everything clears up fairly easy.

Having said all of that, I really love the machine. Its built like a tank and super fast (not that that is particularly important to me). The dedicated MK and PK channels are a game changer, such a pleasure having come from the Epson school of sharing a K channel. I feel like I do get more shadow detail with the extra 'grey' ink. It has a feeling of having been built to last. Super fast if printing something quick at high speeds but I mostly use it for fine art/photos on cotton rag and the printed results are always great. But sadly yes age old Epson lament of regular dropped nozzles still exists -       

[Lewando_Images]

I am a P10000 user. Bought it new about 6 or 7 months ago. At first I struggled with some of the quirks as mentioned (media loading/auto cleans etc). A combination of firmware updates and turning off all auto options in the menu (including things like 'paper skew') have sorted out most of those issues. And I have had a head replacement. A persistent missing nozzle eventually spread to 3 and then 4 adjacent nozzles and no amount of cleaning would get rid of it. Machine under warranty so Epson swopped it out for a new head.

When I initially looked at buying the P10000 I was hoping that the new bigger head with wider spacing would somehow mean less clogs then my previous Epson's (9800's and 9890) but not really. My experience is that dropped nozzles is a fairly common thing. In a busy week I will often need to do at least one clean a day. But nothing persistent since the new head. Sometimes need 2x consecutive cleans but generally everything clears up fairly easy.

Having said all of that, I really love the machine. Its built like a tank and super fast (not that that is particularly important to me). The dedicated MK and PK channels are a game changer, such a pleasure having come from the Epson school of sharing a K channel. I feel like I do get more shadow detail with the extra 'grey' ink. It has a feeling of having been built to last. Super fast if printing something quick at high speeds but I mostly use it for fine art/photos on cotton rag and the printed results are always great. But sadly yes age old Epson lament of regular dropped nozzles still exists -     

   Built like a tank.....but you have already replaced a head in a printer 6 or 7 months old ? This is why I will never own another Epson and I have owned many !

[deanwork]

Thanks so much guys for the honest feedback. I really appreciate it. I’m sorry to hear that the piezo heads have not really been reengineered After all these years to eliminate the hassle of premature major servicing, especially in regard to heads. That really makes me sad. They do so much that is innovate otherwise.  We shall see about the latest incarnation. But I’ve been saying this for the last decade. If you can afford keeping them in perpetual warranty that seems the only rational solution.
Actually the Canons are built like a tank as well but you sacrifice some longevity in the current generation.

   Built like a tank.....but you have already replaced a head in a printer 6 or 7 months old ? This is why I will never own another Epson and I have owned many !

[ssgphoto]

The nozzle clogs are annoying considering its a 10 minute cleaning cycle but the cost of ink and overall production time add up to a very good production and cost. The Canon print heads may not have the same clogging issue but they are an expendable user serviceable item which run $600 per The 60" has two a(at least they did when I last owned one)  and that can be close to the cost of a warranty for an Epson. The Canon warranty does not cover these printheads. So yes perpetual warranty is the catch, but it figures into the cost of ownership. In general the P20000 has a great printhead. It's so large that even when there are multiple clogs, it is often undetectable to the eye. Mine has withstood multiple head strikes from all sorts of media that has buckled and is irregular. It generally cleans in one cycle when there is any clog no matter how big. I can say that I have run multiple 50' to 100' rolls back to back on the take up reel when doing large editions without a clog and in incredibly fast time. It's been a true workhorse.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the P9570 deals with clogs now that Epson has finally come up with its greatest innovation yet- a lid that actually closes!

[NeilPrintArt]

   Built like a tank.....but you have already replaced a head in a printer 6 or 7 months old ? This is why I will never own another Epson and I have owned many !

To be fair, i believe the machine took a knock in transport prior to delivery. I say this because initially there was an issue with the back and forth head movement and the ink lines/ribbon cable assembly knocking against the metal ridge inside the machine. That vibration was causing nozzle drops at the start I think. After the transport issue was resolved unfortunately the one channel never fully recovered and as mentioned Epson replaced the head and capping station.

Yes my experience is that the Epson heads can be temperamental, but they can also be incredible workhorses. I have 12 year old 9800's running 3rd-party inks still spewing out prints no problem.

And yes my, as mentioned by ssgphoto the print head is so large that a couple dropped nozzles don't appear to have any effect on a print, even in soft transition zones viewed with a loupe. In fact the P10000/P20000 have a 'print-less nozzle check' function that does a nozzle check using the internal sensor (don't need to print a pattern) and it will ignore one or two missing nozzles. That is how machine is engineered to work.