Epson Surecolor P900 lust

[IPDOUGLAS]

@maxs

I have a scrapped Imageprograf Pro 1000 in my office now.  It lasted barely 2 years with a jammed ink cartridge (a known design fault reported in American Canon community forums).  I have sold on nearly £1000 (£s not $s) worth of ink I had in a cupboard.  It drank ink and regularly filled the maintenance cartridge.  It printed beautiful prints but is seriously flawed.  A fix for a jammed ink cartridge cots more than a new printer - it requires a back to base engineer strip down to correct.  Yes I probably could have ripped the jammed cartridge out as many in the community forum have done but there are many other reported problems.  Please read all the forums you can before deciding.  I bitterly regret buying it.  It needs a usage or a nozzle check every 60 hours or it will carry out a full head clean and dump huge amounts of expensive ink.  Anyone printing very regularly may not suffer so.
Canons customer service were terrible and this is another reason not to buy Canon.  My scrapped printer looks like new and has probably produced only 50 A3 prints and less A4 prints so these were very expensive as I probably also changed all cartridges twice in that 2 years (£1200 worth of ink).  I had to invest in a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) since powering off triggers a head clean the next time you switch it on.  Despite Canon marketing this printer as suitable for enthusiasts as well as professionals it really only suits those with a high throughput.
However its thirst for ink and an ink cartridge jamming issue these are only two problems.  Read the forums for others reported.
Another reason to buy Epson might be the healthy 3rd party refillable and CIS (continuous ink supply) systems that were available though not for P900 yet. 

[Cem]

@maxs

I have a scrapped Imageprograf Pro 1000 in my office now.  It lasted barely 2 years with a jammed ink cartridge (a known design fault reported in American Canon community forums).  I have sold on nearly £1000 (£s not $s) worth of ink I had in a cupboard.  It drank ink and regularly filled the maintenance cartridge.  It printed beautiful prints but is seriously flawed.  A fix for a jammed ink cartridge cots more than a new printer - it requires a back to base engineer strip down to correct.  Yes I probably could have ripped the jammed cartridge out as many in the community forum have done but there are many other reported problems.  Please read all the forums you can before deciding.  I bitterly regret buying it.  It needs a usage or a nozzle check every 60 hours or it will carry out a full head clean and dump huge amounts of expensive ink.  Anyone printing very regularly may not suffer so.
Canons customer service were terrible and this is another reason not to buy Canon.  My scrapped printer looks like new and has probably produced only 50 A3 prints and less A4 prints so these were very expensive as I probably also changed all cartridges twice in that 2 years (£1200 worth of ink).  I had to invest in a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) since powering off triggers a head clean the next time you switch it on.  Despite Canon marketing this printer as suitable for enthusiasts as well as professionals it really only suits those with a high throughput.
However its thirst for ink and an ink cartridge jamming issue these are only two problems.  Read the forums for others reported.
Another reason to buy Epson might be the healthy 3rd party refillable and CIS (continuous ink supply) systems that were available though not for P900 yet.

Like @maxs, I am also in the market for an A2 printer. I am currently looking at the Canon Pro-1000, Epson P900 and Epson P5000 STD.

Canon is the cheapest, but it has a few problems like the ones you've mentioned. I did not like the fact that it cannot print borderless for custom paper sizes. Panos are limited to 1.20 meters max. And there was one dire warning of the printer flushing all of the ink when the printer is moved while it is switched on. And the horrible 60 hour cleaning cycle, which is happening even when one has printed extensively during that period.

P5000 has the built-in roll paper and the paper cutter as well as being more dust resistant. Also, the handling of the roll paper is automatic. But it is huge and the most expensive of these three.

P900 has one huge flaw, it is nowhere in stock. Also, it seems to have a flimsy build quality from what I have seen on youtube videos. It is pricewise halfway between the other two when one also buys the roll paper unit. And the dreaded 50 ml cartridges. Lastly, I haven't heard anything about the paper handling and skewing problems as of yet. I don't know what the reality will be like when the printer is generally available.

So considering these pros and cons, I am undecided what would be the best choice for me. I am an amateur photographer who wants to print his own pictures but not in huge volumes. Another option is to use labs for any prints but I haven't been able to find one which I really like (paper surface, structure, quality, color management). In the past I have had the Epson 3800 and it was a great printer until the print head has clogged eventually and would not be un-clogged no matter what I've tried.

Any advice you can give will be greatly appreciated.

[Panagiotis]

Like @maxs, I am also in the market for an A2 printer. I am currently looking at the Canon Pro-1000, Epson P900 and Epson P5000 STD.

Canon is the cheapest, but it has a few problems like the ones you've mentioned. I did not like the fact that it cannot print borderless for custom paper sizes. Panos are limited to 1.20 meters max. And there was one dire warning of the printer flushing all of the ink when the printer is moved while it is switched on. And the horrible 60 hour cleaning cycle, which is happening even when one has printed extensively during that period.

P5000 has the built-in roll paper and the paper cutter as well as being more dust resistant. Also, the handling of the roll paper is automatic. But it is huge and the most expensive of these three.

P900 has one huge flaw, it is nowhere in stock. Also, it seems to have a flimsy build quality from what I have seen on youtube videos. It is pricewise halfway between the other two when one also buys the roll paper unit. And the dreaded 50 ml cartridges. Lastly, I haven't heard anything about the paper handling and skewing problems as of yet. I don't know what the reality will be like when the printer is generally available.

So considering these pros and cons, I am undecided what would be the best choice for me. I am an amateur photographer who wants to print his own pictures but not in huge volumes. Another option is to use labs for any prints but I haven't been able to find one which I really like (paper surface, structure, quality, color management). In the past I have had the Epson 3800 and it was a great printer until the print head has clogged eventually and would not be un-clogged no matter what I've tried.

Any advice you can give will be greatly appreciated.

Epson SC-P800?

[IPDOUGLAS]

I believe the Epson P800 is very much in short supply also.

There seems to only be the Epson P900 in this arena {if you discount the Imageprograf 1000 for given reasons) with a few others at higher price points.

[Cem]

I believe the Epson P800 is very much in short supply also.

There seems to only be the Epson P900 in this arena {if you discount the Imageprograf 1000 for given reasons) with a few others at higher price points.

Correct. No one has any P800 in stock either. 

[samogitian]

Near NYC? Well, I have a P800 for you.

[budjames]

Near NYC? Well, I have a P800 for you.

I sold my P800 to help finance my purchase of the P900.

Now that I have been using the P900 for a few weeks, I really love the dual black ink set up so that I don't have to waste ink to switch from photo black to matte black. Now I can print matte papers at will instead of batching them up. Love it!

Print quality with the P800 is awesome, but the P900 improves it to a new level, especially with glossy stock.

Regards,
Bud James

Please check out my fine art and travel photography at www.budjames.photography or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/budjamesphoto.

[Cem]

Near NYC? Well, I have a P800 for you.

Thanks but I am on the other side of the pond

[Cem]

I sold my P800 to help finance my purchase of the P900.

Now that I have been using the P900 for a few weeks, I really love the dual black ink set up so that I don't have to waste ink to switch from photo black to matte black. Now I can print matte papers at will instead of batching them up. Love it!

Print quality with the P800 is awesome, but the P900 improves it to a new level, especially with glossy stock.

Regards,
Bud James

Please check out my fine art and travel photography at www.budjames.photography or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/budjamesphoto.

Any paper recommendations?

[Cem]

This morning one of the retailers had 4 P900s in stock. I have immediately ordered one. Let's see if it will arrive tomorrow as promised.

[samogitian]

It turned out that Unique Photo also has the inks, they are just hard to find on the Web site. I cancelled my order at B&H and got them there.

[tastar]

We just got a P900 in and we checked the starter cartridges against the actual 50 ml cartridges (T46Y...). The weight of the two cartridges is identical, so, the starter cartridges seem to be 50 ml just like the replacement cartridges. The cartridges are effectively the same physical size as 80 ml P800 cartridges, too (so why can't they be made with more ink in them?).

Tony

[dgberg]

We just got a P900 in and we checked the starter cartridges against the actual 50 ml cartridges (T46Y...). The weight of the two cartridges is identical, so, the starter cartridges seem to be 50 ml just like the replacement cartridges. The cartridges are effectively the same physical size as 80 ml P800 cartridges, too (so why can't they be made with more ink in them?).

Tony

Either Epson has determined that part of the cause for clogging issues is low printer usage can cause more clogs. So we will introduce smaller size carts requiring change out more often.
Or
It is strictly marketing trying to up the profits with a smaller package contents at a higher price.
Or both.

Knock on wood the way my old 3880 and P800 run all Epson had to do was make the new printer the same. These two printers have been the shining stars of all the Epson's we own.

[budjames]

Any paper recommendations?

I use Epson fine art papers: Legacy Plantine, Exhibition Fiber, Premium Luster and Bayrata. I also use Carson Bayrata II.

Regards,
Bud James

Please check out my fine art and travel photography at www.budjames.photography or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/budjamesphoto.

[Cem]

We just got a P900 in and we checked the starter cartridges against the actual 50 ml cartridges (T46Y...). The weight of the two cartridges is identical, so, the starter cartridges seem to be 50 ml just like the replacement cartridges. The cartridges are effectively the same physical size as 80 ml P800 cartridges, too (so why can't they be made with more ink in them?).

Tony

I got my P900 and I can confirm the same.

[Cem]

I use Epson fine art papers: Legacy Plantine, Exhibition Fiber, Premium Luster and Bayrata. I also use Carson Bayrata II.

Regards,
Bud James

Please check out my fine art and travel photography at www.budjames.photography or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/budjamesphoto.

Thanks!

I have ended up ordering Canson Rag Photographique (310g) for mat printing and Canson Platine Fibre Rag (310g) for semi gloss.

[budjames]

Thanks!

I have ended up ordering Canson Rag Photographique (310g) for mat printing and Canson Platine Fibre Rag (310g) for semi gloss.

Yes, they are good choices too.
Regards,
Bud James

Please check out my fine art and travel photography at www.budjames.photography or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/budjamesphoto.

[Ferp]

We just got a P900 in and we checked the starter cartridges against the actual 50 ml cartridges (T46Y...). The weight of the two cartridges is identical, so, the starter cartridges seem to be 50 ml just like the replacement cartridges.

This is fascinating! This suggests that the carts are labelled as "starter" just to warn you that there won't be much ink left after the lines are charged.

My recollection is that the 3880, the last printer in this line to come without starter carts, used up a decent amount of its 80ml carts in charging the lines, but I can't recall how much.  If the P900 has less than 10% left, that suggests that the 3880 would have been at around half or less left.  Is that right? 

As the carts get smaller, they get closer to the amount used for charging the lines, which is the minimum size.  Which has me wondering about how the R3000 and P600 managed to charge their lines without exhausting their smaller carts.  Perhaps the amount of ink used for charging has increased in newer models?

[budjames]

After my P900 charged the ink lines, my starter ink cartridges showed only 50% capacity left.

Regards,
Bud James

Please check out my fine art and travel photography at www.budjames.photography or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/budjamesphoto.

[nirpat89]

This is fascinating! This suggests that the carts are labelled as "starter" just to warn you that there won't be much ink left after the lines are charged.

My recollection is that the 3880, the last printer in this line to come without starter carts, used up a decent amount of its 80ml carts in charging the lines, but I can't recall how much.  If the P900 has less than 10% left, that suggests that the 3880 would have been at around half or less left.  Is that right? 

As the carts get smaller, they get closer to the amount used for charging the lines, which is the minimum size.  Which has me wondering about how the R3000 and P600 managed to charge their lines without exhausting their smaller carts.  Perhaps the amount of ink used for charging has increased in newer models?

I think starter carts also have a special code that tells the printer to charge the lines.