Epson 3880 / Matte<->Photo Black-ink-switch / maintenance cartridges / WHY?

[BLUEGOOSE]

Long story short: I received an unboxed Epson 3880 last month.
I've run 70 prints on it so far, with a variety of papers. I've swapped between blacks x4.
The maintenance cartridge is at 7% ?

My major question: Why would Epson use the same head for two different blacks?
Every time I switch from a gloss to matte it bleeds more ink to clear the line. Am I crazy to think this is an engineering crux, or is this the sale's department's shining moment?

And then I have to pay even more money for the maintenance cartridge that stores my wasted ink? WTF.

It has performed reasonably well* with the 60+ random papers/images I've thrown at. But the maintenance cycle and black-switch frustrates me to no end.

Is there some rational behind this, beyond my wallet?

*I'm just taking it out for a spin right now. Stock raw (because Epson is proud of this?) and a variety of off-the-shelf papers. I have high hopes that it will be a good proofing device.

[unesco]

Welcome to Epson world! 

The reason probably was to have less channels in printhead.

Please keep in mind that this is the best printer Epson ever made (truly). It has some drawbacks, like your mentioned PK/MK switching but overall it is a very good printer.

[Eric Brody]

I agree that the 3880 is one of the most reliable machines ever made by Epson. Mine is 8 years old and seems to be running just fine (praise to the printer gods). You said yours was "unboxed." Is it new or used?

Ink switching is an old Epson issue. It's a decision they made and may now regret given that Canon has never had this "issue," and the newer printers, the P700 and P900 have "solved" it. Four ink switches should not have brought your machine's maintenance cartridge to 7%. Something's not right. My maintenance cartridges last for years though I do not do frequent switching.

This printer is much more than a "proofing device." It is capable of exhibition quality output when given exhibition quality files. Good luck with your machine.

[dgberg]

Long story short: I received an unboxed Epson 3880 last month.
I've run 70 prints on it so far, with a variety of papers. I've swapped between blacks x4.
The maintenance cartridge is at 7% ?

My major question: Why would Epson use the same head for two different blacks?
Every time I switch from a gloss to matte it bleeds more ink to clear the line. Am I crazy to think this is an engineering crux, or is this the sale's department's shining moment?

And then I have to pay even more money for the maintenance cartridge that stores my wasted ink? WTF.

It has performed reasonably well* with the 60+ random papers/images I've thrown at. But the maintenance cycle and black-switch frustrates me to no end.

Is there some rational behind this, beyond my wallet?

*I'm just taking it out for a spin right now. Stock raw (because Epson is proud of this?) and a variety of off-the-shelf papers. I have high hopes that it will be a good proofing device.

It IS a 10 year old model my friend. The new 900's don't do that.
Still the best Epson printer ever made and I still have one.
The easy easy fix is two printers, one for matte and one gloss. We use the 3880 and P800 for 8x10 proofs and never switch inks.

[digitaldog]

My major question: Why would Epson use the same head for two different blacks?

"If you want a wise answer, ask a reasonable question." -Johann von Goethe

[digitaldog]

It IS a 10 year old model my friend. The new 900's don't do that.
Still the best Epson printer ever made and I still have one.
The easy easy fix is two printers, one for matte and one gloss.

Mine dates back to 2009 (I was a beta site) and still running strong.

[Rhossydd]

I've swapped between blacks x4.
The maintenance cartridge is at 7% ?

Sounds about right. Swapping blacks uses a lot of ink, powering up also uses a smaller amount as it gets ready to print. The smart approach is to minimise swapping to the absolute minimum.

It's not ideal, but as others have said the 3800 & 3880 have proved reliable, high quality printers that keep going.

[Ferp]

Yes, the MK/PK switch is a pain, but it's been a feature of Epsons for a long time, until the P700 & P900.  I think also the 10K & 20K removed the switch, but they're out of my league. 

The ink usage is only part of the problem, the switch itself is a point of failure, and when it does fail it's expensive to repair.  Many people regard it as uneconomic.  A few here have long-lived 3880s, but IMHO that requires a modicum of luck, even with Epson's most reliable printer ever.  I bought one of the last, and thus it's around six years old.  I live in fear of the switch failing. 

[dgberg]

Yes, the MK/PK switch is a pain, but it's been a feature of Epsons for a long time, until the P700 & P900.  I think also the 10K & 20K removed the switch, but they're out of my league. 

The ink usage is only part of the problem, the switch itself is a point of failure, and when it does fail it's expensive to repair.  Many people regard it as uneconomic.  A few here have long-lived 3880s, but IMHO that requires a modicum of luck, even with Epson's most reliable printer ever.  I bought one of the last, and thus it's around six years old.  I live in fear of the switch failing.

My first 3880 lasted only 5 years but we did regular switching. Then we got the black ink leak probably from that switching valve so we bought a new one. We rarely switch blacks now and are now going on 7 years with this one.
Knock on wood have had no issues to date. As a business it is very economical to have two small printers side by side. We use the 3880 about 10 to 1over the P800. Main reason is ink cost as we have refillable carts in the 3880.
We figure our ink costs for the 3880 between .05 and .10 per ml. as we are getting to ink that is normally not acessable and thrown away. The P800 OEM carts run .71 per ml. ($58 for 80ml cart)
That's a no-brainer.

[deanwork]

I have a 3880 along with a lot of big printers and it has been by far the most reliable unit I’ve owned in 20 years.

Actually these days I never use it but when I do turn it on every few weeks to do a nozzle check it’s always clear, never clogged.  Wish I could say that for the big ones.

As for the ink switching, not a big deal on the small printers like this UNLESS you rarely ever do it and then switch the blacks. They freeze because ink can dry in there somehow and the switch can’t work. This dried ink can also get lodged in your print head nozzle and potentially wreck it. That happened to me with a big Epson that I rarely switched. My advice is to do a switch at least once a month because waiting a year or more can be big trouble. Other than that these little printers are great.

My first 3880 lasted only 5 years but we did regular switching. Then we got the black ink leak probably from that switching valve so we bought a new one. We rarely switch blacks now and are now going on 7 years with this one.
Knock on wood have had no issues to date. As a business it is very economical to have two small printers side by side. We use the 3880 about 10 to 1over the P800. Main reason is ink cost as we have refillable carts in the 3880.
We figure our ink costs for the 3880 between .05 and .10 per ml. as we are getting to ink that is normally not acessable and thrown away. The P800 OEM carts run .71 per ml. ($58 for 80ml cart)
That's a no-brainer.