How often does this happen when making a BIG print?

[uintaangler]

I have been going back and forth for a solid 4/5 months on the concept of purchasing a large format printer to complement my Epson 3880
First I asked for help deciding between 24" and 44" and I think 44" is the winner
Then the whole Epson vs Canon vs HP discussion about clogged print heads output quality, etc - that debate will probably take a coin flip to decide 

Upon occasion ( rarely ) I have had a print from my 3880 ruined by one stray excess ink spot in the sky - not that big of a deal at 17 x 22, but a real bummer on a 44" x 60" print!
How often does that occur when making a really large print?

Thanks,
Bob

[louoates]

The only time that has happened on my Epson 9900 44" is when running canvas without setting the platen width to "wider". Otherwise, flawless.

[John Caldwell]

Head clogs and head strikes are the thing that ruin my big prints.

[Peter McLennan]

Me, too.  Other than one temporary media problem, the only problems with prints from my 9800 have been mine.  I print nearly nothing but full-width canvas.

[uintaangler]

Head clogs and head strikes are the thing that ruin my big prints.

What do head strikes look like on a print?

[louoates]

What do head strikes look like on a print?

On mine it was a series of light ink marks, usually in a straight line. Occasionally it was a tiny black blob, usually in a blue sky. All of those strikes were cured by setting the platen to "wider".

[hugowolf]

I have been going back and forth for a solid 4/5 months on the concept of purchasing a large format printer to complement my Epson 3880
First I asked for help deciding between 24" and 44" and I think 44" is the winner
Then the whole Epson vs Canon vs HP discussion about clogged print heads output quality, etc - that debate will probably take a coin flip to decide 

Upon occasion ( rarely ) I have had a print from my 3880 ruined by one stray excess ink spot in the sky - not that big of a deal at 17 x 22, but a real bummer on a 44" x 60" print!
How often does that occur when making a really large print?

I have never had that happen on the 3880 or on the 44" 9890. Other things can happen part way through a roll paper print that means aborting the print part way through, or worse, after a full print. It is rare, but annoying and expensive all the same.

There are things that aren't due to the printer, like spooling errors where the printer receives only part of the rendered file and 1/4 inch is missing from one side of the print; for example. Or the print comes off great, only for you to discover that there is a paper flaw in the middle of it. Or you discover that you ran the print using the wrong profile.

The problems at 44" are no different than those at 17", it is just the costs of the mistakes are magnified, no matter who or what is at fault.

On the other hand, the unit cost of ink at 700 ml is much less that that at 80 ml.

Brian A

[Robert Ardill]

I have both Epson (4000 and now 4800) and HP (Z3100 24") printers.  The 4000 was a real nightmare with clogged heads, the 4800 not great but a lot better. I have never had a problem with clogged heads with the HP (it's 6 years old at this stage).  One big pro for the HP is the built-in spectrometer.

I agree that the size of the print has no impact on print problems, only that having to throw away a large print is painful!  I've never had a head clogging type problem doing large prints on the Epsons because I always do a nozzle check beforehand, and I've not seen nozzles getting clogged during a print. As I mentioned, this doesn't seem to be an issue with the HP and I never do a nozzle check before any printing on the HP.

One issue that can easily happen is a speck of dust or flake on the paper (especially with matte cotton rag papers).  It is worth unrolling and brushing the paper before printing as this usually gets over this kind of problem.

Robert