Michael: Yes of course I sure did notice the much reduced cartridge size and that usually implies much higher ink cost per ml. The key thing of course will be to see "by how much", insofar as for those of using higher-end papers (such as IGFS, Hahn, etc) the cost of the paper considerably exceeds the cost of the ink per sheet. To give you a feel for it, using IGFS 13*19 boxes of 50 sheets, including taxes and in Canadian dollars, if I fill one of those sheets with 11*17 inches of image content (one inch border on each side), while the paper costs me $2.55, the ink costs $1.09. The ink cost is the cost of the 200ml cartridge and the number of ml/sq.ft. expended on an average density print of those dimensions. The data for both these variables remains to be seen for the new printer model, however the "landed cost" of the ink per printed photo would need to more than double before it overtakes the paper. Not insignificant, and this will vary by user and according to a number of projections used to make such calculations, but I figure the amortization of the printer itself is worth about $1.11 for each Super A3.
Mark M-G: In a nutshell, could you give us an idea of roughly how long prints made from the Ultrachrome-HDR inkset on high quality Baryta-based papers can be kept in dark storage before yellow fading would begin to affect skin tones?
Jim: I have to say I am with you on that. I need to ensure at least one print of a real photograph or page of solid patches flows through my 4900 at the longest every three days, otherwise the nozzle check pattern will show gaps in one or more channels. If I use the printer every day or every other day the incidence of these "clogs" is far, far reduced, not eliminated, but easily cleaned out. The printer sits in a humidity range of 25% to 50%, depending. We won't know the reliability of the new set of models until they have been on the market and tested for quite a while by a fairly wide range of users under different conditions. I agree with Michael not to toss out the 3880 - but mainly for this reason. I would not buy one until I have adequate evidence that reliability is no worse than my current 4900.
