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View Full Version : Smallest Epson printer with archival quality inks (K3 I guess...)?



mortensen
10-Aug-2011, 11:31
Yesterday I got a really disappointing digital test print from an acclaimed print shop here in Copenhagen. I'll spare you the details, but it was far from good enough.

The book is smaller than A4 and all BW, so I considered printing it myself on my consumer Canon Pixma4300 and bind it myself (only 20 copies). The Pixma does a remarkably better job than the living room sized pro super printer at the print shop (which puzzles me, of course) But... how will the prints from my Canon look in 5 or 10 years from now?

Does anyone know anything about maximizing output quality of the Pixma4300? Special inks and papers?

... or should I go Epson? And which model in order to get super quality, long lasting prints?

thanks,
lars

oh... and my budget is tight, of course :D

sully75
10-Aug-2011, 18:01
there's somewhat extensive documentation on the web that the Epson 3800 ends up being the cheapest printer available, when you count the cost of ink. However, it's not cheap.

Frank Petronio
10-Aug-2011, 18:17
I was looking into this before and never found a good letter-sized pigment printer -- they are now all combination scanner all-in-one consumer machines. It would be nice to find a good quality semi-pro compact printer for travel and simply printing smaller portfolios plus office work.

An Epson 3880 is the cheapest good printer if you hit the right threshold and are figuring surface area costs.

The Epson 2880 is pigment and goes to 13x19 (sorry to lazy to convert to EU, an American trait I know) and sells for about $450 USd or less than half the price of an Epson 3880.

I forgot the amount of printing you can do until you reach the price of a 3880, but it is many hundreds of prints... so if your out of pocket cash outlay is more important than the ultimate cost of making more than a few hundred prints, the 2880 is a better option.

If you really want to be cheap about it, get a used Epson 2200 or 2400 (not the 2000) and print away, they make fine prints. The only caveat is that those printers are old and some are worn out, their waste ink resoviors are full, they have issues... but perhaps a new old stock or refurb could still be found?

When my current printer dies, I will probably get a 3880 or the newer replacement and hope to get 10 years of life out of it, they seem like they have finally matured and are "good enough".

Brian Ellis
10-Aug-2011, 18:31
For information about "long lasting" you might check http://www.wilhelm-research.com/ And for information about buying a printer, you might find this article by Ctein in the current issue of The Online Photographer marginally useful http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/blog_index.html

I owned an Epson 2200. It was an excellent printer but it drank ink in its sleep. I've never done a scientific test but my current 3800 seems much more stingy with ink (as it should be since a complete refill runs about $500 though the inks that come with the printer lasted well over a year for me).

Frank Petronio
10-Aug-2011, 18:32
Or another way to look at, in American terms, sorry...

If you only have $500, buy a used Epson 2400 and make a few hundred prints, praying it holds together.

For $1000 you can get a new Epson 2880 and make several hundred prints with reasonable reliablity.

And for $1500 you can get a new Epson 3880 and make several hundred prints, knowing you can make several hundred more prints less and less expensively.

It is rather like paying a premium for a new Hybrid automobile to save on gas, versus a cheap old gas guzzler that gets lousy milage.

Paul Ewins
10-Aug-2011, 22:02
I think that the new Epson R2000 and R3000 have much larger ink cartridges than the models they replaced. I'm guessing though that the cost of printers and ink is a lot higher in Denmark than in the US. I know that the Australian cost for Epson printers and ink is double the US cost and that US retailers are prohibited from shipping them to Australia (the ink too). It is one of the things that stops me from buying a printer - not the cost, just the realization that I am being screwed by the company.

mortensen
10-Aug-2011, 23:16
Thanks, all of you. You are right, Paul, the 3880 is $2000 here in Denmark. I would blame sales tax (25% in Denmark) and import duties, rather than Epson.

But, nevertheless, I'll probably stick to my canon for this job and save up for the 3880, which to my needs and cost benefit wise seems like the only right choice. Canon promises 100+ years of color stability using their inks and papers... if they can just manage 25 or 30 years, I'm happy.

Love the car comparison, Frank - I ride a bicycle only, haha! Was in the states for three weeks this summer and you sure have a different transportation culture :)
cheers,
lars

Jim Michael
11-Aug-2011, 03:42
You might find this article (http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/R1800.htm) of interest.

mortensen
11-Aug-2011, 05:07
thanks! I have a flight tonight... should be good reading along the way :)

Jim Michael
11-Aug-2011, 05:09
Oh, I see the R800/R1800 have been superseded and this article (http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/) might be of interest too. Have fun.

mortensen
11-Aug-2011, 08:41
greatness... thanks

Peter von Gaza
12-Aug-2011, 09:22
I've been looking at this option: Epson 1400 + UT14 BW Inks (www.misinks.com). I haven't tried it yet, but we use multiple Epson 1400s in our business and I can tell you it is a wicked printer for the money (~$250 on sale). Get the 4oz inkset for $100 (MIS) and a cheap CIS off of ebay (~$30) and you have "state-of-the-art" BW printing for under $500.

Me, I'm still using QuadToneRip with my ancient Epson 4000, which has both matte and photo black inks.

Cheers,
Peter
www.pixelmapper.com/blog

Jim Michael
12-Aug-2011, 09:37
Too many TLAs. What's a CIS?

Frank Petronio
12-Aug-2011, 11:28
CIS = continuous ink system

IDK what a TLA is?

Jim Michael
12-Aug-2011, 12:21
TLA = three letter acronym :-)

Nathan Potter
12-Aug-2011, 17:23
If of any use, I can tell you that I changed ink cartridges recently on my Epson 3880 at 50 square feet of standard Hahnemuhle Matte Fine Art photo paper. New ink set about US $600. That's a sweet US $12 per square foot! Mostly color but some B & W so usage per cartridge was fairly uniform.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

photobymike
12-Aug-2011, 18:07
I have had several canon printers with not much good to say about them.... i have a Epson 4800 and am planning to by a 4880 Epson. I have made a few good prints with my 4800, but it takes a little skill and lots of practice.

A lot of people get disappointed when trying to make good prints with any printer..

a Few people i have talked to about making fine prints do not understand the importance of calibrating your monitor. There is a learning curve you must travel before you can make fine prints consistently on your Epson or any printer.

i chose the 4800 over the 3800 because the cost per print is lower, and the 3800 does not have a vacuum pump to keep the paper positioned. Also the 4800 does roll paper really well.....

http://www.mikepic.com