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Thread: Anyone tried the Epson 3800?

  1. #1

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    Anyone tried the Epson 3800?

    I am thinking of upgrading from my Stylus 2400 to the new 3800 as it would be nice to print 17" wide and I REALLY like the idea of not having to swap the photo/matte black inks. Has anyone bought or tried this unit? I would like to assume that the print quality will be the same as the 2400, but...

    A quick web search yielded reviews either from people clearly working for Epson or from people complaining that there isn't a viewing screen on it. Not particularly enlightening. Any first hand experiences greatly appreciated.

    Thanks,
    N.

  2. #2

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    Re: Anyone tried the Epson 3800?

    If you have not already seen it, there is a video posted at Luminous-Landscape site:

    http://www.luminous-landscape.com/vi...3800-vid.shtml


    // Atul

  3. #3

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    Re: Anyone tried the Epson 3800?

    I believe I read somewhere that Epson has delayed the release of the 3800 in the U.S. for a short while so there probably won't be a lot of user reviews and comments, at least from U.S. users, for a while longer. I too plan to upgrade to it assuming user comments are favorable.
    Brian Ellis
    Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
    a mile away and you'll have their shoes.

  4. #4
    Jack Flesher's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone tried the Epson 3800?

    Got mine yesterday -- setting it up was a breeze, install was one click. I printed out a bunch of profile targets yesterday and will be building the profiles later this morning, then I can spew a print or two for evaluation

    Initial impressions are very positive. Canned profiles are excellent and offer neutral grayscale. Hard to say until I print my target print, but it appears this printer is "sharper" than my 7800. Unit is relatively small -- maybe about 6" bigger in each dimension than a 2400 and very quiet. Rear paper feed is a bit fussy with thicker stock, but building a custom paper choice for "fine art" papers is easy and solves this issue. Unit does come with USB2 and 10/100 LAN connectivity built in.

    More when I have it!
    Jack Flesher

    www.getdpi.com

  5. #5
    Greg Lockrey's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone tried the Epson 3800?

    Mine is on it's way from my supplier. I should have it by Monday
    Greg Lockrey

    Wealth is a state of mind.
    Money is just a tool.
    Happiness is pedaling +25mph on a smooth road.



  6. #6
    Jack Flesher's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone tried the Epson 3800?

    Okay, profiles built, test images printed and even printed up a real image.

    First print impressions are very positive. Image quality is essentially equal to my epson 7800 and using custom paper profiles the continuous tone grayscale slice looks perfectly neutral. Image is very sharp yet remains smoothness. In short, it appears to produce identical prints to my 7800.

    ~~~

    The only fly in the ointment so far is a minor nit. Standard papers like Premium Luster can be multi-sheet fed through the main feed port. When you print on thick Fine Art paper, you need to single-feed through the rear tray. You also need to manually build and select a custom paper type for the thicker paper. You can build 10 presets via the LCD panel or using the "Remote Panel" where you set paper type and thickness, platten gap and custom align the head-gap to that specific paper -- a spiffy set of options for maximum print quality, especially considering the variables in different fine art papers.

    However, when switching from type of paper to the other, the feed tray option will automatically change (you get notified in the print dialog) and the Mk/Pk ink will switch over automatically, but the custom paper parameters do not switch. You need to set them manually, even to get back to the default "standard" setting.

    A minor annoyance is all, but one that needs to be considered lest you waste a few sheets of paper if you forget. Nonetheless, an annoyance I'll live with for the abilty to easily switch between paper types and Mk and Pk inks!

    Cheers,
    Jack Flesher

    www.getdpi.com

  7. #7
    Is that a Hassleblad? Brian Vuillemenot's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone tried the Epson 3800?

    Hi Jack,

    Which profiles are you using? Did you get the professional edition, that comes with a RIP? Is it worth the extra $200 for it?

    Thanks,

    Brian
    Brian Vuillemenot

  8. #8
    Jack Flesher's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone tried the Epson 3800?

    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Vuillemenot View Post
    Hi Jack,

    Which profiles are you using? Did you get the professional edition, that comes with a RIP? Is it worth the extra $200 for it?

    Thanks,

    Brian
    Hi Brian:

    I build my own profiles and typically only use a few different papers, so the ColorBurst RIP was not really worth it to me. Not only that, the canned profiles that ship with the printer look very good too, so the RIP may be superfluous for many folks. But at only $200, it may be an attractive option worth looking at if you don't already own profiling equipment.
    Jack Flesher

    www.getdpi.com

  9. #9

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    Re: Anyone tried the Epson 3800?

    In the spec sheet for the printer it states that when switching from matte to photo black the printer spends 4.5 ml of ink while in the other direction only 1.5 ml is spent. Does anyone know why this is?

  10. #10
    Jack Flesher's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone tried the Epson 3800?

    The Mk ink won't stick to coated papers, so it needs to be more thoroughly flushed from the head -- drain, 2 flush cycles and a Pk fill. By contrast the Pk ink will stick to the matte paper just fine, so the small bit of Pk ink left after a single drain and Mk fill of the head goes unnoticed on art paper...
    Jack Flesher

    www.getdpi.com

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