epson 3800 printer vs. 2280 w/advanced b&w

[zack kl]

I'm slowly entering the digital world, predominantly black and white and at this stage I can do with the smaller 13"x 19" the 2880 offers but for $400 more I would consider the 3800 given the positive reviews and what seems like the pervasive use amongst this forums users. The 2880 is a newer model with the ADVANCED BLACK AND WHITE feature that has gotten very good reviews and seems fairly easy to use. Not being very computer savvy - but learning- I am leaning toward the 2880. I was hoping someone might be able to offer some insight on the difference and how difficult the 3800 is in pulling out of it the best prints it can offer. ( I'm aware of the 4880 but that is out of my price range) Thanks very much,
Zack

[BarryS]

I have the 3800 and would expect there to be almost no difference in using the 2880 other than the carriage size. If you sell any prints at all, the 3800 will pay for itself since the demand for large prints is *much* higher. If it's for personal use, I still recommend the 3800 for the sheer joy of seeing a bigger print. I consider the 3800 very straightforward to use and rarely have to do any tweaking to get fantastic prints. If you have a good image file, getting a top quality print takes very little work.

[mrladewig]

Another item with the 3800 is that the ink is about 40% cheaper per mL. The 4800 and Canon 5100 are even cheaper per mL. In the long run you will save money with the 17" printer.

[BarryS]

Another item with the 3800 is that the ink is about 40% cheaper per mL. The 4800 and Canon 5100 are even cheaper per mL. In the long run you will save money with the 17" printer.

Yes! Important point because the 3800 takes 80ml carts vs the ~13ml carts of the 2880. In fact, if you factor in the cost of the ink that comes with the printers, there is no difference in cost between the printers themselves.

[dwhistance]

I would also add that the 3800 also has the Advanced Black and White mode (which you highlighted as a strength of the 2880) available in the printer driver. I agree with the others - go for the larger printer, the reduced ink costs will rapidly make up the initial price difference. The 3800 also has the benefit of both gloss and matte black inks being available at the same time, I'm not sure that the 2880 does.

David Whistance

[zack kl]

Thanks everybody. I hadn't considered the ink costs, so thats a good rational to go with the 3800.
Do I understand correctly that you can download the "Advanced Black and White Photo Mode" from the Epson site into the 3800?( I'll try looking it up also).
The 2880 has separate gloss and matte cartridges which you have to change out, wasting alot of ink in the process- according to alot of the reviews.
I am still curious if the "Advanced Black and White Photo Mode" makes a noticable difference over what was before? Zack

[Jim Jones]

While both matte and glossy black cartridges are always installed in the 3800, changing from one to the other consumes a few $ worh of ink. Otherwise, I'm happy with my 3800. It's been trouble free for 1 1/2 years. The supplied advanced black & white mode permits more adjustments than I ever expect to want.

[Andrew ren]

Got my 3800 last week, and printed 30 prints, all b/w(17 x 17in for 15 pieces and 15 of 15 x 21in) the LB cartridge is about half empty. All went very smooth. I am happy with it. so as the owner of the gallery.

I tried ABW mode(it's in the driver, and ready to use, you don't need to dl from the site, Zack), but end up printed most (27 of 30) prints in Srgb mode, also one in Adobe rgb mode, no difference between those two modes, at least to my eyes..

Only thing is that seems the sharpness does not match my LCD panel, probably because I print it on the Matte paper..

[Bruce Schultz]

I like my 2880, but not the ink consumption. I chose it over the 3800 because I need portability.

[D. Bryant]

Do I understand correctly that you can download the "Advanced Black and White Photo Mode" from the Epson site into the 3800? Zack

ABW is part of the printer driver software, though I do reccomend updating the drivers for the latest revs. from the Epson website.

If you are going with the 3800 you should visit these two web sites for in depth information.

http://people.csail.mit.edu/ericchan...800/index.html

http://www.outbackphoto.com/printing....html#20070201

Don Bryant