Ok, what inkjet printer is the most reliable and clog-free?

[biedron]

Yet another vote for the 3880. Mine has been absolutely trouble free in the last 2 years. Not one clog. I print sporadically, sometimes going a month or more without printing. I live in Virginia (generally humid) but the house is climate controlled probably 363 days out of 365

One nice thing about the 3880 is that you can print right up until a cartridge is out of ink - the printer will stop mid-print; you replace the cartridge and when printing resume you cannot tell the point at which it stopped.

Bob

[rdenney]

My Epson 3800 has gone many months at a time between print sessions with no clogs. I do turn it off (rather than just letting it go to sleep) when I'm not using it for more than a couple of days, and this seems to help prevent clogs. I've never even had to run a clean procedure with it.

Rick "thinking an older used 3800 might be a cheaper way to add a printer for dedicated Cone inks" Denney

[welly]

Another vote for the 3880, although it's rarely gone a week without printing. But no clogs! Although I did stick a sheet of A4 Epson Traditional Photo Paper (Exhibition Fibre?) through it, which is very slightly curled and it didn't like it near the end of the print. I think the platen gap needs widening a little for that paper. Other than that, print quality is phenomenal.

[richardman]

The older Epson tends to clog, but the newer ones do not.

The most clog free and frugal ink usage is probably the HP Z printers. I have the Z3100 (24" small piano size) for over 4-5 years now and it has never clog. It wakes up once in a while and do some cleaning. The ink usage is extremely low as well.

The major downside is that after 3-4 years or so, the belt will break :-( Also, not so good if you want to experiment with digital negatives and such as most people target the Epson there. Otherwise, with the builtin spectrometer, it prints beautiful B&W and colors. I have printed many 24"x60" panoramic off it never fails to impress.

[Brian Ellis]

I've owned four Epson printers, currently the 3800. All have been essentially trouble-free. One of them is about 9 years old and still being used almost daily by my wife. I don't print very often.

[Jim Jones]

My 3800 has produced 4500 prints, large and small, over the past 5 years with few minor problems. Sometimes it sets for a few weeks between jobs. I've used only Epson inks and usually Epson paper. Since much printing is B&W, some color inks are used very long after their use-by date. If this printer ever fails, I'd buy a 3880.

[paulr]

Thanks everyone. You've convinced me that either I should get a 3880, or that I have the worst printer karma ever and should give up.

[richardman]

Paul, get a 3880. If my HPZ3100 dies, I will get a 3880 :-) (or its bigger cousin)

[paulr]

There's a $300 rebate though the end of the year. I may have to do it.
Has anyone used one with the Cone pigment inks?

[Bill_1856]

Is the 2880 the same, only smaller?