Epson 1280 printer

[Mike Cockerham]

I have a chance thru my work place to purchase an Epson 1280 printer new in box for $100 after rebate. is this a high rated printer. I will be doing B&W , color proofs, and final color prints. I shoot Nikon D70, 4x5, 8X10, 12x20.

Thanks

[Neal Wydra]

Hi Mike,

I own an Epson 1280. It's nice. Not great, not bad. You can probably find a continuous inking system for it. A good idea if you plan to make large prints.

Neal Wydra

[Ralph Barker]

Aside from the usual technical and permanance issues, one thing to consider when looking at older models of inkjets is continuing availability of inks. Manufacturers tend to phase them out rather quickly ("Let's force these people to upgrade!"), and dealers often drop carrying ink for older printers even sooner. As such, it's probably a good idea to coordinate supply purchases so you don't end up with an investment in paper with no ink to spit on it. ;-)

[Eric Brody]

There is a huge installed base of 1270 and 1280 printers out there. While no one can be certain, it is unlikely ink will become unavailable during the lifetime of a printer purchased now.

I have a 1280 which replaced a 1270 that became non-functional after about two years. I have made some excellent quality prints with it. The inks are dye based, which gives great colors and works especially well with the glossy papers I like. They are not as "archival" as the pigment based inks in the 2200 and new 400 Epsons. If you're not selling expensive gallery work, designed to outlive us all, you'll likely be happy with a 1280.
Eric

[Brian Ellis]

There's no difference that I've been able to see in the quality of the prints from the 1280 and the 2200 (I have both). Both make the same maximum width print (13"). The principal difference is the type ink that they use, the pigment inks in the 2200 are supposed to have the potential for something like 100 years, the 1280 inks are a good bit shorter but both are capable of making excellent prints. I have heard some people say that the 1280 is more susceptible to clogging but that hasn't been my experience. I use MIS inks in the 1280 and Epson UC inks in the 2200 so I can't make a direct ink cost comparison but the Epson inks in cartridges for the 2200 are pretty expensive. Buying from Atlantic Exchange, which has the best price I've found, each individual cartridge for the 2200 costs about $9 IIRC and there are seven cartridges.