Pixtus - Photography Forum, Photographers, Photo Tips

Murph · **Epson 4880 -** 05-30-2009, 08:41 AM

Arrrgggh! Ken convinced me to go to Precision Camera, where I looked at one of the Epson 4880's. I really want to print 17x22 prints, but would like some feedback from folks who use this printer on things like ink life, quality, etc. My 2400 is everything I want, except 17". As ken pointed out so well, ink cost on the 4880 is better than that of the 3800 since you can use the 110 or 220 ml cartridges on the printer. AND Precision Camera's price is only $3 difference between the 80ml and 110 ml cartridges.

venchka · 06-01-2009, 12:06 PM

How does it compare to the Canon iPF5000/5100 twins? Is the Canon printer like a LOT more expensive? I did read somewhere that the estimated ink cost for an 11x14 on the Canon was $0.25. That seems cheap.

The other reason I bring up the Canon: Last Saturday I had some of Jeff Kohn's 16x24 prints in my hot little hands. Up close & personal. Most impressive. Color or B&W.

Jeff, if I forgot to say it in person, I'll say it in public: Very nice photos indeed.

Atlex discounts ink.

jeffkohn · 06-01-2009, 01:23 PM

The 4880 is a pretty good bargain right now if you don't mind waiting for the mail-in rebate. I don't know what Precision Camera sells it for, but at Atlex.com it's $1744, $1344 after rebate. The IPF5100 is $1499. I think you also get more ink with the 4880 since the 5100 comes with 'starter' cartridges that aren't the full 130ml of the regular cartridges. So right now, the 4880 is a pretty good choice.

Both are good printers. I picked up a used 5000 dirt-cheap from a TPF member, and put 5100 inks in it (improved gray inks). I like the fact that the Canon has a 12-ink set with both blacks available, since I print on both matte and semi-gloss (no switch and wasted ink). The Canon is also less likely to clog and is pretty miserly with ink. But if you can live with a single black ink on the 4880, the current deal is hard to pass up.

Print quality on the 4880 should be pretty much the same as your 2400, with maybe a slight improvement in some colors due to the Vivid magenta ink.

KdLaneJr · 06-01-2009, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffkohn

The 4880 is a pretty good bargain right now if you don't mind waiting for the mail-in rebate. I don't know what Precision Camera sells it for, but at Atlex.com it's $1744, $1344 after rebate. The IPF5100 is $1499. I think you also get more ink with the 4880 since the 5100 comes with 'starter' cartridges that aren't the full 130ml of the regular cartridges. So right now, the 4880 is a pretty good choice.

Both are good printers. I picked up a used 5000 dirt-cheap from a TPF member, and put 5100 inks in it (improved gray inks). I like the fact that the Canon has a 12-ink set with both blacks available, since I print on both matte and semi-gloss (no switch and wasted ink). The Canon is also less likely to clog and is pretty miserly with ink. But if you can live with a single black ink on the 4880, the current deal is hard to pass up.

Print quality on the 4880 should be pretty much the same as your 2400, with maybe a slight improvement in some colors due to the Vivid magenta ink.

I sure could have done without your putting that deal in my face.

Have to take a serious look at my finances. Can't believe I'm even thinking about it.

venchka · 06-01-2009, 03:24 PM

I sure wish somebody would build a smaller printer with the same bells and whistles as the monster 17" and up printers. Is that too much to ask? Given the maturity of the inkjet printer world, I guess it is.

Sure seems like we could have a printer for 11x14 prints with the 17" printer goodies.

KdLaneJr · 06-01-2009, 03:29 PM

I think what we are seeing is the difference between "professional" printers and home use/hobbiest/serious amateur printers. That said, the price of the 7900 (new model) and weight is significantly more than the 7880. I'm sure it brings more to the table than the ability to have both photo black and matte black inks loaded simultaneously, but at quite a significant cost.

venchka · 06-01-2009, 04:02 PM

Heck, a 13" printer with all the Bs & Ws would be nice.

KdLaneJr · 06-01-2009, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by venchka

Heck, a 13" printer with all the Bs & Ws would be nice.

My epson R1800 has both photo black and matte black installed together. I believe the R1900 does also. Both are 13" printers. I like the prints out of the R1800, but the small size of the ink cartridges really takes its toll after a while. I'd rather not use a CIS as it would seriously hamper moving the printer around. Also, the R1800/1900 does not have a paper cutter, which is very nice to have when printing from a roll.

Murph · 09:42 PM

Ok, as soon as I find out if I am going to make Sgt, I will probably order one of these monsters. How is Atlex (or is it Altex?) to deal with?

Murph added 6 Minutes and 3 Seconds later...Double Post Merged Below

How much Ink is in the 2400 cartridges?

jeffkohn · 06-01-2009, 11:04 PM

Quote:

How is Atlex (or is it Altex?) to deal with?

It's Atlex.com, or ITSupplies.com, two different sites but they're actually the same company now (sometimes pricing is slightly different on the two sites, so it's always worth checking). They're good, I've always gotten my ink from them, cheapest on the web. I ordered the roll feed unit for my ipf5000 from them, and when it was damaged during shipment by UPS I had no problems dealing with customer service to get a replacement cross-shipped.

Quote:

How much Ink is in the 2400 cartridges?

Epson won't say, but conventional wisdom on the web is about 12-14ml. Of course that's made worse by the fact that you're always changing cartridges, and the stupid thing does a cleaning cycle (of all cartridges) when you replace a catridge, so a lot of ink gets wasted.

Ink really lasts in these big printers. My ipf5000 uses 130ml catridges, I bought them last fall and they're all still at least half full (some considerably more than half) according to the printer's control panel.

venchka · 06-02-2009, 08:33 AM

Epson's business model is based on giving away the printers and making money on ink and paper. It's working.

johnastovall · 06-02-2009, 09:01 AM

Good comparison of Canon 5000 and Epson 4800 at Luminous Landscape.

Murph · 06-03-2009, 07:26 AM

So essentially with the 4880 I would be getting roughly 9x the ink from the 2400? Sounds good to me since I have spent a fortune on ink for the 2400 so far.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffkohn

Epson won't say, but conventional wisdom on the web is about 12-14ml. Of course that's made worse by the fact that you're always changing cartridges, and the stupid thing does a cleaning cycle (of all cartridges) when you replace a catridge, so a lot of ink gets wasted.

Ink really lasts in these big printers. My ipf5000 uses 130ml catridges, I bought them last fall and they're all still at least half full (some considerably more than half) according to the printer's control panel.

jeffkohn · 06-05-2009, 03:05 PM

For anybody who doesn't need roll-paper support, ITSupplies has a good deal on the 3800. $1195 before $200 mail-in rebate, plus if you buy two boxes of Exhibition Fiber paper you'll get an additional mail-in rebate for the price of the paper (making it free).

http://www.itsupplies.com/cgi-bin/it...iew/C635011UCM

rwzeitgeist · 06-07-2009, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffkohn

For anybody who doesn't need roll-paper support, ITSupplies has a good deal on the 3800. $1195 before $200 mail-in rebate, plus if you buy two boxes of Exhibition Fiber paper you'll get an additional mail-in rebate for the price of the paper (making it free).

http://www.itsupplies.com/cgi-bin/it...iew/C635011UCM

Late last month I purchased an Epson 3800 from B&H. They still offer the printer for $1145 before rebate.

The 3800 uses nine 80ml ink cartridges, plus a maintenance tank. I just looked at B&H's cartridge price, and I believe they recently dropped the price to $49.95 each from around $57. Adorama still shows a higher price.

Bob