I am looking to buy a new printer. My Epson 2200 is a bit out of date and showing signs of heavy use for many years.
I am thinking about the Epson 4880, but not sure if the price difference is worth it between the Standard Edition, the Portrait Edition and the ColorBurst Edition.
Anyone have experience with either of these options?
Sue, I had the Standard Edition of the 4800, and I now have a Standard Edition 7880. They both make great prints, so I don't really think it's necessary to get the ColorBurst Edition...you are paying for the RIP printing software in that case. Some people say RIPs make better prints, especially for B&W. If anyone is using a RIP with the Epsons, I'd be interested to hear about the results you're getting...I've never used one.
Also, I think Epson announced the next round of printers, replacing the 4880 with the 4900. I'm having trouble finding the article right now. I think these will finally have dedicated ink tanks for matte and photo black, so if you print on a lot of different papers it might be worth waiting. Or you may be able to find a great deal on a 4880 as it's on the way out.
Sue I have the 4800 standard and it doesn't get used as much as I would like. The 4800 does great prints but if I was looking again I would probably look a little closer at the 3800. I Do not believe it uses rolled paper so if you haven't used rolled up to now might be a printer to look into. This came out right after I bought my 4800 and if I had a choice now I probably would have gotten the 3800. I don't know if this helps but might be something worth checking out a little closer.
The cartridges in the 4880 are much larger than in smaller printers (don't know about the 2200 per se)...they come in 110ml and 220ml sizes. If you can find out how much ink is in the 2200 cartridges and do the math, you'll probably find that the 4880 actually costs less per print. I don't know about the 3800 cartridges, but if they are the same size as the 4880's, you should get similar savings.
Do keep in mind that at least half of the ink in your first set of cartridges goes to filling the ink lines and priming the print head, so you will use those up faster.
The inks for the Epson 13" printers like your R2200 and my R1800 hold about 12mL of ink.
The Epson 3800 uses an 80mL ink cartridge and is about %40 cheaper per mL
The Epson 4000/4800/4880 as well as the 24" and 44" lines use a 110mL or 220mL cartridge. These inks are %50-%60 cheaper per mL.
The new 7900/9900 that have been announced are supposed to have an option for an even larger cartridge.
Putting that into perspective, the 220mL carts only make sense if you'll use the ink in a year or less. The pigments can come out of suspension over time and need to be shaken.
Also, the 3800 will be preferable if you might switch between gloss and matte media but don't have a strong need to print from rolls. With the 4880, this wastes an expensive amount of ink (roughly $75 worth). The 3800 also has the ability to print on small paper sizes. I believe the smallest size the 4800 can print on is letter.
The 7900/9900 should be better yet on the ink issue as they supposedly have resolved the ink switching problem, but they are expected to be more expensive.
Also, you might consider the Canon IPF5100. Its equivalent in many ways to the Epson 4880 but doesn't require anything special to switch inks, has replaceable print heads, can accept roll paper and its priced closer to the cost of the 3800. Unfortunately HP doesn't compete in this printer class.
Oops, I think Mel is right...they only announced the 7900/9900...there's no such thing as a 4900 yet. I just assumed, because in the past they've always been announced together.
Discussion
7 repliesI am thinking about the Epson 4880, but not sure if the price difference is worth it between the Standard Edition, the Portrait Edition and the ColorBurst Edition.
Anyone have experience with either of these options?
Also, I think Epson announced the next round of printers, replacing the 4880 with the 4900. I'm having trouble finding the article right now. I think these will finally have dedicated ink tanks for matte and photo black, so if you print on a lot of different papers it might be worth waiting. Or you may be able to find a great deal on a 4880 as it's on the way out.
Do keep in mind that at least half of the ink in your first set of cartridges goes to filling the ink lines and priming the print head, so you will use those up faster.
The inks for the Epson 13" printers like your R2200 and my R1800 hold about 12mL of ink.
The Epson 3800 uses an 80mL ink cartridge and is about %40 cheaper per mL
The Epson 4000/4800/4880 as well as the 24" and 44" lines use a 110mL or 220mL cartridge. These inks are %50-%60 cheaper per mL.
The new 7900/9900 that have been announced are supposed to have an option for an even larger cartridge.
Putting that into perspective, the 220mL carts only make sense if you'll use the ink in a year or less. The pigments can come out of suspension over time and need to be shaken.
Also, the 3800 will be preferable if you might switch between gloss and matte media but don't have a strong need to print from rolls. With the 4880, this wastes an expensive amount of ink (roughly $75 worth). The 3800 also has the ability to print on small paper sizes. I believe the smallest size the 4800 can print on is letter.
The 7900/9900 should be better yet on the ink issue as they supposedly have resolved the ink switching problem, but they are expected to be more expensive.
Also, you might consider the Canon IPF5100. Its equivalent in many ways to the Epson 4880 but doesn't require anything special to switch inks, has replaceable print heads, can accept roll paper and its priced closer to the cost of the 3800. Unfortunately HP doesn't compete in this printer class.