I just found out today that the print head on my Epson 2200 is shot. The cost of replacement, including labor, is $350 which is out of the question given that the printer is more than six years old, is officially anachronistic and can be replaced with a brand new 2880 for less than $150 additional (given the current rebate offer from Epson).
I'm trying to decide whether to move up to the 3880. It has a wider carriage, removes the Mk/Bk cartridge run around and takes larger (eventually more efficient) cartridges. Epson's rebate offer, officially scheduled to expire on Oct. 31, would enable me to get one for $818.95 from B&H ($1118.95 less $300 mail-in rebate). The 2880 can be had for $489.95 ($689.95 less $200 mail-in rebate). The only feature downside that I see with the 3880 is the lack of a roll-feed capability. While I print overwhelmingly on cut sheets, I do like the option of having a roll feed option for printing panoramas.
The 4880 has roll feed support, of course, but it's far more expensive ($1229.95; $1729.95 less a $500 mail-in rebate), does nothing about the Mk/Bk matter and weighs a ton (literally 90-odd pounds with a correspondingly huge physical footprint). It does take even larger cartridges than the 3880, of course, but I don't print at such a high volume that I think it would make a substantive difference to me. Honestly, I don't think I have room for the thing in any case.
I must concede that I'm leaning in favor of the 3880; the only real downside I see is the lack of a roll paper capability and given how rarely I've been using it with my current operation I'm not sure how much of a loss this represents.
Any thoughts/suggestions? Anything I'm overlooking? Given the rebate expiration, I'm thinking I don't have much time to dillydally.
Posted by Keith Bauer on October 26, 2010 at 9:33 PM
Hi Kerry: I still have my aging 2200 and it still works. That said, I bought a 3880 about a year ago. I've really enjoyed printing with it. I too toyed with the idea of the 4880. The decision sounds very similar to yours. I don't print enough to really need the larger cartridges of the 4880 and was even concerned about them expiring long before I could use them. The roll paper issue on the 3880 was an issue for me as well. I have opted to simply by roll paper and cut it to fit my needs. Why most of the paper manufacturers can't figure out that they should be selling 17x25 (rather than 17x22) is beyond me. So buying roll paper and cutting solved that problem. I've printed up to 37" with the 3880 and it's fine. Just a hassle cutting paper, de-rolling and then printing. The 3880 does not have a vacuum system to keep the paper flat like the 4880, so I have to careful to really get my paper de-rolled before printing. I've got that figured out now and don't have any problems printing on 300 weight paper. If you opt for the 3880, you certainly won't be disappointed in the print quality. I can say that I saw a noticeable improvement over the old 2200 (which I thought was a great printer in it's day).
Hi Keith; thanks very much for the reply. It's a big help.
What are you using to cut roll paper, if I may ask? (I'm assuming a mat cutter, but figured it might be something else.) And how are you going about the de-rolling process?
I completely agree with you re paper sizes. You can't print 16x24 on a sheet of 17x22" paper. (FWIW, InkJetArt does produce several papers in 17x25" sheets.)
Thanks,
--Kerry
Posted by Dan Borzynski on October 26, 2010 at 11:48 PM
Kerry, I don't think you will go wrong with either printer - you have listed the major pros and cons between the two systems.
I've have the 4000 for about 6 years now. I have found the roll paper capability great for 16x24's. The paper does flatten eventually, assisted by a sheet or two of foamcore, some weight and about a week or three.
The 4880 is going to be cheaper to operate in the long run but if you are not doing prints in a production environment (art festivals, for example), I'm not sure that it is worth the tradeoff. The 4000 series printers are BIG.
I don't think the 4000 series printers will print on paper less than 8x10 in size. I know my 4000 doesn't (at least without some interesting and probbly not recommended contortions) but maybe some later models do. No idea about the 3000 series printers.
Both are great printers and the price on the 4880 does make it very tempting.
As you can see from the list, 17"x22" is the ANSI C standard size. The way this works is if you took a sheet of ANSI E standard size (34"x44") and folded it in two, you'd get 2 sheets of ANSI D standard size (22"x34") and if you took that and folded it in two, you'd get two sheets of ANSI C standard size (17"x2") and so on. Thus paper manufacturers can make the largest size and get all of the smaller versions by cutting, without having to waste anything.
If you are looking for something that is close to 17"x25", it would be the SRA2 standard size (17.72"x25.20").
Hope this helps.
Posted by Keith Bauer on October 27, 2010 at 8:50 AM
What are you using to cut roll paper, if I may ask? (I'm assuming a mat cutter, but figured it might be something else.) And how are you going about the de-rolling process?
I set up a big piece of foam core with lines at each inch beyond 22". I just line up the roll at the other end of the foam core, measure, and then cut with a sharp razor blade and a straight edge. I tried the mat cutter route and found it to be more hassle. There are commercial de-rollers that can be purchased, but they are ridiculously expensive. So, I just bought two different sized pieces of PVC, cleaned them up really well and use those. A couple of passes with the larger one (about 3" in diameter) and then one quick pass with the 1.5" one and the paper is pretty flat. Of course each paper reacts a little differently. Hope that helps.
Posted by Dan Borzynski on October 27, 2010 at 6:31 PM
I've tried the de-rolling process a couple of ways. For the paper I use, Epson Premium Ultrasmooth, the surface is too likely to take damage. A glossy or luster paper tends to react much better to activities prone to scuffing. The paper choice makes a big difference.
Thanks for the replies, gents. Keith--very creative homemade de-roller solution. I'm going to have to look into the PVC option myself. I figure that a RIP like Qimage should deal with the 37" printer driver limitation, if necessary.
I pulled the trigger on the 3880 purchase this afternoon; Hunt's in Boston is the seller, and with the rebate it'll run just under $800.
Discussion
7 repliesI'm trying to decide whether to move up to the 3880. It has a wider carriage, removes the Mk/Bk cartridge run around and takes larger (eventually more efficient) cartridges. Epson's rebate offer, officially scheduled to expire on Oct. 31, would enable me to get one for $818.95 from B&H ($1118.95 less $300 mail-in rebate). The 2880 can be had for $489.95 ($689.95 less $200 mail-in rebate). The only feature downside that I see with the 3880 is the lack of a roll-feed capability. While I print overwhelmingly on cut sheets, I do like the option of having a roll feed option for printing panoramas.
The 4880 has roll feed support, of course, but it's far more expensive ($1229.95; $1729.95 less a $500 mail-in rebate), does nothing about the Mk/Bk matter and weighs a ton (literally 90-odd pounds with a correspondingly huge physical footprint). It does take even larger cartridges than the 3880, of course, but I don't print at such a high volume that I think it would make a substantive difference to me. Honestly, I don't think I have room for the thing in any case.
I must concede that I'm leaning in favor of the 3880; the only real downside I see is the lack of a roll paper capability and given how rarely I've been using it with my current operation I'm not sure how much of a loss this represents.
Any thoughts/suggestions? Anything I'm overlooking? Given the rebate expiration, I'm thinking I don't have much time to dillydally.
What are you using to cut roll paper, if I may ask? (I'm assuming a mat cutter, but figured it might be something else.) And how are you going about the de-rolling process?
I completely agree with you re paper sizes. You can't print 16x24 on a sheet of 17x22" paper. (FWIW, InkJetArt does produce several papers in 17x25" sheets.)
Thanks,
--Kerry
I've have the 4000 for about 6 years now. I have found the roll paper capability great for 16x24's. The paper does flatten eventually, assisted by a sheet or two of foamcore, some weight and about a week or three.
The 4880 is going to be cheaper to operate in the long run but if you are not doing prints in a production environment (art festivals, for example), I'm not sure that it is worth the tradeoff. The 4000 series printers are BIG.
I don't think the 4000 series printers will print on paper less than 8x10 in size. I know my 4000 doesn't (at least without some interesting and probbly not recommended contortions) but maybe some later models do. No idea about the 3000 series printers.
Both are great printers and the price on the 4880 does make it very tempting.
http://www.prepressure.com/library/paper-sizes
As you can see from the list, 17"x22" is the ANSI C standard size. The way this works is if you took a sheet of ANSI E standard size (34"x44") and folded it in two, you'd get 2 sheets of ANSI D standard size (22"x34") and if you took that and folded it in two, you'd get two sheets of ANSI C standard size (17"x2") and so on. Thus paper manufacturers can make the largest size and get all of the smaller versions by cutting, without having to waste anything.
If you are looking for something that is close to 17"x25", it would be the SRA2 standard size (17.72"x25.20").
Hope this helps.
I set up a big piece of foam core with lines at each inch beyond 22". I just line up the roll at the other end of the foam core, measure, and then cut with a sharp razor blade and a straight edge. I tried the mat cutter route and found it to be more hassle. There are commercial de-rollers that can be purchased, but they are ridiculously expensive. So, I just bought two different sized pieces of PVC, cleaned them up really well and use those. A couple of passes with the larger one (about 3" in diameter) and then one quick pass with the 1.5" one and the paper is pretty flat. Of course each paper reacts a little differently. Hope that helps.
I pulled the trigger on the 3880 purchase this afternoon; Hunt's in Boston is the seller, and with the rebate it'll run just under $800.