I am an amateur photographer, I now print my images on an Epson 2880 and I want to make bigger prints so I am looking for a 17 or 24 inches printer. My mind was set on a 4900 but I found a lightly used 7800 for a reasonable price. I print exclusively with photoblack ink. My preferred paper is Ilford Gold Fibre silk. I can make my own icc profiles. I have enough room for either printer. I know they are big.
Anyone have experience with these two printers? How does the print quality compare? Is it a problem to find ink cartridges, maintenance tank or cutter blade for the "old" 7800? If the 7800 fails, will it be difficult to have it serviced? To find parts?
Any advice to help me make the choice will be greatly appreciated.
4900 is already printer without compromise if that size is ok.
All epsons can be serviced, even very old one. It can be costly though. If you have warranty for it (check it by epson), you are risking very little. Was it used little or purchased recently? Those are two VERY different things. Epsons have very reliable *everything*, but it is much worse if they are sitting then being heavily used.
I would not buy used printer, unless from a good friend.
Size aside the 7800 is a great option as it has a pressurized ink delivery system. The 4800/4900 series do not so you have to keep them running at least every week.
Plus if you every decide to print bigger you can at any time.
We own a 4900 and 3800. The more advanced ink set offered by the 4900 probably won'y impact many images. I believe the consensus is, more or less, that 800 series prints will look like 900 series prints unless there is some image content that really harnesses the orange and green gamut expansion possible with the 900.
What I will say is that I now wish we had bought our HP Z3200 in a 44", rather than in the 24". Consider that you'll enjoy a larger format, possible, from time to time.
Cphoto1954 wrote:
Size aside the 7800 is a great option as it has a pressurized ink delivery system. The 4800/4900 series do not so you have to keep them running at least every week.
Plus if you every decide to print bigger you can at any time.
Nope sorry all 3 have a pressurized ink system and all 3 have to be run every week or preferable more.....
I’m not sure where Mr. Le is getting his info but here is what I can tell you from my experience.
I purchased a 4800 a few years ago and it started clogging after about 9 months. It was so bad that I could not fix it, and I tried all the tricks. It needed to go into the shop to be fixed.
I have had my 3880 for over a year and have let it set for over a month with zero clogs.
Before buying my 3880 I was considering the new 4900 to see if Epson had changed over to a pressurized ink delivery system. I looked for specs on line, here is the link, and did not see it. So I called Epson technical support (Repair Center) plus I contacted the local Epson sales rep. They both confirmed that the 4800-4900 have a non-pressurized gravity fed system.
Here are the specs off the Epson site on the 7900, which you will find for all their printers EXCEPT the 4900.
“Epson Intelligent High-Capacity Ink System
Pressurized ink cartridge technology ensures reliable ink delivery at all print speeds, while dramatically reducing the physical size of the ink cartridges.”
So I offer here;
#1 My personal experience in owning one.
#2 Epson specs in writing.
#3 Epson Sales Rep confirmation.
#4 Epson Service Tech confirmation.
Is there a difference in 'Epson world' between "pressurized ink delivery system" and "pressurized ink cartridge"?
The former invokes images of some kind of powerful electrical pump that would be part of the printer hardware, while the latter seems like it'd be considerably less powerful.
Cphoto1954 wrote:
I’m not sure where Mr. Le is getting his info but here is what I can tell you from my experience.
I purchased a 4800 a few years ago and it started clogging after about 9 months. It was so bad that I could not fix it, and I tried all the tricks. It needed to go into the shop to be fixed.
I have had my 3880 for over a year and have let it set for over a month with zero clogs.
Before buying my 3880 I was considering the new 4900 to see if Epson had changed over to a pressurized ink delivery system. I looked for specs on line, here is the link, and did not see it. So I called Epson technical support (Repair Center) plus I contacted the local Epson sales rep. They both confirmed that the 4800-4900 have a non-pressurized gravity fed system.
Here are the specs off the Epson site on the 7900, which you will find for all their printers EXCEPT the 4900.
“Epson Intelligent High-Capacity Ink System
Pressurized ink cartridge technology ensures reliable itonk delivery at all print speeds, while dramatically reducing the physical size of the ink cartridges.”
So I offer here;
#1 My personal experience in owning one.
#2 Epson specs in writing.
#3 Epson Sales Rep confirmation.
#4 Epson Service Tech confirmation.
That is the problem with techs.....they are trained to answer your question ..but not really. They were right but not really. It does not really matter how the ink gets to the damper box...but from there is it pressurized through the lines to the head in all the printers you are talking about. My guess is no one really knows why the 3800/3880 works so well without clogging .....if they did I think all Epsons would be made that way. I had a 7800 that clogged a lot..but I always seemed to be able to clear it. I now have a 7890 (which is the same as a 7900 without the green and orange inks....it even has the lines) with the fancy coating on the head and the pressurized ink cartridges so it will never clog right. What a joke.....it clogs as much as the old 7800 and almost seems harder to clear. If you do a little reading around in some of the printing forums and know a lot of people using them you will find a vast amount of large paper weights in the form of dead 7890's, 7900's and 9900's that just don't clear.....almost new but dead. Some people are having better luck....but not clog free like the 3800 series. Humidity ( not below 40%) seems to help a lot and run them...every day if you can....the more the better.
