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New R3000 or fix my 2200?

plnelson
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p.1 #1 · New R3000 or fix my 2200?

Earlier this year my Epson 2200 bit the dust. Two of the colors stopped printing cleanly despite several go-rounds with new cartridges, cleaning cycles, etc. I've had it for quite a few years and have made many prints on it that I've sold in galleries and shows. I could ship it somewhere for repair, or just buy an R3000, which is what I'm leaning towards because it's gotten excellent reviews and it's better at B+W printing which the 2200 always struggled a bit with, especially WRT metameric shifts in different light.

Before I splash out for the Epson, is there any reason to consider anything else, e.g., the Canon Pixma Pro 1?

Also what's the shelf life of the R3000 inks in storage? There are no local stores where I can buy the Epson inks so with the 2200 I got in the habit of keeping a complete backup set on hand, but I was told this is a bad idea because the have a limited shelf life. I expect I'll go through ink pretty fast initially because it will be my new "toy" and I'll be running lots of tests and printing on everything in sight. So I was thinking of buying a complete replacement set right when I buy the printer. Bad idea?

Aug 02, 2012 at 12:59 AM

colinm
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p.1 #2 · New R3000 or fix my 2200?

R3000, hands down. It's worlds apart from the 2200 and, if you haven't priced it already, there's no way repair is going to be cost effective.

The PIXMA Pro-1 is also a nice albeit huge printer with slightly different media options. My advice is always that if you're happy with your current brand, stick with it. There's a significant learning curve moving between brands whereas continuing with a brand requires little to no adaptation (even in the space of time between the 2200 and R3000).

Shelf life of the inks should be ample to keep a full set on hand. Assuming your supplier isn't pulling them from deep in the dusty recesses of their inventory, the listed expiration date should be a year or two off, and even Epson will tell you they're generally usable for a good year or so beyond that.

Aug 02, 2012 at 06:43 AM

anthonygh
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p.1 #3 · New R3000 or fix my 2200?

A good printer in its day.....but hardly worth repairing now assuming it is even possible. You could jump a couple of generations and buy the R2880 for a reasonable price and it uses the latest Epsom K3 inkset. I have read reviews on the R3000 and print quality is similar to the R2880 by all accounts.

I would suggest you research ink costs. It is possible to get decent 3rd party inks for many Epson printers.....OEM carts cost a fortune.

I am sure the 'shelf life' story is an urban myth. If you have a larger printer (say the R3880) it has the same ink.....but much larger carts. If you bought several replacement sets of carts for the R3000 it is possible you could use them up before emptying the R3880 carts.... should you own both printers and do a similar amount of work on each.

I think the real 'problem' is carts left in the print head.....I have read that the pigments in the inks settle and this can lead to a change in ink density if they are not used often...and this can also contribute to clogging. On top of that...some elements of the ink formulation can evaporate...but not if the carts are kept in the sealed packs they arrive in.

Aug 10, 2012 at 01:54 PM

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