R2400 Near End of Life - Fix it or Buy New?

I have the Epson R2400 which has been great. Starting this weekend every time I print I get a message that parts are near the end of service life and it needs to be serviced. I figure with the cost of the R2880 being so low with rebates, is it even worth the cost of shipping the R2400 both ways plus the repair/service costs to extend the life of an old printer?

I am also interested on feedback on the R2880. I only need a 13" printer as I outsource larger stuff. I assume this printer is the natural next step after the R2400?

Thanks!

Get a new one if that's an option. The 2880 is a much better printer.

Thanks E.J.!

I've not looked into this situation in detail, Heather, but have heard of this driver warning before. Sometimes the parts that are "near the end of service life" are really trivial, like an ink waste tank with its absorbent material. I would say it's worth seeing if you can find somebody with more in-depth knowledge about the R2400 model and see if the service that's needed is actually cheap & easy to accomplish. It might not even require a trip to an Epson authorized service center. In that case it would be a shame to junk an otherwise well-functioning printer for a newer model. The R2880 would be better, but the R2400 was no slouch, really. I still have mine and fire it up occasionally...

Royce, thanks for the additional input - it really made me consider other options. I did more research and indeed the part in question is likely the ink pads as you suggested. However, it is a fairly expensive repair and it is mentioned in a few places online it is not recommended as other parts will reach the end of their service life not too long after the ink pads. The printer is pretty much done.

So I am looking at the R2880 but also the R3000, both appear to be natural next steps after my Epson 2000P/2200/2400 history. The rebate offer for both expire tomorrow so I need to figure it out soon.

Thanks E.J. and Royce for your input!!

I got that same message from my second 2400. I ignored it long enough that eventually smoke came out of the back of it...literally! Get the 2880...much better printer.

Les, great input, and prompted me to place my order for the R2880! I had done some additional research and it appears the part that goes first is indeed the ink pad as Royce pointed out. However, the estimated repair cost is roughly 25% of the printer when it was new (people were doing this repair years ago) and it is not a recommended service as several other parts reach the end of their service life not too far after this one. So...will use up the R2400 as much as I can then move onto the R2880.

Any idea if the papers (matte and luster) that I use with the R2400 K3 inks will also work with the R2880? It would save me quite a bit on the initial investment of inks and papers.

Thanks!

Heather, all the same papers you use on the R2400 will work fine on the R2880 as well.

The ink cartridges are all different, unfortunately. So you may want to use up as much of the R2400 inks as you can in that printer, before decommissioning it. Or, if you have some inks that are un-opened, perhaps try to sell them... they do have a pretty decent shelf life.

Heather you'll be so impressed with the extra pop you'll get from today's printers on some images that you will never regret getting one. Go with the 2880.

Paul

Thanks so much for all of the incredibly helpful feedback! I am at this very moment trying to use up as much ink as possible before my R2400 starts smoking and the R2880 has arrived, I am ready to set it up as soon as I've gone as far as I can with my current R2400 inks.

Royce, so good to know about the papers, thank you! Paul, looking forward to the prints from the 2880!

Well, I was going to try to run through as much ink as possible, but when I turned on the printer today I got the dreaded alternating red lights flashing between paper and ink. A quick internet search says this means it's "done". I had hoped to use up most of my inks but will not get that chance.

So I guess today is set up of the R2880...

Thanks again all for the input!