Epson 3800

I currently print on an Epson 2200 and I like this printer a lot. But I have a desire to make prints larger than 13" wide. Therefore, I am considering purchasing an Epson 3800. However, I don't print a whole lot so I have a couple of concerns. Let's say it takes me a year to use up a 3800 cartridge...

1. Will the ink last this long? (I thought I read somewhere that the cartridges are only good for six months after they are opened.)

2. Will I have issues with head clogging? Currently on my 2200 I have some head clogging but it is not too bad. Normally I will clean the heads if I haven't printed in a few weeks.

Also, I would like to hear from others that have made this step. Are there any other factors I should consider?

Thanks!
Pat

I have had the 3800 for 7 months now, no problems with ink limited to only 6 months but it is still early.

I only had one clogging issue and this was after the printer was moved from Far East Russia to New York by air; from NY to Penn by bus, from Penn to Maine and back to Georgia by RV then found the one clog. No problem to clear the clog.

I have an Epson 4800, which uses the same K3 ink and a very similar ink path as the 3800. If I don't use the printer for a week or two I will sometimes have a few dropped nozzles (clogs). Running a cleaning cycle or two always recovers the nozzles. This is less of a problem than any previous printer I have owned. I view this as the price for not frequently using the printer. I suspect you will have the same issues with the 3800. I have had several of the 4800 cartridges in the printer over a year. Probably not the ideal situation, but I've seen no problems as a result. I do remove them and give them a gentle agitation about every three months.

If you take more than a year to use the 3800 cartridges (80ml), you may not be printing enough to make purchasing the larger printer worth it. You can get very high quality prints made from a number of sources. The cost of those prints might not add up to the cost of buying the printer and ink. However, if you are like most owners of 13" and under printers, you are probably limiting the number of prints you make due to the excessively high cost of ink. When you see how much cheaper prints can be made by the larger cartriged printers, you may be surprised.

An example: I recently printed several borderless 16X20's on Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper. Using the reporting system on the printer, those prints used from 2.47ml to 2.56ml of ink per print. The ink is in 220ml cartridges and my cost is $.40 per ml. Thus, ink cost was very close to $1.00 per 16x20. (printed at 1440dpi) I do use roll paper (not available in the 3800) and my paper cost was $1.50 per print. Total: $2.50 for a 16X20 borderless print.

The highest ink load I have yet seen for a 16X20 print was 4.75ml. My ink cost for that print was $1.90. That was also a silhouette with a lot of very saturated colors and black area in the print.

I suspect the ink consumption of the 3800 is either the same or a bit better than the 4800. Using the current prices for 3800 cartridges, the price per ML would be about $.68. Thus your ink cost for the same 16X20 would be $1.70. With matte papers, expect the ink consumption to go up.

(All prices based on Atlantic Exchange website)

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Jim Gunning
Orlando, FL

Pat, although Epson recommends using inks within 6 months after opening, many Epson K3 ink users have found that they can continue using the same inks with no ill effects far longer than that -- up to 2 years as reported in some cases. We can't quite say the same thing about the 3800 yet for certain, since the 3800 has only been on the market for about 8 months. But since the inks are the same, I am fairly confident the outcome will be the same.

The 3800 has a newer print head capping design than the older K3 printers such as the 4800. In principle, this means that the nozzles are less likely to dry out and become clogged when the printer is not in use. Reports from current 3800 users seem to indicate this is reasonably effective -- many have left the printer for several weeks and come back with no signs of clogging. The repeated clogging cases I've heard reported so far for the 3800 were usually resolved by Epson (diagnosed actually as a malfunctioning printer).

Ink usage for the 3800 is at about 2 mL per square foot at 1440 dpi and about 5% to 10% higher at 2880 dpi mode.

Feel free to look at the following two links to learn more about the 3800:

http://people.csail.mit.edu/ericchan/dp ... index.html
http://people.csail.mit.edu/ericchan/dp ... 0/faq.html

Eric