Epson R1900

I'm looking at the Epson R1900 and I see that several places have dropped the price and are all back-ordered or out of stock(including Epson!). Does anybody know if that means the R1900 is getting discontinued? I don't necessarily mind ordering a discontinued printer but I'm concerned about ink cartridges. If they discontinue the printer will they discontinue the ink too? Does anybody know what the standard practice is on inks for discontinued printers?

Thanks so much for any help you can offer.

I'm guessing no one knows the answer. So I'll adjust the question. Does anybody have a discontinued printer from Epson? Do they continue to make ink for it or did you have to stop using it or stock up on ink?

Yes, they continue to make ink for quite a long time. Also, if they stop you can usually continue to get ink from 3 party ink systems such as Media Street. It is very good ink but you would have to reprofile. My guess is that the R1900 is getting ready to go away but it is still a good printer and will be supported for several years...at least IME.

Just looked it up. Epson is still selling ink for the 1270 printer. I'm pretty sure it's been discontinued for at least 5 years

Thanks so much for the replies. That's the information I was needing. I did call Epson this morning and the person I talked to said they weren't discontinuing it and that even if they did they wouldn't stop making ink, but I'm guessing that the phone support people wouldn't know if its being discontinued if it has not been announced to the world yet.

I don't mind a discontinued printer, I just don't want a situation where I can't get ink. But if 3rd party ink works than that relieves my mind, as well as the fact that the 1270 has had ink available long after it was discontinued.

Thanks again for the help!

Ink (and other consumables like paper) is where the printer companies make most of their money in the inkjet printer business, not on the printers themselves. Whereas the printers are where the companies incur most of the on-going costs (manufacturing, distribution, warranty service, support, spare parts inventory, etc.). In comparison the ink is just tiny, simple plastic cartridges full of liquids that are bulk produced on automated assembly lines, and sold in large numbers for high prices (per ml).

So printer manufacturers have all the incentive in the world to keep supplying ink for discontinued printer models for a long time. You're right -- even if the R1900 is being discontinued soon, the telephone support person is unlikely to know that... but if it looks like it will do what you need, and it's a good deal, I wouldn't worry about getting one.

Thanks Royce. I did order one, they have come down in price about $200 which is why I assumed they are discontining it. They are back-ordered just about everywhere, so I'm hoping they'll still fulfull all the orders(I know Adorama won't charge me till it ships so I'm not worried). I've been using the 3800 and the 3880 at college and I love their quality, and the r1900 used the same type of inks and papers, so I'm hoping it will be comparible quality(just not as big maximum print size).

Thanks again!

I seem to recall reading that Epson had a plant in the Sendai region. That could be why supply is limited, though they don't often lower the price with supply issues.

Beth I love my R1900 and have had it now for a few years.

Baywing - interesting thought. The reason I believe it's being discontinued is only because they started with a large rebate - maybe $200 - that ended april 2nd or something like that. Then the price dropped afterwords. It seemed like they are trying to clear them out. Also right around april second they released another printer that had similar specs(don't remember the model number). Of course, that doesn't explain why they're still selling them after they're out of stock. So nothing is making sense I guess.

Nancy, I'm really glad to hear that. It makes me nervous trying to buy it if I haven't tried it(I've only used the 3880 and 3800 which I don't have the money for). So it's always good to hear good reviews after I've ordered it. Thanks!

I saw an announcement today of the R2000 13" printer. MSRP is $499.
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/ ... 011-05-001

jn

There's your reason....

I'm still using a very good R1800, I think it was the direct predecessor of the R1900 and I get INK and supplies for it still at ATLEX.com. Epson's last very well if maintained... I hope to use mine a bit longer before upgrading