[Leica] Advice on a 17" printer

[kcarney1 at cox.net (Ken Carney)]

Howard,

 From time to time I have thought about upgrading also, until I get 
sidetracked.  A concern for me has been the life of the inks.  Epson 
says that is six months after the cartridges have been opened, though I 
do not know how accurate that is.  With the 3880 it would probably be a 
stretch for me to use up the 80ml cartridges within the approximate 
six-month window.  I see the 4900 comes with starter 80ml cartridges, 
but the regular cartridges are 200ml, even more of a stretch.  Refilling 
the 3880 is $45 X 9 cartridges, and the 4900 is $87 X 10.

Ken

On 11/28/2010 12:09 PM, Howard Ritter wrote:
> In keeping with the spirit of accommodation and generosity that the 
> Yuletide season has been commercialized into in the U.S. of A., SWMBO is 
> kindly, unaccountably, once again acting as enabler to my addiction by 
> consenting to my being surprised by the appearance Christmas morn of a 
> wide-carriage printer under the tree.
>
> Since I have always been an Epson user (up to my current R2400), the 
> presumed default choice would be the 3880 or the 4880. I have read here 
> that for private users like me, the 488o offers no real advantage over the 
> smaller, lighter, less-expensive 3880, so up to now my choice would 
> probably have been the 3880. However, the newly announced 4900 (around 
> which the budget might be stretched, provided the counter space can be as 
> well) might offer a reason to go long and deep on this one. My 
> understanding of the recent history of the Epson printer line is as 
> follows:
>
>       1.      The x880 printers were an advancement in some fairly minor 
> details over the x800s, including the addition of Vivid Magenta to the 
> Ultrachrome K3 inkset
>
>       2.      The latest x900s have the new Ultrachrome HDR ink palette as 
> well as new and improved heads
>
>       3.      The x890s added this better head technology to the x880s 
> without moving up to the HDR inks
>
>       4.      The 4-series and larger printers are the only ones that can 
> accommodate the newer head technology, so there will never be a 3890 or 
> 3900
>
> The Luminous Landscape review of the 7900 certainly gives me reason to 
> think that its smaller sibling the 4900 might be worth the extra cost and 
> space requirements, but it's too soon for any reviews of it to have 
> appeared.
>
> All that said, I must concede that I'm not wedded to Epson, and would 
> consider Canon or HP if there is good reason to.
>
> I throw the floor open to comments and recommendations, both theoretical 
> and experience-based.
>
> Thanks to all in advance,
>
> ?howard
>       
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>