What would be wise the purchase of the 3880 or the new P800?

3dogs said:

@RogerB
What are your thoughts on the new print head for the P800?. The review seems to indicate that some mods have had to be made to the original head, and some software changes too....whilst it does not HAVE to be a game changer, I am curious as to the effect it will have on the printers ability to avoid clogs in the same way as the 3880 does.
I must confess I just DO NOT understand what it is that makes the printhead on one perform so well and the print head on another model by the same manufacturer misbehave so badly.

Click to expand...

I don't have any more information than you on that subject. Epson are not saying a lot about the head so you might think that it's much the same as the 3880.

What they are making a song and dance about is the new HD ink set. My earlier point was that there's not much point buying it for the "improved" ink set if you intend to re-fill with Brand X.

Why doesn't anyone mention the 4900 as an alternative? I know that it's more expensive, heavier and takes more room on the desk. But it has two extra HDR cartridges (green and orange). It takes 200 ml cartridges that means much lower ink costs and makes it unnecessary to use third party ink. It takes roll paper and has an inbuilt cutter and handles the roll automatically. Probably also even better print quality and permanence of the prints if that is important. The 3880 is a very good reliable printer. I bought mine a couple of years ago but have started using it more regularly lately. I have invested in the Ink Republic big cartridges and will refill them with the Inktec inks. For just a little more (including the cost for new cartridges and a new set of inks) I could today have got the even better 4900. That's my bet if I should buy a new printer today! Second is probably a 3880 if I could get a good price for it as it's such a good printer for what it does and with the possibility for third party inks. I have no experience of the P800 so I can't say if the better print quality compared to the 3880 is worth the extra printing costs.

Per

I think it is important to be clear about the requirements and compare the features of the various models, e.g. paper handling. The paper cutter for roll paper definitely is a feature benefit if somebody is doing printouts with varying lengths frequently, then it is almost a must. I wouldn't be so sure that the print quality of the 4900 is 'better', in which terms ? - gamut , resolution ? and even if so - does it matter ? is it so obviously visible that it justifies the higher unit price ? I wouldn't expect much difference between the various Ultrachrome ink sets in terms of longevity, that wouldn't be a differentiator for me for one or the other model. If one stays with the OEM inks then the bigger cartridges come with a price benefit, and somebody with a calculator may find the cross over point at which printing with the 3880 or P800 becomes more expensive in terms of total cost - printer + inks

Yes I can see now that the 4900 may not be an alternative if you aren't printing regularly (daily) because of this strange clogging issue.

with the first batches of 4900 epson had issues with micropunctures within the ink line assembly altough they never admitted to this, a rare used printer will not just occasinally build up pressure in the ink lines to maintain ink flow but it will cause more pressure build up or at least more frequent, which leaded to these microfractures in the ink assembly.
basically what an technians did when the printer was still under warranty or other kind of SLA they changed the dampers, the printerhead but never the inklines and the complete ink line assembly since it not a typical on side/ field repair. this kind of maintenance was only done at specific epson certified repair shop and companies.

with the 2nd iteration of the 4900 and most of the "old" ink line system as a replacement parts gone they changed the complete ink line harness and covered it with double heat pressure sealed mylar (AFAIK)
The problem is, if the pressure dosent keep up ink cant flow, if there is an air gap the pressure level drops and tiny bubbles start forming which effectively renders the the phyiscal capilarry effect useless and voila ink channels sporadically drop out and come back to life even within printing a A2 sheet.

I NEVER had issues with ANY 3880 or 3800 of this kind due to the fact that the pressure and ink system is total differnt in these "desktop" printers

Jose did a pretty good job with is many "maintenance" and tutorial videos how to keep your printer clean so that the dampening system can do its job by creating an underpressure to suck the ink out trough the printhead, dampers, ink line and finally from the cartridges themselfes.

I had one of my 3880 for 7 month on storage with refill carts 80% full on storage (about 15° to 18° degrees Celisius) very low humidity since it was a basement storage room located next to the building boiler room. after some renvoations and further print job i took this dusty beast back to my office desk did only 1x normal head cleaning and boom
100% nozzel check perfect and concistent trough about 70 sheets of a3 plus paper
god, I love this machine

the printer had a major overhall: new dapers, black ink switching, dampers etc. but this was 2 years ago

but it safe to say that i will get the p800 the second the recommend retail price drops from 999 EUR to a more competetive amount, since I have to spend additinal money for the roll paper holder.

finaly since the P800 will come with "starter" ink cartriges that have a significant amount less ink than the normal retail cartriges I hope chinese refill developers will come with a good solutin in time

The p800 seems to be more or less a 3880 with roll paper and a new ink set. Even the cartridges are looking very similar
First point is obviously a reason to buy, in case you need it and want to pay for - while the second has to be proved yet..

cls said:

but it safe to say that i will get the p800 the second the recommend retail price drops from 999 EUR to a more competetive amount, since I have to spend additinal money for the roll paper holder.

finaly since the P800 will come with "starter" ink cartriges that have a significant amount less ink than the normal retail cartriges I hope chinese refill developers will come with a good solutin in time

Click to expand...

So you just want the roll paper holder then. No interest in the new inks?

Save some money use a 3800 and third party Inks there was no difference between the 3880 and 3800 bar VIVID MAGENTA inks, just the same as the 78 9800 and 7880 9880

Ken