voyager
Getting Fingers Dirty
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2011
- Messages
- 14
- Reaction score
- 10
- Points
- 41
- Location
- Hawaii
- Printer Model
- Epson 1400
[If you're not into the narrative, skip to the bold section.]
My Background:
I bought my first PC in 2000 as a business expense, but set it up for my personal usage needs.
I outfitted it with a Brother MFC laser printer for the business uses.
Then, as a serious amateur photographer, I bought an Epson 1270 for my personal usage.
I still used labs for film development, but quickly stopped using them for prints, unless I wanted one larger than 13 x 19.
I purchased a Nikon Super Coolscan LS 4000 ED as soon as I could get my hands on one [I still have and occasionally use it], and began to digitize my thousands of slides so that I could print them for my personal display around the house and as gifts for friends.
I was happy with the 1270's performance.
But, after 2 or 3 years the ink nozzles clogged up.
I replaced it with a 1280, again happy with its performance until the ink nozzles clogged up a few years later.
By this time I was beginning to think that clogged nozzles were a basic fact of inkjet printers.
I replaced that 1280 with another 1280.
Again, it was lost to clogged nozzles.
I had stayed with dye inks because I thought they would be less prone to clogging than a pigment ink, thinking that a dye ink was a solution as opposed to a pigment ink being a suspension of particles.
So, I replaced the last 1280 with a 1900, again very happy with its performance.
It did last longer than any of the 12xx series printers, but eventually succumbed to clogging of the nozzles.
Finally, I decided to try a pigment inkjet, the SC P400.
I was very happy with its performance except for what looked to me as a more restricted color gamut, real or not.
I retired from Alaska to Hawaii 5+ years ago and have not been as active in photography as I was before the move.
My photo printing is much reduced in quantity.
But, I still consider a 13x19 photo color printer to be a piece of necessary PC equipment.
Last May we began to have our lives interrupted by Kilauea's LERZ eruption going on less than a mile from our home, more so due to the reaction of the local authorities than the actual eruption.
The SC P400 has sat idle for 10+ months, its non usage before the eruption, the duration of the eruption, the evacuation, and the bringing of our lives back together.
I've been afraid to try starting it up again, assuming that I'd need to buy another inkjet to be able to print in color again.
I had some color printing I wanted to do, so I fired it up yesterday.
The first nozzle check showed only a little clogging in the yellow ink.
One of the blacks was missing a few, but everything else looked good.
It showed as being low in several of the inks so I installed the last of the Epson inks I had, MK, PK, R, O and M.
I had bought a set of Murratt inks as soon as they became available, and want to give them a try as soon as the Epson inks run out, the Y and C are getting low and soon I'll substitute for them.
The O wouldn't print at all.
The Y was still very spotty.
I tried a few nozzle cleanings and checks with no improvement in either ink.
I reset the O and Y cartridges lat night and let them sit overnight.
This morning both the Y and O were almost printing as they should.
One head cleaning and it was up and running.
My experience with the dye based inkjet printers had me convinced that I'd be needing to buy another printer.
The SC P400 has taught me otherwise.
My Background:
I bought my first PC in 2000 as a business expense, but set it up for my personal usage needs.
I outfitted it with a Brother MFC laser printer for the business uses.
Then, as a serious amateur photographer, I bought an Epson 1270 for my personal usage.
I still used labs for film development, but quickly stopped using them for prints, unless I wanted one larger than 13 x 19.
I purchased a Nikon Super Coolscan LS 4000 ED as soon as I could get my hands on one [I still have and occasionally use it], and began to digitize my thousands of slides so that I could print them for my personal display around the house and as gifts for friends.
I was happy with the 1270's performance.
But, after 2 or 3 years the ink nozzles clogged up.
I replaced it with a 1280, again happy with its performance until the ink nozzles clogged up a few years later.
By this time I was beginning to think that clogged nozzles were a basic fact of inkjet printers.
I replaced that 1280 with another 1280.
Again, it was lost to clogged nozzles.
I had stayed with dye inks because I thought they would be less prone to clogging than a pigment ink, thinking that a dye ink was a solution as opposed to a pigment ink being a suspension of particles.
So, I replaced the last 1280 with a 1900, again very happy with its performance.
It did last longer than any of the 12xx series printers, but eventually succumbed to clogging of the nozzles.
Finally, I decided to try a pigment inkjet, the SC P400.
I was very happy with its performance except for what looked to me as a more restricted color gamut, real or not.
I retired from Alaska to Hawaii 5+ years ago and have not been as active in photography as I was before the move.
My photo printing is much reduced in quantity.
But, I still consider a 13x19 photo color printer to be a piece of necessary PC equipment.
Last May we began to have our lives interrupted by Kilauea's LERZ eruption going on less than a mile from our home, more so due to the reaction of the local authorities than the actual eruption.
The SC P400 has sat idle for 10+ months, its non usage before the eruption, the duration of the eruption, the evacuation, and the bringing of our lives back together.
I've been afraid to try starting it up again, assuming that I'd need to buy another inkjet to be able to print in color again.
I had some color printing I wanted to do, so I fired it up yesterday.
The first nozzle check showed only a little clogging in the yellow ink.
One of the blacks was missing a few, but everything else looked good.
It showed as being low in several of the inks so I installed the last of the Epson inks I had, MK, PK, R, O and M.
I had bought a set of Murratt inks as soon as they became available, and want to give them a try as soon as the Epson inks run out, the Y and C are getting low and soon I'll substitute for them.
The O wouldn't print at all.
The Y was still very spotty.
I tried a few nozzle cleanings and checks with no improvement in either ink.
I reset the O and Y cartridges lat night and let them sit overnight.
This morning both the Y and O were almost printing as they should.
One head cleaning and it was up and running.
My experience with the dye based inkjet printers had me convinced that I'd be needing to buy another printer.
The SC P400 has taught me otherwise.