Epson 3885

[Tanai Willis]

Hi
I'm an illustrator/ artists and sell my A3 & A2 prints as high quality pigment prints. I print about once a month

I have an Epson 3885 ( Asian equivalent of the 3880) but have brought it back to the UK. This means I can't get the correct ink cartridges in the UK and have to order from Singapore for delivery by sea. 1 set is at least 60% of the cost of a new printer. So, despite the 3885 being an excellent printer, I think I will have to upgrade to a new equivalent. 2 Qs for the group:

1) Does anyone have any inks for 3885 in the UK, that they would like to sell?
2) What would you recommend as my next printer . Good colour repro, max A2,


Thank you

Tania

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I see these options although I'm not that fimiliar with the 3885

- the current successor is the Epson P900 or the P5000 - or the Canon equivalent Pro 1000 model

- it is probably possible via a service company to replace and swap the 3885 motherboard to a 3880 motherboard with firmware accepting European coded cartridiges

- I don't know if a firmware swap would be possible with the Epson service tool/software

- You may buy and use refill cartridges for the 3885 which are offered via Aliexpress, and do refill - either with Epson inks pulled from other/larger cartridges or using 3rd party refill ink

 

[Tanai Willis]

Thank you Ink Stained Fingers!
I hadn't heard of the possibility of replacing the motherboard. I might look into that.
The ink cartridges you mentioned, are they Epson branded & for 3885? If you have any links for that I'd be very grateful ( if it's allowed)?
Thank you

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

- The main board asssy runs with the pn# 2128952 for the Pro 3880

https://www.unicompparts.com/epson-...epson-spare-part-board-assy-main-2128952-p489

which is the one which would most likely need to be switched

- The Pro 3880 is pretty old, you may consider if you want to invest into a change or modification at all in this printer, the successor was the SC-P800 - Surecolor , and the current version is the the SC-P900; this one now does not use the dreaded black ink switch anymore.

The P5000 is a step up in functionality and cuts roll paper which may give you access to a wider assortment of papers and let you run any non-standard format, and roll paper may come cheaper overall.

The Canon Pro-1000 is a strong competitor.


- I don't know if you are familiar with refill overall, with the handling, getting the inks etc


The Pro 3885 uses T581x cartridges - x running from 1 to B,
you can get refill cartridges from China if you search for 'T5811 refill' or similar

https://de.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20220216233819&SearchText=T5811+refill

I just pick one offer

https://de.aliexpress.com/item/32808734880.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.b49dc501nWE8QS&algo_pvid=ec65d839-2563-457d-b910-4e2b930eca97&algo_exp_id=ec65d839-2563-457d-b910-4e2b930eca97-7&pdp_ext_f={"sku_id":"64501353776"}&pdp_pi=-1;67.0;-1;-1@salePrice;EUR;search-mainSearch

You may need to keep your original chips to transplant them onto these cartridges

You would need to confirm to the seller that you want this chip/cartridge version shipped to Europe but not the standard European version. The cartridges are equipped with an ARC chip - automatic reset - when they report empty/not available and you take them out and put them in again. Some other offers ship you a separate resetter.

- These are options which technically could help you to overcome the problems with your 3880, but I'm not in the position to recommend one over the other or one at all since I don't have experience with a 3880, I was using a Stylus Pro 4000 longer time ago.

 

[Tanai Willis]

- The main board asssy runs with the pn# 2128952 for the Pro 3880

https://www.unicompparts.com/epson-...epson-spare-part-board-assy-main-2128952-p489

which is the one which would most likely need to be switched

- The Pro 3880 is pretty old, you may consider if you want to invest into a change or modification at all in this printer, the successor was the SC-P800 - Surecolor , and the current version is the the SC-P900; this one now does not use the dreaded black ink switch anymore.

The P5000 is a step up in functionality and cuts roll paper which may give you access to a wider assortment of papers and let you run any non-standard format, and roll paper may come cheaper overall.

The Canon Pro-1000 is a strong competitor.


- I don't know if you are familiar with refill overall, with the handling, getting the inks etc


The Pro 3880 uses T581x cartridges - x running from 1 to B,
you can get refill cartridges from China if you search for 'T5811 refill' or similar

https://de.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20220216233819&SearchText=T5811+refill

I just pick one offer

https://de.aliexpress.com/item/32808734880.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.b49dc501nWE8QS&algo_pvid=ec65d839-2563-457d-b910-4e2b930eca97&algo_exp_id=ec65d839-2563-457d-b910-4e2b930eca97-7&pdp_ext_f={"sku_id":"64501353776"}&pdp_pi=-1;67.0;-1;-1@salePrice;EUR;search-mainSearch

You may need to keep your original chips to transplant them onto these cartridges

You would need to confirm to the seller that you want this chip/cartridge version shipped to Europe but not the standard European version. The cartridges are equipped with an ARC chip - automatic reset - when they report empty/not available and you take them out and put them in again. Some other offers ship you a separate resetter.

- These are options which technically could help you to overcome the problems with your 3880, but I'm not in the position to recommend one over the other or one at all since I don't have experience with a 3880, I was using a Stylus Pro 4000 longer time ago.

 

[Tanai Willis]

Thanks very much for this wealth of information. I really appreciate your replies and for finding those links. You\re right though, it's pretty old - I have to consider if it is worth the re-investment ?