Has EPSON made a new FAST printer lately?

[narmenia]

FAST meaning - fast speeds at Normal (Draft on an Epson is worse than a ribbon printer)

 

[lolopr1]

FAST meaning - fast speeds at Normal (Draft on an Epson is worse than a ribbon printer)

This is the newest Epson printer.
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=63069504

 

[Tin Ho]

In my opinion, Epson printers will never be as fast as Canon's. It is physics that Piezo print heads can not be packed with too many nozzles. Piezo crystal can not be made too small as it would not be powerful enough to shoot ink. If the nozzle count is limited it has to repeat the ink spray to achieve the gamut and resolution for high quality image printing. That will slow down the printer. Canon's thermo bubblejet print head can be made to very high density at very high nozzle count. It is naturally very fast and yields better gamut, resolution and speed easily. All Epson printers I have used are poor in printing text and very slow in printing photos. I don't think they can change that without significant revolution in their print heads.

Besides, now that Epson has gone that far to kill all Epson compatible ink cartriddges in the US market, owners of Epson printers are doomed to pay high cost for ink cartridges. I would not consider any Epson printers for now.

 

[mikling]

The R800 and R1800 are not shabby at speed. Their nozzle counts are pretty high for a piezo head and have droplets as small as 1.5pl. When you need fine art or archival prints, pigment ink is the only option and here is where Epson is strong at. Don't buy a pigment inked Epson for text, fun printing etc...it's for permanence and keepsakes. Otherwise other options are better......like Canon.

Users will find that the last generation of Epson may well be worth hoarding..R800, R1800 and R2400. The resettable chips, chip resetters, refillable cartridges, refillable originals etc are all known and documented. There are service adjustment programs available for self servicing. The very things that Epon does not want the user to possess for economical ownership.

The newer printers will sport neutered ink level detectors, smaller capacity and and non availability of user tools. The R1900 to replace the R1800 has already been announced so the shelves will be getting bare soon. If you've been sitting on the fence, it may be a good time to keep your eyes open for clearance of the old stuff.

 

[lolopr1]

Besides, now that Epson has gone that far to kill all Epson compatible ink cartridges in the US market, owners of Epson printers are doomed to pay high cost for ink cartridges. I would not consider any Epson printers for now.

You can find refillable cartridges on eBay for the new Epson printers. The question here was Has epson made a new fast printer lately?
The answer is yes and they are very good printers. I own a Canon IP6600 and an Epson R380 and you cant tell the difference between both. I know that a lot of people here are canon lovers(I include my self) but the truth is that Epson have come a long way with their new printers.

 

[websnail]

All of the above is true but with the recent legal machinations played out by Epson I'm opting to leave well alone...

In fairness one of the big draws of the canon kit is the lack of need for resettable chips (for CIS's) and the quality of the printer.. Oh and the fact that the printer can suffer a power outage and still come back on automatically.

Epson with fast clogging ink, lousy customer practices and now this legal routine leaves me firmly in their "absent ex-friends" category.

 

[mikling]

I just put an R380 into the recycle bin today. Took it all apart. The reason was the replacement part would have costed more than a new one with rebate ( so what's new) . I was able to reecover a waste ink pad to potentially supplement my other R260 and RX580. The printhead was still perfect but i discarded that because I cannot get my hands on any service adjustment programs that is required if a head needs to be changed out.

Prognosis. In general they are well made with very accurate fitting parts. Certainly they are above the level of one of the Canon i950s that also saw the same fate. There appears to be some potential design issues on it. The draw tube below the parking pad can nick the inside of the tube tube over time. The molding for the spring underneath the pad to hold the spring needs to be beefed up as they can break off with constant tension. The CD DVD print works well BUT admittedly with the new printers they definitely do use more ink that the older ones. Perhaps this is to ensure less nozzle clogs and in this regard. I have had no clogging whatsoever with the newer printers so maybe this is the price. Yes, they are quite a bit faster than the previous generation but I get microbanding unless I select photo or best photo.

Epson probably heard the complaints of the techs and this time designed a waste ink tank/tray/pad that can be easily replaced BUT the capacity looks to be smaller than the previous generation. UNLESS you can find a service adjustment program don't waste time to install an external catch bottle, by the time you get to the tube, three or four more screws and you're into the pad.

With the newer printers Epson appears to be releasing new firmware every three months or so that makes pre existing so called compatibles incompatible with new production.