looking for advice on replacement printer

[mberndt100]

Hi Everyone,
New to these forums. Looking for some advice on a new inkjet printer to replace an aging Epson Stylus Photo R220. I need something with fairly specific abilities, namely I need it to print on very heavy paper of all different varieties, and I need it to print on envelopes.

I currently use the R220 to print greeting cards and invitations, and it does a pretty good job but I really have to force paper in there sometimes. It also jams up quite often on envelopes, and a lot of times it mangles the envelopes as well.

I'm also considering using a CIS so I would like to find a printer that is receptive to that type of thing.

Currently I'm leaning towards either the Epson R280 or R380. I don't want to spend too much because in my experience over the last few years of doing this, inkjet printers only last maybe 12-18 months before the decline in print quality is too much to use professionally.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[fotofreek]

Take some envelopes and card stock to the nearest store with demo units on display and test them. You can do a test print (8.5x11) without a computer. The extra ink will just go into the waste ink pad, but you will find out if the printer can handle the paper stock you want to print. I did that last month for a laser printer and am really glad that I did. If no one in your area has working demo units out I would find the store that has a no-questions-return policy. You can look up the specs regarding envelope printing and weight of stock supported, but you will never know until you try it.