The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

Attention Inkjet Fine Art Printers

L

lilmsmaggie

Guest
I have no experience making exhibition quality prints. I would like to have the ability to make my own 11X14 B&W and Color prints, possibly 16x20. I’ve read good and bad reports about Epson inkjet printers. Although Canon and HP have upped the ante, Epson seems to be the printer of choice for exhibition quality fine art prints. Not sure if the negative reports I’ve read about Epson are from those users that are technically challenged by printer setups and profiles, or just getting their hands on a bad printer. BTW - I’m shooting 4x5 and plan on having the negatives scanned.

What really concerns me, are reports of poor customer service from Epson technical support, or lack thereof based on my readings.

I’m considering investing in an inkjet photo printer and would like to hear from those that actually do most of their own print work. I’d like them to share their experiences with inkjet printers – negative or positive. And if they were to start anew, would they continue with the same printer or throw in the towel and outsource their printing.
 

TRSmith

Subscriber Member
Many here on this forum have a great deal more experience than I do, with years of making prints for sale or exhibition. However, I have owned an Epson 3800 for several years now and make my own prints. My "first" photography life was with 4x5 B&W printed in a conventional darkroom and I was skeptical about ink jet printing too.

Not anymore. Silver-based printing has its own charm, but I love what the Epson can do. I'm very pleased and in fact believe that the printer's capabilities often exceed my own.

I have never had occasion to call Epson customer service since the printer has worked perfectly from day one. I have discovered that there's some work to do to make one's system print-worthy however. Careful and consistent calibration, use of the right profiles and an understanding of color management and file preparation for print are some of the steps included in the learning curve. There were some frustrations along the way but they weren't the printer's fault.

Do I think it's worth doing myself? Absolutely. Would I buy Epson again? Absolutely.
 

Bob

Administrator
Staff member
The Epson 3800/3880 are both capable of producing fine prints with appearance rivaling that all but the best wet processes. I have owned a 3800 since it was introduced and liked it so much I purchased a 7900 last march.
As Tim noted, a careful workflow, good profiles and a calibrated monitor all are essential to produce god prints.
I use Photoshop to tune my images for printing and make sure that the soft proofed image has the dynamic range and degree of sharpening required.
print drivers have improved over the years and now the images do not need to be as "toasty" as before, but still sharpening according to the finished image dimensions is important.
-bob
 
L

lilmsmaggie

Guest
So far, my only experience with Epson printers were while taking a digital photography class at a local community college. I think it was a R2400.

It was a bit fussy but I was impressed with the quality of the printing. If I recall, the instructor advised us to buy Epson inkjet paper to minimize problems - but doesn't that just seems to place a limiting factor on potential print quality.
 

TRSmith

Subscriber Member
I think the key to using papers other than Epson is to be sure and obtain a good profile specifically for those papers. Epson's profiles for its own paper are pretty good, some folks have custom profiles made (or make their own) but for most of us earthlings, the profiles Epson makes are fine.

One of my favorite papers to use on the Epson is Ilford Gallerie Gold Fibre silk. I downloaded their profile from the website and followed the instructions they give and my very first print was near perfect.

There are many, many good resources on the web with tons of information about Epson printers and printing in general. With no disrespect to your community college instructor, I think you may want to look a little deeper before forming a strong opinion about the company that is widely recognized as the current leading maker of ink jet printers.
 
T

tetsrfun

Guest
It was a bit fussy but I was impressed with the quality of the printing.
********
The combination of LR3 and an Epson 3880 is almost a fool proof combination. I found that printing with only one or two paper types, the lack of soft proofing with LR isn't a major problem. My 3800 was totally reliable and never had head clogs even with several months of non-use. I moved "up" to a 4880 when Epson had the two combinable rebates and for a few weeks the 4880 was ~$850. (My 4880 will clog if not used regularly)

Steve
 
No experience with current Epsons, but I switched to HP after too much frustration with clogs, $750 print heads and clogs in the past. If you are trying to sell prints, some people look for Epson prints as they have done a remarkable job as marketing their printers as they only ones capable of making a long lasting print. Any printer needs custom profiles.

You really need to consider what your priorities are. Mine were low per-print cost, low-cost and easily available replacement heads, and good image quality with big color gamut on glossy paper. I didn't really care about black and white or matte paper.

If I were buying now, most of those priorities still remain and I probably would buy HP again, but I'm not sure the differences between the HP, Canon and Epson are as great as they once were. Epson used to have a virtual monopoly and acted like it until HP drank their milkshake. Now they had to step up their game and we are the beneficiaries.
 
L

lilmsmaggie

Guest
It was a bit fussy but I was impressed with the quality of the printing.
********
The combination of LR3 and an Epson 3880 is almost a fool proof combination. I found that printing with only one or two paper types, the lack of soft proofing with LR isn't a major problem. Steve
The 3880 is on my short list. There are other things that I need to learn e.g., LR, color management, monitor/printer calibration, etc. I only have LR2. Hadn't gotten home or broken the seal, and here comes LR3 -- ARG!! :LOL:

I figure it would be faster to setup a digital darkroom than a traditional one.
With the exception of a scanner, I have the hardware/software.

I just lack experience with digital printing.
 

Wayne Fox

Workshop Member
The 3880 is on my short list. There are other things that I need to learn e.g., LR, color management, monitor/printer calibration, etc. I only have LR2. Hadn't gotten home or broken the seal, and here comes LR3 -- ARG!! :LOL:

I figure it would be faster to setup a digital darkroom than a traditional one.
With the exception of a scanner, I have the hardware/software.

I just lack experience with digital printing.
The 3880 is one of the finest printers made. Most of the issues with Epson is about clogging, not print quality ... something which is much less problematic with the 3800/3880 than their larger printers.

Epson support in some countries is pretty hit and miss, but I've found Epson USA to be quite responsive and helpful.

Good luck with your efforts ... personally I struggled with the learning curve several years back, but have found the results very rewarding ... much like printing in my traditional darkroom.
 

routlaw

Member
Allow me to stir up the mud on the subject. First suggestion would be to consider a larger printer than garden variety 13x19 models which will do a 12x18 print only. If you are going LF in my experience you're just not going to see the real benefits and beauty of those large sheets of film until you start printing 16x20 ish and perhaps even larger. I would wager eventually you will want larger prints from those 4x5 film scans and end up with at least the 24" models so you might as well belly up to the bar now for the larger floor models :D. With that in mind… consider the following.

I started out with the Epson 10000, then bought the Epson 9600 which after 8 years up until this past week was still chugging along and producing excellent prints. Given its age I decided to buy a new printer vs repairing this one. No anyone who wants an old 9600 for parts? Make no mistake the larger counter parts of these printers regardless of manufacturer are different than the table top versions using the same ink set. The exceptions might be the 3880/4800 models by epson.

During this time I have also owned and operated several smaller printers like the Canon Pixma Pro 9000, Epson 2200 which is still producing excellent prints I might add. And in addition to my own commercial photography & fine art prints sales I run a small printing operation for other photographers as well as reproducing prints for artist in my region. IOW all of these printers have logged a lot of ink and paper through them.

Not sure where you heard of Epson poor customer service but my experience has been the opposite what little I have had to use it. While shopping for new printers off and on over the last year or so (sensing the eminent demise of my aging 9600) I looked at all of the contenders very seriously and ended up with the new Canon IPF 8300. I agree with some other comments all of the big 3 can produce beautiful prints under the right hands and in some cases do so with little to modest differences. That said HP was last on my list since the intro of these newest Canon's and the Epson x900 series. Both the Epson and Canon are a bit more heavy duty industrial like with Epson having a edge over the Canon. I wrung my hands out going back and forth between the two of these printers but at the end of the day chose the Canon for two reasons, cost and lack of ink jet clogs. From what I understand yes even the Epson x900 series still clogs and uses more ink than the HP and Canon counterparts. Right now you can buy the Canon for literally less than half of what the Epson cost due to rebates, ample amount of inks included in the kit and trade-in allowances they gave me for the 9600.

All that out of the way, Epson printers are simpler to operate, by an order of magnitude and this is an issue I can't stress enough for someone just starting out with a digital darkroom. They are just so much more intuitive, logical and straight forward compared to Canon printers. Canon manuals are next to useless and in this regard HP rules the roost with Epson a close second. Truth be told not sure I ever read any of the Epson manuals, certainly not cover to cover. No way you can do that with a Canon printer from my experience.

Sorry for the long winded post and diatribe, but hope this helps.

Rob

I would like to have the ability to make my own 11X14 B&W and Color prints, possibly 16x20. I’ve read good and bad reports about Epson inkjet printers. Although Canon and HP have upped the ante, Epson seems to be the printer of choice for exhibition quality fine art prints. Not sure if the negative reports I’ve read about Epson are from those users that are technically challenged by printer setups and profiles, or just getting their hands on a bad printer. BTW - I’m shooting 4x5 and plan on having the negatives scanned.

What really concerns me, are reports of poor customer service from Epson technical support, or lack thereof based on my readings.

I’m considering investing in an inkjet photo printer and would like to hear from those that actually do most of their own print work. I’d like them to share their experiences with inkjet printers – negative or positive. And if they were to start anew, would they continue with the same printer or throw in the towel and outsource their printing.
 

Don Libby

Well-known member
I've been using Epson printers for better than 10 years starting with the ink-hog 2200 then moving to today and the 4000 and 9800 both of which I've have since they were introduced.

I print on a combination of canvas and paper and while I've tried others I keep returning to Epson canvas, paper on the other hand is different. My primary paper choice is Hahnemühle in both sheets and rolls.

Regarding technical support - I needed at first while I was setting the 9800 up to my network and after 2-calls to them had it up and running. Based on that limited experience several years ago I can say I was pleased with my experience. Ken Doo (who I hope will join in) had to contact tech/customer service about 12 months ago and while I think I remember him being pleased I'll let him talk about his experiences.

All in all I've been very pleased with by Epson printers and ink. The machines themselves are a beast in that they just keep going. I've been equally pleased with the ink as I get rich tones and colors. Do yourself a huge favor and don't attempt to be cheap with the ink - buy only Epson. You can experiment with paper choices but whatever you do stick with Epson ink.

To answer you question of if I'd continue with the same printer - the answer is yes.

Best of luck

Don
 

jsf

Active member
I have been using an Epson 3800 for three years, and I have found when needed that Epson customer service is quite adequate. I find that Epson papers and 3rd party papers work equally well, in fact, Inkjet Art Matte their generic exhibition paper, if profiled carefully is a beautiful paper on the Epson. What that says to me is that post production technique is crucial, that the paper once you get to a certain quality, coupled with the Epson or in all probability other good printers is what matters most. I have found from my experience most (virtually all of the global)of the post production should happen in ACR and then local and output profile tweaking in Photo-Shop. After post production the Epson 3800 is a sweet relatively low cost professional quality printer. Joe
 

Wayne Fox

Workshop Member
Allow me to stir up the mud on the subject. First suggestion would be to consider a larger printer than garden variety 13x19 models which will do a 12x18 print only.
I didn't bother reading all of your post, but your implication is the 3880 is a garden variety 13x19 printer. I"m sure you know better, but just to clarify to those less familiar with it, the 3880 is a professional grade 17" printer, with output that is on par with other professional grade printers. Side by side print comparisons from it against other Epson's or Canons will be virtually identical.

It is very compact for a 17" printer, has large enough ink cartridges to make ink much more affordable, and is probably the best value when considering all factors for anyone other than those needing larger output or high volume operations.

Based on the original post, it is certainly the best recommendation.
 
L

lilmsmaggie

Guest
Atlex is selling the 3880 for $799 with the $300 rebate. Good deal.
I'll say. Only one small problem. About a month ago, I received one of those "Red Light Camera" tickets in the mail. I went and viewed the 12-second video. Looks like a rolling-right turn seconds after the Yellow turns Red. $456 :mad:

I'm thinking about fighting it but I've been really busy lately.

Contacted a guy I heard them do a news segment about these type of tickets on NPR: http://www.highwayrobbery.net

He offered to help me write a legal argument.

Also, I'm hoping to talk to a gentleman by the name of Lenny Eiger in Petaluma, CA. about digital printing before I make my purchase.

He's invited me to come for a visit. Petaluma is about an hour's drive from me.
 

routlaw

Member
Then perhaps you should before getting so defensive. First the 3880 is not a 13x19 printer and secondly had you read my post you would realize I did not classify the 3880 as a garden variety desktop printer.

I was only trying to help the OP make an informed decision based upon printing from LF film, not offend anyone who has a 3880 or equivalent.

At the risk of :deadhorse: it does not make sense (at least to me) to go to the trouble and expense of photographing with LF film only to be able to print at 11x14 give or take an inch, thus my encouragement to look at larger printers. To clarify, yes the 3880 or equivalent would fit the bill for 16x20's and the price is right, but an Epson 7990 or HP/Canon equivalent would allow the original poster to have something to grow into since he or she will be using LF film and dare I say it (as good as the 3880 is) still produce yet better prints.

However one great feature of the smaller pro printers (ie Epson 38xx or 48xx series) is the capability of stack loading sheet paper to produce multiple prints of the same image at one time. Not something you can do at least with sheets on the floor standing models.

Hope this helps and please accept my sincere apologies for my discretions regarding certain printers.

Rob

I didn't bother reading all of your post, but your implication is the 3880 is a garden variety 13x19 printer. I"m sure you know better, but just to clarify to those less familiar with it, the 3880 is a professional grade 17" printer, …
 
G

greyscale

Guest
FWIW, Epson has a rebate on the 3880, $300.00 of list thru Oct. 15, 2010.

Happy Shopping
greyscale


PS. wish I had waited:cry:
 

dseelig

Member
I have a 2400 as my desktop and a hp z 3100 for large prints. I am thinking of getting this 3880 MY 2400 has been very up and down about paper feed sometimes I cannot get it to take paper it is working now. Is he 3880 a reliable machine paper feed wise. My other problem with the 2400 is like most epsons drinks ink how is the 3880?
 

Wayne Fox

Workshop Member
Then perhaps you should before getting so defensive.
Wasn't being defensive. Reading the thread in context, you were "stirring up the mud" directly after the OP mentioned the 3880 was on his short list and a follow up about that printer.

As far as not reading it, not going to spend time reading it because it seemed to be off topic in regards to the OP concerns.

I'm sure the OP has considered larger format printers, but for whatever reason feels 16x20 is just large enough, or just doesn't have the money. There are many photographers out there that want something to print up sample prints one, but prefer to out source larger prints so they can spend them time shooting. Whatever the OP's reason he has them.

As I said before, based on the original post, the 3880 is the best choice.
 
Last edited:
L

lilmsmaggie

Guest
Ok - fellas let's keep it civil, no need to go on the offensive. Just friendly conversation and sage advice from those that have gone before.

Let's not get our Hanes in a bunch :LOL:

I appreciate everyone's input.

:thumbs:
 
Top