Re: Alternative to Epson 3800
Kerik, The 3800 is a great printer, no doubt about that. And if you were to compare price to the R2400 your comment about the cost of ink is right on target. On the question of banding, all previous Epson pigment ink printers have been known to cause Venetian blind banding in digital negatives, no exceptions except perhaps the R1800. And this usually does not start right away, but as the printer ages. My Epson 2200 did not band at all in over 2.5 years of use, then recently it started light banding that makes it impossible to print areas of broad even tones for digital negatives. On regular prints, no problem. I have been told by persons who know printers real well that the stepping motor on the 3800 is one of the best that has ever been put on a printer. Hopefully this will give it a very long life free from Venetain blind banding. Sandy At 5:58 PM -0400 3/13/07, kerik@kerik.com wrote: George, Also, keep in mind that the 3800 comes with roughly $450 worth of ink. Printers with larger, individual cartridges are less costly to operate over their lifetime. I have a 1280 that has been reasonably good for digital negatives, except that it (like many others) is susceptible to banding in areas of broad, even tones. For images with lots of texture, it's a non-issue. Kerik Original Message: ----------------- From: Sandy King sanking@clemson.edu Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 17:46:19 -0400 To: alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca Subject: Re: Alternative to Epson 3800 George, If price is a consideration you might want to look at a used or refurbished Epson 1280 or 2200. Both of these printers have a good reputation for making good digital negatives. The 1280 is in fact still available new at the Epson web site in spite of the fact that it has been on the market longer than any current printer. I have the 2200 and have been very satisfied with it for printing in carbon, kallitype and pt./pd. In the less than $600 range, (street price), look at the Epson R1800 and the HP B9180. I have assume you want at least a 13" wide printer. If not, there are other much less expensive alternatives. Sandy At 2:02 PM -0700 3/13/07, George L Smyth wrote:I am looking for a printer that will allow me to create digital negatives,but
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