New printer advice - A3, refillable photo printer

[WiltshireFrancis]

Hi I’m new to the forum and i’m looking at investing in a new printer for small / medium jobs. Some of the main things I’ll be printing are orders of services. I Have a booklet maker already so really just need something to produce the best prints possible. I am currently looking at either the epson et-l1800 or the et-7750. In a dream scenario I would like something that can print borderless. Ideally I want something to print a3 but open to a4 if it means the machine is better suited to the order of service requirements. I require an automatic duplex option and image quality is a huge priority. In addition due to uncertainty over monthly page quantities and potentially having a few weeks at a time without work I’m tempted to go down the route of a dye ink system over something pigmented due to the costs and potential for ink wastage. In addition I’m also very keen on a refillable tank system over cartridges for cost efficiency.

In a dream scenario I would also like to be able to print on to mountboard and I know there’s one or two a3 printers capable of this but they seem to be even more limited than the two options I’ve already narrowed it down to and they also don’t seem to fit my other criteria (a3 or refillable).

Looking to avoid a laser jet as I just don’t like the overall finish and it looks like it’s just come out of an office machine.

Budget wise, ideally I would like to spend south of 1k but 1.5k is viable. Does anyone have any reccomendations or advice?

My main concern over the l1800 is it seems to have very little availability unless I get one on eBay or amazon. Most of those seem to have been converted for sublimation though which I don’t really have any interest in. I also don’t really want to buy on eBay for obvious reasons.

This leads me to my concerns about if the l1800 has been discontinued and equally Although the 7750 seems good it seems to have a lot of limitations, namely the flimsy rear feed and limited paper capacity. So not sure where to go. I have also looked at some canon models but as far as I’m aware the only other brands that do refillable inks don’t go up to a3 and I think the canon models I was looking at didn’t incorporate the auto duplex, which is pretty important for me.

Any advice greatly appreciated though and look forward to any help you guys can offer.

 

[pharmacist]

Why not the Epson P800, if still available ?

 

[WiltshireFrancis]

I do like the look of the p800, I like the canon pro 1000s too. just not sure I can warrant the commitment to an a2 pigment ink machine. As to start with there Could well be the odd week or two with out any work. Other concerns is the Cost of ink just aren’t Pratical for the kind of work I’ll be doing to start with and the bits I’d need that machine for I currently plan to just keep outsourcing at least for the moment.

 

[mogbrown]

Why not the Epson P800, if still available ?

The P800 is likely to be discontinued pretty soon due to the release of the P900. I say this because the P800 can be used with refillable ink tanks but Epson (in their wisdom) has decided to individually identify the tanks for both the P900 and P700 so you won;t bea able to use refillable tanks with either of them - unless some clever person can come up with a solution.
In WiltshireFrancis's situation, I'd be looking at the ET-7750. I reviewed the ET-7700 last year and was quite imkpressed with its capabilities: https://www.photoreview.com.au/reviews/printers/epson-premium-ecotank-et-7700/
Interestingly, the photo prints I made then are still holding their colour very well; you can only just see signd of change if you look very closely and know what to look for. This printer is also quite economical to run so a better long-term investment than the P800.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I require an automatic duplex option

A duplex option works for normal paper only and is not typically an option on photo printers. And you have not decided yet whether you go for a dye ink printer or a pigment ink printer. Both have particular characteristics.

If you look for a dye ink printer you may check for the Epson HD XP 15000 as well since refill cartridges are available for this model already.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I scanned through the ET-7700 and ET-7750 test reports as referenced above; I cannot concur with some of the conclusions made in those tests.

'four-colour printers aren’t ideal for printing photos because it’s difficult for them to encompass a wide enough colour and tonal gamut.'

which simply is not correct as such; i had an ET-7750, and the gamut is the same as with 6 color printers like the L1800 or R265. The light inks are diluted inks, they don't contribute to the overall gamut - the body which is defined by the saturated colors at all luminance levels. Light inks make ink droplets less visible when lighter unsaturated colors are dithered and printed. And it is similar with a little WF2010W printer- the gamut - with the same ink - is the same as with a L805, the droplet size makes a difference in this case - 1.5 vs. 3 pl - , and the lower number of nozzles let the printing time go up.

And I can give you some good news - a German computer magazine did a fading test about 2 1/2 years ago - the ET-7700 inks directly compared to Claria HP inks of a XP8500 - those ink sets perform equally. I did several fading tests since then, and I only can confirm this. These ET-7700 106 dye inks perform better than the inks of the L805/1800 6-color printers. Espon uses various different ink sets in the ecotank printers, I'm using these 106 inks as refill inks in my L805/1800.

 

[mogbrown]

According to the user manual for the ET-7700 printer, it DOES support double-sided printing, although maybe not with the degree of automation you require nor the outpust speed. If you download the user manual from Epson's website you can see this printer's full capabilities.