Opinions on Epson Printers

[KurtS]

Hi,
I just ruined a printhead in Canon MP640. I couldn't get a nozzle unclogged and must have got too aggressive with pressure and suction. I'm not too upset, the printer was frustrating since day one. With my MP640 I would have to do a printhead clean at least twice a day, and sometimes more than once. And when I wasn't cleaning the heads it was cleaning itself - lots of wasted ink and paper. I was using Hobbicolors but don't blame the ink because I went and bought new OEM carts and that did not make things better.

Anyway, now I'm in the market for a new printer and am wanting to try Epson. I'm considering the following - stylus 1400 ($220), workforce 1100 ($100), Artisan A835 ($170), Artisan 725 ($100). I do aprrox. 80 % B&W, 15% color and 5% photo printing and would guess I run between 5,000 and 10,000 sheets through a year. I would be using aftermarket and refilling my cartridges. I dont need most of the bells and whisles on these printers, but am probably looking more for reliability. Any opinions would be appreciated.

 

[slocumeddie]

Can you give a more thorough profile of what you print? And on what paper stock(s)?

 

[KurtS]

I print a lot of inspection reports that contain text, graphs, a few photos and images which look similar to x-rays. I use mostly Xerox premium multipurpose paper and occasionally canon glossy photo paper.

 

[slocumeddie]

The three Artisans you mentioned are 6 color printers, that use dye based ink in all positions(no pigment black).

The Workforce 1100 uses pigment based inks in CMY&K positions, and might be a better choice if the majority of your printing is indeed text on plain paper. Note that the WF1100 has no paper cassette....nor does the Artisan 1400.....top feed only.

As suggested in an earlier post, you might consider a mono laser printer for the text pages, and an inkjet for the color work as needed(to keep cost per page down)

If you wish to do the job with just one printer, a Canon with pigment black and CMYK dye inks might be your best choice(not really what you wanted to hear-huh!)

My second choice for a single printer would be the WF1100 or other printers in the "WF" line.

Just my $.02.....FWIW.....

 

[KurtS]

I just wanted to say thanks for the input. I ended up going to Staples with the intention of getting the WF1100, but got the Stylus Photo 1400 because they were offering an additional $50 off. Now I am planning on getting the refillable damper carts with reset-able chip bar and anti UV dye inks from injetcarts. People seem to be happy with these and I couldn't find complaints. I just wanted to check before buying to see if anyone had any better suggestions. Thanks

 

[bobjoek]

I have an Epson 1400 using damper carts and dye inks from InkJetCarts. So far I am very pleased with this combination. Be prepared for it to take some time (a couple of days) for the printer to settle down after installing the carts. Once all the air is flushed out of the system it does perform well with no ink clogs. Also very important - do not remove the damper carts for refilling. Do all refilling in the printer. This means that the printer should be in a location where an occasional ink drip during refilling doesn't matter or where it can be easily cleaned up.

Bob

 

[Smile]

What is a damper cart?

 

[bobjoek]

What is a damper cart?

Damper cartridges are typically used on newer Epson printers. Instead of a sponge in the cartridge to regulate ink flow, it has two check valves in the ink channel. The check valves maintain the prime in the cartridge and regulate the ink flow.

Bob

 

[Smile]

Than you for the explanation, yes new EPSON uses carts like these, they can be refilled under vacuum without any problems. I tried to refill some and they worked OK, resetter is needed to reset them.

 

[PeterStalder]

I have refilled also. No problem.