First let's take a look at this machine
https://epson.ca/For-Home/Printers/...-HD-XP-15000-Wide-format-Printer/p/C11CG43201
Take a note of this : Note: This printer is designed for use with Epson cartridges only, not third-party cartridges or ink.* See Important Ink Info
Following the link:
"Designed for EPSON cartridges only: Other brands of ink supplies are not compatible and, if described as compatible, may not function properly or continuously. Such restrictions can be avoided with some other printers such as Epson EcoTank cartridge free printers.
Firmware updates: Epson periodically provides firmware updates to address issues of security, performance, minor bug fixes and ensure your printer functions as designed. Your printer was designed to work only with genuine Epson ink cartridges, therefore some updates may affect the functionality of third party ink."
So you are purchasing this with these explicit warnings.
In case you didn't know, various iterations of this printer firmware has been released and truly the latest has removed the aftermarket chips from the market.
Despite this, it is nice for the price point. It is built OK, not as rigid or sturdy as the Pro-100. It has a replaceable maintenance box but it is small. Did I say "tiny"?
13" carriage and it also prints on optical media.
It has a rear feed as well as a bottom cassette. This would allow the user to place this right against a wall for normal use and pull out when necessary when printing photos. ( Do not place photo paper on bottom cassettes for photo printing as when the paper is bent or curled when travelling, this develops cracks on the resin coating of the paper)
The feel of the printer is as if a Canon mechanical design engineer was transplanted to Epson to help them design for modern manufacturing. To save on final footprint, Epson has turned the tanks and printhead 90 degrees. Once you get beyond 4 tanks, they figured out that the width of the prinhead requires more space allowances to the left and right of the printer. This would force the design of the printer to be wider than if they turned the printhead 90 degrees and mount the tanks the other way. This is a clever thing on their part, to save even more on space they made the tanks shorter as well as a little fatter to maintain some sort of capacity in the tanks. If you look at the Pro-100 you will notice it is a significantly larger machine and one reason is that the printhead carriage is very wide since it shares the same as the 10 tank Pro-10. The extra wide print carriage forces Canon to make the printer wider especially so for the 8 tank Pro-100 as it carries the penalty of sharing the same chassis as the 10 tank Pro-10. Same issues are encountered on the Pro-200 and 300. Canon pigment ink users know that Canon engineers are really cautious about the front to rear roller distance and paper strikes.
One drawback to Epson's choice for what they did is that it is likely to suffer greater likelihood from paper jamming when paper that has a slight curl is used. This is because the printhead itself is wider as a result of the 90 degree layount and the front and rear rollers are spaced apart a greater distance. So don't think that Epson is getting a free lunch by turning the printhead 90 degrees and getting a smaller footprint. The effects will vary from user to user and how careful they are with media.
Once thing that is new is that Epson has come towards the center loading of paper and hopefully has put in an improved rear feed mechanism.
Gone is the old printhead from over 10 years ago as used in the R260, SP1400 to the Artisan 1430. Those all suffered cracking after long term use.
One key thing is that it uses a passive contact patch between the tanks and the printer for transferring ink to the printer. We first saw this on the XP600 about 8 years ago and continues to use all that printer used in the tanks but Epson dropped the optical sensor this time. Priming and cleaning cycles are e x t r e m e l y S L O W. They take a long time.......for a reason.
Last time, when I looked at the XP600, I was left with a feeling that Epson would target that machine electronically and made refilling futile. When the project started it was a nice machine then the electronic attacks began and it became more refined on Epson's part. Of course they continued with this model. However back then I got busy with the Pro-100 and lost interest. This time, equipped with what I learnt from back then, I took a closer look at the XP15000. It was a sort of a challenge. The XP600 was a letter size width. This one is 13" wide and can be a nice printer for dye ink printing. The XP600 was CYMK photoprinting. This one now carries a in addition to what the XP600 carried a GREY and RED ink channel as well. Equipped with my in house color matching capabilities, could I make this into a desirable printer, despite Epson's warnings, that users can use WITHOUT custom ICCs and the ability to use Epson's Advanced Black and White printing mode?
I will continue this at the next post. --- Keep checking because it might be worth it for you!
https://epson.ca/For-Home/Printers/...-HD-XP-15000-Wide-format-Printer/p/C11CG43201
Take a note of this : Note: This printer is designed for use with Epson cartridges only, not third-party cartridges or ink.* See Important Ink Info
Following the link:
"Designed for EPSON cartridges only: Other brands of ink supplies are not compatible and, if described as compatible, may not function properly or continuously. Such restrictions can be avoided with some other printers such as Epson EcoTank cartridge free printers.
Firmware updates: Epson periodically provides firmware updates to address issues of security, performance, minor bug fixes and ensure your printer functions as designed. Your printer was designed to work only with genuine Epson ink cartridges, therefore some updates may affect the functionality of third party ink."
So you are purchasing this with these explicit warnings.
In case you didn't know, various iterations of this printer firmware has been released and truly the latest has removed the aftermarket chips from the market.
Despite this, it is nice for the price point. It is built OK, not as rigid or sturdy as the Pro-100. It has a replaceable maintenance box but it is small. Did I say "tiny"?
13" carriage and it also prints on optical media.
It has a rear feed as well as a bottom cassette. This would allow the user to place this right against a wall for normal use and pull out when necessary when printing photos. ( Do not place photo paper on bottom cassettes for photo printing as when the paper is bent or curled when travelling, this develops cracks on the resin coating of the paper)
The feel of the printer is as if a Canon mechanical design engineer was transplanted to Epson to help them design for modern manufacturing. To save on final footprint, Epson has turned the tanks and printhead 90 degrees. Once you get beyond 4 tanks, they figured out that the width of the prinhead requires more space allowances to the left and right of the printer. This would force the design of the printer to be wider than if they turned the printhead 90 degrees and mount the tanks the other way. This is a clever thing on their part, to save even more on space they made the tanks shorter as well as a little fatter to maintain some sort of capacity in the tanks. If you look at the Pro-100 you will notice it is a significantly larger machine and one reason is that the printhead carriage is very wide since it shares the same as the 10 tank Pro-10. The extra wide print carriage forces Canon to make the printer wider especially so for the 8 tank Pro-100 as it carries the penalty of sharing the same chassis as the 10 tank Pro-10. Same issues are encountered on the Pro-200 and 300. Canon pigment ink users know that Canon engineers are really cautious about the front to rear roller distance and paper strikes.
One drawback to Epson's choice for what they did is that it is likely to suffer greater likelihood from paper jamming when paper that has a slight curl is used. This is because the printhead itself is wider as a result of the 90 degree layount and the front and rear rollers are spaced apart a greater distance. So don't think that Epson is getting a free lunch by turning the printhead 90 degrees and getting a smaller footprint. The effects will vary from user to user and how careful they are with media.
Once thing that is new is that Epson has come towards the center loading of paper and hopefully has put in an improved rear feed mechanism.
Gone is the old printhead from over 10 years ago as used in the R260, SP1400 to the Artisan 1430. Those all suffered cracking after long term use.
One key thing is that it uses a passive contact patch between the tanks and the printer for transferring ink to the printer. We first saw this on the XP600 about 8 years ago and continues to use all that printer used in the tanks but Epson dropped the optical sensor this time. Priming and cleaning cycles are e x t r e m e l y S L O W. They take a long time.......for a reason.
Last time, when I looked at the XP600, I was left with a feeling that Epson would target that machine electronically and made refilling futile. When the project started it was a nice machine then the electronic attacks began and it became more refined on Epson's part. Of course they continued with this model. However back then I got busy with the Pro-100 and lost interest. This time, equipped with what I learnt from back then, I took a closer look at the XP15000. It was a sort of a challenge. The XP600 was a letter size width. This one is 13" wide and can be a nice printer for dye ink printing. The XP600 was CYMK photoprinting. This one now carries a in addition to what the XP600 carried a GREY and RED ink channel as well. Equipped with my in house color matching capabilities, could I make this into a desirable printer, despite Epson's warnings, that users can use WITHOUT custom ICCs and the ability to use Epson's Advanced Black and White printing mode?
I will continue this at the next post. --- Keep checking because it might be worth it for you!
Last edited:
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