- Prints up to 13x19 Photos with Epson UltraChrome K3 with Vivid magenta ink
- Advanced Black and White Photo Mode
- Professional 8-Color, pigment ink set with 3-level Black technology
- Advanced magenta pigments - astounding blues, purples, and reds
- Print Permanence ratings of 200 years or more
Everything seems to run smoothly for the first week or so, although I noticed that the printer had a tendency to perform prolonged nozzle cleaning sessions. One session lasted between 6 and 7 minutes. That''s when I started to look at the ink levels charts. This printer is really using the ink I thought. I then noticed large random dots, about 3mm in diameter on some of my prints, sometimes only an hour after a new start-up nozzle cleaning session. My last printing endeavor on this printer just following a nozzle cleaning session were eight 4x4" images where these dots showed up on five prints, some were in the margins and some right on the image itself.
Calling Epson was quite an experience. The person told me to simply do a nozzle clean. I told him I had just done nozzle cleans, but he insisted and I did it. The first print out had the famous 3mm dots on the paper and the print. Do the nozzle clean again, he said. At this point I confronted him with the question of how much ink a nozzle clean required because my ink indicators showed a decrease in ink level of about 15% with each cleaning. He had no answer to that, or to any of my other questions, including the amber light question.
I was now out of ink and had a lot of unwanted dots on many of the prints I had made. At this point I knew I would never feel comfortable using a set of inks priced at about $125. and only wind up with a handful of usable images. I returned the printer as I was still within the 30 days grace period.
One last observation: It appears to me, after reading other reviews, that the ink/nozzle picotechnology is perhaps behind the curve of where it ought to be. In the quest for smaller and smaller picoliter dots, perhaps a different nozzle cleaning technology is required. At least, upscale future printers like this R2880 should have the ability to just clean one (1) color nozzle at a time, as user required, instead of necessarily cleaning all eight colors at a cost I figure to be about $18. to $20. per cleaning session.
Tage Blytmann
Buy Epson Stylus Photo R2880 Wide-Format Color Inkjet Printer (C11CA16201) Now
I''ve been making due with an older Epson Photo EX...can''t believe how much the technology has improved since then. The printer is easy to operate, and colors are nothing short of amazing...fine, detailed prints like nothing I''ve ever been able to produce.Drawbacks are probably what others mention...the matte black/photo black swapping thing is just silly, the ink cartridges are too small, at highest quality settings the printer''s a bit slow, no built-in network interface, and the printer''s physically a little on the large size.
Still, for me it''s all about the final image quality and nothing I''ve seen tops the Epson in this regard.
UPDATE:
Okay, so I''ve been living with my R2880 for about sixteen months now, and I wanted to refute some of the claims other reviewers have made. Perhaps I''m just one of the lucky ones, but my experience with the R2880 has been nothing short of fantastic.
I''ve printed well over 2000 prints and gone through dozens of ink cartridges by now, and I''m happy to say that I haven''t experienced EVEN A SINGLE JAM, MIS-FEED or other operational problem. I tend to use Epson''s Ultra-Premium Luster for 8x10 size prints, Epson Velvet or Exhibition Fiber in 13x19 and a few non-Epson brands including Museo, Ilford Silk and a few others. I''ve done a bit with canvas (both sheets and roll), though that''s relatively rare for me. The short story is that everything I''ve tried has worked properly. Overall, I couldn''t be happier with my printer.
I do use my printer fairly regularly always at least once or twice a week, usually more. As of now, except for the cycle when I install a new ink cartridge or initially power it on, I''ve never seen it waste ink on a cleaning cycle, nor have I ever had to manually trigger cleaning. My volume is high enough that I deal with the ink-swapping sillyness by simply waiting until I have enough material that I can use an entire print cartridge (about 50 prints, generally). I make the switch, print till I run out of matte ink, and then I switch back. This works for me, and doesn''t waste any ink.
My initial comment regarding the ink cartridges being too small is probably my number one gripe. Because the various color inks are used at different rates according to the tones in your photographs, it''s not like you stop every so often and replace all the ink. You print, replace one color, print some more, replace the next one, and so on. I just find this slows me down unacceptably, and I''d like the option to have maybe 3-5 times more ink per cartridge.
Print quality continues to be amazing...the only other printer I''ve seen that beats it is Epson''s newer 7900 a much larger printer that costs five times what the R2880 sells for. Yes, I''m a perfectionist with top quality gear, all the best software, calibration equipment, and I spend a lot of time fine tuning everything to get the best possible image quality. But I feel I''ve been rewarded for this work, and everyone who sees my prints comments as to the quality.
Read Best Reviews of Epson Stylus Photo R2880 Wide-Format Color Inkjet Printer (C11CA16201) Here
I am an artist who creates giclee prints of my paintings, and used an Epson Stylus Photo 2200 for six years. It was a reliable printer which gave me high quality prints. The Epson Stylus Photo 2200 worked great from day one, and I never had to speak with an Epson tech.I purchased the Epson Stylus Photo R2880 as a replacement printer. It would not print 13" x 19" paper. I kept getting paper jams and error messages stating I was using the wrong media for the paper tray. I spent hours on the phone with Epson techs, who finally told me the printer had a defective paper sensor.
I returned the first Epson Stylus Photo R2880 and purchased a second printer. The second Epson Stylus Photo R2880 not only had the same problems, but it also gave me communication errors. I spent another hour on the phone with an Epson tech who refused to call me back as my calling card ran out of minutes.
In my opinion Epson has inadequate service techs, poor customer service, and a poor quality product in the Epson Stylus Photo R2880. I believe this printer was never tested in a rush to get it to market. The only reason it even deserves one star is because it prints 8.5" x 11" sheets. Because my need is for a printer that prints 13" x 19" sheets, I cannot recommend this printer.
PS. Does anybody know where I can get a refurbished Epson Stylus Photo 2200?
Want Epson Stylus Photo R2880 Wide-Format Color Inkjet Printer (C11CA16201) Discount?
I bought this printer mainly because of additional feature of the CD/DVD direct printing, as my Epson R2400 does not have this capability. After completion of installation of the software, ink, etc., the printer went into what seemed like an extended cleaning mode. After printing one 7x5 image, the printed showed the photo black ink approximately one-quarter left. The rest of the ink levels had dropped to almost one-half level. Two days later, I turned on the printer and the printer seemed to kick into another cleaning cycle, and an extended one at that! After the printer was in the cleaning cycle for approximately four minutes, I noticed the printer icon bouncing in the dock at the bottom of the computer screen. When I opened the software, it showed me that the photo black ink was completely consumed and the printer wanted it replaced. I replaced the photo black ink and after approximately two more minutes of printer moving the head left and right, I was able to print. After printing a grand total of eight 7x5 images, the rest of the inks were totally out! At this point, I made arrangements to have the printer replaced. Well, I got the new printer and unfortunately, it has behaved the same as the first one. The only difference being that all of the inks went down almost even as opposed to the photo black ink going down first. After a total of two print sessions, all of the inks were consumed by the printer. For the whole set of inks, I managed to print ONLY TWO 2.5 inch x 1.4 inch size images! Actually, I had to replace the light light black ink along the way. I searched the internet and found no complaints with this device. I have no idea what is going on. All I can say is that this is not the case of user error as I have been using inkjet printers for a while (Canon S800, Epson 1270, Epson 2200, and Epson 2400).
You have to swap out the ink from matte to glossy if you change paper types. It insists you do. There is no way around it (There was on the 2200). This means that every time I print on a DVD, I have to switch the ink. To do so, the printer primes itself and literally takes 7-10% of the ink to do it. Then to switch it back there goes another 7%. I have gone through so much ink I can hardly stand to look at it.
Sorry Epson, but the jig is up. This swapping ink system is a scam.
Just for kicks, here is the final straw that triggered this review:
I had just printed a glossy b&W print. Then I needed to print a CD so I switched out the photo-black to the matte-black like a little monkey. As the printer primed the inks, it literally ran itself out the last 10% of both magenta and light cyan. Now I can''t print. I have to go to the store and buy more colored ink. Of course this is NUTS since I was only doing black and white prints.
Yuck.
