Epson 2200: Good used price?

[zeb_lisik]

<p>I'm in the market for a good condition, used pigment printer for mostly colour printing.<br>

I've seen a few R2200 out there for about 200$ with new sets of ink, in good alleged condition. is this a good deal?</p>

<p>Also one person claimed that keeping empty carts in the printer for long storage will keep the printer from clogging. is this true? I have no experience with pigment inks.</p>

[Stock-Photos]

<p>I own the 2200 and I don't use it much. An ink hog in my opinion.</p>

<p>As a possible alternative, consider using an on-line printing service such as Mpix.com</p>

<p>It's is likely a lower cost-per-print, over printing yourself, if you factor in ink, paper, time etc. Not to mention the price of a machine.</p>

<p>The Epson 2200 ink cartridges have a chip in them. It senses when they "should" be near empty. In other words the machine will prevent the start of a print cycle if it detects a "low" cartridge.</p>

<p>I've made just a handful of prints on mine but spent an <em>awful</em> lot on ink.</p>

<p>When cartridges do clog, the clean process involves blasting ink out until the clog dissolves, I believe.</p>

<p>If you get a used 2200 for $200 and plan to make many large prints, plan on spending a lot more on ink than you do the the printer. This assumes you won't be using an after-market bulk ink system.</p>

<p> </p>

[jerry thirsty]

<p>I'm not so sure it's a good price. I've seen one being unloaded on CL recently for $50. And you can get a brand new Epson 1400 for about that much from places like Officemax. (The main downside with the 1400 is the ink is more expensive, and no roll feeder. But you'd be getting a more modern ink set and better performance on glossy papers with longevity similar to pigment.)</p>

<p>Is the person selling the printer the one making the claim about empty carts preventing clogging? If so, I'd say he's trying to pull a fast one. If you leave a 2200 sit long enough unused, it will clog even with full carts.</p>

[jtk]

<p>I gave mine away when I got 3800 (a $1000 Epson refurb that comes with $500 worth of pigment). 2200 does use a lot of pigment but it can do better-than-lab work if you put a little effort into the learning curve. If you're happy with matte the only drawback to 2200 is constant replacement of carts. 2200 was a great printer, but I wouldn't pay any money at all without watching it print and I wouldn't pay $.02 for any non-Epson pigment or partially used Epson carts.</p>

[zeb_lisik]

<p>Well I found an R1800 for 120$ used but apparently in pristine condition. Apparently it hasn't been used over the past year but the guy tested it recently and found that it printed fine.</p>

<p>J. Harrington, I've read that in order for the nozzels not to clog one must use the printer weekly if not more. I've even seen a program that will do this periodically.</p>

 

[Charles_Webster]

<p>I got my 2200 off CraigsList for $75 with a mostly full set of ink carts and I saw it print before purchasing. As mentioned, the 2200 drinks ink like an alcoholic drinks beer.</p>

<p>I wouldn't pay much more than $100-150 with a set of carts, after seeing it print.</p>

<p><Chas><br /></p>

[Uhooru]

<p>I have a 2200. The chip doesn't prevent printing, it just gives you an annoying warning and the affected cartridge light blinks, but it will still print until pretty much empty. I often get several prints after the light starts blinking. However when it does run out, the printer will stop mid print. Changing the cartridge then, amazingly does not seem to effect the print when you load it and the print starts back up.</p>

[RaymondC]

<p>Well I have not used my New Zealand 2100 (2200) for a good 3 or 4 months, it did clogg, I did a head clean and then it was fine, also one or two ink cartridge said empty so I replaced those. Fine. No problem. Not sure what pple are saying. </p>

<p>Ink is not cheap. I am in NZ so the pape and ink does cost 2x as USA so for me I print 8x10 or larger. Smaller I outsource here. In the USA I gather 8x10 and maybe 16x12 would be cheap ....</p>

[john_liberty]

<p>That is a very old, cantankerous printer. I've used a lot of them. Unless you are comfortable w/ working on the things quite often, it's better to buy a new 1400 for the same price. You can keep the heads from clogging on the 2200 by doing a small trial print 3 times a week and by doing head cleanings, but these are not robust printers. My 1280, on the other hand, is older than any 2200 and keeps on trucking along.</p>

[Charles_Webster]

<p>But isn't the Claria ink that the 1400 uses dye-based, and therefore "non-archival?"</p>

<p>It's my understanding that only the Epson UltraChrome and K3 inks are pigment based.</p>

<p><Chas><br /></p>

[Charles_Webster]

<p>I believe that the Epson R1900 is the cheapest wide-carriage (13 inch) Epson printer that uses pigment ink. And it's priced ~$500.</p>

<p><Chas><br /></p>