Expected lifetime of an inkjet printer?

[rayfc]

All,

 

Hello. I'm seeking advice on a reasonable ink jet printer. I've

been a traditional darkroom person for a good long while and I shoot

mostly large and medium format. I also love my handy digital camera

but, am frustrated by the short-lived, low-quality inkjet printers

I'm using. In the past few years, I've gone through a couple Canon

printers -a model 6000 and an S450. The image quality is poor and

after 6 months, lines start showing in the image and then, it's time

for another costly print head... -Sighhhh...

 

So far, my digital shooting is just play stuff. I take my digital

camera on my motorcycle trips to snap silly pictures in-between

setting-up and tearing-down "The Big Camera".

 

I'd like to get a decent printer for my "informal stuff" and

possibly expand it for use with my MF/LF work. It seems like the

Epson 2200 is a worth-while unit as does, the new Epson R800. My

questions are:

 

Will these printers last any longer than the ones I've already used?

 

How long can I expect these printers to last or, in other words,

what is involved in maintaining them?

 

Finally, I'm not naive and am well aware there is a steep learning

curve, when it comes to matters of scanning and ditital printing...

Hey, the journey will be fun...

 

Thanks in-advance for any suggestions or help.

 

 

Regards

 

Ray C.

[lkv]

There are two different types of ink. Long lasting (Epson's Ultrachrome) and the rest.

You have to choose the printer depending on the ink it uses (not only !).

The Epson 2200 does use long lasting inks, so your prints should last as long as

traditional prints... It is a great printer, as most of Epsons.

They do have a long life expectancy, so I would suggest not to buy to small. If you need

A3 only 10% of the time, buy A3 anyway ! If you need bigger prints, Epson has larger

models...

And YES, the journey will be fun ;-)

[rayfc]

Oh, folks... Maybe I was not very clear... In regard to longevity, I'm most concerned with the useful lifetime of the actual printing unit and print heads etc. It seems like these printers just break down and malfunction FAR too often.

 

Hmmm, let me ask this... In addition to buying a better printer, what maintenance steps can I take that will make it (and the print heads) last longer?

[steven_clark]

For the most part on an Epson you should try to keep the ink from drying in the print head by printing a little bit of color with reasonable frequency (say once a week), turning off the printer during longer unused periods to cap the print head, and using the nozzle check pattern and cleaning cycles to find clogs and remove them early before they harden. In general if you do this right the print head on an Epson printer will last a long time because it isn't thermal and therefore doesn't wear out with extended use the same way.

[blueviews]

Ray: We have Epson printers in our lab that have been running for more than 5 years with daily print totals in the low 100's per day 5 days per week. These printers are pretty much indestructable. As for photo printers, I have a 3+ year old Epson 1270 that is running great. Lines on a print don't mean that you need a new printhead, just that it needs to be cleaned. I have a 2200 as well and if you print every other day (1 page at least) it hasn't had a clog yet. The downside of the 2200 is that it isn't great for highly saturated color on glossy paper. If you can live with semi-gloss it is great.

 

Bill

[maureen_m]

Before settling down with the Epson 1280 (love it!), I tried several Canon, Epson, and HP printers, which each worked great with their respective own-brand ink and paper. When using (cheap) 3rd party paper and ink, print quality was poor and the heads clogged up frequently. Of course there are high quality 3rd party products, but I am only referring to the cheapies people buy because they think they are all the same.<p>I point this out because sometimes it is the overlooked little things that cause problems.

[beauh44]

Just anectodal, but I had an Epson 2200 that died after a little over a year of what I'd characterize as light-duty use. On the other hand, I've got a 2-3 year old Epson 870 that I beat the $#!t out of and it's humming along fine with never so much as a burp. I've really never done anything to either one other than run the built-in utilities for head-cleaning. And lastly, if you're starting completely from scratch, I'd say the answer to your last question is yes, there is a steep learning curve - but Photonet helps. Good luck!

[kent_morris]

one thing to consider, on the HP printers, the printhead is actually on the cartridge. So everytime you replace the cartridges you replace the printheads. This could be good or bad I suppose, but is different than most I think. Also most recommend turning off when not in use to prolong printhead life.

[rayfc]

All,

 

Thank you for your time and help. Yesterday, I purchased an Epson 2200. I guess that means I've taken the first step of a steep learning curve...

 

Regards

 

PS. I spoke to a Canon sales representative and it is not my imagination... The S450 eats printer heads...