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Epson Ink Consumption - Photo Paper vs Matte Paper

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Stephen Simpson

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I've just emptied the first cartridge in my new 890: didn't take long - gulp!

I was printing on heavyweight Matter Paper - anyone know whether Photo Paper (which is glossy) would use less ink, due to its less absorbant surface?

Second question. The 890 print manager has 3 quality settings - automatic (which I used most of the time), photo (which has several subsettings - including people, nature, etc.) and custom. You can only actually set the DPI (720, 1440, etc.) with the custom setting - the others hide it. What setting do other 890 users recommend?

Cheers

-Steve Simpson
 
Stephen Simpson said:
I've just emptied the first cartridge in my new 890: didn't take
long - gulp!
Click to expand...
Yeah, it was the same way with my 875dc. They say the first one goes quickest because of the initial priming of the heads. The second one lasted a bit longer.
Stephen Simpson said:
subsettings - including people, nature, etc.) and custom. You can
only actually set the DPI (720, 1440, etc.) with the custom setting
  • the others hide it. What setting do other 890 users recommend?
Click to expand...
On the 875dc, I created a custom profile (set the settings and then hit save) for the major things I do - Photos, text, etc. This way I know I always get the settings I want.

-Matt
 
Stephen Simpson said:
I've just emptied the first cartridge in my new 890: didn't take
long - gulp!

I was printing on heavyweight Matter Paper - anyone know whether
Photo Paper (which is glossy) would use less ink, due to its less
absorbant surface?
Click to expand...
Several people have done tests, using a spectrometer to measure the density of ink on paper, and found that the HWM media type setting uses the least ink.
Stephen Simpson said:
Second question. The 890 print manager has 3 quality settings -
automatic (which I used most of the time), photo (which has several
subsettings - including people, nature, etc.) and custom. You can
only actually set the DPI (720, 1440, etc.) with the custom setting
  • the others hide it. What setting do other 890 users recommend?
Click to expand...
For small prints, which are normally viewed up close, 1440 dpi makes sense. For larger prints, at normal viewing distance, you probably won't be able to tell the difference between 720 and 1440 dpi. But try it yourself: find a real sharp, well exposed image and print it both ways. Label the backs, have someone mix them up for you, and see if you can tell the difference. First at arms length, then at about a 1 ft viewing distance, then as close as you can focus.

bob m
http://www.meyerweb.net/epson
 
I just got my 890 yesterday and I can see the ink levels dropping already.

I use the custom setting so I can change the gamma from it's default of 1.8 to 2.2. The former is the gamma for the Mac, the latter is for the PC.

Paul
 
Paul Ferrara said:
I just got my 890 yesterday and I can see the ink levels dropping
already.

I use the custom setting so I can change the gamma from it's
default of 1.8 to 2.2. The former is the gamma for the Mac, the
latter is for the PC.
Click to expand...
Don't confuse monitor and printer gamma. They're not really the same, even though they represent the same concept. Epson recommends 1.8 for the 8xx and 12xx photo printers, even on a PC. In Epson's words:

Select 1.5 to match the contrast values of older Epson printers
Select 1.8 for higher contrast. Normally, select this value.
Select 2.2 when matching image colors to other sRGB devices.

But try making a print each way, and see which you like better.

bob m
 
I think Epson is now using starter cartridges with it's new shipped printers. They have smaller ink levels.

I've had two different stores tell me that and it seemed to be true based on my second cartridge.

David
 
David Coles said:
I think Epson is now using starter cartridges with it's new shipped
printers. They have smaller ink levels.
I've had two different stores tell me that and it seemed to be true
based on my second cartridge.
Click to expand...
Not in the U.S. I have read that in the U.K. the printers come with a half full color cart, but can't prove it. The real reason was given above: The first cartdige has to charge the entire print system, which uses a lot of ink

(do you remember how long the printer chugged away the first time you put a cart it? Didn't do that on the 2nd cart, did it?

bob m
 
David Coles said:
I think Epson is now using starter cartridges with it's new shipped
printers. They have smaller ink levels.
I've had two different stores tell me that and it seemed to be true
based on my second cartridge.
Click to expand...
I'm reminded of something the owner of the store where I bought a (reallly, really fast!) 386 computer many, many years ago:

"What's the difference between a used car salesman and a computer salesman?"

"The used car salesman knows when he's lying."
 
just got a 875dc love it. Coming off a hp 952c

finnman
bob m said:
David Coles said:
I think Epson is now using starter cartridges with it's new shipped
printers. They have smaller ink levels.
I've had two different stores tell me that and it seemed to be true
based on my second cartridge.
Click to expand...
I'm reminded of something the owner of the store where I bought a
(reallly, really fast!) 386 computer many, many years ago:

"What's the difference between a used car salesman and a computer
salesman?"

"The used car salesman knows when he's lying."
Click to expand...
 
bob m said:
I'm reminded of something the owner of the store where I bought a
(reallly, really fast!) 386 computer many, many years ago:

"What's the difference between a used car salesman and a computer
salesman?"

"The used car salesman knows when he's lying."
Click to expand...
That's a good one, Bob. I'll have to remember that. I like to ask questions of some of these "salespeople" just to see how much they really know and how "smoke" they try to blow. One of my all-time favorites was when one of them tried to tell me that a 486DX2 CPU doubled the hard drive size. Supposedly, this person had been selling computers for 9 years too.
 
IMO, that is a ploy that stores use to sell you additional cartirdges (which you will probably need anyway, but could buy cheaper elsewhere). This usually go along with the $39 "gold" printer cable that allows significantly faster data flow.

My new Epson 870 ink level indicators show initially full, but dropped sharply even before I printed the first page. I posed the starter cartridge theory to the Epson tech rep and they assured me that the included cartridges are indeed full but do drop rapidly on the initial charging ( a vendor would never lie ; ).

Anyway, hopefully your next (mine too) cartridge will last a little longer.
David Coles said:
I think Epson is now using starter cartridges with it's new shipped
printers. They have smaller ink levels.
I've had two different stores tell me that and it seemed to be true
based on my second cartridge.

David
Click to expand...
 
Any problems yet with the printer stopping in the middle of a print with an error message about loss of communication? Whats your computer setup? Motherboard, chipset etc.?
Paul Linder
finnman said:
finnman
bob m said:
David Coles said:
I think Epson is now using starter cartridges with it's new shipped
printers. They have smaller ink levels.
I've had two different stores tell me that and it seemed to be true
based on my second cartridge.
Click to expand...
I'm reminded of something the owner of the store where I bought a
(reallly, really fast!) 386 computer many, many years ago:

"What's the difference between a used car salesman and a computer
salesman?"

"The used car salesman knows when he's lying."
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Yes, get that sometimes at the beginning of a print with my 890. My son also gets it with his. It stays there for 10 seconds or so then goes away on its own accord. Seems to occur if yoy have at sometime in the past cancelled a print job part way through, and only resets when you power off both the printer and the PC (a rare event with my system running W2K).
Paul Linder said:
Any problems yet with the printer stopping in the middle of a print
with an error message about loss of communication?
Click to expand...
 
Once got a nice message part way through a print job on my 890, when the levels were about half-way (ie about 3 prints done), saying that at the present level of usage there was enough ink for 36 more prints!!
Marty Scher B said:
My new Epson 870 ink level indicators show initially full, but
dropped sharply even before I printed the first page. I posed the
starter cartridge theory to the Epson tech rep and they assured me
that the included cartridges are indeed full but do drop rapidly on
the initial charging ( a vendor would never lie ; ).

Anyway, hopefully your next (mine too) cartridge will last a little
longer.
David Coles said:
I think Epson is now using starter cartridges with it's new shipped
printers. They have smaller ink levels.
I've had two different stores tell me that and it seemed to be true
based on my second cartridge.

David
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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