Epson model differences?

Does anyone know the differences between Epson models, particularly the 780 vs. the 890.

The 780 lists at $99, the 820 at $149 (this one adds PIM over the 780), the 890 at $299, but the specs look very similar.

Calls to Epson tech support, pre-sales support, and Customer Relations resulted in the following knowledge- the 890 is "heavier" than the 780. So apparently one is paying $200 more for weight.

Does the 890 have some more robust mechanisms that make it a more reliable printer? I ask this because I'm on my third 780, and I'd like to switch to the 890 (or something else!) if it really is more reliable.

Thanks for any help,

Bruce

hi bruce,

the 820 is the replacement for the 780...they are essentially the same printer except that they got rid of the funky blue cover and replaced it with a more serious grey one and, for some reason, the 820 is a tad lighter.

the 890, OTOH, has a higher rated print volume (it is more heavy duty) and is 6dBA quieter (which may be want they meant by heavier), and has a much larger input buffer (256kb vs. 32kb) which will free up your computer faster. the 820 is actually a wee bit faster but the difference is insignificant.

-binky

Stick with that S800

Tony

Bruce Foss said:

Does anyone know the differences between Epson models, particularly
the 780 vs. the 890.

The 780 lists at $99, the 820 at $149 (this one adds PIM over the
780), the 890 at $299, but the specs look very similar.

Calls to Epson tech support, pre-sales support, and Customer
Relations resulted in the following knowledge- the 890 is "heavier"
than the 780. So apparently one is paying $200 more for weight.

Does the 890 have some more robust mechanisms that make it a more
reliable printer? I ask this because I'm on my third 780, and I'd
like to switch to the 890 (or something else!) if it really is
more reliable.

Thanks for any help,

Bruce

Click to expand...

Hi Binky,

Thanks for your info...

I see the higher rated print volume of the 980 versus the 820, although the 780 was rated the same as the 890... What does this actually mean though? Is there some component that is higher-rated, or "beefier"?

Thanks,

Bruce

binkybarnes said:

hi bruce,

the 820 is the replacement for the 780...they are essentially the
same printer except that they got rid of the funky blue cover and
replaced it with a more serious grey one and, for some reason, the
820 is a tad lighter.

the 890, OTOH, has a higher rated print volume (it is more heavy
duty) and is 6dBA quieter (which may be want they meant by
heavier), and has a much larger input buffer (256kb vs. 32kb) which
will free up your computer faster. the 820 is actually a wee bit
faster but the difference is insignificant.

-binky

Click to expand...

Bruce Foss said:

Does anyone know the differences between Epson models, particularly
the 780 vs. the 890.

Click to expand...

Have you looked on Epson's web site? They have a nice little page where you can select multiple models and get an item-by-item comparison of them (e.g. capacities, weight, noise, etc.). Go to the Epson (USA) page, click on "Ink Jet Printers", then select the ones you're interested in (checkboxes), then hit the yellow "compare" button. I just looked; they still show the 780, 890, and 820 which you mentioned interest in.

You'll see that they're all very similar. One thing I know: the 890 is a bit faster than the 780 & 820. And maybe Tech Support meant it's "heavy duty" (the case is a little more sturdy than the 780's) when they said it's "heavier". It is also quieter than the 780.

And the 820, while obviously meant as the successor to the 780, uses different ink cartridges which, I'm told, are more expensive than the 780/890/1280 cartridges.

If you're looking for a 780, I suggest you grab one wherever you find it -- they have apparently been discontinued and are increasingly difficult to obtain (esp. as the price is

Joshua Hadley said:

And the 820, while obviously meant as the successor to the 780,
uses different ink cartridges which, I'm told, are more expensive
than the 780/890/1280 cartridges.

Click to expand...

I'm glad that somebody pointed out that the ink cartridges are different for the 820 than the ones used by the 780/785EPX/870/875DC/890 printers. The only difference is the "Killer Chip". The actual cartridges and inks are the same. The prices are also the same.

Terry Thorn said:

I'm glad that somebody pointed out that the ink cartridges are
different for the 820 than the ones used by the
780/785EPX/870/875DC/890 printers. The only difference is the
"Killer Chip". The actual cartridges and inks are the same. The
prices are also the same.

Click to expand...

I am not sure about the "killer chip" or whether the inks are the same (seems likely that they are since the specs are the same), but I got curious about the price issue. I looked on Epson's web site, and as it turns out, the prices ARE NOT the same. As I mentioned, the cart's for the 820 cost more. Another thing I found is that Epson's prices are surprisingly competitive to my local reseller (Fry's Electronics). If they only had free shipping! Here are the prices Epson has:

T027201 (color, for 820) - $21.95
T008201 (color, for 780) - $17.96

T026201 (black, for 820) - $26.95
T007201 (black, for 780) - $22.46

I don't know why resellers wouldn't follow a similar scheme.

Joshua Hadley said:

I am not sure about the "killer chip" or whether the inks are the
same (seems likely that they are since the specs are the same), but
I got curious about the price issue. I looked on Epson's web site,
and as it turns out, the prices ARE NOT the same. As I mentioned,
the cart's for the 820 cost more. Another thing I found is that
Epson's prices are surprisingly competitive to my local reseller
(Fry's Electronics). If they only had free shipping! Here are the
prices Epson has:

T027201 (color, for 820) - $21.95
T008201 (color, for 780) - $17.96

T026201 (black, for 820) - $26.95
T007201 (black, for 780) - $22.46

I don't know why resellers wouldn't follow a similar scheme.

Click to expand...

Well, I don't know why Epson charges different prices for the cartridges and CompUSA doesn't. That's odd. I bought an 820 to check out and the chips are different but the printouts are the same as my 870's. It even shows the magenta problem so I assume the inks are the same too. The cartridges are interchangeable but the 820 doesn't recognize the T007 or T008 due to the different chips. I didn't try the reverse to see if the T027201 or the T026201 would operate in my 870 though.

I got the following wisdom from Epson:

From "Pre-Sales Support"- different cartridges, different inks, more fade resistant.

From "Customer Relations"- same ink

I talked to 3 different departments, and got completely conflicting answers about every question I asked, and they all kept trying to refer back to the stupid web site which doesn't contain the answers I want.

Sigh.

Terry Thorn said:

Joshua Hadley said:

I am not sure about the "killer chip" or whether the inks are the
same (seems likely that they are since the specs are the same), but
I got curious about the price issue. I looked on Epson's web site,
and as it turns out, the prices ARE NOT the same. As I mentioned,
the cart's for the 820 cost more. Another thing I found is that
Epson's prices are surprisingly competitive to my local reseller
(Fry's Electronics). If they only had free shipping! Here are the
prices Epson has:

T027201 (color, for 820) - $21.95
T008201 (color, for 780) - $17.96

T026201 (black, for 820) - $26.95
T007201 (black, for 780) - $22.46

I don't know why resellers wouldn't follow a similar scheme.

Click to expand...

Well, I don't know why Epson charges different prices for the
cartridges and CompUSA doesn't. That's odd. I bought an 820 to
check out and the chips are different but the printouts are the
same as my 870's. It even shows the magenta problem so I assume the
inks are the same too. The cartridges are interchangeable but the
820 doesn't recognize the T007 or T008 due to the different chips.
I didn't try the reverse to see if the T027201 or the T026201 would
operate in my 870 though.

Click to expand...

Terry Thorn said:

Member said:

I don't know why resellers wouldn't follow a similar scheme.

Click to expand...

Well, I don't know why Epson charges different prices for the
cartridges and CompUSA doesn't. That's odd.

Click to expand...

Not so odd for CompU$A, I think. Looks like you're getting gypped a couple of bucks there on the older cart's. If you check pricewatch or pricegrabber you'll see that most everyone who carries both cartriges charges at least a little more for the 820's than the 780/890/1280/etc.

Maybe it's all part of another sinister Epson scheme to cheat and defraud its customers ;-)

Joshua Hadley said:

Terry Thorn said:

Joshua Hadley said:

I don't know why resellers wouldn't follow a similar scheme.

Click to expand...

Well, I don't know why Epson charges different prices for the
cartridges and CompUSA doesn't. That's odd.

Click to expand...

Not so odd for CompU$A, I think. Looks like you're getting gypped
a couple of bucks there on the older cart's. If you check
pricewatch or pricegrabber you'll see that most everyone who
carries both cartriges charges at least a little more for the 820's
than the 780/890/1280/etc.

Maybe it's all part of another sinister Epson scheme to cheat and
defraud its customers ;-)

Click to expand...

Well, since CompUSA has always sold their T008 cartridges for $19.95 which is close to what all the other "brick and mortar" stores in the area also sell them for, I would still think it's odd. Epson sells the Epson 820 ink cartridges for a higher price than what CompUSA sells them for. The price for both cartridges is the same at CompUSA whereas Epson charges more for the 820 cartridges. This is their everyday price too... not a sale. I had an 820 to check out and wasn't impressed by it's higher noise level, print quality (believe it or not, it didn't print quite as well as my 870), slightly worse magenta problem than I get on my 870, and it's nozzle check uses more ink than my 870. I thought that, it being new and all, the 820 would have a newer printer profile and thus no magenta problem... wrong. If you look at the cartridges, they're indentical except for the chip. No where have I seen any statements from Epson that the ink in the 820's cartridges is different than the ink used by the 780/785/870/875/890/1270/1280 printers.

Yeah, looks like CompU$A is splitting the difference. Good if you have an 820, bad if you have an 780 ;-) LIke I said, probably a conspiracy. Possibly even Vast, and/or Right Wing . . .

. . . but we were talking about model differences, right? (sorry to steer this off-topic). Looks like the differences can be summed up as follows:

780: little bit louder, slower, and, slighly less heavy (weight and "duty"), otherwise pretty much the same as 890, including ink cartridges. Also I think it does not have a Roll adapter (though I'm told you can still use Roll paper, but the driver s/w does not have the "eject/load" feature).

890: see 780

820: same as 780, except different ink cartridges, printer is a little more expensive, and from Epson's specs, a little bit louder.

BTW: Can anyone confirm the 820 can/cannot do Roll stock?

Bruce, what other questions are you left with that Epson couldn't answer? I'll try to help to the extent I can. I have a good buddy who sells Epsons, I may be able to get more info from him.

I just want to know specifically what the "duty" weight implies... what about it makes it heavier? Some system in the printer has a better mechanism? The paper-handling mechanism? The print head/ink feeding system? Or are these exactly the same in both printers? I've heard both (different, and exactly the same) from different people at Epson.

I donno.

Bruce

Joshua Hadley said:

Yeah, looks like CompU$A is splitting the difference. Good if you
have an 820, bad if you have an 780 ;-) LIke I said, probably a
conspiracy. Possibly even Vast, and/or Right Wing . . .

. . . but we were tzalking about model differences, right? (sorry to
steer this off-topic). Looks like the differences can be summed up
as follows:

780: little bit louder, slower, and, slighly less heavy (weight and
"duty"), otherwise pretty much the same as 890, including ink
cartridges. Also I think it does not have a Roll adapter (though
I'm told you can still use Roll paper, but the driver s/w does not
have the "eject/load" feature).

890: see 780

820: same as 780, except different ink cartridges, printer is a
little more expensive, and from Epson's specs, a little bit louder.

BTW: Can anyone confirm the 820 can/cannot do Roll stock?

Bruce, what other questions are you left with that Epson couldn't
answer? I'll try to help to the extent I can. I have a good buddy
who sells Epsons, I may be able to get more info from him.

Click to expand...

Bruce Foss said:

I just want to know specifically what the "duty" weight implies...
what about it makes it heavier? Some system in the printer has a
better mechanism? The paper-handling mechanism? The print
head/ink feeding system? Or are these exactly the same in both
printers? I've heard both (different, and exactly the same) from
different people at Epson.

I donno.

Click to expand...

OK. This might be a little tough to quantify without you actually seeing/touching one. I can tell you that "by feel", the 890 is definitely more sturdy. For example, the way the cover opens. The 780 feels flimsy. Other aspects of the printers' operations make the 890 seem more heavy-duty (as well as having more mass) than the 780.

BUT . . . judging by your previous comments, this probably isn't going to be enough info for you. Short of getting a parts list from Epson (ha!), your best bet to ease your mind is to go to a dealer, take them out of the boxes and have a look. Insist that your dealer allow you this opportunity, or go elsewhere. If that's not an option, I suppose you could order both models from an online retailer (with a Money-Back Guarantee) and return whichever one(s) you don't like -- but you may get stuck with shipping fees.

UNSOLICITED ADVICE SECTION:

Frankly, if I were you, I would steer clear of Epson and look at other brands, such as Canon or HP. If post-sales support and service are major considerations for you (e.g. calling to get support on The Magenta Problem, The Pizza Cutter Tracks problem or any of the host of "issues" you can read about here on this forum that you will no doubt encounter), then you are only setting yourself up for disappointment later on. Your experiences with them thus far should be red flags.

I didn't really mean for this to be an anti-Epson rant -- I've never had a problem with them or their printers or their inks -- but enough other people have had bad experiences that it seems wise to warn you.