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I don't think that there is anything wrong with a 2880 and if you are satisfied with it then enjoy the printer. Use it for a while and see what happens.
That's great. Perhaps you've made enough to capitalize the cost of your printer?
I can't say the the 3800 is "sharper" per se, but there are many compelling reasons to consider it. Outstanding image quality, the larger and more cost effective ink cartridges, better paper/media handling, 17" wide carriage, etc. BTW, it costs ink to switch between pK and mK (about 1ml the one way and 4 ml's back).
It may or may not come. We've discussed this ad nauseum. Epson may drop the printer and retain just one 17" wide (4880). It doesn't make a lot of sense to release a 3880 as it would likely share similar specs with the 4880.
Agreed - that would be a great deal.
The Canon's don't do small prints either. I don't think that's a deal killer though the 4880 does have significant drawbacks..
That's exactly why I suspect a 3880 is less likely.
All of this is speculation of course, but it's difficult to contemplate that they would introduce a 3880 with the specs you indicated. Imagine what a 3880 would do with HDR inks to the 4880 and other printers? Perhaps, Epson will wait some time to capitalize the costs of the 4880 and then at the end of that product cycle release something more akin to what you are describing - a 17" with HDR inks, etc.
The inks do switch and use a small amount if ink when it does. It does do it automatically when you change to matt papers. I agree, if you don't need a professional printer, keep the 2880. I sell a lot of prints and the bigger size capability and large carts were a serious consideration.
More important is the way that the drops are placed, in other words the dithering algorithm, as well as their uniformity or lack thereof. Interestingly, I think one of the strong suits of the 3800 is the pressurized ink delivery system. IMHO it tends to deliver ink more consistently than the gravity fed systems, thus adding to the overall improvement in IQ.
Yes, stepper motors are very important not only in terms of absolute resolution, but error bars. Having a smaller resolution that is more accurate will result in better IQ than a higher resolution with lesser accuracy. Much of this is hype akin to using quantity of megapixels to sell a camera.
Remember just a few (8?) years ago $700 were the cheapest 13" printers! I keep telling myself this to convince myself to buy a refurb 3800.
