Epson 3800 or 3880?

Hi,

I'm trying to buy my first photo printer and don't know a lot about them. My friends have the 3800 and I know its a solid printer. I'm mostly wondering what are the differences or improvements in the 3880 and is it worth the extra money? Epson sent me a brochure in the mail, and explain the vivid magenta ink, an improved print head and some kind of HD2 technology. A sample image they sent me says its used HDR ink, I'm not familiar with that at all.

Here is the thing, the $3880 is around $1300. A friend of mine has a 3800 he hasn't even used yet, with an extended warranty he will sell me for $900. I realize thats a great deal and I should probably jump on it.

But I was wondering what others thought..... is the 3880 that much better and worth spending $400 more for?

Money is an issue for me, so saving $400 would be great. But if the 3880 is going to give me better prints I would get that instead.

Thanks
Jim

I got the 3800 about 5 months ago and have had no problems, to me it would not be worth the difference in cost from what I have heard. The difference in quality of the photos is very hard to see unless you are a real peeker, can't speak about the new head and any of the tech stuff.
Good luck on the decision.
--
Sooners

3800 is a fantastic printer... no problems. I just don 't see the 3880 being a huge leap in technology... Both will make great exhibition quality prints.

I'm pretty much in the same boat. I'm ready to make the leap from my old decrepit, wonderfully performing 1280.

I've been thinking about the 3800 for a while and then of course Epson comes out with the new improved 3880!

Since you aren't aware of what the new inks do for you or any of the other improvements for that matter, then if I were you, I'd jump at the deal on that new 3800 and not look back.

Just my opinion of course.

Gene

Epson basically makes 3 professional ink sets -
1) the original Ultrachrome K3,
2) the Ultrachrome K3 with vivid magenta, and
3) Ultrachrome HDR.

The last (HDR) is designed primarily for pre-press used by the printing industry, while the other 2 are evolutionary photographic RGB print products.

That being said, at a recent trade show where Epson had several sets of identical side-by-side wall prints made with each of the 3 ink sets, it was EXTREMELY difficult (at least for me) to see any differences - even at the pixel peeping (aka nose to prints) level. I doubt if 99 out of 100 people could pick out which iink set made which print if they were not labeled, and/or not presented side-by-side. I assumed the newer inks would "jump out" at me, and it just didn't happen.

They are all great ink sets, so if money is an issue, spend it elsewhere.

The 3880 has some newer technology than the 3 year old 3800 doesn't have as you stated from Epson's spec sheets, but, the 3800 was a break-through epic printer from Epson that had almost everything right (didn't have a roll holder is one chronic complaint) but the 3880 doesn't either. I think Epson's updates for the 3880 are real, but, probably not visible nor needed by most users, so whether the 3880 extra cost is worth an additional set of inks over the 3800 - I think the answer is a two letter word - NO.

Jpegman
(a happy 2880 owner)

As others have indicated, the differences are slight - primarily in head coating and the addition of the vivid magenta. It's a really tough choice and I feel for you. Owing two 3800's, we wouldn't trade them for the world. But, at $900 for a discontinued albeit "new" printer, I might have some second thoughts. It really isn't a "deal" as the printer could be purchased for less than $1000 before it was d/c'ed. Add in the fact that you could snag a refurb for around $700 (if you could find one), and the $900 deal becomes even less so. Nonetheless, $400 buys a lot of paper. Either way, you can't go wrong. Good luck.

How old is the unused 3800? Under what conditions has it been stored? Were the inks installed?

If the inks have been installed (and the printer primed) you should be wary as long storage (dependent on temperature and humidity) can clog the nozzles. If the inks have not been installed but are more than a year old you should also be wary as they have a limited shelf life (also dependent on temperature and humidity).

It comes down to economics: if you immediately have to replace all the inks on the old 3800 then it might be cheaper to by a 3880 which includes a full set of new inks.
--
Warning: Do not stare into laser with remaining eye!

I think I'm going to lean towards my friends 3800.

He only bought it a few months ago. He said he took the printer out of the box, but never installed the inks. So they haven't been opened.

As some have mentioned seeing that the 3880 is out, the price for the 3800 will drop. My friends printer is completely unused, its been out of the box, but other than that its brand new.

It also has an extended warranty! I'm not sure if its 2 or 3 years, but that is a big plus also.

I was planning on using inksupply.com and some kind of CIS system. I hope i don't mess anything up.

I made some prints on my other friends 3800, so I know I won't be disappointed with it.

Thanks again!

I paid about $1150 [plus tax] and got a pack of 17 x 22 paper thrown in, for the 3880. Soon enough we'll be seeing rebates, free Epson paper, etc. You just need to wait until it is in decent supply - probably a few months off.

The concern I had was that at some point in the near future, Epson would stop updating drivers for the 3800, or the inks would become hard to find in a pinch. And, the next time Apple upgraded OSX, I'd be fighting again to match my prints to the monitor. Epson does seem to have an annoying habit of not keeping its drivers up to date, causing endless problems. Then there's the hope the new heads are a little less prone to clogging.

I have seen better colors from the 2880 than the 3800 on the same image - printing strong reds - supposedly blues are better on the former. The 3880 has the same inks. Having said that, you get outstanding prints from the 3800, and without the identical print from the 3880 no one is likely to see the 3800 prints as defective in any way.

If money is a significant issue, having said all that, I'd buy the 3800 with the extended warranty and not worry about it - you can always get some of your money back when you sell it some day to buy a 3900 I was on the fence and almost pulled the trigger on the 3800 when my dealer sold the last two he had in stock on day last Summer. Either way, I don't think you can regret the choice.

I purchased the first 3800 that was available when they were first introduced. I really like this printer and haven't had any problems. Based on this, and what you have told us, I would recommend buying your friends 3800 printer.

However, I would not recommend using third party inks. Although the ink is a little expensive, I doubt you will get the same quality from third party inks. You may end up wasting both ink and paper in an attempt to duplicate the quality from the Epson ink. But this is just my thoughts on the subject.

--
http://www.blackcanyonsystems.com
--
Lawrence

As was mentioned, you can get a refurbished 3800, direct from Epson in this case, for not much more $ -- with a full new 1 year's warranty.

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?oid=63073259&ref=r0302DRGM2

One thing you should ask for, if you buy from your friend, is a copy or the original receipt, IF you should ever need warranty service. In this way you could claim this was a 'gift' and get warranty service. Otherwise, not sure what Epson's terms are on transferring a warranty. Also ask if your friend has already registered his unit with Epson, which might be another issue.

i_am_cipher said:

I think I'm going to lean towards my friends 3800.

He only bought it a few months ago. He said he took the printer out of the box, but never installed the inks. So they haven't been opened.

As some have mentioned seeing that the 3880 is out, the price for the 3800 will drop. My friends printer is completely unused, its been out of the box, but other than that its brand new.

It also has an extended warranty! I'm not sure if its 2 or 3 years, but that is a big plus also.

I was planning on using inksupply.com and some kind of CIS system. I hope i don't mess anything up.

I made some prints on my other friends 3800, so I know I won't be disappointed with it.

Thanks again!

Click to expand...

--
'Everything in photography boils down to what's sharp and what's fuzzy.'
-Gaylord Herron

3880/3800 review here. at photo i.

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/interactive/EPSON%20Pro%203880/page-4.html

Kind regards
Richard

The 3880 adds the following features:

• Vivid Magenta inks. These two inks (vivid magenta and vivid light magenta) give the 3880 a slightly wider gamut over 3800, mostly in the blues and the violets. Also provides somewhat more neutral black-and-white prints.

• AccuPhoto HD2, a new screening algorithm, is supposed to provide “smoother color transitions and better highlight and shadow detail”. Is also supposed to reduce metamerism .

• Ink-repellent print-head. The print-head has been updated to include the ink-repellent coating found in higher-end and consumer-level photo ink-jets, which should help minimize ink clogs. May be valuable if you don't print very often.

As mentioned, there are refurbs available. We've dealt with an outfit called http://www.prodigitalgear.com and have had great luck with our 3800 refurbs. While we purchased ours in the $750 range, I see that the prices have gone up about $100 ( http://www.prodigitalgear.com/store/product.php?productid=10788&cat=387&page=1 ). Call them and see if they can give you any leeway on the price. They come with a 1 year warranty and work great.

In terms of 3rd party inks, my recommendation is to steer clear. We experimented heavily with a R1800 and our experience was that it really wasn't worth the time and hassle factor. When these factors are considered, along with the fact that 3rd party inks have more metamerism, color/consistency issues, and other problems, the cost factors were non-issues.

PicOne said:

As was mentioned, you can get a refurbished 3800, direct from Epson in this case, for not much more $ -- with a full new 1 year's warranty.

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?oid=63073259&ref=r0302DRGM2

One thing you should ask for, if you buy from your friend, is a copy or the original receipt, IF you should ever need warranty service. In this way you could claim this was a 'gift' and get warranty service. Otherwise, not sure what Epson's terms are on transferring a warranty. Also ask if your friend has already registered his unit with Epson, which might be another issue.

Click to expand...

Im very happy with the 3800 but I think a 3800 +colormonky paper profiler is cheaper and gives better images then the 3880. for around the same price.
--
Ken Eis
http://keneis.zenfolio.com

PaulBearer said:

I paid about $1150 [plus tax] and got a pack of 17 x 22 paper thrown in, for the 3880.

Click to expand...

A good deal. Would you tell us where, if it's still available?

PaulBearer said:

The concern I had was that at some point in the near future, Epson would stop updating drivers for the 3800, or the inks would become hard to find in a pinch.

Click to expand...

Well, Epson US posted a new Windows family driver for my old 2200 in Dec. '09, and the inks are still readily available from a variety of sources. Give the popularity of the 3800, I wouldn't worry about either. By the time there might be a problem, it will be time to move on to something better.