Epson Stylus Pro 9880

[Goodrick1]

I have been offered an Epson Stylus PRO 9880 for a very cheap price.

It has not been used for some time and I have no way of seeing it operating before I decided to have it.

I have several questions

1/ What are the chances of getting this operating successfully.

2/ It has lots of ink but they could be at least 10 years old. What are the chances that they are still usable. Some may be 3rd party inks.

3/ How complex is a deep clean and overhaul for an inexperienced user.

4/ What sort of budget should I have to get it operating.

5/ Should I just pass on the offer and avoid the heartache.

Looking forward to replies

 

[NAwlins Contrarian]

I have been offered an Epson Stylus PRO 9880 for a very cheap price.

It has not been used for some time and I have no way of seeing it operating before I decided to have it.

Why? Borrow if necessary a laptop, download the correct driver package onto it, bring it to the printer, install the driver and connect with the print, load a cut sheet, and print a nozzle check. If it prints completely and correctly, then load another cut sheet of photo paper and try printing a test photo.

If you can't do that, then IMO don't take this printer. It's up to seventeen years old. It's big, heavy, and if it doesn't work, then it's difficult to dispose of. Problems with pigment-ink Epsons that have sat unused for a long time are common.

I have several questions

1/ What are the chances of getting this operating successfully.

How much time and money are you willing to spend? How much printer minutiae are you willing to teach yourself?

2/ It has lots of ink but they could be at least 10 years old. What are the chances that they are still usable. Some may be 3rd party inks.

OEM ink almost doesn't go bad. Gently agitate it and it's probably fine.

3/ How complex is a deep clean and overhaul for an inexperienced user.

Have you ever repaired other complex old electromechanical devices?

4/ What sort of budget should I have to get it operating.

If it doesn't operate now and come with enough ink to do a bit of printing, IMO 0. You can scrounge ink on eBay, but even the smallest-size (220 ml per channel) inkset, bought new, would be about $1,000 U.S.

5/ Should I just pass on the offer and avoid the heartache.

See the very first part of my response. If you can verify that it will today print a complete and correct nozzle check (absolute minimum!), and it comes with a fair amount of ink, and you can reasonably transport it yourself, then maybe give it a shot.

 

[mike earussi]

Epson heads plug up FAST. I owned a 9800 and had to run a nozzle check on it every day when I wasn't printing to keep the head from plugging up. One that's been unused for years is certainly plugged and a total waste of time and money.

NEVER buy a used printer without being able to test it first. If he wants to give it to you (and it has lots of free ink) and you have some way of disposing of it after you're done playing with it then go ahead and accept it. But otherwise I'd stay away from it as old printers can rapidly become money pits.

 

[nickbatz]

Can you even move Epson printers without draining the ink? You can't move the more recent Canon ones, and by the time you've drained the ink you're much better off buying a new printer with a full set of inks, a new printhead, and a warranty.

I went through this. As I've said before, these are like pets and children - you can't just put them away and take them out when you want to play with them.

Too bad there aren't any more Pro-4100s for $3K. That was a great deal.

Also, I wouldn't buy a printer that's not supported anymore. It's tempting, I know, but it just doesn't add up. Or I should say that I wasn't able to make it add up.

 

[mike earussi]

Can you even move Epson printers without draining the ink?

Epson printers don't have the internal ink reservoir that Canon printers do so you can move them without draining out any ink.

You can't move the more recent Canon ones, and by the time you've drained the ink you're much better off buying a new printer with a full set of inks, a new printhead, and a warranty.

I went through this. As I've said before, these are like pets and children - you can't just put them away and take them out when you want to play with them.

Too bad there aren't any more Pro-4100s for $3K. That was a great deal.

Also, I wouldn't buy a printer that's not supported anymore. It's tempting, I know, but it just doesn't add up. Or I should say that I wasn't able to make it add up.

 

[dccberry]

I would not touch it with a ten-foot pole unless you can test it AND see a perfect nozzle check pattern.