Toronto Photography Meetup Group

Need opinions and quick. I'm in the market for a new photo printer. Basically boils down to this.

New Epson R1400 or a used R1800?

I tend to like new over used but all the complaints about the 1400 not recognizing ink cartriges is kinda scaring me off + the extra features on the 1800 are kinda attractive.

Thoughts, anyone with experience on the 1400, problems?

Or

I know it may be over kill for my needs, but i how about an R2400, i found a few @ ok prices.

The print quality of the 1400 is very good, but it's an ink-hungry beast.

One thing I found out about Epson's printers, they are all ink-hungry beast! I stop using them all together. It was cheaper for me to print from the labs than it was to print from home!

This is more about convenience then economy. I already print at home quite a bit. The extra ink costs don't bug me too much but I want better quality then I get right now out of my older canon pixma(entry level printer, was only about $150 back in 2005).

If your using Epson K3 inks 80 ml and above, it's not an issue anymore, specifically the Epson 3800 and 3880 models. That was partly a model's design to dump inks when switching B&W to colored printing.

IMO, if your printing 4x6 it's better to do it outside. But if your printing 10x8 up to 17x22 for the 3800, it's actually cheaper.

I totally agree about this. It is good to have a reliable printer if you print it always with a bigger size...but when it's small, it's easier to have others do it for you.

One thing to remember though when you let someone do it for you: tell them not to change your color profile

I see the quality and convenience as being more than enough of a balance for the ink use.

Convenience is paramount for me. Working TTC, I'm working shift, 12hrs a day. Between that and looking after my 3yr old son, the only way I ever get anything printed is if it's by my at home. Even if the prints costs double over a lab it's still worth my while.

Thanks for the responses, I think I'm leaning toward the used R2400 for the black and white performance.