New 4800

[Pete JF]

Hi, first time poster here,

I just got a 4800 and had a few questions.

How much ink does this beast suck up just to get it charged? I noticed a note in the documentation that said I might have to replace ink soon after charging. Jeez, not good news for my wallet. Are the larger cartridges a considerably better deal?

Basically Im looking for any tips or guidance on general set up and to avoid any problems such as: Clogging...I've been reading that this does happen. Leave it turned on/leave it turned off...what are you guys doing and how does this relate to clogging or ink usage when you want to make a print?

Most of my questions revolve around saving ink because  the note about replacing cartridges "soon" sort of threw me.

Im going to be using Image Print. I have the light version and am uprgrading to the full version for the 4800. Any Image Print bugs in 6.1 version?

Ok, Im sure some of your responses will prompt more questions from me so fire away if you would...Thanks much.

[Tim Gray]

Mark Segal has contributed lots of information regarding the economics of the 4000 and 4800 - check here: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/4...0tracking.shtml

My recollection from my exerience with the 4000 was about 50% of the ink in the supplied 110's is used to charge the lines, still a reasonable amount to get started.

As for clogs, the 4800 __seems__ to be better than the 4000, but I suspect there's still a significant variance depending on specific unit, and environmental conditions etc. (the units don't appear to be fond of dry climates).

I turn mine off when not printing.  I've been tracking costs for the past 5 months, and the cleaning cycles that run automatically on start-up  (this can be disabled) seem to use about 1.5ml per day idle.

[Stephen Best]

How much ink does this beast suck up just to get it charged? I noticed a note in the documentation that said I might have to replace ink soon after charging. Jeez, not good news for my wallet. Are the larger cartridges a considerably better deal?[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=64391\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

About 40% of the 110ml carts that ship with the printer. The 220ml carts work out cheaper but they stick out on the 4800. Also, inks have a limited life (2 years shelf, 6 months in the printer) so if you're going to be printing infrequently, 110ml may be a safer way to go.

As for the printer, turn it off overnight. It doesn't do anything in stand-by other than keep the electronics warm. When you power it up each morning, do a nozzle check from the printer itself (same as an "Auto" from the utility). This will highlight problems that you may not immediately notice in the prints itself (if only a few nozzles are clogged).

Have fun with your new printer!

[Brian Gilkes]

Less clogs with K3 inkset than K2.Ignore machine pleading for powercleaning and run a nozzle check. If there are a few small clogs (often, even after warning, it's clean),
run a couple of A4s through and test again. If still clogged do a nornal clean. Powerclean is for dire cases.
I turn machine off at night to park head properly. Make sure you turn off on machine , not at the wall.
Good Luck.
The 800 series are fine printers, the main bug being the cost of changing Matte Black ink to PhotoBlack and vv. I'm not convinced of the ImagePrint Phatte solution.
As Michael suggests in another post, the Canon 5000 coming soon, must be watched too, but it's early days.
Cheers,
Brian
www.pharoseditions.com.au

[Stephen Best]

The 800 series are fine printers, the main bug being the cost of changing Matte Black ink to PhotoBlack and vv. I'm not convinced of the ImagePrint Phatte solution.
As Michael suggests in another post, the Canon 5000 coming soon, must be watched too, but it's early days.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=64413\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Don't fight it ... you just need a second printer! Have you found anybody willing to pay for lustre/rag prints yet?

I saw the new iPF5000 up in Sydney. Some interesting polyester media options.