Epson 3800 Replacement

[360NikonD300]

I need to replace my old Epson 2200. The 3800 is the natural upgrade. But it's been around for a long time. Anyone know if a replacement is on the horizon?
Thanks!
Sy

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

I just replaced my 2200 with a 3800 about a month ago. It was a fantastic upgrade, and the results are wonderful. I expect to be happy with it for several years, even if a replacement for the 3800 does appear.

If you do go the 3800 route, be sure to study carefully Eric Chan's wonderful notes and FAQs about the 3800. His suggested workflows, for color and for black-and-white, while a bit counter-intuitive (at least to me), work flawlessly. And his profiles for Advanced Black and White are right on.

Eric's notes are here.

There are also several good threads about the 3800 on the forum. A search fro Epson 3800 should bring them up.

This doesn't directly answer your question, but I hope it helps.

[Schewe]

Anyone know if a replacement is on the horizon?

Since Epson has made no official announcement, the only people who might know would prolly be under NDA so anybody who DOES know ca't say and anybody that says prolly doesn't know. You're asking an unanswerable question...

[alain]

I need to replace my old Epson 2200. The 3800 is the natural upgrade. But it's been around for a long time. Anyone know if a replacement is on the horizon?
Thanks!
Sy

If you need it now, then what's on the horizon is not very usefull.

If you're only thinking about...

Somethimes it's usefull to look at the time of year a product gets updated.  This could be a guess for the next couple of months.

[madmanchan]

I still like and recommend the 3800. Basically if you need what this printer can deliver, get it today. There's always something better around the corner.

[360NikonD300]

I still like and recommend the 3800. Basically if you need what this printer can deliver, get it today. There's always something better around the corner.

I'm convinced. I'm ordering the printer!
Thanks!

[jasonrandolph]

I'm convinced. I'm ordering the printer!
Thanks!

Good choice.  It represents an outstanding value at today's prices.  I imagine it will serve my needs until I'm ready for a 24" or larger printer quite nicely.

[Chris Gilroy]

I actually wrote a couple paragraphs on this exact question (Here)

The 3800 may have a replacement some time in the future (2010 or so), but the likelihood of a 7900 "mini" version can be more or less ruled out. The 3800 is, by nature, a desktop printer. Its a weird hybrid between a consumer-level retail printer and a professional-grade photo printer. Its very good. It's quality is close to that of the big guys. However, over the last couple years I have heard a significant amount of complaints about paper tray issues. Epson typically just sends them out a new printer, rather than repairing them, but I think this may have to do with using cheaper "desktop" parts on the printer. Anyway - quality is good and except for the fact that you cant print rolls is a great machine. In it's price range, probably the best you can get. I wouldn't worry about replacements making it obsolete - the K3 inkset with Vivid Magenta will be around for many years to come and any "new" version would probably show only minimal improvements with a fancy new price tag  If quality is your main concern, you should probably be looking at a 4880 or one of the bigger pro printers anyway.

[mike_botelho]

In it's price range, probably the best you can get. I wouldn't worry about replacements making it obsolete - the K3 inkset with Vivid Magenta will be around for many years to come and any "new" version would probably show only minimal improvements with a fancy new price tag  If quality is your main concern, you should probably be looking at a 4880 or one of the bigger pro printers anyway.

Chris, the 3800 does not use, and is not compatible with, K3 with Vivid Magenta.  It uses the K3 inkset previous to the new magenta, and thus is two generations behind the HDR inkset used in the x900 series.  Not that this means that the 3800 isn't a great printer and a great bargain.  I used to own one and liked it quite a lot, though the lack of roll support proved to be too much of an inconvenience for me.  If one's work doesn't exceed the gamut of the 3800's inkset, then this isn't a relevant consideration.  If it does, then the newer inksets are a valid consideration, depending, of course, if one's files have gamut requirements that correspond with the extensions of the newer inksets.

Kind Regards,

Mike