Epson 3800 - URGENT

John Smith wrote:

On Feb 19, 2008, I bought a new Epson 3800 from Samys Camera of Los Angeles.
I set it up, made a single gorgeous 8x10 test print, and everything seemed
fine - for a while. I left the country and didn't use the printer again for
nearly 5 weeks. That's when the trouble started.

I returned from my trip about 6 weeks after I bought it, tried to print
again, and all it would print was clean white pages,

You left it on? Supposedly the newer Epsons are better but the long time
problem was the heads drying out from dis-use. I only turn on my R1800
when I need it and have not had a problem. The sound of draining ink
cartridges is painful when I turn it on but oh well.

In article ,
"John Smith" wrote:

Sensitive, like being next to too much heat from the light coming in from a
window? Or like being next to a draft?


Unless the manual states that the printer requires climate control
machinery, one would expect it to operate well in an average room under
average conditions. That might include some filtered sunlight, a draft
of clean air, a tiny bit of dust, humidity between 10 and 70 percent,
and storage temperatures between 50F and 95F. We're talking about home
and office equipment, not factory equipment.

It's hard to recommend a printer brand that might not work based on
common environmental factors that aren't stated in the printer's
specifications. While the Epsons may generally work very well, too many
people find that they work poorly or not at all. Other brands offer
more predictable performance.



"Kevin McMurtrie" wrote in message
et...
In article ,
"John Smith" wrote:

Urgent: I need feedback ASAP from other Epson 3800 owners.


On Feb 19, 2008, I bought a new Epson 3800 from Samys Camera of Los
Angeles.
I set it up, made a single gorgeous 8x10 test print, and everything
seemed
fine - for a while. I left the country and didn't use the printer again
for
nearly 5 weeks. That's when the trouble started.

I returned from my trip about 6 weeks after I bought it, tried to print
again, and all it would print was clean white pages, not a single drop of
ink came out. Of course, the brand new Epson inkjet cartridges were
still
in the printer for the past 6 weeks. I powered it off, rebooted my PC,
made
sure all of the techie stuff was OK (I have 30 years of hands on IT
experience, so I know I covered those techie bases right.)

Then all of the sudden the 3800 stopped even feeding blank pages though
when
trying to print, and started displaying a message on the LCD panel
something
like "Serious error - call Epson technical support".

So I did, and Epson determined the printer was defective, and agreed to
send
me a NEW 3800 to replace it. I insisted on a new unit, not a refurbished
unit - which is their standard policy if it's more than 30 days from the
date of purchase.

About 5 days later I received a box from Epson with 3800 Number 2 in it,
and
yes, they screwed up and sent me a refurbished unit. Back on the phone
with
Epson and they agreed to replace it again.

Two days ago, I receive 3800 Number 3, and I check it very carefully.
Yes,
it IS a brand new printer with all of the manuals, inkjet cartridges,
and
software CD inside that come with a new printer.

Today I hooked it up, and bingo, 3800 Number 3 fails immediately. Once
again, it will not print ANYTHING in spite of the print heads going back
and
forth and it's SOUNDING like its printing but nothing comes out other
than a
completely blank piece of paper.

(Before anyone suggests their might be something wrong with my PC's basic
ability to print, I print fine all the time to a HP LaserJet sitting
right
next to the 3800.)

So I called Epson again; they have offered to replace it a 4th time or
give
me a full refund. Samys Camera (what a WONDERFUL store to deal with!)
offered to do the same.

HERE'S MY QUESTION: Are these 3800s fundamentally problematic? Should I
replace it and upgrade to a 4800? Or go back down to a 2400 which I
owned
before the 3800?

I'd GREATLY appreciate any feedback that any experienced Epson 3800 users
may have. Other flamers need not reply.

TIA ----

You'll probably see the largest number of "works for me" and "never
works for me" comments about the Epsons. There's something about their
print mechanisms that is sensitive to environmental factors. I fall
into the case of "never works for me" for a 2200 that I had. After a
few months of working well enough, a film of ink kept forming over the
print head. The printing would fade out then drops of ink would smear
all over the paper. I'd be lucky to get a 13x19 print completed before
it went bad.

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Paul Furman wrote:
John Smith wrote:

On Feb 19, 2008, I bought a new Epson 3800 from Samys Camera of Los
Angeles. I set it up, made a single gorgeous 8x10 test print, and
everything seemed fine - for a while. I left the country and didn't
use the printer again for nearly 5 weeks. That's when the trouble
started.

I returned from my trip about 6 weeks after I bought it, tried to
print again, and all it would print was clean white pages,

You left it on? Supposedly the newer Epsons are better but the long time
problem was the heads drying out from dis-use. I only turn on my R1800
when I need it and have not had a problem. The sound of draining ink
cartridges is painful when I turn it on but oh well.

I leave my R1800 on (it's been on 24/7 for three years now - apart from
occasions when I've been away for more than a few days).
I've never needed to run a cleaning cycle, and it's never missed a beat.

A tip with all of these Epson printers is to check occasionally to make
sure there's no ink build-up, paper shards, or dust on the seal in the
print head parking station.

The reason that we've had the same (or similar) experience is that the
head is parked in exactly the same position whether the printer is on
and idle, or off. I suspect that the myths originate from unfortunates,
who have pulled the mains plug on Epson printers when they are not idle
- perhaps just getting forty winks while in the midst of doing
something. That's bad - guaranteed to cause major problems.

Anyway, I think leaving it on uses (wastes) less ink. It seems to
decide to do a self-maintenance cycle when it's powered on, but only at
intervals when it's left on - at the start of a print job about once a week.

The volume of ink used/wasted in the cleaning cycle is a fixed quantity
- IIRC about 1ml. Repeated manual cleaning cycles ramp up from that,
something like 3ml for level 2, and 7ml for level 3. There's a 7 minute
stand down between cleaning cycles, so the cleaning level only ramps up
if doing repeated clean cycled within a 7 minute period. If you want
it, I've got the exact figures (from Epson R1800/2400 service manual)
somewhere.

John Smith wrote:


HERE'S MY QUESTION: Are these 3800s fundamentally problematic? Should I
replace it and upgrade to a 4800? Or go back down to a 2400 which I owned
before the 3800?

I'd GREATLY appreciate any feedback that any experienced Epson 3800 users
may have. Other flamers need not reply.


I use a 3800 but I'm Mac based and therefore any of the issues
concerning the byzantine workings of Windows install/registry/deinstall
issues mean little to me. My own 3800 is networked and runs off my
Wireless router/hub, and is therefore available to all machines on our
network, including PC. It appears to run perfectly. I have encountered
one problem with blobs of ink, Epson knew the problem and talked me
through a reset and head clean process which solved it. I often do not
print for 1-2 months and every time the first print is perfect, unlike
other Epsons I have owned.

The 3800 is used by several hundred readers of Master Photographer. It's
probably the industry standard printer for portrait studios. The new
Gemini IV system from Epson is based on two 3800s. I've never heard of a
single case like yours, and there are no technical issues about the 3800
to be found in the forum for the professional group involved.

I think you have perhaps been giving Epson a lot of hassle for a problem
which is not related to their printer, but to your system.

Have you tried the simplest of procedures - the machine's own test print
pattern? If it will print this, and communicate with the Epson Printer
Utility properly, you can begin to investigate driver setup and
connectivity.

David

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Tel +44 1573 226032

Paul Furman wrote:
John Smith wrote:

On Feb 19, 2008, I bought a new Epson 3800 from Samys Camera of Los
Angeles. I set it up, made a single gorgeous 8x10 test print, and
everything seemed fine - for a while. I left the country and didn't
use the printer again for nearly 5 weeks. That's when the trouble
started.

I returned from my trip about 6 weeks after I bought it, tried to
print again, and all it would print was clean white pages,

You left it on? Supposedly the newer Epsons are better but the long time
problem was the heads drying out from dis-use. I only turn on my R1800
when I need it and have not had a problem. The sound of draining ink
cartridges is painful when I turn it on but oh well.

The 3800 doesn't suffer from this problem. It can be left switched on,
or off, and had a very low power consumption (the printer itself has won
a couple of eco-energy sort of awards - it is Epson's greenest printer).

David

David Kilpatrick wrote:

I use a 3800 but I'm Mac based and therefore any of the issues
concerning the byzantine workings of Windows install/registry/deinstall
issues mean little to me. My own 3800 is networked and runs off my
Wireless router/hub, and is therefore available to all machines on our
network, including PC. It appears to run perfectly. I have encountered
one problem with blobs of ink, Epson knew the problem and talked me
through a reset and head clean process which solved it. I often do not
print for 1-2 months and every time the first print is perfect, unlike
other Epsons I have owned.

The 3800 is used by several hundred readers of Master Photographer. It's
probably the industry standard printer for portrait studios. The new
Gemini IV system from Epson is based on two 3800s. I've never heard of a
single case like yours, and there are no technical issues about the 3800
to be found in the forum for the professional group involved.


I am relieved to hear that. Currently I use two 2400 printers, one of
which is well worn and needs replacing. I plan to replace it with a
3800. So thanks, David, for the vote of confidence.

"Tony Polson" wrote in message
...
David Kilpatrick wrote:

I use a 3800 but I'm Mac based and therefore any of the issues
concerning the byzantine workings of Windows install/registry/deinstall
issues mean little to me. My own 3800 is networked and runs off my
Wireless router/hub, and is therefore available to all machines on our
network, including PC. It appears to run perfectly. I have encountered
one problem with blobs of ink, Epson knew the problem and talked me
through a reset and head clean process which solved it. I often do not
print for 1-2 months and every time the first print is perfect, unlike
other Epsons I have owned.

The 3800 is used by several hundred readers of Master Photographer. It's
probably the industry standard printer for portrait studios. The new
Gemini IV system from Epson is based on two 3800s. I've never heard of a
single case like yours, and there are no technical issues about the 3800
to be found in the forum for the professional group involved.


I am relieved to hear that. Currently I use two 2400 printers, one of
which is well worn and needs replacing. I plan to replace it with a
3800. So thanks, David, for the vote of confidence.



Try connecting to another machine - notebook, maybe?
This way you'd highlight/eliminate any issues with your setup (including the
printer).

"Roger Moss" wrote:

Try connecting to another machine - notebook, maybe?
This way you'd highlight/eliminate any issues with your setup (including the
printer).


Try replying to the correct person. I have absolutely no problems
with my printing set-up.

Alienjones wrote:


~From your long winded explanation I would say in all honesty, You should
take the refund. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with these
printers.

That's not true. There is a problem with all Epson inkjet printers.

I know, I own one.

The problem is ink drying out. Basically, of you don't print at least
one small print every day unless the humidity is 100%, soon the
heads will dry out and it will cost you a bundle of ink to get them
working again.

If you live in Vancouver you may never notice this. But if there are
dry seasons where you live, you will.

However, my $100 printer is otherwise reliable and generates
beautiful prints up to 8 1/2 x 44 inches.

Doug McDonald

wrote in message
...
Alienjones wrote:


~From your long winded explanation I would say in all honesty, You should
take the refund. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with these
printers.

That's not true. There is a problem with all Epson inkjet printers.

I know, I own one.

I hope that you can see the fallacy of your own statement at this point.


The problem is ink drying out. Basically, of you don't print at least
one small print every day unless the humidity is 100%, soon the
heads will dry out and it will cost you a bundle of ink to get them
working again.

If you live in Vancouver you may never notice this. But if there are
dry seasons where you live, you will.

However, my $100 printer is otherwise reliable and generates
beautiful prints up to 8 1/2 x 44 inches.

Doug McDonald

I have, currently, two Epsons, a sub $100 R200 that I use mainly for CD's
and a $2,000+ 4800 Pro. They are not the same and are hardly even
comparable to one another other than that they are both inkjets. I've had
to clean the R200 4-5 times in the last 2 years, the 4800 at least monthly.
The R200 can sit for a month and be fine the 4800 needs to be used at least
weekly.

To the OP: You've gotten some good tips, unfortunately if you've been
trying to print with a dry printhead then the printhead is probably fried.
Jim