"He who marches out of step hears another drum." ~ Ken Kesey
It's now in the super expensive paper weight category. It was a great machine in it's day, I used them for years, but as was said.. if the head goes bad you're up shits creek to replace it, IF they happen to have one.The newer ink jets have a higher resolution anyway for 1/8 the cost and you have a broader ranges of choices for inkjet films.
Even the 4000 is now in the paperweight category and has been famous for clogging heads. I got my 4000 for $150 bucks and deal with head clogs all the time.
Quote from: jsheridan on August 05, 2012, 04:49:45 PMEven the 4000 is now in the paperweight category and has been famous for clogging heads. I got my 4000 for $150 bucks and deal with head clogs all the time.So which model do you think is the one to get. I read the 4900 is fairly nice.
Quote from: Rockers on August 05, 2012, 07:35:38 PMQuote from: jsheridan on August 05, 2012, 04:49:45 PMEven the 4000 is now in the paperweight category and has been famous for clogging heads. I got my 4000 for $150 bucks and deal with head clogs all the time.So which model do you think is the one to get. I read the 4900 is fairly nice.It's a great machine that I believe they now have all-black carts for. Not sure if they have the re-fill-able ones yet as Epson holds the re-set chip codes for a duration to force you to buy EOM carts at full price. If I had the money, I'd think about a new 4900. I know for a fact you can find re-fill carts for the 4880 which is the newest under the 4900 and can be had for a deal if you keep looking at craigs or fleabay.
Just bought a 4880 recently but it`s still sitting in the box until my 4000 is failing completely. Which is about now. For some reasons I`m not having too much hope for the 4880 either but it was cheap. The guys at filmdirect recommended to use the 4900 only with one black cartridge to get the best results. Wish there would be some alternatives to Epson though.
Quote from: Rockers on August 05, 2012, 08:33:15 PMJust bought a 4880 recently but it`s still sitting in the box until my 4000 is failing completely. Which is about now. For some reasons I`m not having too much hope for the 4880 either but it was cheap. The guys at filmdirect recommended to use the 4900 only with one black cartridge to get the best results. Wish there would be some alternatives to Epson though.Then you're all set. They, epson, worked out the bugs in the heads and the clogging issues are all but gone with the 4880's. I'm sure a bunch here on the board will back me up when I say it's the new workhorse of the industry for film production. It's fast, roll fed, auto cuts and will use dye or pigments inks. Using a single black works just fine for a film machine. They, accu-rip, recommend using all black carts as that way the heads will never clog. Use just a single black cart and fill the other carts with refill fluid, it's kind of like a windex mix, i buy it for $15 per 32oz bottle. This will help keep the other print heads lubed up and clog free. You can buy re-fill ink, i like to use Jet-Black ink ($125 for a 32 oz bottle) ** I used to buy it from Netemagine but they are now owned by Ryonet and basicly dropped the line of jet black inks. it's a dye based ink and has a very high UV blocking ability that I've been using for years with other shops. This ink and film combo I used allowed me to print and hold a 3% dot on my 280 screens. I'd chuck the 4000 and make that your backup machine and start using the 4880. Edit.. found the ink on ryonet.. Of course they raised the price and it's not the real jet black ink http://www.silkscreeningsupplies.com/product/BLKLITER
4900 does have refillables available, I am about to buy the set.