Espon 1400 vs Epson 3000

[Shanarchy]

I've been using an Epson 1400. I have no real issues with it. I picked up an Epson 3000 with some other equipment a while back which I have not yet used. I have accurip which will work with either printer. Anyone have experience with both printers? If so, which would you recommend? Keep in mind I don't foresee myself needing to print film larger than 13" wide. Which produces better films? Which is cheaper on ink?

Thanks!

Shane

[Dottonedan]

Tell ya what.  You just ship that 3000 to me and you won't need to figure it out. I'll even pay for shipping.

[Sbrem]

Both are discontinued, but the 1400 is a much newer machine. You'll find plenty of people perfectly happy with their 3000's, because they work great. We use one for color, and for an old machine with a mere 4 cartridges, the prints are great. However, I'd be surprised if your AccuRIP works on both printer models; one or the other yes, but not both. At least I think that's why they sell the software printer specific...

Steve

[Shanarchy]

Both are discontinued, but the 1400 is a much newer machine. You'll find plenty of people perfectly happy with their 3000's, because they work great. We use one for color, and for an old machine with a mere 4 cartridges, the prints are great. However, I'd be surprised if your AccuRIP works on both printer models; one or the other yes, but not both. At least I think that's why they sell the software printer specific...

Steve

I'll have to double check. They have a couple of different version of the accurip software. I have the one for the 1400, which also covers a handful of other printers as well. I'm pretty sure the 3000 was one. You have to go into your accurip options and select the printer you are using.

Maybe I should just throw some cartridges in the 3000 and print a film with both halftones and solid coverage on both printers and see how they compare. Steve, what are you using for your film printer?

Dan, do you find the 3000 to be that much better?

[cbjamel]

I personally had 2 of the 3000's Slow and left roller marks in design if you don't take them out. I would look at the 1400 since newer.
Shane

[Evo]

The "desktop" version of Accurip should run either printer. Not both at the same time, just one or the other. You go into setup and select the printer and then set the options for that particular printer. Run specific tests on your film with the different ink and resolution settings. Some film just works better with certain settings and it takes trial and error to find the best fit.

Depending on the condition, a 3000 is a great machine, until it goes downhill, then they are just potential time wasters. The media handling is usually the first thing to go, then clogged heads, etc. Forget using roll media in a 3000, especially when doing multi color work. Registration will be poor at best. Cost of ink, over the long run in production will be cheaper than a 1400 merely because of ink volume. You can stick 4x all black dye ink carts in it and Accurip can be set for that, or go with a bulk system.

1400 is better if you don't like futzing with the 3000 when it get's finicky. Newer machine, better media handling, less time messing around. More ink costs though in the long run because of the tiny carts. (they are each less than 20ml per cart, while the big pro printers are 110ml or more)

Once you have something like a 4000, 4800, 4880 etc with the media cutter feature and roll film, you'll never look back. Set up the seps to print then walk away while the printer does the rest. Come back to a pile of films neatly cut.

BTW - in general Accurip does a MUCH better job of accurately tracking the media than the stock Epson drivers. Registration is vastly improved.

[inkman996]

1400 are still available at some sources but they are a discontinued model and will become harder to find. When our 1400 died we bought a 1430 because film maker supported it but unknowingly there is no refillable and resettable carts available for it yet.

I think when this one craps out we will finally go for a pro model 4880 at least.

[Shanarchy]

The "desktop" version of Accurip should run either printer. Not both at the same time, just one or the other. You go into setup and select the printer and then set the options for that particular printer. Run specific tests on your film with the different ink and resolution settings. Some film just works better with certain settings and it takes trial and error to find the best fit.

Depending on the condition, a 3000 is a great machine, until it goes downhill, then they are just potential time wasters. The media handling is usually the first thing to go, then clogged heads, etc. Forget using roll media in a 3000, especially when doing multi color work. Registration will be poor at best. Cost of ink, over the long run in production will be cheaper than a 1400 merely because of ink volume. You can stick 4x all black dye ink carts in it and Accurip can be set for that, or go with a bulk system.

1400 is better if you don't like futzing with the 3000 when it get's finicky. Newer machine, better media handling, less time messing around. More ink costs though in the long run because of the tiny carts. (they are each less than 20ml per cart, while the big pro printers are 110ml or more)

Once you have something like a 4000, 4800, 4880 etc with the media cutter feature and roll film, you'll never look back. Set up the seps to print then walk away while the printer does the rest. Come back to a pile of films neatly cut.

BTW - in general Accurip does a MUCH better job of accurately tracking the media than the stock Epson drivers. Registration is vastly improved.

Thanks for the thorough write up Evo! I am assuming you've had/used both the 3000 and the 1400?
Are you using a 4000 series now?

[Doug S]

I just purchased and setup a epson 7700.  I needed a printer for larger prints without having to tile images.  Along with the new printer I had to purchase Accurip Ex.  Now I have a 1400 with the regular version of Accurip that I'd let go if anyone is interested.  I just installed new blackmax cartridges.  I'd let the printer and accurip go for $375.  I'd have to email you the accurip activation number and you would have to download the 1400 drivers from epsons website. You can pm me.

[Alex M]

1400 are still available at some sources but they are a discontinued model and will become harder to find. When our 1400 died we bought a 1430 because film maker supported it but unknowingly there is no refillable and resettable carts available for it yet.

I think when this one craps out we will finally go for a pro model 4880 at least.

If you get a 17" Epson printer or "4000 series" I would start with the 4900. Any number previous to that is already discontinued (4000, 4600, 4800, 4880, etc).

[blue moon]

what Evo said!
I had a 300 that worked pretty well, bought a 1400 as a backup and have a 4800 now.

1400 will produce best dots (it has higher resolution than 4800 too).
3000 is dirt cheap to run and just a tad finicky every now and then (usually when you really need it!). I think in year of having the 1400 and the 3000 I had to use the 1400 twice as there were issues with the 3k.

it feeds sheets rather well, but will be off by 10-15/1000th every 100 films or so. Just enough to drive you nuts trying to register the job until you line up the films and find out that the reg marks are not aligning. It happened so seldom that we did not check for it before burning screens so we'd lose time trying to figure out what's going on.

there are good deals to be had on 4800 series and I would very highly suggest getting one over either (see Evo's comments). We paid $350 for ours and it had 3,500 prints on it. It looked like new.

In the end, if I had to chose between 1400 and 3000 for film output, I'd pick the 3000. Wider, cheaper to run, faster, more of an industrial printer than the 1400.

pierre

[3Deep]

I use have a 1520 until just die and now have two 3000 both work fine, only thing about chnging printers now is usb, software to run than.  I have one still hook to a win98 where I do most of my sep work and the other to a winXP.  Someone said they got lines in there prints from the 3000, well it might be the film your using, when I was using film from USSPI I was getting lines too until I which to water proof film problem solved.

Darryl

[Evo]

Someone said they got lines in there prints from the 3000, well it might be the film your using, when I was using film from USSPI I was getting lines too until I which to water proof film problem solved.

The lines come from the tiny, toothed "pizza" wheels (called ejection rollers) in the print carriage of the 3000. These wheels drag across the surface of the print and on some film/ink combos can leave vertical lines in the print. Most noticeable on larger areas of print.

They can be removed if it bugs you:
http://www.inkjetart.com/pizza/