What is it? Liquid nitrogen? Molten gold? Gas prices in 2425? Special medicine? How about liquid uranium? What could be so expensive? And worse yet, what company that sells you such a precious commodity would also make you dump a good portion of it right down the drain? This liquid is used by a special machine – and you would think it would conserve it as much as possible. This stuff is a hot commodity.
I am referring to the actual cost of Epson K3 inks that I use in my 4800 printer. And since these are larger bulk cartridges, they are actually some of the lower cost/gallon inks out there. And if you haven’t guessed already, I am growing increasingly frustrated with clogging that causes this expensive commodity to be flushed right down the drain. Year to date, since I track just how much this beast is wasting – has cost me nearly $270 in wasted ink. I can only imagine what some of the larger format printers go through.
If it weren’t for the clogging, I would be fairly happy with this printer. The print quality is excellent (at $1,375/gallon – it better be!) Give me the ability to use both types of black ink at once, and a printer that profiles itself – and I am in heaven. Wait Epson, there are now machines out there that do this!
Epson used to be pretty much the only game in town for fine art printing, and I think they got lazy. They are now paying the price by giving up a little bit of that market share to other manufacturers who capitalized on their weaknesses. I have been printing images on Epson printers for over 10 years. Perhaps it is time for a change.
I am sure there is a marketing gimmick in there somewhere for fine art prints produced with pigments costing this much. Maybe the next time I get a clog, I will clean the heads with Dom Pérignon champagne. After all, I can get some of that for $656 / gallon. What a bargain!
A cheaper way to clear clogged heads is to soak a lint free cloth in cleaning solution from the likes of Lyson and fix it on overnight with elastic band. Should be clear by morning.
Hi Mark,
I agree with Paul – that photo is brilliant!
I think that the cost of ink is crazy – I’m surprised that you have to waste that much ink using original Inks to clear the clogs.
Cheers,
John
I’m on my second Epson R1800 in less than two years. The first one clogged, and the estimate for repair was just shy of the purchase price for a new one.
Hey Mark, thats why the printers are some cheap because they know they’ll make it up on the ink and paper.
It is amazing the cost of printing. I’ve got a friend that was selling prints of his art for $400 to $800 a pop and increased his earnings by just selling originals because of the printing and framing costs. Great article.
I wish you would have never told me this Mark, I waste enough ink as it is, now you go and put a price on it 🙂
BTW..Neat image love the funky look to it.
Dan – I agree with you. Overall the costs are still fairly low considering the amount of prints you get from a set of cartridges. I just get frustrated by the waste involved.
Paul – thanks! The image I made several years ago – it is water drops on a glass panel reflecting leaves in my yard. It almost looks computer generated – but I can assure you it looks exactly like that on the original 35 mm slide.
But compare the cost of the ink with the cost of running a traditional darkroom. Although the price per gallon seems high, for what we get, I think it’s pretty cheap!
Mark, that photo is cool!!! Is that Dom Perignon? Whatever it is, it’s nice!
I see that the 3800 has much less ink waste than the 4800, although no support for rolls. I like HP’s built-in densitometer and ability to use all of the black inks at the same time, therefore, having no ink waste; however, HP has a gap in printer technology. There is no 17 inch wide printer. They go from 13 inch wide, to 24 inch wide.
I’ve been happy with my small format HP and would readily buy a new, larger one if they had the right size. Good luck.