Epson 3800 / 3880 ink assembly

InkjetMall Customer Support Printer Maintenance & Cartridges
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Hi,

does anyone know if the Epson 3880 ink assembly will fit into the 3800? Compass Micro shows the 3800 ink assembly as being discontinued. I have emailed them for availability and 3880 compatibility with the 3800. I also thought I would check on the forum.

thanks!
Michael

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[QUOTE=Michael;11448]Hi,

does anyone know if the Epson 3880 ink assembly will fit into the 3800? Compass Micro shows the 3800 ink assembly as being discontinued. I have emailed them for availability and 3880 compatibility with the 3800. I also thought I would check on the forum.

thanks!
Michael[/QUOTE]

Michael, you’ve probably solved this problem by now, but if not…yes, the assembly will fit; I’ve done it, by mistake! I ordered the 3880 version, thinking they were the same, but the 3880’s use of Vivid Magenta and Vivid Light Magenta prevents the 3800 magentas from seating in the cartridge holder. I did not try using the printer with 3880 magentas, of course, because I’m sure the color would have been off. I just disconnected the tubing assembly from the cartridge holder, removed the holder, and re-installed the old 3800 holder, which was fine, anyway. What I really had needed was a new damper assembly, and fortunately, the two printers use the same one. So, I have a brand new cartridge holder that I didn’t need to buy, but the price for the holder, hoses and dampers was little more than the damper assembly itself. Anyway, we also have a 3880 and maybe someday, that cartridge holder will come in handy.

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Hi Jonathan,
I’m unclear as to how you made the 3880 ink assembly work with the 3800. Does it just work as is? Your talk about Magentas is a little confusing. I may need to replace one and I sure would hate to get a new printer. Thanks for any reply.

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The 3800 and 3880 printers are the same printer except for about a 1% change of the print-head and new “Vivid” Magenta and “Vivid” Light Magenta inks. That’s it. Basically most of the physical parts are interchangeable except the motherboard and head and a few cables.

best,
Walker

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[QUOTE=walkerblackwell;12081]The 3800 and 3880 printers are the same printer except for about a 1% change of the print-head and new “Vivid” Magenta and “Vivid” Light Magenta inks. That’s it. Basically most of the physical parts are interchangeable except the motherboard and head and a few cables.

best,
Walker[/QUOTE]

Thanks, Walter. Jcrayst, what I’ve found is that the “Frame, holder, IC, Assy” (this is Epson-speak for the metal and plastic box that has receptacles for the nine ink cartridges) for a 3880 will NOT accept the two magenta inks designed for a 3800. They will not go all the into the holder and seat properly. At least, they won’t without modifying the holder somehow, which I preferred not to try. All other colors of ink, other than those two, are the same for both printers. As far as I know, the Ink System Assembly, except for the Holder, is otherwise the same for the 3800 and 3880, despite whatever differences there may be in the head, printer driver, firmware, etc. My holder for the 3800 seemed fine, and I doubt it would wear out normally. I had stored the printer after purging the ink and replacing it with Piezoflush, which kept all the ink pathways clean until I could re-install the parts.

I bought my Ink System Assembly from SDott.com in China, but their website is not working at the moment. Compass Micro still lists the 3880 version on their site, but the 3800 version is described as discontinued.