User experiences with SC P-800?

InkjetMall Customer Support Printer Maintenance & Cartridges
1

Hello—we have a P-800 at our college, as well as two 3800’s, one 3880, and one 9890. I have used only OEM ink so far in all, but use IJM carts with PiezoFlush to clean all but the P-800 out, and for extended periods of storage. I realize now (but not when I bought it) that the P-800 has so far proven impervious to the use of any non-epson cart, so I can’t continue this maintenance routine on it.

We have only 4 months of use on the P800 so far, and it seems reliable—no propensity to clog, unlike the 4900 we gave up on. We operate at temps from 66 to over 80˚, and whatever humidity southern Vermont wants to treat us with. I remove and shake carts every 1-2 weeks. During term-time, the machines are “on” about 15 hours/day, with varying amounts of use.

What have other users experienced with a P-800? I hope a few IJM fans & customers exist that have P-800’s…If I had known about Epson’s hard-ball tactics, I would have bought a refurb’ed 3880. Our existing one has been very reliable and trouble-free.

2

I think the P800 is in the same class as the 3880 re: clogging (aka, VERY VERY GOOD at staying clog free). For us and the rest of the free printing world, the hurdle is to get refill carts in there. But yeah, from my friends on Epson Wide Format to our own limited initial experience with the printer, it’s the same build quality as the 3880s sans consumer friendliness.

best,
Walker

3

[QUOTE=walkerblackwell;12750]I think the P800 is in the same class as the 3880 re: clogging (aka, VERY VERY GOOD at staying clog free). For us and the rest of the free printing world, the hurdle is to get refill carts in there. But yeah, from my friends on Epson Wide Format to our own limited initial experience with the printer, it’s the same build quality as the 3880s sans consumer friendliness.

best,
Walker[/QUOTE]

That’s good news, indeed. I can say that taking the covers off to expose the innards is rather less fun than doing the same to a 3800 or 3880. I’ve found that getting good access to the capping station and wiper requires that I open up any of Epson’s 17" printers --my hands are too large to get to that area with the main cover in place. I may rebel and extend the existing opening on the P-800, just because it’s a PITA to strip the covers off.

Thanks, and fingers crossed for refill cart success!

4

Here’s what I did with the P-800. I expected to attach a photo, but can’t figure out the procedure at the moment, so the description will have to do.

After removing the upper main cover, I used a 1" hole saw in a drill to cut four holes, to form the corners of an additional opening to the right of the (stingy) existing opening. I then used a jig saw with a fine-toothed blade to cut the “straight” sections between the holes. The new opening is located directly over the parked head, and thus, over the capping station. I think it was probably un-necessary to leave a thin bit of plastic between the original and new openings, and I may cut that away later. My thought was to avoid weakening the structure to the danger point, but I don’t think it would have mattered much.

I believe the same procedure would be fine on any 3800 or 3880, and I may modify ours this way, next time I have the covers off. Since getting good access to the capping station area is easier on those printers, it’s a less-pressing issue to me.

5

This is the photo of the added opening I cut in the cover of a P-800, to make access to the capping station, wiper, etc. easier for my large hands.