Printer Just Died!

[elwoodsusanm]

My Epson R300 has just died on me this afternoon.:( I have been looking at an 'all in one' the Epson RX600. This is a dye-based printer. Can anyone tell me what the differences are please. I also have the Epson 1400 which uses Claria Inks.:confused:

[JonE]

Differences in regard to what? Capabilities? Quality? Ink? What are you looking for direction on? The RX600 is a very capable multifunction.

[elwoodsusanm]

Inks mainly as I find the information a little confusing. Is Dye-based the same as Claria Ink?:confused:

[Not4wood]

I was just looking at the 600 but at the same time I ran accross the RX680 and its just as nice with the high quality Clarion Inks, has 2 paper draws and I spotted it can also scan slides which I only see once and it doesn't appear anywhere else???:confused:

Has fast printing, duplex printing, can print on cards which means it can also deal with heavier stock paper as well. Can print up to 8.5x14 and in high quality printing has a fast printing speed. Looks good to me, a more normal price then the larger 13x19 printers and just as good quality. I'm interested... About $158-$199 depending on where. I see Staples has it for $169 but I have to go to the store to confirm.

[troush]

I just bought the Epson RX680 (my previous epson died). It is really nice and I've been happy with it, but it does NOT scan slides. It will only scan photos, etc.

-Trish

[Codebreaker]

Claria inks are dye based as opposed to the K3 inks which are Pigment based. What that really means in terms of image quality is anybodies guess. The only thing I know about dye based inks is that they are not water tight.

BTW: my general purpose Canon printer is on it's last legs and I'm looking at replacing it with the Epson R360 - I already have the R2400 which is just used for photography work.

Colin

[Not4wood]

I just bought the Epson RX680 (my previous epson died). It is really nice and I've been happy with it, but it does NOT scan slides. It will only scan photos, etc.

-Trish

Thanks Trish.

Have you tried duplex printing yet? I see that most other printers have an accessory to be able to do this but this printer has it included.

Also, what do you think of the photos you've printed from the 680? How bout, if you knew then, what you know now would you do it again??

[lexcell]

Dye based inks may have a bit brighter colors but are not archival. Pigment based inks are archival.

[Codebreaker]

Although Epson claim 200 years under the right conditions. They also appear to be more tolerant to water.

http://www.whypaymore.epson.co.uk/pdf/Claria_photographic_Ink_overview_1_0.pdf

Colin

[Inspeqtor]

Dye based inks may have a bit brighter colors but are not archival. Pigment based inks are archival.

What does archival mean? Thanks :)

[elwoodsusanm]

Thanks Trish.

Have you tried duplex printing yet? I see that most other printers have an accessory to be able to do this but this printer has it included.

Also, what do you think of the photos you've printed from the 680? How bout, if you knew then, what you know now would you do it again??

What is this please. Don't I sound an ignoramous!:D

[elwoodsusanm]

Printer has been given a new lease of life! All for £20.:) Apparently the head cleaning counter needed re-setting. You can only do so many 'head cleans' before it needs re-setting!:)

[NickLewis]

What is this please. Don't I sound an ignoramous!:DDuplex printing means the printer can print on both sides of the paper, without you manually turning it over and refeeding it. Often a splendid addition to printer's repertoire of ways to jam up........:)

Nick

[Codebreaker]

Not just automatically - some printers have Duplex printing by doing first the odd pages and then getting you to turn them over for it to print the even pages.

Colin

[NickLewis]

What does archival mean? Thanks :)Charles - I don't know if there's actually a formal definition, but it means the inks shouldn't fade as quickly as normal.

I think it means an expected life in excess of 50 years, roughly, although whether that's under display or storage conditions, I don't know.

Nick

[NickLewis]

Not just automatically - some printers have Duplex printing by doing first the odd pages and then getting you to turn them over for it to print the even pages.

ColinHmmmm - that's cheating.......anything can do that.......

[Codebreaker]

Yes, but it depends if you can set the program to do it. Having it within the drivers just means there is a check box so that even though you send the complete document it only prints one side at a time. You then get a prompt to turn them over - hopefully the right way!!

My Canon calls this Duplex; the Epson calls it Double Sided. There are also various themes on this depending on whether or not you want to staple specific edges or do booklet printing.

You can run into problems with some printers trying to do Duplex printing if you've also set Reverse Order.

Colin

[JonE]

The RX600 scans any flat document/photo plus negatives and slides using special holders that fit into the flat bed cover. They don't sell that any more and neither of the RX advertised on Epson's site shows that feature either.

Here is a good source on Epson inks:

http://files.support.epson.com/pdf/600q__/600q__ti.pdf

This shows which printers are compatible with Claria:

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/Landing/Claria.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes

(R280, R380, RX595, RX680)

For RX600 and some of the others, Epson doesn't say what the ink is, just that it's high quality Epson ink. :)

[Not4wood]

I was looking at the RX680 and its looking better and better.

Duplex Printing Automatically, 6 Ink Cartridges, Higher quality Paper and it looks like it can also take the thicker Art Papers as well. We need someone who has it to comment on this. From the links below, it now looks like the 680 takes the higher quality Inks and is very compatible to the higher level printers as well.

[troush]

I actually haven't tried the duplex printing. We have it set up as a network printer (we have a little box from linksys or someone like that), and apparently it doesn't support "automagic" duplex printing on the network. I can just unplug it from the network and into my main desktop and try it, but I haven't yet. I do have some stuff I want to duplex print, so I'll try it and let you know someday... (Sorry, been busy with kids and stuff.)

-Trish

[JonE]

If you have to unplug and re-plug each time, that would no longer qualify as "automagic" duplexing... :)

[troush]

Actually, I can't even manually duplex print on the network. The computers won't send the odd pages until I press Okay for the message that tells me I have to turn over the pages and put them back in (it's highly stupid). So, I either specify odds, then print, go turn over the paper, and then specify evens - or plug the usb cable into the desktop and print straight from there. That's easier (and more automagic) than me thinking that hard about it.

-Trish

[JonE]

That was a light-hearted comment as indicated by the smiley. It's just that none of it is so automatic when you have to go through multiple steps.

[troush]

Actually, I played some more. I can duplex print from my desktop to my printer on the network. Works awesome (and it's a FAST printer, compared to my old one). I can't duplex print to my printer on the network from my laptop, so I suspect it's a driver issue. (DH did the setting up, so I can blame him :) .)

Any how, the duplex printing worked fine for the 12 or so pages I did this weekend.

-Trish

[suehill2]

I have searched everywhere for the answer to my question - it looks as though you might have answered it. I scrapbook and just started doing it digitally. If I purchase the Epson Stylus 1400 instead of the R1900, are my pages just going to deteriorate quickly because of the dye inks versus the pigments or will they be sufficient for what I am doing? I'm not exactly a gallery photographer...just a stay-at-home mom that is still learning how to take great pics with my nikon d50. What printer is best simply for scrapbooking purposes that will at least last my lifetime? Thanks

[Edmund]

Charles, "Archival" means that the pigment based ink used in the printer is fade resistent and will last longer. Here is what Epson claims for the 1800...
"Fade-resistant photos lasting up to 200 years under glass or 300 years in a photo album."

Eddie:)

[elwoodsusanm]

I like my 1400. Claria Ink that it uses is waterproof and supposed to last about 100 years, as I understand it. Long enough for me!:D Great for backing sheets. I have done my daughter's wedding photos on it and they are lovely.