There are 4 kinds of black in available for the Epson 2400; Photo Black, Matte Black, Light Black, and Light Light Black. Why? When would you use one over another? Do you use them in combination for B&W photos?
You always use Light Black and Light Light Black regardless of what you're printing, and you choose between Matte Black & Photo Black depending on whether you're printing glossy or matte paper. Matte Black for matte, Photo Black for glossy. B/W & color has nothing to do with which inks you choose, only glossy vs. matte paper. To summarize - you will be printing with 3 black cartridges always; light light blk, light blk, and either photo ot matte blk depending on paper.
To further confuse myself, I also see available Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Light Cyan, Light Magenta, and Light Yellow. Are these also always loaded in the 2400?
Yep. The R2400 uses 8 cartridges for printing. There are 9 carts available, but you leave out one of the black carts, so unless you plan to print both glossy and matte you will only have to reorder and replace 8 carts. I only print on matte. The best prices I've found on ink is from Atlex.com ($11.95/cart) for genuine Epson ink. I have been very pleased with my R2400 so far.
There is NOT a light yellow cart, only yellow. You will end using cyan, light cyan, magenta, light magenta, yellow, light light blk, light blk, and your choice of photo or matte blk.
What is the cost of operation like for this guy? I've been weighing the 2400 and 4800 against waiting for the Canon iPF5000 (comparable to 4800), but I'm finding some things that make the Canon seem less desirable. First, the roll media holder is an accessory. Second, the ink cartriges that ship with the Canon have enough ink to charge the system but not much beyond that. So to put the machine in service, you're facing the cost of a roller and a dozen expensive cartriges. The 4800 seems much more economical. The 2400 even more so with $12/copy ink.
My 2400 is only a couple of months old, so I'm probably not the best person to give an accurate cost/print figure. I haven't figured it yet, but so far my cost/print has been pretty darn high. This is due to the normal learning curve that comes wih a new toy - getting used to it, testing different papers, getting the icc profile figured out. etc. I expect the costs to stabilize soon, then I can start getting some accurate data. I mentioned Atlex.com as the cheapest ink carts. The same goes for the printer itself - it was $759 at Atlex, about $90 cheaper than most places, and their service was excellent. BTW, I have no connection to Atlex at all, other than being a satistied customer.
I have the little brother R1800 and to add to Bill's experience. I was travelling for work Sun-Thurs or Friday. The first several weeks, the printer was clogged every weekend when I got home. I had to run a clean cycle and about fainted everytime I saw the ink levels drop across the board. After a few weeks though, this stopped. Now I've left the printer for as long as a month and had no clogging in arid Colorado. I've now had it for about 1 year. So in part I think it also takes a bit more ink for the printer to prime itself at first.
With the R1800, I've noticed that I go through 2 cyan cartridges for 1 of every other. I mostly print on Matte paper but do print 4X6 and an occasional 13X19 on RC paper. My cost per print seems to be around $0.40 per 4X6 including paper, and maybe $2-4 per 13X19 including paper. I don;t have exact numbers. I don't keep accurate tabs on the info though. I just print what I need when I need it. These are similar numbers to what you get from an older desktop HP photo printer, but I don't go through ink cartridges nearly as fast and I know I'm not wasting color cartridges every time I run out of cyan.
By the way, I found that CompUSA carries my R1800 cartridges reliably and that I get $2.00 off each cartridge when I return a used one, which makes them $12.95. Its a nice option to have locally.
The 4800 uses much larger cartridges than the 2400 (probably 110ml (220ml too?)), therefore if you do a lot of printing, the cost per ml of ink drops. You also get a better price per square inch on the larger rolls of media. But you may waste more depending on the size of your prints and what roll or sheet you have on hand. I have a 2200 and a 7600.
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7 repliesThanks!
To further confuse myself, I also see available Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Light Cyan, Light Magenta, and Light Yellow. Are these also always loaded in the 2400?
Thanks!
There is NOT a light yellow cart, only yellow. You will end using cyan, light cyan, magenta, light magenta, yellow, light light blk, light blk, and your choice of photo or matte blk.
Now you're probably really confused.
What is the cost of operation like for this guy? I've been weighing the 2400 and 4800 against waiting for the Canon iPF5000 (comparable to 4800), but I'm finding some things that make the Canon seem less desirable. First, the roll media holder is an accessory. Second, the ink cartriges that ship with the Canon have enough ink to charge the system but not much beyond that. So to put the machine in service, you're facing the cost of a roller and a dozen expensive cartriges. The 4800 seems much more economical. The 2400 even more so with $12/copy ink.
With the R1800, I've noticed that I go through 2 cyan cartridges for 1 of every other. I mostly print on Matte paper but do print 4X6 and an occasional 13X19 on RC paper. My cost per print seems to be around $0.40 per 4X6 including paper, and maybe $2-4 per 13X19 including paper. I don;t have exact numbers. I don't keep accurate tabs on the info though. I just print what I need when I need it. These are similar numbers to what you get from an older desktop HP photo printer, but I don't go through ink cartridges nearly as fast and I know I'm not wasting color cartridges every time I run out of cyan.
By the way, I found that CompUSA carries my R1800 cartridges reliably and that I get $2.00 off each cartridge when I return a used one, which makes them $12.95. Its a nice option to have locally.