Got my NEW Epson ET-4800 printer yesterday: COOL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Clarence Martinn]

Took awhile to set up and get it going. But, it prints GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!! Fast and real easy to load the ink bottles into the printer. Took some time to figure out how to get the Fax part of the printer set up. But, I eventually figured it out.

Now, THE BIG QUESTION !!!!!!!!!!


What brand and type of Photo paper, should I use for printing out pictures with this new Printer ??????

[Kev Williams]

The cheapest glossy photo paper you can find will work wonderfully-

I have both cheap and expensive photo paper, can't tell any difference once they're covered in ink ;)

[Jim Becker]

'Glad you got the new printer up and running, Clarence! One hint...if you're not printing a lot, be sure you do a regular cleaning/maintenance just to keep things running smoothly. That's easier than having to run it multiple times if there's a long time between printing as sometimes happens with some of us.

[Jim Koepke]

[edited]
Now, THE BIG QUESTION !!!!!!!!!!

What brand and type of Photo paper, should I use for printing out pictures with this new Printer ??????

While most any paper will work, if you want a glossy print you need to use calendared or coated stock. Sometimes labeled "presentation bond."

There are also satin papers and heavy mat papers. Search > photo paper for printer <

Epson even offers a variety of papers > https://epson.com/pro-photo-legacy-papers

There is bound to be an art supply store in a larger city near you where you might be able to purchase individual sheets.

jtk

[Alex Zeller]

You'll have to do a review a year from now and let us know how you like it. I'm thinking that every brand will have at least one printer with tanks. I don't print much but if I was to get a new printer it would be one with tanks. I wonder how long it'll take before aftermarket bottles of ink will show up on Amazon.

[Jim Becker]

I'm at two and a half years now, Alex...and still on the first year's worth of ink of the two that came with it. :) :D The only thing I had to buy so far is the "purge tank" that fills over time with cleaning cycles...It's about a $10 item.

[Clarence Martinn]

I'm at two and a half years now, Alex...and still on the first year's worth of ink of the two that came with it. :) :D The only thing I had to buy so far is the "purge tank" that fills over time with cleaning cycles...It's about a $10 item.

"Purge Tank" ???? What is that ?

[Lee DeRaud]

The cheapest glossy photo paper you can find will work wonderfully-

I have both cheap and expensive photo paper, can't tell any difference once they're covered in ink ;)What he said.

The Kirkland stuff from Costco is great...I have no idea who actually makes it.

[Lee DeRaud]

You'll have to do a review a year from now and let us know how you like it. I'm thinking that every brand will have at least one printer with tanks. I don't print much but if I was to get a new printer it would be one with tanks. I wonder how long it'll take before aftermarket bottles of ink will show up on Amazon.Pretty sure the answer to that question is "already".

[Tom M King]

I probably should have bought another printer. We just paid $103 for a set of ink cartridges for an HP printer.

[Curt Harms]

You'll have to do a review a year from now and let us know how you like it. I'm thinking that every brand will have at least one printer with tanks. I don't print much but if I was to get a new printer it would be one with tanks. I wonder how long it'll take before aftermarket bottles of ink will show up on Amazon.

I wonder if the bottles of ink are cheap enough that there isn't much demand for 3rd party ink.

[Curt Harms]

I probably should have bought another printer. We just paid $103 for a set of ink cartridges for an HP printer.

Somebody with time on their hands computed the cost of the ink in a certain HP cartridge. It worked out to $5,000/gallon. I wonder if yours beats that, depends on how much ink is in the cartridge. That plus 'expiring ink cartridges' are reasons I'm unlikely to own an HP printer. I wonder if HP is living on the reputation of old models. It's a shame for me, HP printers have probably the best Linux support but that doesn't offset the negatives.

[Curt Harms]

'Glad you got the new printer up and running, Clarence! One hint...if you're not printing a lot, be sure you do a regular cleaning/maintenance just to keep things running smoothly. That's easier than having to run it multiple times if there's a long time between printing as sometimes happens with some of us.

Brother inkjets run a small cleaning routine daily, usually right around noon. I've created a document with smallish shapes, like a circle or rectangle. I fill each shape with a color close to the ink cartridge color. If I haven't printed much that week I'd print that document, perhaps Saturday morning. That way it seems all the inkjet nozzles will have been exercised at least weekly. It seems to me that the print head is the part most likely to fail and difficult/expensive to repair or replace. Anything to prevent plugging and extend the life of the print head seems worthwhile.

[Jim Becker]

"Purge Tank" ???? What is that ?

There is a removable and disposable "tank" that's used for ink consumed in the cleaning process, whether it's the automatic cycle that Curt mentions or for user-initiated cleaning/calibration purposes. When it gets filled up, it needs to be disposed of and replaced. 'Should be in the manual...yea, I know...who reads those? :D :D :D

[Lee DeRaud]

I wonder if the bottles of ink are cheap enough that there isn't much demand for 3rd party ink.I took a quick look and, yes, the third-party ink is cheaper than "factory", but not nearly the 2X-3X difference you see with regular ink cartridges or laser toner.

[George Yetka]

My father had a high end photo printer. That ive been maintaining since he passed. In general a couple prints a month is what was needed to prevent printers from clogging. The newer stuff with the purge tanks internally schedule regular purges to prevent this. I still try and get there to run photos once a month.

His collection of paper is astounding. He primarily had canson in just about every type and size.

The smallest size he would print on was 8.5x11. It ends up being cheeper than buying the precut smaller sizes.

I have mostly stayed away from his canson stuff and printed on Epson Premium photo glossy

[Clarence Martinn]

Now, I am stumped !!!

What are these shortcuts on my computer screen from Epson ?

1. Epson Photo + Tool

2. Epson Photo +

[Bert Kemp]

A friend of mine show me a post card I sent him well over 10 years ago. It was a home made post card I printed on glossy photo paper. picture of a sunset I took and it still looked like the day I sent it:) So since I never buy good photo paper I agree with Kev buy the cheap stuff , seems to work ok.

[Warren Lake]

I use the good stuff. Neighbour bought a printer said his father got a new cartrdge diff brand printer said it will not run with aftermarket whatever words. My old Epson 1270 printed thousands for a pro friend then I bought amazing quality heavy old thing like my first fax machine eventually the heavy fax machines became ones that floated in the air. I read about guys who ran rubber tubes to the print head to ink bottles I could not longer get cartridges for the Epson some people filled them I looked that machine up its a three in one i thought it was a dedicated printer not sure of the quality but i know with this one and good paper I would never have got photos printed in a store, t didnt have a ton of ink colours but it gave amazing results.