I spent the better half of a Saturday searching the internet to find the best Epson 3880 Review you can go through before you decide to buy. I ended up finding a lot of Epson 3880 reviews, some good, very few that were not so good, and so I decided to post a bunch of them here for you. I went to as many Epson 3880 websites and forums as I could find to get the truth. I must say I was pleased with the results. Below you will find more than one Epson 3880 review, you will find a lot of them, what people had to say about the printer and the prints that it creates.
Epson Stylus Pro 3880 Inkjet Printer (CA61201-VM)
Epson 3880
(Credit: Epson)
The most important things that I noticed in each Epson 3880 review is that this desktop inkjet printer creates prints that are as good as professional photographs, and requires very little, if any, maintenance.
I took time to read through each Epson 3880 Review carefully, and I was especially cautious to find out if there were any other desktop inkjet printers that could deliver the benefits that Epson claims the 3880 printer has.
Why Read Just One Epson 3880 Review – Read A Bunch of Independent Reviews!
I spent some time hunting around to see if I could find any other people who’d used the 3880 in their home or business . I found a lot that weren’t from the company’s website. I was surprised to find a lot more positive feedback than I expected.
Here’s what some people have said:
A product line that has truly improved and matured. The quality of the prints are really quite amazing. For the first time in my life, I looked at a couple of prints that I made in the “Advanced B&W” mode and had to admit that they were as good as anything that I could have produced in the darkroom. The Epson Exhibition Fiber paper (F surface) has a look and feel very similar to the Ilford FB (fiber based) Glossy paper that I used to print on. The color prints are also stunning. Although the Ilfochrome prints I used to make had a level of color depth and saturation that was hard to beat, these SP 3880 prints are at least 98% as good with 20% of the effort and 100% better control (via Photoshop).
The machine itself appears reasonably well built and thoughtfully designed. It’s not quite the beast that the 4000 was, but that’s mostly a good thing. This machine can actually be lifted by one person and takes up a footprint that’s about 20% less than the 4000. The front door where the prints come out does seem a bit flimsy, but with care it should hold up. The only unanswered question for me regards ink jet clogging. The SP 4000 was very difficult to unclog if it sat unused for a week or two. I would estimate that at least half my ink went towards unclogging the print head. I understand that the newest generation is supposed to be better, but I’ll find out over the next few months. Right now, the printer is being used nearly daily, trying to reprint all of the pictures that I was 80% satisfied with in the past.
In summary, the Stylus Pro 3880 is a significant advancement from older machines. It might not be enough to justify upgrading from a 3800, but if you’re using a 4000/7600/9600 generation machine, you’ll never regret it.
Addendum: The one year follow-up!
After one year of printing fairly regularly, I have to say that I am still very pleased with the printer. The most amazing thing, by far, is the fact that the ink jets have never clogged even once. The old SP 4000 clogged even after 5 days of disuse. Although I’m generally printing small photos, I’m actually still on my first set of ink cartridges. I easily went through 5-10 times the amount of ink with the SP 4000. I didn’t realize how much ink I was actually wasting clearing the ink jets regularly (in spite of never running a “power” cleaning). My only minor complaint with the printer is still the mild gloss differential. For more critical prints, I’ve sprayed on PremierArt’s Print Shield with good results. No other issues so far and many outstanding prints in both color and B&W.
J.Miyano – found on Amazon.com
Epson Stylus Pro 3880 Inkjet Printer (CA61201-VM)
Epson 3880
(Credit: Epson)
I have little more to add…, This printer is so good straight out of the box it is hard to imagine how Epson could ever improve on the 3880.
As a professional photographer that worked in a state of the art darkroom for 30 plus years, with large and medium format negatives, I have always worked to the highest standards. The Epson 3880 now allows prints to be made that should meet the requirements of even the most discerning user.
Like others I moved from an Epson 2200. I would class that as a good printer (anyone want to buy one?) but it had limitations mentioned elsewhere. For the serious black and white printer the 3880 creates the most beautiful prints that could be neutral, cool or warm toned and created with ease. And colors are almost bang on to my color calibrated monitor (98%) and with the slightest bit of lightening to the Epson setting they match as closely as two different mediums could ever do.
It was just about perfect straight from the box. I expected to spend a hour or two setting up for the first time but the very first test print was stunning. Just like listening to music played on a pair of new and expensive stereo speakers, subtle nuances started to appear that I hadn’t seen before. I made print after print each one showing some new improvement over the 2200. Then I went to 17″ x 22″ paper without any apparent loss of quality. On one print, in the sky, I noticed a tiny black dot. Had the printer done that? It could only have been a few pixals wide. I got out a strong magnifying glass and looked closely. It was a plane. I could see the wings and the tail as sharp as they could be, but to the naked eye it appeared only as a black dot. I mention that because it illustrates the detail the printer prints to.
Chris Newman – found on Amazon.com
Epson Stylus Pro 3880 Inkjet Printer (CA61201-VM)
Epson 3880
(Credit: Epson)
Blown Away! I have been working with the Epson 3880 now for the last 2 weeks since it arrived. After much research I have eagerly awaited the release of Epson’s newest printer. Set up with my PC was a snap – no brainer here. Before my first print, I calibrated my monitor with the Spyder system which I also highly recommend. I’ve printed with both Photoshop and Lightroom. From the very first print…..my colors have been right on the money. In fact, as good as any professional online service I’ve used. The images are simply astonishing.
I’ve never done any high-end printing before. I always used on an online print service, but was frustrated with my lack of control over the process. Using a printer of this caliber can be a little overwhelming with Photoshop/Lightroom. It is critical to get your color management issues squared away before hand. It was very helpful to read: The Art of Printing Photos on Your Epson Printer – by Michael Freeman and John Beardsworth which was published earlier this year. This book was enlightening and it made my software/hardware choices much easier.
Jeffrey Edwards – found on Amazon.com
What a pleasure to use and GREAT prints! I am an amatuer photographer and this is my first high-end printer.
I run on Mac’s and I installed the 3880 as a networked printer using it’s ethernet connection. The installation was as smooth as can be.
When setting up the printer in OS 10.6.3, you get two versions of the 3880. One is Bonjour and the other is TCP/IP. Selecting TCP/IP is important for all of the printer utilities to work.
Make certain your monitor is color calibrated and the software you will use to edit and print has the same color space or you will get color casts on the prints.
After that it is a total breeze to create truely awesome prints. I took some of them and compared them to portraits done by commercial photo shops. The 3880 prints were hands down better with much better definition and saturation. 100% first rate.
I love this thing…
J.Price – found on Amazon.com
There were other similar reviews to this as well. The consensus of Epson 3880 users seems to be that while it’s not a miracle product, the Epson 3880 printer is easy to setup, and delivers photographic quality images. Most of the users also report how amazed they are that the printer prints so well the very first time right out of the box, and how little maintenance the printer requires.
If You Want To Buy Epson 3880 For Yourself, There Are A Few Things You Need To Know…
First, there are a number of websites that sell Epson 3880 , but they’re far from all being the same. They sell different printers at different prices, and they take different amounts of time to get to your door. Sometimes they’re fake websites selling something else completely and could totally rip you off.
After researching I discovered that the safest and most affordable option is to buy through Amazon.com. This will protect you from purchasing from an unreliable source, where you could lose your money.
The other reason why Amazon.com is the best decision when you buy Epson 3880 is because you’ll also get a 30-Day money back guarantee included in your purchase. That’s how you know the product you are receiving is completely legitimate.
With Amazon.com, the Epson 3880 printer also qualifies for FAST Free Shipping, and you can get 12 months of Interest-Free Financing by simply signing up for their credit card. With Amazon, you can expect that they will have the printer in stock, and will have it shipped free to your home in a week or less.
WARNING!!
For safety reasons, I recommend you only buy from the Amazon.com. Buying from anywhere else is a really bad idea as you’re not going to get the 100% money back guarantee, and because most other places either don’t have the printer currently in stock or it will take a month for the printer to arrive at your home. Plus the deal I just mentioned is only available from Amazon.com, which you can visit via the link I’ve provided below…