Re: printer recommendation needed
Re: printer recommendation needed
- Subject: Re: printer recommendation needed
- From: email@hidden
- Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2002 09:51:25 EST
In a message dated 2/6/02 12:46:45 PM, email@hidden writes:
>
>I'm sure that's what Epson said. Epson also probably makes most of it's
>
profits on it's
>
>consumables (like ink and paper). I would not go by Epson as the best
>
resource for that
>
>sort of information.
>
>
>CD Tobie is very knowledgeable, and probably, in this case a better
>
resource for that
>
>information.
I'll admit to getting grilled in detail by Epson employees about the results
of using their printers with third party consumables, Hexachrome inks, etc...
which I always find a bit amusing. But the line in Eric's post that is most
interesting is the one about Epson making its best profits on "consumables".
This has been said many times, but the wording here puts a new level of
meaning into it. The consumer line of Epson printers also qualify as
"consumables" of a sort. We call them "toasters", meaning that when they
start burning the toast, you toss them in the trash and get a new one.
Anybody who has tried to repair a modern toaster knows what I mean. The cost
of a replacement head in a consumer Epson is high enough that once the
warrenty has expired, the machine is basicly a toaster.
Epson's consumer printers change models so fast you can't get attached to any
one device. They don't even put model numbers in their ads anymore, they are
just generic "Epson Color" ads. My favorite story (and it has happened
repeatedly) is the user who buys an Epson inkjet, and by the time new
cartridges are called for, the store has that model on closeout (complete
with carts) for less than a new set of carts would cost. Thats a new level of
consumable printers, vieing with disposable cameras. Unlike throw away
cameras, however, a low cost Epson inkjet can rival the quality of devices
costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. This turns many of the assumptions
of our industry upside down.
So how can third party products take aim at a printer line where the device
you develop support for is off the market before your supporting product is
available? This is a good strategy for Epson in terms of third party ink
competition; but it also means that PostScript RIP support for these printers
is highly problematic. And Epson users are spoiled by the phenomenal image
quality, and low price. Why pay several times the cost of your printer to get
a RIP for it, especially if the dithering from the RIP is not as good as the
dithering from the free RGB driver?
C. David Tobie
Design Cooperative
email@hidden
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