Epson Stylus Pro 3880
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This page contains notes on the Epson Stylus Pro 3880 printer. This printer is a 17-inch wide inkjet printer announced in late 2009. It is the smallest and least expensive printer in Epson's Stylus Pro printer line. It replaces the older Epson 3800.
Eric Chan maintains an excellent FAQ for the Epson 3800, but much of the information applies to the newer 3880 model as well. See the Epson 3880 FAQ
Documentation: User Guide
Reviews: Luminous Landscape,Northlight Images, Imaging Buffet
Sellers:
NOTE: there is currently a $200 mail-in rebate available for purchases between 1/1/11 and 3/31/11. See the rebate form. Given a current street price of $1130, and included ink worth about $400, that means you're getting the bare printer for about $600 -- not a bad deal!
Ink
The printer uses Epson's UltraChrome K3 inks with a vivid magenta. The full ink set includes nine colors:
- Photo black
- Matte black
- Light black
- Light light black
- Cyan
- Yellow
- Light cyan
- Vivid magenta
- Vivid light magenta
Photo black (PK) and matte black (MK) are not used at the same time. The printer switches between them based on the type of paper selected (gloss or matte). The switching operation does use ink and takes a minute or two.
Ink cartridges are 80ml each, and have a list price of $60 each (with a street price of about $48).
Paper
There are many, many paper options available (maybe even too many). I've done test prints on many different papers. I've narrowed things to my favorites listed here.
For prints that feel like traditional photos:
- Epson Exhibition Fiber Paper. Very nice, heavy (325 gsm) with a soft gloss, deep blacks, but somewhat expensive (>$1/sheet).
- Ilford Gold Fibre Silk.
For prints on fine art matte paper:
- Epson Hot Press Natural & Bright. Slightly textured surface. The "Bright" version has optical brighteners, while "Natural" does not. Renders very nice detail, and deep blacks (high d-max). This paper seems to be comparable to the popular Hahnemuhl Photo Rag 308, but it stays flatter and doesn't curl up as much.
- Epson Cold Press Natural. More surface texture than "Hot Press".