New Inkjet ink tank printer capable of printing Large Patterns

[FrankEV]

JFYI:

As many of us do, we buy BB ply panels that are 12” x 24”, or in my case I also purchase the Solid Core Plywood that I get from HD that is 12” x 19 ¼”.   Although one of the standard Photo sizes is 11” x 14”, which I frequently use, the extra inch that is trimmed off is a waste (but they do make good stir sticks).  I have had more than one occasion when I would have liked to make my cut panel the full 12” wide, but the largest pattern I could print was 11” wide.

Previously, my Inkjet printer was an Epson that was capable of printing 11” x 17” paper as well as the other standard letter and legal sizes.  It was a quality printer but as we know, Inkjet cartridges are quite expensive and doing many patterns was using up lots of ink.  And, If I wanted to do something wider than 11” I would have to make split patterns that I would have to tape together. 

So, I recently opted to purchase one of the new printers that uses ink tanks that are supposed to last a long time, and thereby reducing the per copy cost significantly.  My research led me to buy another Epson, this time a Model ET-16600, which has the added capability of being able to print up to the Super B size, 13” x 19” sheets.  Works nice for the Architectural B size 12” x 18” listed in Inkscape.  This printer is quite expensive, but compared to online and other sellers, I got a very good deal at my local Office Depot, including an extended warranty.

However, I was not able to find 13” x 19” paper at my local Office Depot and wound up having to order it on-line.  I found a 500-sheet ream of Hammermill Premium 28# copy paper (a bit heavier than standard copy paper) for about $33 on Amazon with free Prime shipping.  I believe, 500 sheets will last me a very, very long time.

I had recently received the ream of paper and today was the first day I had the opportunity to make a large pattern.  S. Good, just included a nice Christmas hanging plaque called “This House Believes in Santa” in today’s E-mail, that I was able to enlarge it to fit on a 12” wide panel.  I wanted it larger as it will hang outside.  Even though the large paper is a one-at-a-time feed, printing was a snap.

Many years ago, when I worked in Engineering, we had printers that would take around 20 minutes or more to print out large drawing sheets.  This printer prints the large sheets just about as quickly as a letter size.  About ten seconds or so.

Of course, this printer a full four function machine including: Copying, Printing, Faxing and Scanning.

 

[jollyred]

Back when I was a working draftsman, I had access to a printer that would print 36" wide x 50 yards long (that was the length of the paper roll).  It would print standard blue print size sheets (24" x 36") in about 15 seconds.  It used the same toner as the regular Zerox copiers.  This machine cost many thousand dollars, and the rolls weren't cheap.  Since retiring, I now print out my patterns on 8 1/2" x 11" and tape them together.  Not having to work, I have the time to do that, and don't have the money to buy one of the big printers.

Tom

[kmmcrafts]

I replaced my epson large format inkjet this spring with a low cost small black and white Brother laser printer. While I didn't use the large format papers often I sure do miss having that when I do need a larger pattern. I opted to go small and B/W because of the talks of ink cost.. I do a lot of printing but honestly I haven't really noticed where I am saving much if anything on ink.. probably am if I was to really add it up as its hard to tell when no two years of business / sales etc is the same.. since I've started this adventure every year has been growth.. last year was huge increase in business.. I went through several ink packages printing shipping and receipts etc. 

I'm about to consider replacing this printer, not too happy with just B/W since I can no longer make my patterns have the red outline. Not large format.. and not certain it's all that much cheaper.. The bigger issue with inkjet printers is if you don't use them regularly the ink dries up and you have to do a lot of print head cleaning which waist a lot of ink.. I print papers pretty much on a daily and never had that kind of issues. I hope you report back in a few months or more to elaborate more on the printer and the ink cost etc. 

[OCtoolguy]

2 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said:

I replaced my epson large format inkjet this spring with a low cost small black and white Brother laser printer. While I didn't use the large format papers often I sure do miss having that when I do need a larger pattern. I opted to go small and B/W because of the talks of ink cost.. I do a lot of printing but honestly I haven't really noticed where I am saving much if anything on ink.. probably am if I was to really add it up as its hard to tell when no two years of business / sales etc is the same.. since I've started this adventure every year has been growth.. last year was huge increase in business.. I went through several ink packages printing shipping and receipts etc. 

I'm about to consider replacing this printer, not too happy with just B/W since I can no longer make my patterns have the red outline. Not large format.. and not certain it's all that much cheaper.. The bigger issue with inkjet printers is if you don't use them regularly the ink dries up and you have to do a lot of print head cleaning which waist a lot of ink.. I print papers pretty much on a daily and never had that kind of issues. I hope you report back in a few months or more to elaborate more on the printer and the ink cost etc. 

I sure hope you aren't tossing your toner cartridges just because you get a warning. I'm still using the starter black cartridge that my printer came with. I bought one to have on hand. I've never opened the box.

[kmmcrafts]

1 minute ago, OCtoolguy said:

I sure hope you aren't tossing your toner cartridges just because you get a warning. I'm still using the starter black cartridge that my printer came with. I bought one to have on hand. I've never opened the box.

Yes I did recycle the first cartridge that came with the machine before you told me how to trick the machine into having more ink, LOL.. I've only had this thing since the first of the year.. well.. I bought it last year around Christmas time but didn't take time to set it up until after the busy holidays, so around the new year I set it up. By April I needed a new cartridge. I've heard the ones that come with these machines is not a full one, just a trial one so.. that may be true because the replacement is still pretty full. I'll be sold on it if the cartridge gets me through the holidays. If so I might try to see what kind of deals I can get ( maybe black Friday ) for a color model.. I can live without the larger format for what I do.. but this B/W is getting to me. I'll run it until the new year as I don't like doing any kind of changes during the busy time unless it's necessary  

[OCtoolguy]

1 hour ago, kmmcrafts said:

Yes I did recycle the first cartridge that came with the machine before you told me how to trick the machine into having more ink, LOL.. I've only had this thing since the first of the year.. well.. I bought it last year around Christmas time but didn't take time to set it up until after the busy holidays, so around the new year I set it up. By April I needed a new cartridge. I've heard the ones that come with these machines is not a full one, just a trial one so.. that may be true because the replacement is still pretty full. I'll be sold on it if the cartridge gets me through the holidays. If so I might try to see what kind of deals I can get ( maybe black Friday ) for a color model.. I can live without the larger format for what I do.. but this B/W is getting to me. I'll run it until the new year as I don't like doing any kind of changes during the busy time unless it's necessary  

Do you recall that Les took an empty black cartridge and filled it with red toner? He said it worked. So if a red line is important, give it a try.

[Dak0ta52]

4 hours ago, FrankEV said:

JFYI:

As many of us do, we buy BB ply panels that are 12” x 24”, or in my case I also purchase the Solid Core Plywood that I get from HD that is 12” x 19 ¼”.   Although one of the standard Photo sizes is 11” x 14”, which I frequently use, the extra inch that is trimmed off is a waste (but they do make good stir sticks).  I have had more than one occasion when I would have liked to make my cut panel the full 12” wide, but the largest pattern I could print was 11” wide.

Previously, my Inkjet printer was an Epson that was capable of printing 11” x 17” paper as well as the other standard letter and legal sizes.  It was a quality printer but as we know, Inkjet cartridges are quite expensive and doing many patterns was using up lots of ink.  And, If I wanted to do something wider than 11” I would have to make split patterns that I would have to tape together. 

So, I recently opted to purchase one of the new printers that uses ink tanks that are supposed to last a long time, and thereby reducing the per copy cost significantly.  My research led me to buy another Epson, this time a Model ET-16600, which has the added capability of being able to print up to the Super B size, 13” x 19” sheets.  Works nice for the Architectural B size 12” x 18” listed in Inkscape.  This printer is quite expensive, but compared to online and other sellers, I got a very good deal at my local Office Depot, including an extended warranty.

However, I was not able to find 13” x 19” paper at my local Office Depot and wound up having to order it on-line.  I found a 500-sheet ream of Hammermill Premium 28# copy paper (a bit heavier than standard copy paper) for about $33 on Amazon with free Prime shipping.  I believe, 500 sheets will last me a very, very long time.

I had recently received the ream of paper and today was the first day I had the opportunity to make a large pattern.  S. Good, just included a nice Christmas hanging plaque called “This House Believes in Santa” in today’s E-mail, that I was able to enlarge it to fit on a 12” wide panel.  I wanted it larger as it will hang outside.  Even though the large paper is a one-at-a-time feed, printing was a snap.

Many years ago, when I worked in Engineering, we had printers that would take around 20 minutes or more to print out large drawing sheets.  This printer prints the large sheets just about as quickly as a letter size.  About ten seconds or so.

Of course, this printer a full four function machine including: Copying, Printing, Faxing and Scanning.

 

Congrats on the new printer, Frank. I also just purchased a new Epson printer, WF7820, that prints 13 x 19 and it has a 50-sheet auto feeder on the back where I feed 11 x 17 paper. It also has the standard 8 1/2 x 11 tray that will hold 250 sheets (half ream). It took me a little while to figure it out and get it to print correctly (drawing paper from the correct location) but now that I've got it set, printing is a snap. Like you, most of my pieces are 11 x 14. It is also a multi-purpose like yours and prints excellent photo quality. It does use cartridges rather than having the tank but I can purchase a lot of cartridges for the difference in the cost between the ET16600 and the WF7820. The only thing I wish Epson would provide is a service like HP that sends cartridges when the ones in the printer starts getting low. I believe Cannon also provides something similar through Amazon.

Again, congrats and I hope it works out perfectly for you. 

[FrankEV]

6 hours ago, OCtoolguy said:

Do you recall that Les took an empty black cartridge and filled it with red toner? He said it worked. So if a red line is important, give it a try.

That is doable, but I wanted the new tank type ink supply.  No mess no fuss.  

[kmmcrafts]

8 hours ago, OCtoolguy said:

Do you recall that Les took an empty black cartridge and filled it with red toner? He said it worked. So if a red line is important, give it a try.

Yes, but the thought of printing customers receipts all in red might be a little less professional.. I bought this cheap printer as a test to see if I'd like a laser printer before spending the big money on a color one. This thing was less than $100 (Model HL-L2390DW) and I'm impressed with the prints.. My desk is very small and the big old large format printer I had took more than half my desk and was the only place I could put it, so it kind of cramped my style. As for savings in ink, I'm not 100% sure that it's saving me yet.. The old Epson Workforce WF-7610 was about 6-8 years old and started giving problems recognizing the ink cartridge and needed a new ink cartridge carriage which isn't too expensive to fix or hard job to do. I wanted to try the laser printer and also wanted something with a smaller footprint. Ended up giving the printer to my friend this summer, who is using it now. Since this one is a laser printer the ink won't dry up like on a inkjet so when I replace it I'll keep this one around as a backup. It's not fun being in the middle of busy holiday sales and have a printer go down or even give issues.  

[OCtoolguy]

5 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

Yes, but the thought of printing customers receipts all in red might be a little less professional.. I bought this cheap printer as a test to see if I'd like a laser printer before spending the big money on a color one. This thing was less than $100 (Model HL-L2390DW) and I'm impressed with the prints.. My desk is very small and the big old large format printer I had took more than half my desk and was the only place I could put it, so it kind of cramped my style. As for savings in ink, I'm not 100% sure that it's saving me yet.. The old Epson Workforce WF-7610 was about 6-8 years old and started giving problems recognizing the ink cartridge and needed a new ink cartridge carriage which isn't too expensive to fix or hard job to do. I wanted to try the laser printer and also wanted something with a smaller footprint. Ended up giving the printer to my friend this summer, who is using it now. Since this one is a laser printer the ink won't dry up like on a inkjet so when I replace it I'll keep this one around as a backup. It's not fun being in the middle of busy holiday sales and have a printer go down or even give issues.  

My Brother all-in-one color laser printer sits in the same spot all of my other prior printers sat in. Granted, it is a bit bigger but not enough to make a difference. It is taller which makes it look bigger but it's an illusion. I'll never go back to an inkjet-style printer. Too many of them disappointed me just at the time they were most needed. This laser printer has never done that. It has lost connectivity a couple of times but I blame that on our crappy power grid in our park. It is antiquated and needs updating badly. 

[CharleyL]

I have an HP 5500 wide format inkjet printer/plotter that's been in storage a couple of years. It will print 4' wide by the length of the roll (about 125') and then automatically flip the page over and print the other side, if you want it to. It's about 9' long and 3' deep and on a stand so it's about 4.5' high stand and all.

Anybody want it? It's going to take some service and probably new ink cartridges to get it printing again, but I'm certain that we can make a great deal out of it. You will need to come here, 20 miles NE of Charlotte, NC to get it though. I am not shipping it to you. You probably couldn't afford the shipping for it anyway. 

Get it working and there will be no limit to how big your scroll saw projects can be. Want to own the biggest printer on your block?

Charley

 

Edited September 30, 2021 by CharleyL

[OCtoolguy]

26 minutes ago, CharleyL said:

I have an HP 5500 wide format inkjet printer/plotter that's been in storage a couple of years. It will print 4' wide by the length of the roll (about 125') and then automatically flip the page over and print the other side, if you want it to. It's about 9' long and 3' deep and on a stand so it's about 4.5' high stand and all.

Anybody want it? It's going to take some service and probably new ink cartridges to get it printing again, but I'm certain that we can make a great deal out of it. You will need to come here, 20 miles NE of Charlotte, NC to get it though. I am not shipping it to you. You probably couldn't afford the shipping for it anyway. 

Get it working and there will be no limit to how big your scroll saw projects can be. Want to own the biggest printer on your block?

Charley

 

Leave it to you Charley!

[kmmcrafts]

9 hours ago, CharleyL said:

I have an HP 5500 wide format inkjet printer/plotter that's been in storage a couple of years. It will print 4' wide by the length of the roll (about 125') and then automatically flip the page over and print the other side, if you want it to. It's about 9' long and 3' deep and on a stand so it's about 4.5' high stand and all.

Anybody want it? It's going to take some service and probably new ink cartridges to get it printing again, but I'm certain that we can make a great deal out of it. You will need to come here, 20 miles NE of Charlotte, NC to get it though. I am not shipping it to you. You probably couldn't afford the shipping for it anyway. 

Get it working and there will be no limit to how big your scroll saw projects can be. Want to own the biggest printer on your block?

Charley

 

Man, I'd love to have that.. but I'd need a new scroll saw too that can do 125ft projects.. Imagine those projects 

[CharleyL]

You can print small patterns on it too, but unless you print many copies, it just isn't worth the wasted paper. 

I actually have two of these that I obtained as partial payment for repairing a 5 color offset printing press (about the size of a semi trailer). I have plans to restore one of these to be able to print large signs and life size stand-up photos like they do of race car drivers, etc. that you see in stores, usually next to the beer fridges. I will be adding one to my photo studio to add this capability. I don't have a plan or space for two of them, so the second is surplus. If someone wants to come with a trailer to get it, I will make you a fabulous deal. 

Charley