Epson 3800 - URGENT

Urgent: I need feedback ASAP from other Epson 3800 owners.


On Feb 19, 2008, I bought a new Epson 3800 from Samys Camera of Los Angeles.
I set it up, made a single gorgeous 8x10 test print, and everything seemed
fine - for a while. I left the country and didn't use the printer again for
nearly 5 weeks. That's when the trouble started.

I returned from my trip about 6 weeks after I bought it, tried to print
again, and all it would print was clean white pages, not a single drop of
ink came out. Of course, the brand new Epson inkjet cartridges were still
in the printer for the past 6 weeks. I powered it off, rebooted my PC, made
sure all of the techie stuff was OK (I have 30 years of hands on IT
experience, so I know I covered those techie bases right.)

Then all of the sudden the 3800 stopped even feeding blank pages though when
trying to print, and started displaying a message on the LCD panel something
like "Serious error - call Epson technical support".

So I did, and Epson determined the printer was defective, and agreed to send
me a NEW 3800 to replace it. I insisted on a new unit, not a refurbished
unit - which is their standard policy if it's more than 30 days from the
date of purchase.

About 5 days later I received a box from Epson with 3800 Number 2 in it, and
yes, they screwed up and sent me a refurbished unit. Back on the phone with
Epson and they agreed to replace it again.

Two days ago, I receive 3800 Number 3, and I check it very carefully. Yes,
it IS a brand new printer with all of the manuals, inkjet cartridges, and
software CD inside that come with a new printer.

Today I hooked it up, and bingo, 3800 Number 3 fails immediately. Once
again, it will not print ANYTHING in spite of the print heads going back and
forth and it's SOUNDING like its printing but nothing comes out other than a
completely blank piece of paper.

(Before anyone suggests their might be something wrong with my PC's basic
ability to print, I print fine all the time to a HP LaserJet sitting right
next to the 3800.)

So I called Epson again; they have offered to replace it a 4th time or give
me a full refund. Samys Camera (what a WONDERFUL store to deal with!)
offered to do the same.

HERE'S MY QUESTION: Are these 3800s fundamentally problematic? Should I
replace it and upgrade to a 4800? Or go back down to a 2400 which I owned
before the 3800?

I'd GREATLY appreciate any feedback that any experienced Epson 3800 users
may have. Other flamers need not reply.

TIA ----

In article <L3WNj.8448$xd5.7494@newsfe17.phx>,
"John Smith" <JohnSmith.RemoveThis@aol.com> wrote:

> Urgent: I need feedback ASAP from other Epson 3800 owners.
>
>
> On Feb 19, 2008, I bought a new Epson 3800 from Samys Camera of Los Angeles.
> I set it up, made a single gorgeous 8x10 test print, and everything seemed
> fine - for a while. I left the country and didn't use the printer again for
> nearly 5 weeks. That's when the trouble started.
>
> I returned from my trip about 6 weeks after I bought it, tried to print
> again, and all it would print was clean white pages, not a single drop of
> ink came out. Of course, the brand new Epson inkjet cartridges were still
> in the printer for the past 6 weeks. I powered it off, rebooted my PC, made
> sure all of the techie stuff was OK (I have 30 years of hands on IT
> experience, so I know I covered those techie bases right.)
>
> Then all of the sudden the 3800 stopped even feeding blank pages though when
> trying to print, and started displaying a message on the LCD panel something
> like "Serious error - call Epson technical support".
>
> So I did, and Epson determined the printer was defective, and agreed to send
> me a NEW 3800 to replace it. I insisted on a new unit, not a refurbished
> unit - which is their standard policy if it's more than 30 days from the
> date of purchase.
>
> About 5 days later I received a box from Epson with 3800 Number 2 in it, and
> yes, they screwed up and sent me a refurbished unit. Back on the phone with
> Epson and they agreed to replace it again.
>
> Two days ago, I receive 3800 Number 3, and I check it very carefully. Yes,
> it IS a brand new printer with all of the manuals, inkjet cartridges, and
> software CD inside that come with a new printer.
>
> Today I hooked it up, and bingo, 3800 Number 3 fails immediately. Once
> again, it will not print ANYTHING in spite of the print heads going back and
> forth and it's SOUNDING like its printing but nothing comes out other than a
> completely blank piece of paper.
>
> (Before anyone suggests their might be something wrong with my PC's basic
> ability to print, I print fine all the time to a HP LaserJet sitting right
> next to the 3800.)
>
> So I called Epson again; they have offered to replace it a 4th time or give
> me a full refund. Samys Camera (what a WONDERFUL store to deal with!)
> offered to do the same.
>
> HERE'S MY QUESTION: Are these 3800s fundamentally problematic? Should I
> replace it and upgrade to a 4800? Or go back down to a 2400 which I owned
> before the 3800?
>
> I'd GREATLY appreciate any feedback that any experienced Epson 3800 users
> may have. Other flamers need not reply.
>
> TIA ----

You'll probably see the largest number of "works for me" and "never
works for me" comments about the Epsons. There's something about their
print mechanisms that is sensitive to environmental factors. I fall
into the case of "never works for me" for a 2200 that I had. After a
few months of working well enough, a film of ink kept forming over the
print head. The printing would fade out then drops of ink would smear
all over the paper. I'd be lucky to get a 13x19 print completed before
it went bad.

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