Epson R2400 & Self Printing Questions.

dixonduke · December 15, 2012

Tonight I picked up a R2400 printer. A friend of a friend deal that basically asked for it to be hauled away, as a reimbursement of helping them move. :ivar They have had it for several years, and can not remember the last time it was used. Looks brand new, FWIW.

I have been on the ledge thinking of jumping into self printing for a few months now, debating the Epson 3880 or the 4900, and still think I will end up there, but the R2400 was a product of opportunity and I leaped.

For me right now, I am not expecting to be selling prints from this printer, I am not at all disappointed with the online labs, so this leap is just fulfilling the instant gratification of having a print in my hands "now".

I will be getting a color calibrator for my computer. I have a Spyder 4 Elite on the way and it should be here about the time my ink shows up. The prior owners stated that the ink cartridges in the printer are the original ones that came with it when they bought it. Anyway from everything I have read, I am fairly confident that this would be one of the first recommendations I would get, to get my monitor calibrated. Does this sound right?

There seem to be as many paper choices out there as there are letters in the alphabet. It is a bit overwhelming. Are there any papers to concentrate more on for this printer? Or does it not really matter, and just get the paper that meets my desired look upon printing.

Surprisingly, for me anyway, the printer was immediately recognized by my computer, and I was able to print out a couple of test pages and a few contact sheets just to put it through some cycles. The Black and Magenta and Cyan inks are empty according to the supply status, and the appropriate indicator lights, so the prints were appropriately abysmal. But it was nice to see that the printer has a heart beat an may well be brought back to life.

I have run into my first problem tonight though. I have downloaded the 4 different ICC profiles from Epson for the R2400, but I am unable to install them as I get an error message saying that "power pc apps are no longer supported", I am using a OSX 10.8.2. Is this something I should dwell on? :scratch

Do any former R2400 owners have the roll paper holder attachment collecting dust in a drawer? This printer did not have them and the prior owner has no idea where they went. I have searched Ebay, Amazon, Epson..... and can not find them. Anyone have any idea where I might purchase them? Or have a suitable successful workaround figured out?

I am well aware that this printer is an older model, but are there any users out there that have memories of using it. Any tips, any advise specific to this printer or printing in general?

I have searched the digital darkroom forum and the posts about the R2400 pretty much stop in 2008 and most of those were of people moving on up to 4800.

Thanks,
Duke

Zerodog · December 15, 2012

Sweet deal on the printer! My fav papers in my 2880 and 4900 are Ilford smooth pearl, Ilford Gold Fiber Silk, Epson hot and cold press bright, Hahnemuhle photo rag 308. I have never used the roll on the 2880. Seems like a PITA. It handles cut sheets very well. I imagine the 2400 is very similar. Practice with the 2400 and feel really good about using it before you go for a 4900. That thing has been a love hate relationship for me. It has saved about as much money and time as it has wasted. When it is agreeable it is fantastic. When it isn't.........there is a reason on my network it is called Hal the bitchey 4900. I print almost 100% of what I sell now. Everything from 4x6-17x???. Sometimes in pretty high volume. In general it can be very cost effective. When cranking through prints the 4900 can be very fast. If you only print occasionally and just want the ability for the bigger format the 3880 might be easier to deal with. As the 3880 is very similar to the 2880. That thing has been rock solid for me.

Printing on your own is huge. Be patient! Color, exposure, paper profiles, cropping, ink, networks, paper handling....it goes on forever. It is a big learning curve. It is also expensive to get started with. I would say it is the #1 thing that has improved my photography. Learning to shoot for a print was a big thing. Getting tight enough, getting the correct color and exposure in the camera all help a ton for printing. No matter what correction you do in post, it is always better to start with an image that is correct to start with. So in turn your pics will improve greatly.

Epson R2400 & Self Printing Questions.

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