There seems to be a lot of mystery behind the Cone Inks support of the Epson 3800. is this because the Epson K3's have closed gap a little? I still want to use the Cone products, but want the 3800 printer.

Anybody have any insight on this?

RgM

I doubt there is any mystery, they are a small shop and if they have no hard news yet they often simply don't report due to other more pressing matters.
Given their commitment I also doubt they consider the gap even remotely closing, though other users are fine with the OEM solution.
These are all individual decisions. I was recently giving a presentation about special B&W ink solutions at a gallery and was told by someone in the audience that these multiple black ink solutions are now "ridiculous" in the face of the current OEM solutions. His voice sounded oddly like the local Epson rep, but I wasn't sure as he was wearing a Ronald Reagan Halloween mask and a bunny suit.

There was a surprisingly large turnout for the talk, all generated by attraction to the prints on the wall, so there is clearly a difference. However, that difference is just not important to many people, justifiably, and the OEM solutions are finally viable to those users.
Tyler

Tyler,

Thanks for your time in your insights. I've been told it's a cartridge issue and there is no definite or not plan to support the 3800. I'm just thinking that the OEM versus 3rd part issue is heating up though and the conflicts are starting to affect who supports who.

I agree about the gap not really closing..... but I do now want a 17 wide printer that can take the Cone inks, yet also make use ofthe new Ultrachrome K3's for the times I need to print color.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

R

You are more up to date on the issue than I then, I didn't know there was a cart issue with 3800s.
I can also certainly understand your interest in the 3800 if you want to easily switch between inksets at 17". Obviously the 4xxxs will be more of a hassle.
I'll have further interaction with IJM over the next few days and will press for more 3800 info.
On another note, I was just at the studio of two photographers who had done a lot of B&W work on their 7800 with the OEM ABW mode. They wanted some assistance getting a K7 setup going. So after flushing and then installing the new inks, QTR and Cone's profiles, making a quick "create ICC" profile for Photoshop, we made some prints from the same files to compare.
The difference was quite apparent and they were both really pleased. I doubt anyone would really have found fault with the ABW prints on their own, but next to each other, there was a clear quality difference.
The OEM solutions are clearly getting better, and certainly good enough for many people. The trade off, as you are pointing out, is the dedicated printer. Worth it for some but not all.
Tyler