Manufactured goods coming off a productions line are inspected at random. Once in consumers hands, now and then a component will fail and the device is replaced under warranty through a swap. The failed device is often refurbished. The defective component is replaced and the unit thoroughly tested. Thus the chance of getting a defective refurb is probably very small. I expect that it depends a bit on the company, but in general they represent good value.

On the other hand, if your pride and self-image depends upon the stuff you own, a refurb is something that was defective, used and got fixed. My ego can handle it with no problem.

Thanks Larry.

My ego does not force me to feel as though I need new items either.

My concern is the general overall quality of a refurb. I accept that there may be cosmetic flaws. It looks like the refurbs come with the same one year warranty that a new printer comes with. I would think that if the printer has had mechanical parts replaced the warranty should be acceptable since it is good for a new model.

Unfortunately, I have continued to do additional research and I'm not looking at the HP B9180.

Does anybody have any thoughts or experience with the B9180 and how it may compare to the R1800?

Thanks

Quote:
Does anybody have any thoughts or experience with the B9180 and how it may compare to the R1800?

I would refer you to the forums at Photo-i in the UK where there is a great deal of discussion on printers. Evidently the B9180 had a painful birth, and lots of livid Brits who first wanted it - then did not - once they got it. The most recent messages indicate that some who now have it, are delighted with it.

As for print quality, it would take a very sophisticated eye to come upon a table covered with prints and accurately match the print to the printer. The overall quality of ink jet photo printer output is very high, providing the user has the digital darkroom skills. Just as in the fume-room with film, the skill of the person doing the printing has a far greater impact than the equipment. Given a great original file, any will produce superb quality.

I know a number of R1800 owners who are steadily selling prints made with it, even though it is pretty much a top of the line consumer printer. If your interest is primarily in doing glossy prints, this one has a slight edge. If non-glossy art prints or black&white are the goals, look to the R2400. It does not do DVD-CD printing, being purely a piece of photo equipment.

If you plan on doing a LOT of printing, the professional Epson 3800 is an excellent deal. It comes bundled with so much ink compared to the R2400, that the actual cost for the bare machines is quite close. The cartridges for the R2400 are either 11 or 13ml - not absolutely sure which - and the 3800 has 80ml cartridges which are about 25% cheaper per ml of ink. Both machines use the K3 ink set, beloved by curators, gallery owners and collectors. While the R2400 is limited to 13" paper, the 3800 goes to 17".

Ink cartridges have an unopened shelf life of two years from production date, but only six months once installed. For someone prolific, this is an advantage, but for the casual print maker, the R1800 or R2400 is the better deal.

If archival print-life is not a consideration, Epson has just introduced a dye-printer - the R1400 - at an attractive price. I use its predecessor - the venerable 1280 - and like it very much. I fully realize that the prints will fade more quickly than those of the pigment printers. I probably will too. Output, however, is gorgeous.

To summarize - if HP has the B9180 problems sorted out, it is certainly a very attractive printer, capable of very fine work. For glossy specially, the R1800 probably has a slight edge. The K3 printers are great if you are printing B&W and printing for fine art sales. If you need the printer to do general computer printing as well as photographs, then a dye printer like the R1400 provides the versatility at the cost of poor archival storage.

One of my correspondents has reported he has purchased three different factory refurbished printers directly from Epson and has had excellent service and performance from the printers.