HP B9180 replacement?

[Range Loser]

Hi all, I have an HP B9180 A3 printer which is 3+ years old and has been pretty good overall, but now it's thrown another printhead. I replaced one a few months ago and it's worked okay again since. So do I pay £55 and hope all is well for a while again, or bite the bullet and buy a new machine? If so which one? Any suggestions welcomed.
Andy.

 

[Don Parsons]

Any Epson. HP ink is too expensive.

 

[kuzano]

I had the 9180

I had the 9180

Until I needed Ink... Bought it new in the box from a private party. Got a real deal,,,, near half price. I would have been really upset if I had paid full price, when I needed my first ink cartridge. Sold it immediately (also did not like the part where it cycled ink automatically to supposedly keep the ink heads clear), and got my money back.

Bought a used Epson Stylus 2200. This all happened a couple of years ago, and I have had no problems with the printer or ink at all. Plus, the 2200 was a generation older than the 9180 and gave equivalent results. The Epson R2400 printer was the same generation as the 9180. A friends R2400 seemed to give better prints than the 9180.

Cartridges are $11.99 compared to the $30+ for each HP cartridges. Cartridge capacity was not much different.

Occasionally I have to run a couple of clean cycles to clear the nozzles and that's usually when I have not used the printer for 1 or 2 months.

Never replaced a head yet.

I'm firmly in the Epson camp.

 

[migtex]

Unless you want to move to the Z size printers from HP, only options are Epson and Canon nevertheless wait until the B9190 dies for sure, on Matte and B&W there is nothing much better out there... color is different story.

 

[Dave Jenkins]

What kind of ink does the Epson use? I understand the HP uses pigment ink, which is the most permanent.

 

[plummerl]

Under the life of the warranty, I went through three B9180s. The third one is now being happily used by a friend, who immediately bought a similar replacement warranty on his second hand purchase. Myself, I immediately purchased an Epson 3880 and am extremely satisfied with it. The 3880 uses pigment ink, same as the B9180. It does use cartridges that are about three times the size.

 

[kuzano]

Pigment ink on my Epson Stylus 2200.

Pigment ink on my Epson Stylus 2200.

And that was a printer that was introduced prior to the HP9180. Pigment ink was one of my preferences. The later Epson R2400, introduced about the time of the HP9180, used an improved pigment ink.

 

[amateriat]

Cartridges are $11.99 compared to the $30+ for each HP cartridges. Cartridge capacity was not much different

Ink tank capacity for the B9180 is considerably greater than the carts for the Epson 2200. That's why there's a sizable price difference. (The B9180 ink-delivery system essentially amounts to a factory-built CIS/CFS.)

Since buying an HP Photosmart Pro 8750 five years ago, I haven't gone near an Epson. I can't say i have much love for the B9180, either; I gave HP an A- for concept, but a C+ at best for execution, and I still haven't forgiven them for taking away the third black/grey channel my 8750 has for the sake of having both glossy and matte black inks loaded simultaneously. I actually went out of my way to find, and buy, a barely-used 8750 from someone, which I've mothballed as a spare in case my original 8750 coughs up a hairball or something. I love the printer that much.

While I'm here, a rant: I HATE Epson's 2880. Had to help a client create a portfolio of her art for a studio eveluation. The damned thing clogged left and right, and flat-out refused to properly feed third-party fine-art papers like Hahnemühle William Turner; a call to Epson Techs (at the insistence of my client) only yielded a predictable answer: "The 2280 doesn't support third-party media." Thanks a heap, guys...you reminded me of why I left Epson in the rearview mirror in the first place.

If I had to buy an Epson printer tomorrow morning (I'm raking a few HP reps over the coals to see that doesn't happen), I wouldn't go lower than a 3880. They just don't seem to take their 13" printer series seriously anymore, IMO. You get a better break, per-milliliter, on ink with a 3880 as well.

(There, I'm calmer now.)

Anyway: if you're getting the results you want from your B9180, I say get the replacement head(s) necessary and keep on chooglin' with it until (a) something truly non-fixable happens to the thing, or (b) you come across a fantastic deal on something at least as good or, preferably, better. Replaceable heads, IMO, are a Good Thing, versus the non-replaceable heads Epson utilizes.


- Barrett

 

[remegius]

One cannot compare the 8750 to the 9180. The 8750 uses dye based inks, while the 9180 uses pigment inks. Apples and oranges.

Cheers...

Rem

 

[remegius]

Inkjet printers are a massive waste of money unless you know how to use them and use them a lot. The quality of your prints will go way up if you let a professional do them.

I love statements that don't contain any assumptions, don't you.

Cheers...

Rem

 

[Lukino]

Inkjet printers are a massive waste of money unless you know how to use them and use them a lot. The quality of your prints will go way up if you let a professional do them.

every times I read a statement like this I wonder what kind of "professionals" you have around... My cheap canon ip4500 produces prints far better in quality than ANY local photo studio did-at least in "standard" quality, maybe some of them have a "professional print" option to choice, but since print is not cheap anyway, and I'm pretty sure diy cost less, I keep on inkjetting!

 

[Lukino]

you didn't got the point pj: I'd be GLAD to have someone that makes better prints than mine around here! But I ended buying the printer after last time I was asked 20 euros per print for a set of A3 I needed for a presentation (psd files, color corrected on a well calibrated monitor) and they came out with visible banding and wrong colors!

 

[amateriat]

One cannot compare the 8750 to the 9180. The 8750 uses dye based inks, while the 9180 uses pigment inks. Apples and oranges.

Not exactly...the dye-based inks used in the 8750 aren't your here-today-gone-next-year sort. A bit short compared to pigs, but I'll settle for a century-plus of longevity, without the artifacts too many pigment-based printers offer up (unless you throw a bit of money at the bigger printers and/or fuss with profiles). For me, the 8750's quality of output, without the usual neuroses involving high-end inkjet printing, has been amazing.

Inkjet printers are a massive waste of money unless you know how to use them and use them a lot. The quality of your prints will go way up if you let a professional do them.

The very same thing can be said for wet printing. In fact, perhaps moreso: Of all the people I've known who printed in the darkroom on a semi-regular basis, I'd say about 5% were doing work I would call eye-catching. (And, no, I was not among that 5%.) Good printing takes work in any medium, and knowing what you're doing is essential. And I've seen my share of indifferent printing from more than a few would-be pros not to sign off with someone based on credentials alone. (That's what goaded me into doing my own digital scanning, and printing, 12 years ago; I've gotten rather okay at the process by now.) 🙂


- Barrett

 

[Range Loser]

Hp B9180

Hp B9180

Thanks for all the comments folks, I've decided to get another head and keep on going with the HP until it dies. After some reading, it seems that Epson have problems with clogging, which I have experienced on previous Epsons I've owned, never on the HP, and the Canon 9500 mk 2 seems to have issues with matt fine art papers which I use a lot.
I suppose I had hoped that in the intervening years since buying the HP someone would have perfected the ink jet experience, but it would seem not.

 

[remegius]

Thanks for all the comments folks, I've decided to get another head and keep on going with the HP until it dies.

I think you made the correct decision. After four years of flawless service I finally had to replace one of the heads on my 9180. It was a cheap price to pay. BTW, most of my printing is BW, and I have never missed having the extra gray ink. I used to print BW with an Epson using after market (MIS - Paul Roark) inks, and while the results were quite good, having to deal with the incessant ink clogging was intolerable. I understand that the newer generation of Epson printers, with their larger nozzles, largely fixed that problem. Still I am quite happy with the 9180, and will continue to use the printer until something remarkably better for the price comes along.

Cheers...

Rem

 

[robert blu]

I'm as well a satisfied user of HP9180B mainly for B&W and occasionally some colors. It works well and hope not to have to replace it !
robert

 

[Range Loser]

I just installed the new PK/LG print head which arrived in the post today, only to be told by the printer that the Y/M one now needs replacing! I hate printers, the only thing that costs more to run is my car..

 

[remegius]

I just installed the new PK/LG print head which arrived in the post today, only to be told by the printer that the Y/M one now needs replacing! I hate printers, the only thing that costs more to run is my car..

That's really bad luck, although with any kind of continuous use I doubt whether some of those print heads can make it past 4 years or so. With my Epson 1280 I had to finally have the printer reconditioned because there is no way to deal with the print head on that printer. I still believe that the ability to swap out the print heads on the 9180 is ultimately a more cost effective solution. It certainly is more convenient 🙂

Cheers...

Rem

 

[amateriat]

RL: My take with the 9180 is that when one set of print heads goes, especially after a few years, it's probably best to bite the bullet and swap them all out. And, I agree with Rem: better to be able to swap out the heads yourself than deal with a permanent head going south on you (and facing the prospect of buying a new printer, since all too often the cost of repair just isn't worth it, unless you're talking something like a big, floor-standing job).

- Barrett