Home > Consumer Reviews > Epson Stylus Pro 3800 Printer Standard Model Photo Printer

I am an amateur photographer and have made the financial decision to take my work to the next level. This included purchasing this printer as well as the new Nikon D300 DSLR. I wanted to be able to take very high image quality pictures and then print them out at various sizes at a quality that would match any studio.

The first printer that was shipped to me had to be returned as some internal parts were trapped on the first print job by the print head and jammed up the printer. Not a great beginning.

The second printer arrived within days. I printed another test print and this one made it through the printer! However, the colors were completely off from what I saw on the display versus what appeared on the print.

I'd just learned my first lesson about controlling the process end-to-end (photo to print) and that was that color management was more than a maybe. It's a MUST.

I then purchased a kit to calibrate both the monitor and the printer (even though the printer ships with a print profile). After calibration and following some very specific steps on each and every print job, I now get reliably correct prints. And they're beautiful!

If you're considering this printer, be aware of the following three key issues:

1) You stand a chance of getting one with mechancial problems and will need to have a replacement.

2) You will also likely run into issues of color management. If you don't know what that is I'd highly recommend you read up on it.

3) If you haven't yet, you will now notice the imperfections of your captured images and will want to upgrade your camera gear because this printer creates excellent renditions of your photographs. IF your images are clear and sharp, so will the prints.

Bottom line, in spite of the issues I ran into using this printer, I'd do it all over again and would recommend it highly.

It is amazing what this printer can do with a high quality 5MP file on a 17x22. Most who see the results are quite surprised. Fast - well made and very easy to use. Very pleased - I am a regular home type photographer. The colors are beautiful - the renditions smooth and sharp! I have had this printer for 8+ months now. (follow-up 2/04/08)I am a very low volume family photographer - one who would tend not to buy this printer. I remain very pleased - some clogged heads and easy to clean. I shake the carts. every other month. The new print drivers cleared up the networking problems. The prints and the media choices are superb. So far so good! I just love the large prints.

Ive had this printer for over a year now, and its flawless. Wanted black and white prints that actually looked like black and white, with no color cast unless I put it there. It does that and more. 17x22's are beautiful. Its not a cheap printer, but ink savings are substantial considering the cost per ml is much lower than my previous 2200's Have already made my money back on this printer months ago from sales of framed photos, and photography is just a side thing for me now. If I could say anything bad at all about the 3800, it would probably be the cheap feeling output tray and front closing mechanism. Nothing has broken, but Im careful, it just feels kind of cheap. I expect better quality from Epson for a printer of this price. Because of this, I gave it 4 stars. As far as print quality, it gets a 5. You cant get bigger or better prints from any other manufacturer at this price.

The epson 3800 does exactly what I need it to. Print more prints than an amateur, with unflinching consistency, while keeping my costs down from the consumer level printers.
By using larger 80 ml cartridges vs. the consumer 10ml cartridges, my ink costs have been reduced by over 60%. And that's a nice savings in my business. Of course it's nice to be able to print larger 17x22,17x25, or with custom paper, up to 17x36 sheets. But I usually stick with the 16x24 max. After that I send my work out to a pro custom lab.

Finally, the reason I chose the 3800 over his big brother the 4000 is because of the size of the printer. the 4000 is a monster printer compared to the reserved footprint of the 3800. I have a small gallery that needs smart placement of my equip. The 3800 fits the bill perfectly.

Another great note is that because my gallery is located just 4 miles west of Portola, CA. just an hour or so from Reno, NV. I get most of my shipments from Amazon within a day or two with the free ground shipping option!

I just bought the printer but had problems setting it up. My first prints (on Epson Ultra Premium Luster Paper) came out smudged and had rows of little pin pricks on them. I had to call Technical Support (very good - especially that Epson has a special service for professional printers) to get talked through widening the platen gap. I have not yet found a permanent way to widen the gap - it starts out at standard width whenever I turn on the printer.

Colors and sharpness are very good. It's not very fast, but then other large format printers are probably slow too when printing an 11x14 at 1400 dpi.