hi all,

i am new to this forum. any feedback would be a great help. i was thinking of upgrading my old epson 1280 to the new 3800. i found it online for $1199 the other day, so i was thinking that for the difference between the r2400 and the pro 3800, why not. however, in looking at the epson site, i now find that there are no less than four versions of this printer!. the question is, which one to buy. i use qimage to manage printing images that are enhanced by ps7 or photoimpact11. because i use qimage, i am thinking that all i need is the basic epson pro 3800, period. however, if anyone out there has any other thoughts, please share.

thanks!

otto.

I have the basic and print with Q and am very happy. However I also build my own custom paper profiles and there's where one of the RIP's may be of benefit to some...

jack, thanks for responding.

use of a rip is unknown to me. are you saying that if you do not use custom icc profiles, the rip would be better? i will be the only user of this printer. i plan to use custom icc profiles as well. it sounds like i would be ok with the basic model as well.

thanks!

See here:

http://people.csail.mit.edu/ericchan/dp/Ep...q.html#editions

If you don't need PostScript support, then you probably don't need the ColorBurst RIP.

If you don't know what PostScript is, then you probably don't need the ColorBurst RIP.

If you just want to print standard photographs (whether through QImage or not), then you probably don't need the ColorBurst RIP.

The basic printer is the same, the other versions just include additional software and/or paper packages.

BTW, Altex.com has the 3800 for $1149 with free shipping and no tax. Good to see this printer starting to come off full retail.

Sal

I bought the basic model so I thought. Got it home and found it was the version with the RIP.

Never used the RIP !

RIP = Raster Image Processor, which is a big set of words meaning enhanced printer driver software RIPs are usually coupled with comprehensive sets of paper profiles that are finely tuned to the workings of the RIP and the final results are typically quite good.

However, using a custom paper profile -- especially with the newest generations of printers -- also typically generates excellent results. So as others have indicated, a RIP is often not really necessary unless one has a specific purpose for using it.

Cheers,