Digital BW, The Print

3000 Users,

As I have mentioned before I have been planning to buy a second 1280 
when the Piezo software is available and add the "selenium" Piezo 
inks when they come out. After the all the nice things the Piezo 
users have had to say I am thinking in terms of Piezo on a 3000.

I did not do well with Piezo on my 1200 in terms of being able to 
eliminate micro and sub-micro banding and overnight clogging was a 
real nuisance. However, I have seen so many Piezo prints that do not 
suffer from this and have reports of Piezo users that have never had 
banding or clogging, that I may simply have gotten a not so good 
printer and should give it another try. I am thinking of using the 
Piezo driver with the MIS Full Spectrum inks until the selenium Piezo 
arrives.

The 3000 is fast vanishing at this point but is highly praised by 
people whose work and experience I respect. Paul Roark, Tyler Boley, 
Steve Meyers and many others speak of it as having qualities that 
other printers don't match. I would greatly appreciate some feedback 
on my concerns to help me reach a decision.

Banding was a major issue with the 3000 at one time. Is this still 
the case? Did the Piezo driver upgrade eliminate this?

If I buy one, probably a refurb at this point, what are the chances I 
will get a good one? How likely am I to get into a cycle of trying to 
exchange printers in hopes of getting a better one?

With the Piezo or MIS inks am I likely to have to modify the printer 
by removing pizza wheels, etc.?

I don't hear much about the 1520. Is this a viable alternative to the 
3000?

How difficult is it to fill your own virgin cartridges for the 3000? 
How is it done?

How important is it to have the Epson warranty? Would a used one be a 
reasonably safe bet?

Thanks in advance,

Martin Wesley