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EPSON begins an offical Anti-Mac development plan.

TheMac19

TheMac19

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 13, 2004
171
0
Pitt
I just helped my girlfriend buy a brand new Epson Stylus CX3810 All-In-One printer. Went to install it and noticed that the CD that comes with it says "Windows Install Disk" So I go on their webpage - no downloads available for Mac drivers for this model. So I ring tech support, where I'm told that Epson has chosen not to support the Macintosh Operating System in their new CX3800 line - which are their entry level printer/scanner/copiers. I asked when/if drivers might become available, and he said that they are not going to be - and that Epson does not plan to support Mac with this entire line of printers.

Very strange, I've had an Epson all-in-one before which came with drivers and all for OSX, but apparently this is not a part of Epson's future business plans. Alas, Epson will not be a part of my future plans... If that's their take, then I am happy to say that no epson will cross my desk again.
 
That should have been listed on the box. I don't blame you for not checking though, I likely would have assumed it would work fine.

However, I tend to think that MOST Mac users don't buy their entry-level printers. Partially because they want better printers, partially because most of them are smart enough to know that cheap printers often use twice as much ink and therefore, are horrible as far as long-term value. WHy try and save $30-50 on a printer in the beginning when you're going to end up paying $100-200 more than that in the difference in ink costs over the life of the printer. Cheap printers are actually a ripoff, from any company.
 
Ok i might be wrong but you dont need to install anything for this printer to work. Just plug it in and voila it works. I think.
You will need to set it up for the first time in Printer Setup Utilty thing in System Preferences. I have a Epson all in one, and it works fine for me. For scanning u will need to use Image capture.
 
vouder17 said:
Ok i might be wrong but you dont need to install anything for this printer to work. Just plug it in and voila it works. I think.
You will need to set it up for the first time in Printer Setup Utilty thing in System Preferences. I have a Epson all in one, and it works fine for me. For scanning u will need to use Image capture.
Click to expand...
You may be right, but with it being a brand new printer, Tiger probably won't have the drivers pre-installed. But definitely worth a try if he hasn't taken the printer back yet. He could also try and find a GIMP Print driver that will work with it.

http://gimp-print.sourceforge.net/MacOSX.php3

That specific printer is not listed, but sometimes it will still work anyway. Worth a try if you really want to keep the printer.
 
Wow, this would mean that Epson has now alienated 5% of the computer market, and 90% of the graphics market:confused:

Of course if this is only the "all in ones", it wont matter all that much to Epson. It will however matter to people like the OP who was not informed of the lack of support on the box.

Shame on you Epson!
 
Heb1228 said:
That should have been listed on the box. I don't blame you for not checking though, I likely would have assumed it would work fine.
Click to expand...

We bought it at J&R in NY - where the boxes aren't on display - you just tell them which you want, and they give you the box all bundled up and ready to take away after you pay...

vouder17 said:
Ok i might be wrong but you dont need to install anything for this printer to work. Just plug it in and voila it works. I think.
You will need to set it up for the first time in Printer Setup Utilty thing in System Preferences. I have a Epson all in one, and it works fine for me. For scanning u will need to use Image capture.
Click to expand...

I thought that as well - but it definitely didn't work when I tried that. I even tried printing with the drivers from my CX3600, but no dice. The Epson utilities don't even recognise it! It almost seems as though they've gone out of their way to make it not work.

I'm definitely taking it back, as I don't want to reward Epson for such a crap business decision.
 
i seriously hate it when manufacturer pulled out on os platform support, epson made nice products, but the way they are handling os platform support is terrible, im using brother printer now and it works with osx out of box
 
thats kinda funny, I just helped someone buy a laptop today and that exact printer came with it. It was a pc user, but definatly some interesting info.
 
TheMac19 said:
We bought it at J&R in NY - where the boxes aren't on display - you just tell them which you want, and they give you the box all bundled up and ready to take away after you pay...



I thought that as well - but it definitely didn't work when I tried that. I even tried printing with the drivers from my CX3600, but no dice. The Epson utilities don't even recognise it! It almost seems as though they've gone out of their way to make it not work.

I'm definitely taking it back, as I don't want to reward Epson for such a crap business decision.
Click to expand...

I take it you didn't check online beforehand or ask on the spot about compatibility?
 
I wouldn't buy another Epson now anyway. My old Stylus 740 was a great little inkjet, but when I replaced it with a CX3200 I was seriously disappointed with both the reduction in product quality and the steep rise in cartridge costs. To make matters worse, the printer regularly spits black ink spots all over it's own insides that then come out as great big smears over the next twenty odd pages.

I'll be replacing it next time a cartridge runs out, probably with one of the Brother all-in-ones. I bought one of those for a client and it's run perfectly, cartridges are only about £7 a pop, and as it has built in Wi-Fi I can put it anywhere.

Might be worth a look as a replacement. Comically enough, their homepage has a link to sewing machine support, but don't let that put you off.
 
i allways used to recormend epsons to people that want a cheap printer and hp for everyone else. I like HP very high quality and driver support for not just mac and windows but also for linux witch is pritty cool they support everyone. Never owned a epson my self, just sell them to someone that wants a cheep printer, the same with canon. Never ever touch Lexmark. Love HP and xerox.
 
babyjenniferLB said:
i allways used to recormend epsons to people that want a cheap printer and hp for everyone else. I like HP very high quality and driver support for not just mac and windows but also for linux witch is pritty cool they support everyone. Never owned a epson my self, just sell them to someone that wants a cheep printer, the same with canon. Never ever touch Lexmark. Love HP and xerox.
Click to expand...

isn't lexmark a sister company of xerox?
 
Wasnt Epson the one who supported the iMac with the 5 colored printers? o_O

Oh well, Epson sucks IMO. All my Epsons died quite quickly. o.o

While my Deskjet 960c and my Laserjet 5 both are STILL KICKIN. :D
 
Buy the Canon PIXMA MP780. It is a multi-printer/scanner/copier/fax. It is very fast and the ink cartridges are not very expensive. Definitely one the better multifunction printers out there.
 
always had problems with epsons. My HPs have been real troopers though. I had an entry level one for 5 years before i got a new one free with a new iBook back in 2003. The new HP is still running great. The old one served me all through college, and being an english major that meant a lot of printing.

Anyway, it sounds like you could get it to work, but I think it would be fair of you to return the thing just on principle.

Oh and BTW, J&R is a way cool store. I used to live a few blocks from there.
 
redAPPLE said:
isn't lexmark a sister company of xerox?
Click to expand...

Lexmark was originally the typewriter division of IBM in Lexington, Kentucky. As typewriters were going, they started building small printers. I believe the Proprinter was their first model, which was a halfway decent dot matrix printer. Of course, all of their printers are still halfway decent. My Lexmark Z42 probably still works but I don't use it. My parents x83 broke within a year.

I'd still recommend Epson, but u need to spend $100 or more to get something good. Canon printers are great and I have one specifically for photo printing.
 
Epson Mac Support Has Been Lousy For A While

I bought a Epson Perfection 1670 scanner a couple of years ago, and it had one of the most poorly ported Windows software packages I've ever seen. It installed multiple individual apps all over the place and was as unintuitive and un Mac-like as I've ever seen. It looked like a Windows app that it obviously devolved from.

The quality of the scans are wonderful for an entry-level scanner, but Epson obviously doesn't put much thought into its Mac users. Now they just want us to go away as I did after the 1670.

Don't know which scanner I'd buy today, but I love my Canon inkjet, high quality and super low ink costs and would recommend it to anyone.
 
Hi! I've managed to the the printing feature to work with gutenprint.

Does anyone know how to get the scanner working? I recently made the switch from pc to mac and the only thing I'm disappointed about so far is that my printer is not supported by Epson. :(
 
I owned Epson printers for a while, got rid of them since they broke so damn often, and I'm happy I did. I love my HP laser printer.
 
Rule of Thumb with Epsons

1) NEVER buy the value models (cxXXXX) They are designed for someone who might make a picture on it, but who cares what it looks like. If that is the case, go buy an hp, or brother color laser, and make your pictures at a Walmart
2) Stay in the ranges that start with "R"

My grandmother has an intel mini and when her Stylus 925 finally kicked the bucket, she bought a R380, a brand new printer. I plugged it in, and booted the mac. Fed the machine the disc that came with the printer, and suprisingly enough, the drivers were on it. I declined all the other software, but the printer is great. I taught her how to use her Nikon P2 (which has been sitting in the box for a year now) and how to import to iPhoto, and print.

I have had Epson printers since my first machine, and they get replaced WAY before they start to even show thier age or have a problem. Why? I am one very lucky grandson.....My grandmother, is an Epson rep in a Compusa. That means I've had free paper, on any size and type, and more importnantly, free ink. She doesn't know much about computers, just what she needs to keep her job. She just uses the acuators attached to the printers. Acuator is a big word for a small device that reads an image off and compact flash card and sends it to the printer when you push the button. On top of that, she gets employee discount on everything, so I do get some good breaks there.

What really annoys me is that i get a call almost everyday with a mac problem. She doesn't have the vocabulary to explain what is wrong. Most of the time it is her dragging Safari or Mail out of the dock, or grabbing the wrong bit of the window and resizing the window to it's smallest size.

Epson printers however seem to provide the best prints, if you take care of them. Epson ink, Epson Paper. It's the only way to go.
 
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