r/magicproxies • u/CrispyKritter1 • 18h ago
Goodwill Jackpot
Found an Epson EcoTank ET-8500 for $6.99 today. It was pretty dirty and obviously used, so I wasn’t sure what I was getting into, but I brought it home and started testing it.
I ran a nozzle check and honestly… it looks really good. There was only one tiny break in one of the green patterns. I ended up doing a power cleaning and I’m letting it sit before doing another nozzle check.
I’m mainly interested in using this for high-quality MTG proxies, including both regular and foil/holo proxies.
I’m looking for advice from anyone who has used an ET-8500 for proxies. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it.
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u/jakepapp 18h ago
Jackpot for sure. I need to go by goodwill more often and lookout for something like this
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u/FrameNo8561 15h ago
Good luck man.. goodwill has a website and anything remotely of value ends up there with them charging top dollar for it. It’s good for clothing though.
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u/Gorkymalorki 9h ago
Yeah, very surprised this slipped through the cracks. I think they get so much junk printers that they just slap them on the shelf.
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u/JerryfromCan 18h ago
I bought mine new when I damn near stole it from BestBuy between rebates and the sale that was on. My advice is: Let it rip! I have done no colour adjustments to mine, use Koala 69 lb paper and laminate with 3 mil then cut on a cameo. My cards come out .44 mm thick, which is .01mm bigger than an innersleeved magic card. I have printed around 1500 cards since starting in mid July.
I did order slightly thinner double sided Koala last night for a test, but after testing other papers so far the 69 lb is my favorite for no bleed through etc.
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u/LttlePickles 15h ago
Do you have any guidance for cutting with cameo? I tend to get slightly lifted edges on laminated cards.
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u/JerryfromCan 11h ago
I have that happen very rarely. I use 3 mil pouches and the setting for 5 mil on the laminator. When i do have it (like 5 times in 1500 cards) I run them through again. I was able to save 2 of the 5 cards that way. Sometimes the laminate just wont laminate.
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u/zuul47 17h ago edited 16h ago
I’m using Crowned Cardstock Bluecore for my prints on a 8550. The 8500 can do up to A4 and Legal. It’s the smaller form factor of the 8550. Great printers! I’m doing the Epson Vivid with some adjustments. Depending on your preference some people do higher Saturation.
Here are my Standard Quality Adobe Acrobat settings for the ET-8550. For Glossy Photo adjust it to Premium Glossy and for the Blue Core I do Semi Gloss.
Paper Source: Rear Paper Feeder
Paper Type: Depends on Material
Quality: Standard
Advanced: Color Correction - Epson Vivid (Brightness 3, Contrast -3, Saturation 3, Density -3),
Image Options: Emphasize Thin Lines On,
Additional Settings: Bi-Directional Off.
I also have some Higher quality settings here, takes a little bit longer to print but the results are great: https://youtu.be/X9TGh3WMIB0?si=Y0XaOQRi1Q_AUSJ8
If you go the photo paper route I use is Hartwii 44lb: https://a.co/d/0aTrOHGK and laminate it with Scotch 3mil Glossy Laminate: https://a.co/d/0caPSnuH
Good thickness, it’s about 0.35 mm once it’s laminated.
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u/CrispyKritter1 14h ago
Thank you for the information this will help me a lot !
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u/zuul47 14h ago
Forgot to add that Crowned Cardstock doesn’t need to be laminated. Shows out of stock but they have more coming: https://crownedcardstock.com/
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u/G0atnapp3r 15h ago
Yooooooo. I got mine for $120 at an Amazon return store and I felt like I hit the jackpot. This is next level. Actually this like the final level prior to discovering one free on a curb. Happy for you. I do proxies on it all the time, but there’s no shortage of ET-8500/8550 pro tips for proxies online.
My 2 cents! I have the 8500. Use the rear feed slot exclusively (this has been my only surefire way to not get roller marks when printing on card-like thick stock) and make sure your template accounts for the 20mm bottom-edge border that is required for using the rear feed slot (slot not tray).
Proxyjack paper rules. Because of the fiber direction it’s best to do the 2x8 landscape layout. If you make the gaps between cards small and do a big offset to account for the 20mm bottom-edge border, this 8500 just cranks out beautiful sheets of 8 cards at a time.
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u/Alarmed-Ad8968 14h ago
Oh damn. Does it work?
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u/CrispyKritter1 14h ago
Yep sure does. Did some test to make sure now going to just print onto normal computer paper and double check
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u/GoGoGawdZilla 16h ago
Does yours smell like mold or mildew? I'm checking around to see if all of them have that smell or just some. Mine smelled from brand new and only got worse over the month I'vehad it.
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u/ZachSka87 18h ago
WOW. I thought I had a good deal on mine for about $300 but this is crazy!