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EPSON IN PRINT

Independent reviews of world-class printers

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TREVERN DAWES

EXPRESSION PHOTO HD XP-15000

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION Epson’s Artisan 1430 has been a popular photo printer with both newcomers and old hands for many years. It has now been replaced by the Expression Photo HD XP-15000, which Trevern Dawes believes will further encourage serious photographers to get involved in print-making.

W

hen it comes to making long-lasting, durable and saleable prints the emphasis has always been on pigment printers. The Epson Artisan 1430 (reviewed back in 2012) has been a notable exception because of its Claria dye-based ink set.

Wilhelm Research has ratings for the Claria inks of 98 years of display life under glass and greater than 200 years when in dark storage (these rating relate to the Epson Ultra and Premium gloss papers).

In a nutshell, what this means is equality with pigment ink ratings.

However, there is much more to it than longevity ratings, as dyes on gloss and semi-gloss media have a perfect surface, unlike the gloss differential and bronzing characteristics associated with using pigment inks.

Although the new XP-15000 might be described as “entry-level”, it goes a long way past “average quality” and is, in fact, the top-ofthe-range model in Epson’s dyebased printers.

It’s a dedicated A3+ photo printer capable of handling print files from just about any photo device and from anywhere. It’s a lot more compact and much lighter (at 476x159x369 mm and 8.1 kilograms) than the Artisan 1340 (at 616x322x215 mm and 11.8 kilograms) and a tilting 6.1 cm colour LCD control screen is a welcome new feature. The nozzle configuration goes up from 90 to 180 per colour, a pre-installed maintenance tank is included, there is a motorised output tray

and a new mix of colours in lower capacity cartridges that can deliver similar – or better – print quality using less ink via a more efficient print head. All of these changes have led to a modest price increase of $100 over the discontinued Artisan 1340. However, the six inks supplied with the printer are only start-up cartridges and contain about three millilitres of ink each.

The ‘High Yield XL’ cartridges contain about eight millilitres and are, of course, far more costeffective. Getting started with the XP-15000 is a straightforward affair where the only inconvenience is likely to be removing the heaps of blue tape locking down the printer to ensure safe transport.

The easiest approach is to insert the CD software disc and follow the instructions that range from accepting the license agreement through system check, installation, connection setting, and additional installation to finish. The User’s Guide is installed with an icon on the desktop and, altogether, the whole process takes about 30 minutes.

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MAKING IT WORK Instead of being brilliant black with the occasional flash of chrome trim that’s commonplace for many contemporary photo printers, the XP-15000 has a smart appearance based on a finely-stippled matte black pattern. Front and centre is the tilting control panel that will hold its position at whatever angle is deemed comfortable.

Located from left to right are the ‘On/Off’ and ‘Home’ buttons, the LCD screen and then nine buttons with an ‘OK’ button at centre.

Although the display screen is reasonably small, it is not difficult to read. The power cord, USB and Ethernet connections are at the rear. The surface of the printer is large enough to accommodate A3+ sheets ready for printing or to leave a printed sheet for drying.

Under the control panel is the motorised output tray and the front paper cassette that also incorporates the CD/DVD tray. The paper output tray automatically slides out when the first print of a session is sent to the printer. By pressing the bottom right button on the control panel the tray will retract. It’s important to allow adequate desk space up front so the extended tray doesn’t jut out over the desk edge.

The front paper tray handles A4 and legal size paper. Up to 200 sheets of plain paper and 50 sheets of inkjet paper can be accommodated at any one time.

At the back is the rear paper tray which is designed for the heavier photo papers, and the maximum capacity is 20 A3+ size sheets.

Paper support is provided by a three-section slide-out system. Two large adjustable blue guides slide to the centre for paper positioning and guidance. A translucent plastic cover folds over the rear as a dust seal. The XP-15000 has a maintenance tank system instead of absorption pads to collect the ink used in head cleaning cycles. If and when the pads become saturated, they require an expensive Epson service so, by including a maintenance tank, this inconvenience and expense are overcome. Perhaps it is not a flagwaving occasion, but Epson should be commended for being the first to introduce this feature in an A3+ printer.

THE POINT TO EMPHASISE HERE IS THAT THE CLARIA INKS ARE WHAT REALLY MAKE THE XP-15000 WORTHWHILE, SO OWNERS ARE WELL-ADVISED TO STAY WITH THE GENUINE INKS. The status of the maintenance tank can be checked via the ‘Maintenance’ panel and ‘Epson Status Monitor 3’.

The significance of using the Claria inks cannot be dismissed.

With so many inkjet photo printers on the market, little attention still seems to be devoted by manufacturers – and even users – to the longevity of prints. It is not only gratifying to be able to obtain pleasing colour prints from the The printer’s 6.0 cm LCD display screen shown in ink level mode.

Claria inks, but also to appreciate that, given adequate storage and display environments, these prints are going to last for a very long time.

The light magenta and light cyan colours used in the Artisan 1430 have been replaced by red and grey in the new model.

According to Epson, the intention here is to provide an improved colour gamut and to facilitate better black and white printing, the latter being a decidedly poor feature of the Artisan 1430.

PRINT-MAKING On the ‘Main’ panel display are ‘Paper Types’ which are listed as Plain Paper, Epson Matte, Ultra Gloss, Premium Glossy, Premium Semigloss, Photo Paper Glossy, Epson Photo Paper Glossy, Epson Photo Stickers and Envelope. For photo printing, the ‘Quality’ settings are Standard, High or Best, but with the Epson Ultra Glossy setting, this is locked to Best quality. This is probably a precautionary arrangement to prevent over-inking. The ‘Document Size’ menu covers 26 standard paper sizes plus ‘User Defined’ that can be set from 54 to 329 millimetres in width and from 86 to 1200 millimetres in height.

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Devotees of the panoramic print will be pleased, but should be advised to work with heavyweight papers as the intake of lightweight papers can be a problem.

The ‘More Options’ panel accesses Colour Correction based on ‘Auto’ or ‘Custom’. The ‘Advanced’ section leads to a choice to be made from Colour Controls, PhotoEnhance, ICM and No Colour Control. High Speed is the default setting.

Although the XP-15000 doesn’t support ICC profiles like the professional printers, the range of ‘canned’ associates in the ‘Paper Types’ menu is sufficient to deal with all the listed Epson papers and others of a similar type.

Manual adjustments are available in Colour Control and any revised settings can be saved to a suitable name for quick recall.

The difference in image quality between the Standard, High and Best settings – and with High Speed switched either on or off – can be very difficult to appreciate.

Some may take the approach of always using the maximum quality settings, irrespective of the time involved and any extra ink expended. We found a compromise of the Standard

The six-colour Claria dye-based inks deliver bright, pleasing colours with extended print longevity.

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The ‘Colour Control’ panel with settings made for printing RGB files.

The ‘Maintenance’ panel indicates the status of the printer’s maintenance box.

‘After the printer displays a ‘Low Ink’ warning, it still allows for several more prints to be made.

The ‘Main’ print panel.

‘Epson’s Easy Photo Print program is supplied with the printer and provides a quick and convenient way to organise prints.

‘More Options’ is the second panel for determining print settings, including colour correction

Printing through Photoshop, the option here is to let the printer look after colour management.

The print preview panel provides an important final check before commencing printing.

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ON TRIAL quality setting with High Speed printing switched off delivered very acceptable results for most projects.

For beginners and those who are not working through the likes of Photoshop, the Epson Easy Photo Print program supplied with the printer is a quick and convenient way to organise prints. As all our test print files for the Epson XP-15000 had been assigned with the Adobe RGB (1998) profile, the colour management was set to RGB in Colour Control (Vivid is the default).

Through Photoshop, the printer is allowed to control colour and gave a good screen image match-up with the prints, which exhibited deep blacks, clean whites, a good tonal scale and good retention of shadow detail.

The basic characteristics of dyes are bright colours, profound blacks and the capacity to be absorbed into the paper surface, rather than reside on the top as per pigments.

On gloss and semi-gloss surfaces there is more resistance to damage and there are no bronzing or gloss differential problems. For hand viewing of prints, or for books or albums, this is a distinct advantage, not to be surpassed by the long-life properties of the Claria inks.

Although a six-colour dyebased ink system cannot be expected to match the gamut of a pigmented ink system with eight to twelve colours, the differences may be difficult to appreciate for general work. In many cases, the extra brightness of the dyes is a compensating factor.

As short-term colour drift is a characteristic of dye printing, a reasonable ‘dry-down’ time is necessary before determining if the final colour is accurate. It is not uncommon for dye prints to be slightly red when they emerge from a printer.

No paper jams or surface scratching occurred during any of our test printing sessions. The paper transport was smooth and the print head activity very quiet.

All the test prints made on papers supplied by Epson – Premium Matte, Premium Glossy and Premium Semi-gloss – were successful, as were prints made on other brand papers using the nearest Epson paper profile.

NO LONGER SHOULD WE GRUMBLE ABOUT THE HIGH COST OF INK PER MILLILITRE, BUT INSTEAD CONCENTRATE ON THE ACTUAL COST PER PRINT. The magenta, yellow and cyan cartridges were the first group to be replaced, followed by the black.

The red cartridge was hardly used at all, to the extent it will probably outlast three or four sets of the others.

BLACK AND WHITE When black and white printing is selected, only the Standard quality setting is available and all the inks are used. An A4 size print took 3:20 minutes to produce a nicelytoned, but slightly warm print. In Colour Correction there is plenty of scope for adjustments via the Colour Toning options (Neutral, Cool, Warm or Sepia) and settings for Tone, Brightness, Contrast, Shadow Tonality, Highlight Tonality, Max. Optical Density and Highlight Point Shift. A ‘Preview’ screen shows the differences between the original image and the proposed changes. By right-clicking on the mouse, a small ‘Help’ explanation appears, not just on aspects of the Colour Control panel, but for all the printer’s panels.

The other alternative for B&W printing is to use the black ink only (BIO) approach by setting the printing parameters to Plain Paper, Greyscale and High quality with High Speed switched off, irrespective of the type of inkjet paper used. The same image took one minute to print with BIO, which gave a completely neutral look. The high printing resolution creates a very fine dot structure which enhances sharpness. By dropping the brightness back (to minus five) via the Custom menu, an even-better result was achieved.

Although banding is present, it requires a powerful magnifier to actually see it.

Some experimentation will be required amid all the options because the ‘colour’ of a black and white print can be influenced by the colour of the paper itself and this can vary from a bright white (with optical brightener content) to a pale yellow with some matte fine-art papers. When a ‘Low Ink’ warning appears on the computer screen, it doesn’t mean a cartridge must be immediately changed.

It is a reminder to organise more ammunition. Printing will continue for several more prints before the printer LCD screen and flashing ‘On/Off’ button declare replacement time has now arrived.

The lid of the printer is opened and then ‘Next’ and ‘OK’ selected.

When the cartridge set moves out from its docked position, a blue tab is pushed to unlock the cartridge holder. A replacement cartridge is inserted followed by a wait for about four minutes while the printer initialises. The LCD screen provides a guiding hand.

PRINT COSTS The initial outlay for most inkjet printers using small cartridges is modest enough, but the real cost comes, not surprisingly, with replacement cartridges.

The ‘High Yield XL’ cartridges for the XP-15000 do mean longer intervals between changes, but still boil down to a high cost per millilitre. For some users, this will inevitably lead to thoughts about switching to third-party inks.

While most of these alternatives – either as cartridges or bulk feed systems – will function well enough, they all lack the longevity ratings of Epson’s Claria inks. In fact, some rate for only a few years. The point to emphasise here is that the Claria inks are what really make the XP-15000 worthwhile, so owners are welladvised to stay with the genuine inks. If ink costs are an issue – or print longevity is not required – then the XP-15000 is probably not the printer for you.

TIME TRIALS Print times for an average postcard, A4 and A3+ using the Standard quality setting with High Speed switched on and the High quality setting with High Speed switched off settings are listed below. The Best quality setting only relates to the Epson Ultra Glossy papers and is not included. Timing starts from the commencement of print head activity.

A3

A3+

A4 POST CARD

Size

Standard With HS On

High With HS Off

Postcard

35 seconds

1:15 minutes

A4

1:20 minutes

3:20 minutes

A3

4:15 minutes

5:45 minutes

A3+

5:50 minutes

6:55 minutes

It’s obviously up to the individual to make an assessment of the print quality at different settings. Some will opt for the maximum quality settings regardless of the print times involved and the extra ink used while others will place more emphasis on achieving faster print times.

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Epson doesn’t mention how much ink there is in its cartridges, but by weighing a new one against an expired or partially-used one and assuming one gram equals one millilitre of ink, it’s possible to come up with a figure. So, as noted earlier, the 312 series ‘Standard’ cartridges contain about three millilitres of ink while the so-called ‘High Yield XL’ 314 series tanks hold about 8 millilitres.

Compared to the cartridges for the Artisan 1430, the capacities of the XP-15000 cartridges have been significantly reduced. Since the ‘Standard’ cartridges cost over $6.00/millilitre while the ‘XL’ size works out at $3.87/millilitre, there really is no point in buying the ‘Standard’ types.

The more prints made and the more ink consumed, the more accurate the figures become for the typical amount of ink required to produce an average A4 or A3 size print and at what cost. Our results were compiled from using mostly the Standard or High quality settings, and come down to about 9.61 millilitres of ink to produce a square metre of print.

For an A4 size print this works out at around $2.21. The calculations are based on the recommended retail prices so reductions will apply for inks purchased from on-line suppliers.

Variations would also exist for all printing at the Standard or High/ Best settings and the type of imagery involved. Since the Artisan 1430 costs were about $2.70 per A4 print, the running costs for the XP-15000 are cheaper, despite the smaller size cartridges.

It is not easy to accept that an eight millilitres cartridge for the XP15000 can deliver a more effective printing coverage than an 11 millilitres cartridge for the Artisan 1430, but such is the situation with the latest technology. No longer should we grumble about the high cost of ink per millilitre, but instead concentrate on the actual cost per print.

According to overseas consumer magazine reports the amounts of ink in cartridges in general have been significantly reduced with Epson declaring that print heads are more efficient compared with 10 years ago because “they are able to produce a greater number of pages with an equivalent amount of ink”.

THE RELATIVELY SMALL FRAMEWORK OF SETTINGS HELPS TO SIMPLIFY EVERYTHING AND, ONCE STANDARD ROUTINES HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED, IT’S SMOOTH SAILING WITH PRINT-MAKING. We’re not about to take issue with the technology or the marketing, but basically it means that the inks in the XP-15000 are half the capacity of those of the Artisan 1430 yet cost the same to deliver about the same cost per print.

D-I-Y PHOTO BOOKS As far as do-it-yourself photo books are concerned, the combination of dyes and dual-sided papers such as Ilford Gallerie 250 gsm, Red River Arctic Polar 190 gsm or Centurion Luster 230 gsm go as close to the pages of a commercially-printed fine-art coffee table book as an inkjet printer can go. They provide a soft gloss surface free of bronzing and gloss differential and are less likely to suffer the abrasion problems often associated with pigments.

Most importantly, it is worth mentioning again that the XP15000 prints with Claria inks rate at 200 years in dark storage. All of this should warrant using white gloves for book handling and could be reasons enough to consider the using the XP-15000 exclusively for book work.

That said, the range of dualsided inkjet papers currently available in Australia is very limited.

Epson does have Matte 178 gsm paper, but it is only in the A4 format.

THE COMPETITION The only dye-based A3+ format competitor for Epson’s XP-15000 currently available on the upmarket side is Canon’s PIXMA Pro 100s. This robust printer uses eight colours of Chromalife 100+ inks that are rated by Canon at 100 years in dark storage conditions.

Occasionally described as the Ferrari of dye-based printers, the Pro 100s is priced at $779.

On the budget side, there is Epson’s own Expression XP-960 multi-functional A3 format printer which uses six standard Claria inks and is priced at $399. The Canon iP8760 with its six-colour Chromalife 100 ink set (pigment black, photo black, magenta, cyan, yellow and grey) is priced at $339 (currently discounted to $280). It may lack the refinements of the XP-15000, but it produces equivalent quality so can be considered a serious competitor.

As the price of the XP-15000 has increased by $100 compared to the Artisan 1430, some potential buyers might even be tempted to go looking for bargains on the discontinued model. When print longevity is not a major requirement, but ink economy certainly is, then Epson’s multifunctional ET-7750 A3 format EcoTank model at $999 also cannot be overlooked.

THE VERDICT A brief summary sheet should recognise the XP-15000 is a compact, well-built unit which allows for every conceivable means of accessing print files, goes up to A3+ on standard paper sizes (and beyond for panoramas), handles all paper surfaces admirably with particular emphasis on gloss and semi-gloss, handles borderless printing, auto and manual duplex printing (double-sided with Windows only) and is reasonably easy to set up and operate.

The relatively small framework of settings helps to simplify everything and, once standard routines have been established, it’s smooth sailing with print-making.

In more detail, the key issue with the XP-15000 is the Claria inks and the long-term print life they produce for anybody seeking to sell their work, make it available for institutional acquisition or simply create family records that will endure for generations. No other currently available dye-based ink comes close to the ratings of the Claria inks. The quality of prints, especially on gloss/ semi-gloss papers leaves little more to be desired. As a six-colour printer the Epson XP-15000 occupies the region between four-colour multifunctional units and the higher-end printers using eight colours or more.

It can serve two broad roles for two

different types of people – those who would like to get involved in serious printing without outlaying a grand or more, and the dedicated pigment printer owner who could well do with a companion dye-based printer that outshines on gloss media yet still has the longevity ratings of pigments.

In the quest for the ‘ultimate’ dye-based A3/A3+ printer, Epson has yet to offer something akin to the L1800 printer (which is not available in Australia, but check the Internet) which uses the desirable Claria inks in bulk form.

In the meantime, there is the XP-15000, although this is not a printer intended for ‘heavy traffic’ printing. The typical high cost of the ink cartridges deters such activity. However, for casual printing and high-end results, this printer still represents excellent value.

The Artisan 1430 was a popular printer that enticed many into the wonderful world of print-making, and now the Expression Photo HD XP-15000 ably assumes this role.

VITAL STATISTICS EPSON EXPRESSION PHOTO HD XP-15000 Printer Type: A3+ format inkjet photo printer using six colours of dye-based Epson Claria Photo HD inks. Colours are cyan, magenta, yellow, red, grey and black.

Ink Cartridges: Individual per colour.

‘Standard’ cartridges have 3.0 millilitres capacity. ‘High Yield XL’ cartridges have 8.0 millilitres capacity.

Maximum Resolution: 5760x1440 dpi with Epson ‘Variable-Sized Droplet Technology’.

Minimum ink droplet size is 1.5 picolitres.

Paper Sizes: Postcard through to A3+ with borderless printing.

Interfaces: High-Speed USB 2.0, Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n), Ethernet, Mobile Epson Connect, Epson Email Print, Epson iPrint and PictBridge.

Main Features: 6.1 cm colour LCD display panel with touch controls, Micro Piezo on-demand print head with 180 nozzles per colour, variable droplet sizing, choice of three quality print settings, automatic two-sided document printing, automatic output tray opening/closing, direct CD/ DVD printing, Epson Easy Photo Print.

Dimensions (WxHxD): 476x159x369 mm.

Weight: 8.5 kilograms.

Price: $499 (includes a set of ‘Standard’ ink cartridges). Replacement ink cartridges cost $18.99 for the ‘Standard’ capacity and $31.99 for the ‘High Yield XL’ capacity. Replacement maintenance tanks costs $13.99.

Distributor: Epson Australia, telephone 1300 131 928 or visit www.epson.com.auv

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ePSon

TREVERN DAWES

eXPreSSion PremiUm eT-7750

ECONOMIES OF SCALE Epson extends the economies of its EcoTank system to an A3 format printer that’s actually intended for photo printing and not just documents.

Trevern Dawes finds out if you can have both quantity and quality with your inkjet printing.

T

he evolution of the inkjet photo printer in all its formats moves along at a steady pace and then occasionally takes a significant step forward. As consumers, what we’d like to see in a printer might be little

more than wishful thinking, but eventually the manufacturers deliver the goods.

By adding bulk inks to an A4 multi-functional printer two major wish list items were satisfied with cheaper inks and more continuous usage. Now for the first time in the Epson EcoTank printer family,

A3 printing is included. The nearest ‘all-in-one’ Epson printer is the Workforce 7510 at $722. It has A3 capacity and pigmented inks, but runs only off small cartridges.

The key points of the ET-7750 are the sheer convenience of a bulk ink system and the economy derived. Usually a printer comes

with just one set of inks but the ET7750 comes with two, to total 840 millilitres of ink or the equivalent of about 30 sets of cartridges!

The double ink set creates another first in inkjet printers, yet it is not an achievement Epson has highlighted. Having the capacity to print up to 14,000 pages for black and 9000 for colour (but basically text pages – not photographs) without needing to buy more ink is a welcome feature bound to attract a great deal of attention.

oUT of THe BoX The box contains the printer itself, the power cable, a guide sheet for the printer set-up, a software CD, warranty document, two sets of ink bottles (black as a 140 millilitres pigment with cyan, magenta, yellow and photo black dyes at 70 millilitres each) and a maintenance box.

ON TRIAL The printer already has a maintenance box in place so what is provided is a replacement unit that is inserted when the printer indicates. A USB cable is not included.

A two year warranty is available if the printer is registered within one month of purchase.

The ET-7750 is finished in black with some panels in gloss and others matte. A footprint of 526x415 millimetres doesn’t take up too much desk space and the weight of 10.5 kilograms means it’s comparatively easy to move. Up front and centre is the adjustable control panel with a 6.8 cm LCD colour display screen.

To the left of this screen is the On/ Off button illuminated in green when switched on (and which flickers during printing) supported by the ‘Home Screen’ and CD/DVD buttons. To the right of the screen is a set of buttons which includes four-way directional keys, plus and minus keys (for selecting the number of prints) and a ‘Previous Screen’ key. An orange ‘Cancel’ button and ‘Print Start’ button complete the controls.

The front-facing ink tanks are housed at the bottom right of the printer and the USB slot at the bottom left with the SD card port above. For printing without a computer connection, these two inputs link to the LCD screen where images can be selected and printing parameters established.

The folding cover for the copy area can accommodate books up to about 35 millimetres thick.

The rear paper feed handles up to ten sheets of photo media in sizes up to A3 and panorama sheets as large as 297 millimetres wide and 1117 millimetres long. It is also the appropriate feed position for heavyweight papers that could jam up in the front paper cassette trays.  All the contents of the ET-7750’s shipping carton are well wrapped up in sealed plastic wrap.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SPEED AND THE QUALITY SETTINGS IS NOTICEABLE TO THE POINT OF STRESSING THE NEED TO ALWAYS GO FOR THE BEST QUALITY UNLESS TIME REALLY IS AN ISSUE. The rear paper feed folds down into a rather neat box compartment.

All the paper trays are flimsy and need to be treated carefully. The smaller cassette number one will accommodate 20 sheets of 13x18 centimetres Premium Gloss paper while cassette number two handles up to 100 sheets of plain paper. Paper is placed coated side downin the cassettes. The paper receiving tray resides on top of the cassettes and the CD/DVD tray is located underneath.

All four trays at the front are so close together they can be awkward to use by all except those with very nimble fingers.

If the paper receiving tray is not extended correctly, the printer will advise. Ethernet, USB and power connections are located at the back of the printer.

Epson proudly claims the Mopria-certified ET-7750 to be a complete solution covering standard USB cable connection to a computer, Ethernet for multiple computers, Wi-Fi Direct and printing from remote devices such iPad, iPhone, Android tablets and Smartphone.

SeTTinG UP Prior to making a start on the setup procedure it’s most helpful to view the YouTube Epson support videos accessed by searching ‘Epson ET-7750 setup’.

The set-up routine is a little bit more involved than for most printers as it requires an initial charging of inks and then a top-up.

To avoid any likelihood of spillage in transferring ink from bottles to printer, there is a special coupling system. This will be welcomed by all except those who might be thinking about the use of thirdparty inks to further reduce running costs. The system doesn’t entirely negate the use of other inks, but does require the transfer of ink to the original Epson bottles in order to access the printer’s tanks.

ePSon eT-7750 Getting the printer ready for work starts either with the instruction sheet or via the CD. If the instruction sheet is followed, everything begins by opening the scanner unit lid and ink tank cover.

The inks can be loaded in any order, but most will start with the pigmented black ink. The bottle is held upright and the lid unscrewed without shaking or squeezing the bottle. Each ink bottle has an autostop ink fill feature that is uniquely keyed for filling each colour tank so there is no likelihood of getting it wrong. After inserting the bottle, it will drain to a point where it will automatically stop just below the upper line. This will take about 30 seconds. The caps on the ink tank and the ink bottle are then sealed.

After all the tanks have been filled, the ink cover and scanner lids are closed, the power cord is connected, the control panel raised and the printer turned on.

A small amount of ink is used to charge up the printer and will slightly lower the ink levels that must then be topped up. After ‘OK’ is pressed to accept ‘English’ (or other) the instructions on the LCD screen will advance to a point where the ‘Start’ is pressed to commence the seven-minute installation process. When completed, press ‘OK’. The scanner lid and ink cover are re-opened and each ink tank topped up. After yet another hit of ‘OK’, the left and right arrows are used to check each colour and then the ‘Start’ button to reset the ink levels.

Finally, press ‘OK’ and ‘Adjust’ and follow the on-screen instructions.

The CD can then be inserted in a computer for the driver, operational manual and software programs to be installed.

The best way to go about the set-up is to insert the software disc in the computer and follow the instructions for ink installation and finally the printer driver. Otherwise, follow the instruction sheet for the ink procedures and then insert the CD to confirm what has already been done.

Custom paper sizes vary from 89 to 297 millimetres in Custom width and from 127 to 1117.6 millimetres in height.

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 Ink levels and print progress are available on the display screen while the ink levels can be gauged in the translucent tanks.

The ‘Print Preview screen is the important final checkpoint before commencing printing.  The ‘More Options’ panel accesses all the printer controls available.

 The ‘Main’ print set-up screen, including for paper type and quality/speed settings.

 Epson’s ‘Easy Photo Print’ software allows files to be printed without the need to go via an image editing program such as Photoshop.

The ‘Colour Management’ panel provides options beyond “Auto’ for colour control, mode, gamma and any adjustment to colour, brightness, contrast, saturation and density.

 The ‘Maintenance’ panel for operations such as nozzle checking and head cleaning.

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ON TRIAL For those using the latest computers that no longer include a CD/DVD facility the installation can be carried out from the Epson website.

The comprehensive 205-page manual for the printer is accessed via an icon on the desktop. This is very much a reference manual and not something that most will attempt to absorb in every detail.

By clicking on the required page number in the index, the manual goes directly to that page.

PrinT PaneLS Paper types are listed as ‘Plain’, ‘Epson Ultra Glossy’, ‘Epson Premium Glossy’, ‘Epson Premium SemiGlossy’, ‘Photo Paper Glossy’, ‘Epson Matte’, ‘Epson Photo Quality Ink Jet’, ‘Epson Photo Stickers’ and ‘Envelope’. Print quality is listed as ‘Draft’, ‘Standard’, ‘High’, and ‘More Settings’. The ‘More Settings’ is a three-step adjustment between ‘Speed’ and ‘Quality’.

Under ‘Additional Settings’ there is the option to turn ‘High Speed’ printing off.

If Epson Matte paper is selected, the quality setting is ‘Standard’ and there is no way of moving up to ‘High’. It seems odd that the matte setting has a limit on print resolution, but it is likely that Epson has adopted a conservative approach in seeing a possible ink bleeding situation with images containing large black areas on some types of matte paper if ‘High’ was applied.

For the sake of a little experimentation, a sheet of A4 matte paper was printed as Epson Gloss at the ‘High’ quality setting and with ‘High Speed’ switched off. This certainly provided a finer dot structure, but a magnifier is required to see the difference.

Such is the forgiving nature of dyes, but it still comes down to individual user tests.

Postcard prints from paper placed in Cassette 1 took 20 seconds using ‘Standard’ quality with ‘High Speed’ which increased to 32 seconds with ‘High Speed’ switched off. Stepping up the ‘High’ quality setting resulted in times of 45 seconds and 70 seconds with the higher resolution producing a better outcome.

On A3 size Epson Premium Photo Paper Glossy, a print using ‘Standard’ quality with ‘High Speed’ on took just 80 seconds.

THE SHEER CONVENIENCE OF BEING ABLE TO MAKE A HUGE HEAP OF PRINTS BEFORE INK TOPUPS ARE REQUIRED AND THE LOW INK REPLACEMENT COSTS COMBINE TO MAKE A FORMIDABLE PACKAGE. The print time increased to 5:40 minutes with the ‘High’ quality setting and ‘High Speed’ switched off. The difference between the speed and the quality settings is noticeable to the point of stressing the need to always go for the best quality unless time really is an issue. When a successful print routine has been established all the attributes can be saved under ‘Printing Presets’ and ‘Add/Remove Presets’.

 Easy and foolproof ink tank loading via dedicated bottles ensures no spills.

This allows quick printing of all regular routines without needing to go through all the settings at each new printing session. For further information ‘Help’ can be accessed by right-clicking the mouse over any feature in a print panel.

inK raTinGS One of the key questions asked by serious print-makers concerns the longevity of these bulk inks. The nearest ink set from Epson would appear to be the four inks of the L355 series (which is not available in Australia). Wilhelm Research has ratings of two years under glass for plain paper and up to seven years for Premium Glossy paper. Figures for dark storage have not as yet been published.

This is hardly encouraging news. Enquiries to Epson Australia regarding print longevity have been forwarded on to Japan with any results not available at the time of completing this review. In the meantime, Epson UK indicates prints will “…last up to 300 years in a photo album”. Certainly a very bold statement.

PrinT QUaLiTY While most users will opt for the ‘Auto’ mode or ‘Easy Photo Print’ (part of the installation) for general printing, more precise settings are available for those who carefully prepare print files.

The pathway is ‘More Options’, ‘Colour Correction’, ‘Custom’ and ‘Advanced’.

 The two cassettes removed ready for paper loading.

ePSon eT-7750 In ‘Colour Management’ choose ‘Colour Controls’ and then, in ‘Colour Mode’, choose either ‘Standard’ for sRGB files or ‘Adobe RGB’ for files with the Adobe RGB (1998) colour space.

Any alterations made to overall colour, brightness, contrast, saturation and density may be saved for future printing sessions.

In appraising dye-based prints it’s important to let them thoroughly dry down before an assessment of colour can be made. What the printer immediately turns out may be slightly red, but should be ‘normal’ later.

In times past, serious print makers would have scoffed at the thought of using a four-colour inkjet printer. Although the four colours of the Epson ET-7750 cannot match the capacity of printers with six or more inks, the image quality is remarkably good and certainly good enough for many tasks. The dyes can be more vibrant than pigments, especially on gloss and semi-gloss papers, while the very fine dot structure (5760x1440 dpi) cannot be matched by pigment printers.

An A3 size print made on Epson Premium Gloss and using the maximum quality settings took 5:40 minutes. The print file size of 95 MB contained plenty of detail and the high resolution of the printer rendered that detail extremely well.

To gain impact in the file, some tonal scale was sacrificed.

ePSon eT-7750 This did not put any undue strain on the four-colour inks and the resulting print was just about the equal of those printed with a ninecolour ink set. Top quality prints can be obtained from print files that don’t contain a vast range of subtle tones and detail in both highlights and shadows. The perfect surface of the dyes and their brightness might just be characteristics that sway photographers who may conclude that, if the print deteriorates after seven years under glass then it’s cheap enough to just produce another.

A3 prints made on Epson’s Archival Matte (189 gsm) paper and printed at the ‘Standard’ quality setting with ‘High Speed’ switched off took 2:25 minutes. When, as outlined earlier, the matte paper was deliberately printed as gloss in order to use the ‘High’ quality setting, it took 5:40 minutes Using a basic four-colour ink printer with fine-art paper would seem to be an over-reach, but for

ON TRIAL the sake of the exercise some Epson Cold Press Bright sheets were printed from the rear tray.

At 340 gsm this paper is about as heavyweight as it gets, yet the printer accepted the paper and turned out a good result as well.

The ET-7750 doesn’t have the capacity for the colour management precision of dedicated photo printers using ICC profiles and multiple inks.

Nevertheless, it does produce a remarkable print that would cause the scoffers of yesterday to applaud. Most people and organisations who will purchase this printer don’t expect the utmost in quality or saleable long-term print life. The ‘all-inone’ functionality combined with relatively inexpensive and plentiful ink are the important factors.

BLaCK anD WHiTe Using four colours for monochrome printing will usually result in a colour cast. The black and

 The ET-7750 shown with all the paper trays and the scanner lid open.

white prints (files allocated the sRGB colour space) had extensive tonal scale, but appeared dullish grey all over. However, there is a way of achieving neutral results by applying the old technique of forcing the use of the black ink only.

This approach may not appeal to everybody, but it’s handy to know there is an alternative. It’s worth experimenting with the ‘Plain Paper’ setting to bring the black ink pigment into play along with the ‘High’ quality setting (with ‘High Speed’ switched off).

A standard greyscale A4 print on Epson semi-gloss was produced in 3:15 minutes using the ‘High’ quality and with ‘High Speed’ switched off. The same image on the same paper using the same settings, but with ‘Plain Paper’ type took 55 seconds. At the A3 size, the time was 1:25 minutes. By using ‘Plain Paper’ type only the pigmented black ink is used. This immediately brings in far greater longevity,

neutral ‘colour’ and a very fine black dot structure rather than the microweave patterning of inks as per the standard ‘grayscale’ method. By reducing brightness by a -8 value, and contrast by -7, some excellent results were achieved.

The pigmented black on a semi-gloss surface did not exhibit any signs of gloss differential or bronzing. It’s a fascinating comparison between the two methods for making black and white prints and one for the individual to decide if the black-inkonly approach is worthwhile.

Custom paper sizes may be established via ‘Main’, ‘Paper Size’ and ‘User-Defined’ where the width can be from 89 to 297 millimetres and the length from 127 to 1117.6 millimetres. A panoramic image sized at 267x750 millimetres was printed on matte paper at 297x900 millimetres. The printing time with the ‘Standard’ quality setting was just 2:50 minutes. The paper was held by the rear tray without any support and the printer accepted it without any problem. All that was required was the need to catch the paper when it was released.

Devotees of panoramic printmaking will be pleased.

Panoramic prints created at the maximum length will need to use paper cut down from rolls. In order to avoid any likelihood of head strike marks, it is recommended the paper be flattened down to avoid curling.

BooKinG in The capacity to be able to work with custom page sizes up to A3 is a distinct advantage for D-I-Y bookmaking. Two 210x230 millimetres books were produced from A4 sheets of Epson’s double-sided 178 gsm matte paper. The first was designed from Adobe sRGB profiled images and the second from Adobe RBG 1998 images. In each case, the appropriate ‘Colour Management’ and ‘Colour Mode’ resulted in accurate results.

To achieve the highest resolution available the gloss paper type was selected to override the ‘Standard’ quality normally locked into matte paper. Although this is a complete mis-match the results were excellent, thanks to the forgiving nature of dyes. The A4 paper was ‘fanned’ to prevent

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 Front view of the Epson ET-7750 showing the control panel and colour LCD display panel.

the likelihood of multiple sheet in-take jams and stacked in the rear paper feeder. No problems were encountered in continuous page printing.

Based on this experience, the Epson ET-7750 is ideally suited to D-I-Y bookmaking and associated projects such as calendars and mini posters. Custom-size pages, high print resolution, vibrant dyes, plentiful ink and the claim (albeit questionable) of ‘up to a 300 year life’ in dark storage could be reason enough to acquire one.

Doing The SumS A3 format multi-functional printers are now available for as low as $200, but only come with small cartridges which aren’t cheap and require regular replacement. It wouldn’t take long for you to have paid more for ink than the printer’s purchase price.

The EcoTank bulk ink system means long-term printing at a far more economical rate per millilitre.

Now it’s up to the individual to determine the number of prints likely to be made in a week or month to see how the $200 printer and a pile of cartridges stack up against the initial higher price for the Epson ET-7750 and the cheaper on-going ink costs.

An outlay of $999 would go a long way elsewhere, either towards an A3+ or A2 format inkjet printer with multiple inks sets or a combination such as Epson’s Expression HD XP-15000 model at $499 (replacing the Artisan 1430) with Claria inks rated at 98 years under glass and an A4 multifunctional with bulk inks such as the Epson ET-4550.

Other Epson printers such as the Workforce WF-7610 is A3+ format at $299, the ET-4500 is $499, the SureColor P405 (A3+ with eight pigmented inks for $899 )and the P600 (an A3+ machine with nine inks at $1299) should be considered when you’re working out the comparative economics.

The 70 millilitre ink bottles retail at $22.99 each which works out at about 43 cents per millilitre. It is not uncommon to have an ink cost of over $2 per millilitre for the small cartridges so the cost saving is appreciable. To put this into perspective, some third party inks can be 15 cents per millilitre, but going down that road can have other complications.

The VerDicT Our test Epson ET-7750 was given a thorough workout for two weeks to tackle a variety of projects,

including display prints, panoramic prints, A5 greetings cards, book production, post cards, CD/DVD labels, business cards and basic photocopy and scanning. As a four-colour dye-based printer it does a remarkable job, especially when used at the ‘High’ print quality setting with gloss or semi-gloss media.

The ET-7750 is moderate in size and weight and runs quietly, but could damage easily with careless handling of the lightweight plastic trays. The versatility of this printer in having all three trays loaded up at the same time is a boon to print production. A typical arrangement might be to have A4 plain paper in the cassette for copy work or reports, the smaller tray devoted to postcard or 13x18 centimetres photo sheets with the rear tray dedicated for photo printing up to A3 and panoramas. The sheer convenience of being able to make a huge heap of prints before ink top-ups are required and the low ink replacement costs combine to make a formidable package.

Advances made by both Epson and Canon with multi-functional printers have been significant with the bulk ink systems a key component. What hasn’t been adequately addressed as yet is the longevity of the dye ink sets in this category of printers. If Epson can introduce a Claria-type ink set in bulk ink form, it would not only have a winner, but the cheaper third-party ink people could be pushed ‘right out of the picture’. The bottom line is that the ET-7750 requires a lot of printing to make it a viable proposition and here is where small

EPSON ET-7750 businesses, clubs and schools, for example, would find it to be a very handy facility. However, photo enthusiasts might consider it only as a support unit for a dedicated photo printer that offers larger print-making capabilities, ICC profile management and far greater print longevity. The support role would be for general office duties and printing where long-term print life is not a requirement.

The bulk ink and A3 printing capacity of the ET-7750 create yet another member of the Epson family of home and small business printers. For some it will be the perfect solution and for others it will only make the Epson range of inkjet printers all the more difficult to sort out.

VITAL STATISTICS epSon expreSSion premium eT-7750 $999 Printer Type: A3 format multi-function inkjet printer using four colours of dyebased inks and one pigmented black ink delivered via line from refillable internal ink tanks. Colours are cyan, magenta, yellow and photo black plus pigment black.

A4 document scanner, photocopier and fax functions.

Ink Cartridges: No cartridges. Printer has internal ink tanks which are refillable.

Initial supply and replacement ink supplied in 70 millilitres bottles (140 millilitres for the pigment black ink).

Maximum Resolution: 5760x1440 dpi with Epson ‘Variable-Sized Droplet Technology’.

Minimum ink droplet size is 1.5 picolitres.

Paper Sizes: Postcard through to A3 with borderless printing.

Interfaces: High-Speed USB 2.0, Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n), Mobile Epson Connect, Epson Email Print and Epson iPrint.

Main Features: Integral refillable ink tanks, 6.8 cm LCD display panel with touch controls, Micro Piezo on-demand print head with 360 nozzles for black and 180 nozzles per CMY colour, variable droplet sizing, choice of three quality/ speed print settings, SD memory card slot.

Dimensions (WxHxD): 526x168x415 mm.

Weight: 10.5 kilograms.

Price: $999 (includes two sets of ink bottles for all five colours). Replacement ink bottles cost $22.99 each for the dye colours (70 millilitres) and $29.99 for the pigmented black (140 millilitres).

Distributor: Epson Australia, telephone 1300 131 928 or visit www.epson.com.au

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EPSON

REPORT BY

TREVERN DAWES

SURECOLOR P5070

WORKING CLASS Aimed at both photo pros and enthusiasts, Epson’s A2 format P5070 is a big printer capable of big results. Trevern Dawes puts this formidable machine through its paces.

E

pson’s SureColor P5070 replaces the Pro 4900 model (which we reviewed back in 2011) as the only available A2 format photo printer to utilise 200-millilitre ink cartridges and incorporate a permanent roll holder.

The P5070 (designated P5000 in most other countries) is

designed to address the exacting requirements of job proofing, packaging markets and fine-art photography endeavours and it does so in three editions – Standard with light light black (LLB) ink for 98 percent Pantone range capacity, Commercial with violet instead of LLB for 99 percent Pantone range and Designer which adds EFI Fiery eXpress, a software

RIP with Adobe PostScript 3 for accurate CMYK and spot colour printing. The Standard version is best suited for photo printing, particularly for black and white work.

Competitors for the SureColor P5070 are the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 and Epson’s own SureColor P1800 model. Both produce

excellent result and both utilise 80 millilitres ink cartridges. The P5070 essentially stands alone as a heavy-duty work horse intended for commercial use or for the enthusiast who either intends to produce a heap of prints or who simply enjoys working with a solid and versatile printer.

The printer arrives on a timber pallet so, if collecting it yourself from a supplier, you’ll need a large vehicle and two people to deal with the 100x 91x59 centimetres box weighing a substantial 62.5 kilograms. Even if you have it delivered, you’ll still require two people to move this box, unpack it and place the printer on a very solid bench or desk.

IN THE (BIG) BOX The packaging box contains the printer, roll media adapter for two-inch and three-inch cores, the power cord, 80 millilitres ‘start-

ON TRIAL up’ inks, a maintenance tank, a borderless maintenance tank, the installation/safety manual, utilities software and a user manual (on CD). Both the violet and the light light black ink cartridges are included, with the owner making the choice about discarding, selling or swapping the cartridge no longer required.

The P5070 has Epson’s ‘PrecisionCore Thin Film’ (TFP) print head with ‘Variable Sized Droplet’ technology (the minimum droplet size is 3.5 picolitres) and a maximum resolution of 2880x1440 dpi. This enables superior fidelity and tonal gradations. The latest Epson UltraChrome HDX pigment aqueous ink set enhances colour gamut, Dmax and image durability with better water and scratch resistant properties. An optional SpectroProofer (ILS30) – developed in association with X-Rite – is available for precision colour management and ISO standard proofing work.

Significant changes have been made with the HDX inks compared to the HD and K3 sets. There is less bronzing and gloss differential characteristics while a new resin coating and much denser blacks improves density by a factor of 1.5.

Epson quotes optical densities of 2.8 on its Premium Gloss Photo paper, 1.77 on the Enhanced Matte paper and 1.65 on the Ultra Smooth Fine Art media.

A new ink-repellent surface coating is incorporated in the

PRINTS MADE ON EPSON’S HOT AND COLD PRESS BRIGHT PAPERS WERE EVERYTHING ONE COULD HOPE FOR. HERE IS WHERE THE SURECOLOR P5070 EXCELS.

EPSON SURECOLOR P5070

PrecisionCore TFP print head. The tighter seals and reduced static enhancement are intended to both minimise any likelihood of nozzle clogging and limit maintenance.

DESIGN AND CONTROLS The printer is finished in a handsome black except for a 30 millimetres wide silver decorative strip across the top, a clear lift-up panel over the print head and a translucent lift over cover for the roll holder.

All the controls are located on the right-hand side. Above the 2.7-inch colour LCD screen are the ‘On/Off’ and ‘Pause/Cancel’ buttons, while under the screen are buttons for auto/manual black ink switching, roller pressure release and manual paper cut from the roll. The menu is accessed via four arrows plus the ‘OK’ button with the up arrow serving to release paper and the down arrow to insert paper. At the end of the silver strip and above the SureColor P5070 badge is a large white light cover which glows orange when paper is not loaded correctly.

The paper receiving bay handles smaller prints, but for large prints a tray extends out 34 centimetres in two sections and has a small foldup paper stopper at the end. Under the tray is the paper cassette. The front loading pathway lies on top of the receiving tray, and the rear manual load is located under a lid immediately in front of the roll holder. Six cartridges reside at the front in the lower left corner and five on the right corner.

There are four paper loading systems – front manual, rear manual, front cassette and roll.

Borderless printing capacity is programmed to print on standard sizes of cut sheets.

SETTING UP Although going through the user manual (installed with a desktop icon) in detail might take quite a few hours, it’s time well spent, as it pays to be fully aware of the capabilities of this printer, including all the preferences. The on-screen manual is very well presented, with quick cross references from the contents listing. Items like page printable area, paper skew on and off, auto or manual switching of black inks, sleep times etc., can be left at the default or changed as required.

 The ‘Main’ print panel controls the media type, colour mode, print quality, paper source, paper size and advanced paper options.

The set-up procedure begins with the installation of the ink cartridges and priming of the print head. This will take about 18 minutes. A further six minutes is added as the printer performs an auto nozzle check. Installation of the software driver follows, adding about another 15 minutes.

About 20 millilitres of ink from each start-up cartridge is required to fill the supply lines to the print head. This leaves about 60 millilitres per cartridge or a total of about 660 millilitres to start making prints. As the P5070 is intended for volume printing, it won’t be long before you’ll need to acquire a full set of 200 millilitres Standard cartridges at $139 each. Although this represents a considerable outlay on top of the printer acquisition, it does mean a heap of ink (start-ups plus standards) capable of producing over 700 A2-size prints (allowing four millilitres per print) at a very economical cost.

PAPER HANDLING The paper cassette can handle up to 100 sheets of A2 paper with paper thicknesses of 0.08 to 0.27 millimetres. Paper must be

placed coated side down so, when each sheet is transported, it rolls through at 180 degrees to the print head position.

The rear, single sheet, manual feed can handle paper that’s 254 to 610 millimetres long, and 203 to 432 millimetres wide with thicknesses of 0.08 to 0.79 millimetres. After raising the paper support, a sheet is inserted and pushed down gently down until it stops. The edge guide is secured and the down button pressed.

Printing can then proceed at the ‘Ready’ message. If the paper is not positioned correctly, the big orange light comes on and a ‘Paper Out’ message appears, advising pressing the up button to retrieve the paper and start again.

Alternatively, the print file may be sent first and the orange light plus message will advise to load up the paper. The printer is very particular with manual paper loading so expect some initial rejects.

The front manual feed is intended for heavyweight paper from 0.8 to 1.5 millimetres in thickness (e.g. Epson Cold Press Bright at 340 gsm). It involves pressing the release pressure button, opening the print cover

Epson surEColor p5070

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 The ‘Advanced’ black and white panel provides access to comprehensive control options for B&W printing.

 The ‘Page Layout’ panel.

 The ‘Preview’ panel is the final and critical stage for printing.

to facilitate the hand feeding of a single sheet over the black rollers and under the grey rollers, and finally the accurate positioning of the trailing right hand corner of the paper against the corner guide marker. A4/B4 papers take a different corner guide. After closing the lid and pressing the release press button the ‘Ready’ message appears. Get this wrong and the ‘Paper Load Error’ message with the orange light will

appear to indicate starting again.

This is not the best of manual front load systems, but after a little practice it is simple enough.

Because of the amount of paper handling involved the use of gloves is recommended.

The user manual provides an excellent guide – along with the menu – for the assembly of the roll holder and loading a paper roll. The leading edge of the paper roll is inserted as far as it will travel and

 All manner of adjustment are available in the ‘Colour Controls’ panel.

the LCD screen then organises paper type, auto or manual paper cut and printing of a cut line if required. Manual cutting via the printed line is recommended for heavy-weight papers in order to prevent dulling the blade. No issues with paper transport should occur, thanks to its own powerdriven mechanism.

The paper width must be established (e.g. 406 or 432 millimetres according to roll width)

in custom sizing and various heights stipulated and saved.

This might involve settings such as 406x350 millimetres for typical 3:2 aspect ratio images to be printed across the paper, or 406 x 610 millimetres for maximum enlargement of 3:2 ratio images.

Panoramas take on other sizes such as 406x900 millimetres.

Maximum paper length extends all the way to 15 metres!

Specifications for the roll are

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EPSON SURECOLOR P5070

established on the menu where the remaining length of paper is shown. There is even an alert to notify when it’s close to the end of the roll according to a value determined by the user.

The roll feed and the three paper feed systems work in unison and all it takes is a button press and a disengagement/link up of the roll.

PRINT PANEL The ‘Main’ print panel controls the media type, colour mode, print quality, paper source, paper size and advanced paper options. ‘Page Layout’ and ‘Utility’ are supporting panels. In the ‘Main’ panel Epson Standard sRGB, Adobe RGB and PhotoEnhance are the printer’s basic colour management options, while for the most accurate results ICM locks into ICC profiles.

Photoshop devotees usually let the printer manage colour (if Photoshop is to manage colour then ‘Off –no colour adjustment’ must be selected).

Right clicking on the mouse over any feature in a print panel will allow access to a ‘Help’ facility for further information.

The ‘Main’ print panel has initial default settings. When different settings are established for a print, they can be saved for quick recall in subsequent printing sessions.

Ideally, every favourite paper will have its own name and that will make working with different papers quick and convenient, instead of needing to construct a new set from the default for just one print.

A series of tests will need to be conducted to determine the most appropriate settings for the Quality Levels and the ‘High Speed’ option. Normally the default level of quality of four (i.e.

SuperFine, 720x1440 dpi) would be adopted but going up to level five (SuperPhoto, 2880x1440 dpi) with the ‘High Speed’ setting switched off may be preferred, despite the significant increase in print times.

If imposed non-printable margins become a problem and the preview image is not centred, then there is scope to override via ‘Main/Paper Settings/ Printable Area’. Changes may be necessary here to alter the selection for ‘Standard’, ‘Centred’ and ‘Maximum’, with regard to the advisory note that “Extending

 Quality levels range from One to Five with the option of having ‘High Speed’ printing switched on or off.

the printable area could lead to a decline in print quality”.

‘Media Type’ is divided into five categories. ‘Photo Paper’ has 11 profiles (including baryta), ‘Proofing Paper’ has two, ‘Fine Art’ has five (including Canvas Matte and Canvas Satin), ‘Matte Paper’ has five and ‘Plain Paper’ has two. Paper manufacturers like Hahnemühle, Innova, Canson and Moab already provide ICC profiles for the printer. Although the profiles incorporated in the printer and those provided by thirdparty paper manufacturers will be perfect for most users, those who like to extract the utmost performance will invariably resort to customised ICC profiles.

All print files used in this review were assigned the Adobe RGB (1998) colour space. Printing via Photoshop involved locking into ‘ICM’ and the appropriate profile for each paper.

BLACK SWITCH The photo black and matte black inks continue to share a common line to the print head. Swapping from one to the other takes two minutes for the photo-to-matte changeover and 3.40 minutes for matte-to-photo, purging four and five millilitres of ink respectively.

This situation has been in practice over many Epson models and for a good reason.

If a dedicated ink line doesn’t get used over a long period, it can lead to serious clogging problems. Having the switchover between photo and matte blacks significantly reduces the possibility of a blockage, hence a

 The ‘Utility’ panel controls the printer’s various maintenance operations.

small inconvenience in the system to ensure trouble-free operation.

Ideally, if print runs are well organised, ink swapping can be kept to a minimum.

TIME TRIALS The relationship between print speed, print resolution and ink consumption is something only the individual can assess according to the tasks involved.

There are five levels of quality, starting with ‘Draft’ at 360x360 dpi, through’ Normal’ at 360x720 dpi, ‘Fine’ at 720x720 dpi, ‘Superfine’ at 720x1440 dpi and, finally, to ‘Super Photo’ at 2880x1440 dpi.

Print times for an A2 size print – as specified by Epson – are 0.5, 0.8, 1.8, 3.6 and 7.0 minutes.

A3+ size prints on Epson Cold Press Bright at the default Level Four quality (i.e. 1440x720 dpi) took 4.30 mins, while stepping up to Level 5 (2880x1440 dpi) took 10.40 minutes. Both prints were produced with ‘High Speed’ switched off. Generally, the default level is appropriate as it locks into the ICC profile. However, there may be advantages in changing the quality levels. This is a matter

for the individual, depending on various factors such as image quality, paper type, time frames or client stipulations. Needless to say, we might well ask who uses a magnifying glass to view prints or is it simply that, if the high 2880x1440 dpi resolution, is available then why not use it?

Paper selection is purely a personal matter, but with the P5070 the most appealing gloss type paper proved to be a baryta gloss (such as Epson Traditional Fibre or Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta). These papers have substantial weight and have the impact of a gloss surface without the high sheen – ideal for both hand viewing and framing. A2 prints at maximum quality (and ‘High Speed’ off) took 10.45 minutes. Certainly not quick, but when ultimate quality is involved then print times really don’t matter.

PANORAMAS As noted earlier, the maximum print length from a roll is 15 metres. Any attempts to produce a banner or panorama extending over many metres would require a check on available paper length

Epson surEColor p5070

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 Custom paper sizes are established and saved to a listing.

 For the most accurate printing, selecting an ICC profile is the best method.

 The LCD read-out screen provides an ink level and maintenance tanks check, but for more accurate results plus a print progress the ‘Ink Level’ panel is preferred.

on the roll and ink supply, several small test prints before committing to the job and continual monitoring to support the print as it emerges.

The first panoramic produced was organised to fit a frame size.

The image was 80x25 centimetres and printed on a 406 millimetres wide roll of Epson Lustre Premium Photo Paper (260 gsm) on a custom paper size of 406x900 millimetres. At Level Five quality and with ‘High Speed’ off, the print time was 10.30 minutes.

The longest panorama print produced was an image of 980x370 millimetres made on custom-sized paper at 406x1100 millimetres. For this print Level Four quality was set with ‘High Speed’ switched on which gave a

print time of 7.10 minutes. On that basis, a 15 metres long panorama print would take nearly one-and-ahalf hours!

BLack and White The performance of Epson printers using UltraChrome inks for black and white printing has always been of the highest order and the SureColor P5070 just keeps this tradition going.

The ‘Advanced’ black and white mode allows a high degree of control. Printing on gloss and semi-gloss media with pigments usually results in gloss differential problems, but the UltraChrome HDX ink set goes a long way in keeping this to a minimum. Then there is the option in ‘Colour

Controls’ of having the ‘Highlight Point Shift’ set to ‘On’. This places more dots to slightly grey out the non-inked areas in a print. The blackness of the photo black ink on gloss media is more pronounced than the matte black and this helps to promotes top-class black and white printing.

The process of reviewing an inkjet printer involves putting the unit to work with typical projects.

In the case of the SureColor P5070 this meant concentrating on A2 display prints made on a variety of papers, a few panorama prints and a D-I-Y photo book.

The book format was 345x297 millimetres with 70 pages, and the paper was Schoeller 230 gsm dualsided matte. The ICC profile was downloaded from the Schoeller Website. Everything progressed beautifully and the final, bound book looked splendid. Text was clean and crisp, right down to the 8-point Garamond captions.

The paper cassette is ideal for D-I-Y photo book projects. Paper is inserted, printing is organised for the odd page numbers, the print preview is accepted and the operator walks away to let the printer look after everything. After drying down, the even-numbered pages are attended to.

Pigment printers and matte or fine-art papers are a popular combination. Prints made on Epson’s Hot and Cold Press Bright papers were everything one could hope for. Here is where the SureColor P5070 excels.

Gloss differential occurs with pigments on gloss/semi-gloss or lustre surface media and happens

around clear or un-inked areas of a print. Chroma or gloss optimiser cartridges are used in some printers to place a clear layer over the print. Those that work well tend to dull down the surface, while others have little effect at all. The improved microcrystal encapsulation of the UltraChrome HDX inks lessens the problem and represents a considerable improvement on older ink sets.

On a Gloss Traditional Baryta paper, gloss differential is not as noticeable because the surface is not entirely smooth. For some people, gloss differential is not an issue and is something only visible when the print is viewed at an acute angle. Furthermore, once prints are framed under glass the problem goes away.

Throughout the extensive print-making tests we conducted with the P5070, there were no paper jams or head strikes, the profiles were spot-on and the detail rendered in shadow areas was excellent. Operating noise is relatively quiet. Print head activity is barely audible and, while the exhaust fan does buzz away, it is hardly objectionable. When ‘Auto Nozzle Check’ is selected (rather than timed intervals), the printer will stop whenever it needs to, and display a “Cleaning, Please Wait” message in the LCD panel.

Longevity The life span of an ink/paper combination should be a critical factor in any high-end inkjet printer.

The performance of epson prinTers using ulTrachrome inks for black and whiTe prinTing has always been of The highesT order and The p5070 jusT keeps This TradiTion going.

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Epson surEColor p5070 set ensure the best combination of print longevity, colour range, neutrality in black and white work, ink economy and the reduction in gloss differential and bronzing characteristics that no longer need limit the use of gloss and semigloss media for pigment printing.

The previous Stylus Pro 4900 model was one of those heavyduty units that simply delivered the goods with a decent ink supply.

Its replacement unit adds a few features, extends both gamut and print life, comes with lower prices, and carries on regardless to become a stand-out choice for the busy print-maker.

u With the receiving tray fully extended, a very wide table is required for the printer.

According to the Epson report on the Wilhelm-Research.com Website, the longevity ratings for the UltraChrome HDX inks are expected to be up 200 years for colour prints in dark storage and in excess of 400 years in dark storage for black and white prints. These ratings would be about twice that of the earlier generations of UltraChrome inks.

All Wilhelm Research ratings are projections based on laboratory-controlled accelerated fading tests. There may indeed be some scepticism involved because most of us don’t have access to ideal display or storage environments while the real, long term behaviour of inks and paper cannot be assessed. Even so, it’s still a comparative matter and the UltraChrome HDX inks just happen to be on top of the list.

The VerdicT The availability of a five-year on-site service pack with the P5070 which costs $3895 in total represents top value for commercial enterprises as this provides peace of mind.

 All the printer controls and the LCD panel are located at bottom right of the printer.

Likewise, once the outlay for a set of 200 millilitres inks has been overcome, the value and convenience of those large, lowcost-per-millilitre cartridges can be immeasurable.

The capacity to have the printer loaded up with media in the paper cassette tray, two manual feed and a roll means plenty of guns to go. A second or third spindle with different paper can further enhance this capacity. The convenience of being able to print from rolls – where handling really only relates to collecting from the receiving tray – is a major advantage.

Accurate paper alignment and smooth paper transport mean producing panorama prints is a simple process.

The SureColor P5070 is essentially a junior version of the

 The left-hand side ink cartridge compartment.

much larger SureColor P7000 (24 inches wide) and P9000 (44 inches) professional printers. It doesn’t really have a direct competitor in the A2/17 inches wide category because of the included roll feed system and generous 200 millilitres cartridges.

For those who are familiar with inkjet printers the set-up and running of the P5070 will be straightforward. However, newcomers would be advised to talk to a dealer, not just about the purchase and delivery, but also about having an expert look after the set-up and provide instruction.

It is likely to take several days, if not weeks, to become fully conversant with all the features of the P5070 and to organise the defaults and regular routines.

Thereafter, though, this solid and versatile printer is ready for work.

Longevity ratings for ink and paper combinations are most important when fine-art printing is concerned. The ratings for the UltraChrome HDX ink set could well be the factor that ‘seals the deal’. Enhancements to the ink

 The right-hand side ink cartridge compartment.

VITAL STATISTICS epson surecolor p5070 $2695 Printer Type: A2+ format (17 inches wide) for photo-quality prints via a ten-colour pigmented inkset (but nine cartridges in use at any one time with auto switching between matte black and photo black).

Maximum Resolution: 2880x1440 dpi.

Ink Cartridges: Individual per colour, 200 millilitres capacity. Epson UltraChrome HDX pigments. Colours are photo black, matte black, cyan, light cyan, vivid magenta, yellow, vivid light magenta, light black, orange, green and light black or violet.

Smallest droplet size is 3.5 picolitres via ‘Variable Droplet Technology’.

Paper Sizes: Borderless printing on cut sheets up to A2. Printer accepts paper rolls and has auto or manual paper cutter. Media width range is 203 to 432 millimetres, and maximum print length is 15 metres. Maximum media thickness handling is 1.5 millimetres. Borderless printing from 101x152 mm. up to A2+.

Printer accepts paper rolls of 15 metres length. Customisable print sizes.

Interfaces: Hi-Speed USB 2.0, 100 Base T-Ethernet.

Acoustic Noise: 45.0 dB (A).

Main Features: ‘MicroPiezo AMC’ ondemand print head with 360 nozzles per colour (nine channels), variable droplet sizing, auto nozzle checking, five print quality/speed settings, Advanced B&W mode, auto/manual matte/photo black ink switching (according to media type).

Dimensions (WxHxD): 863x766x405 mm (closed).

Weight: 52.0 kilograms (without ink cartridges or media).

Price: $2695 (inc. GST) includes roll paper holder. Ink cartridges are $139 each. One year warranty with a one year on-site service pack extension for $269 and a two year extension for $499.

Distributor: Epson Australia, telephone 1300 131 928 or visit www.epson.com.au

ON TRIAL

EPSON

REPORT BY

TREVERN DAWES

SURECOLOR SC-P405

Robust and classy – styling conforms with the rest of the SureColor desktop photo printer range.

GLOSSED UP Epson’s gloss-orientated R2000 has gained a loyal following and it now gets the ‘SureColor’ makeover with some refinements to keep it competitive.

Trevern Dawes tries out the SC-P405.

44

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ot so long ago we commented that new inkjet printers arriving on the market were widely spaced events, but recently there has been quite a few arrivals from both Canon and Epson.

Epson’s rebadging of its photo printer line-up under the SureColor name now extends from enthusiast-level all the way up to its professional wide-format models.

The A3+ format SureColor P405 – called the SCP400 in some markets – is a recent addition to Epson’s enthusiast-level line-up and is designed to take over from the Stylus Pro R2000. When the specifications for the SC-P405 is stacked up against the list for the R2000 there appears to be only a few minor differences… most notably, an all-black casing instead of black-and-

ON TRIAL silver and 14 millilitres cartridges instead of 17 millimetres, while the PictBridge connection is no longer provided. Basically it’s more of the same, as if to indicate that this printer is simply being brought under the SureColor banner in handsome black to match up with the SC-P600 and SC-P800 models, but there are a number of refinements and updates.

The very first impression of the P405 is that this is a robust, sizeable and classy-looking printer with all the essential features such as a paper-roll holder, CD/ DVD print tray, individual lines for the matte and gloss black inks, wired and wireless networking and a gloss optimiser cartridge to facilitate printing on gloss media.

A significant drawback is the relatively expensive ink cartridges – $24.99 for 14 millilitres works out at $1.79 per millilitre. Unfortunately, this is the situation with all A3+ format printers.

The one-inch-wide innovative ‘MicroPiezo AMC’ print head with ink repelling coating is designed for more accurate dot replacement and reduced maintenance, while ‘AccuPhoto HG’ imaging technology promotes smoother

MAXIMUM PRINT RESOLUTION IS 5760X1440 DPI DELIVERED VIA EIGHT SETS OF 180 NOZZLES WITH A MINIMUM DROPLET SIZE OF 1.5 PICOLITRES. THIS RATES AS THE FINEST RESOLUTION AVAILABLE IN ANY INKJET PHOTO PRINTER.

transitions and improved highlight and shadow detail rendition.

Maximum print resolution is 5760x1440 dpi delivered via eight sets of 180 nozzles with a minimum droplet size of 1.5 picolitres. This rates as the finest resolution available in any inkjet photo printer.

Although the auto sheet feeder – capable of holding 120 sheets of plain paper and 30 sheets of inkjet media – usually does most of the work, the printer has other paper handling facilities. The rear manual paper feed guide clips onto the back of the printer as a single sheet holder for fine-art papers.

Sheets are placed in the guide and gently pushed into a stop position. After holding for about three seconds, the printer will automatically advance the paper to the ready position.

The front straight-through paper feed is intended for very heavy paper and poster board up to 1.3 millimetres thick. Extra space is required at the rear of the printer as sheets are drawn right through.

The roll-paper holder assembly attaches to the rear and the CD/ DVD tray at the front. The auto sheet feeder and receiving trays extend out over three sections.

Both are strong paper supports.

As this type of printer is not likely to be used on a daily basis with any great volume Epson recommends that it be switched off after a printing session. This causes the print head to return to the ‘home’ position where capping prevents ink drying out.

Running an auto nozzle check and, if necessary, a head-cleaning cycle, at least once a month is also recommended.

EPSON SURECOLOR SC-P405

The ‘Main’ panel sets all the requirements for print-making.

INK AND MEDIA The Epson UltraChrome Hi-Gloss 2 pigmented inks used in the previous Stylus Pro R2000 model have been retained. According to Wilhelm Research, these inks enjoy excellent longevity ratings at the very top end of pigment printing. On Epson Premium Photo Paper Gloss the display life under glass exceeds 100 years and in dark storage (books, albums, etc.) the rating is over 300 years. Other Epson papers vary in their under glass ratings from 85 to 150 years.

A fundamental inkset for most inkjet printers – comprising black, magenta, yellow and cyan – is

The ‘ICM’ panel is where the ‘Input Profile’, ‘Intent’ and ‘Printer Profile’ are established.

usually supplemented by light cyan and light magenta, but in the SC-P405 the extra colours are red and orange. The inclusion of the red and orange means greater emphasis on the warmer tones and perhaps a little less on the

cooler tones. Epson claims the orange ink helps to render more realistic skin tones and browns. This could be a winning aspect for those who concentrate mostly on portraiture and general people studies.

45

EPSON SURECOLOR SC-P405

ON TRIAL

Ink levels and print progress are monitored in one panel.

When the ‘Ink Warning’ appears, it’s time to ensure a replacement cartridge is available.

When the ‘Replace Cartridge’ message appears, the printer stops and will not proceed until a new ink cartridge is inserted.

The SC-P405 uses Epson’s UltraChrome Hi-Gloss 2 pigmented inkset.

Various adjustments can be applied in the ‘Colour Controls’ panels.

The ‘User Defined Paper Size’ panel is used for setting up custom print sizes.

‘Quality Options’ permits changes to the defaults which accompany each type of paper.

ON TRIAL The cartridges accompanying the printer are marked as “Initial”.

These weigh 40 grams as new and 22 grams when expired which indicates a capacity of about 1718 millilitres each. Thereafter the replacement set – denoted as the T312 series – weigh 36 grams as new and 22 grams expired. Here we have a likely ‘world first’ with the “initial” or “start-up” cartridges actually having greater capacity than the standard cartridges!

The ‘Main’ panel controls all the essential settings for print-making.

‘Media Type’ lists 12 print surfaces under five categories – Photo Paper, Matte Paper, Fine Art Paper, Plain Paper and CD/DVD. Printing is either ‘Colour’ or ‘Grayscale’ while ‘Print Quality’ is selected as ‘Speed’, ‘Quality’ or a variation of levels with ‘High Speed’ as being either ‘On’ or ‘Off’ via ‘Options’.

‘Mode’ is all about colour management and here the choices are ‘Epson Standard (sRGB)’, ‘Adobe RGB’ and ‘Epson Vivid’ as a grouping of three – ‘PhotoEnhance’, ‘ICM’ and ‘Off’ (i.e. no colour Adjustment). The ‘Advanced’ panel associated with this grouping of three, allows adjustments to be applied to gamma, brightness, contrast and saturation along with colour

THE FINE RESOLUTION ENABLES CRISP, SHARP TEXT, EVEN AS SMALL AS EIGHTPOINT. THIS SERVED TO INDICATE THAT EXCELLENT QUALITY IS ACHIEVABLE, EVEN IF IT DEMANDS SOME INITIAL JUGGLING IN THE PRINT PANELS.

variation via a colour circle or slider bar system.

For basic printing most users will adopt one of the general three settings while Photoshop-type enthusiasts proceed to ‘ICM’ (let printer manage colour) or ‘Off’ (i.e. no colour adjustment – let Photoshop manage colour).

‘PhotoEnhance’ provides an ‘Advance’ panel where ‘Scene Correction’ can be set to Auto Correct, People, Landscape, Night Scene, Sepia or Grey. Test prints featuring people – and so correction was set to People – produced realistic skin tones while outdoor scenes – locked in as Landscape – were reasonably accurate. This can be regarded as a very general way of making prints, yet the results indicate that using ‘PhotoEnhance’ will be more than adequate most of the time.

Printing with Epson’s Premium Semi Gloss, Premium Gloss, Ultra Premium Photo Luster and Archival Matte papers (using ICM or Adobe RRB as the ‘Mode’) resulted in prints that were both too dark and too cyan. The first thought was to check that the screen was properly calibrated. No problem here, besides other printers on the bench were performing accurately and earlier results with both the SC-P600 and SC-P800 had been accurate. A check with a colleague reviewing this same printer actually revealed exactly the same situation.

In ‘Adobe RGB’ adjusting brightness up by ‘7’ and taking cyan down by ‘5’ produced a good screen match. The minor adjustments made the difference between a fair result and an excellent one. As prosumer printers can vary slightly in a production line, it should be stressed that these outcomes relate to this one particular printer and may not be a common situation with other SC-P405 printers. However, encountering the same situation in two examples is a little unusual.

The SC-P405 will accommodate custom ICC profiles for those who like to fine-tune or work with other papers. For those who are not working via applications such as Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign etc., Epson provides bundled software in the form of Epson Easy Photo Print. This program has its limitations (e.g. no custom sizing,

EPSON SURECOLOR SC-P405 The ‘Utility’ panel relates to the maintenance facilities of the printer.

The ‘Page Layout’ panel in the printer driver.

quality/speed with no variations, no lustre paper listing and basic image adjustments) and should be regarded as a ‘getting started’ arrangement prior to working with applications that open up the full capacity of the printer.

We all have preferred ways to go about print-making after exploring all the methods that a printer can deliver. Once settled on standard routines for the SC-P405, they can be saved under convenient names for on-going work.

GLOSS OPTIMISER The gloss optimiser cartridge helps to overcome the gloss differential and bronzing problems normally

associated with using pigments on gloss media. Some direct comparisons in surface character were made against the recently reviewed Epson EcoTank ET-4500.

The EcoTank model employs dye-based inks so the surface on Epson’s Premium gloss paper is perfect.

The same images were printed with the SC-P405 on Epson Premium Gloss. While the fourcolour system of the EcoTank printer creates quite a good print, not surprisingly the seven inks of the SC-P405 add extra gamut with less contrast. That, however, was not the issue, as it was how well the gloss optimiser worked on the same paper.

The control panel is basic, but entirely adequate.

EPSON SURECOLOR SC-P405

ON TRIAL

Epson’s Easy Photo Print is supplied as part of the software package.

between a coated and non-coated gloss print can be examined. It’s worth making this comparison to appreciate exactly what the optimiser achieves.

When custom-sized prints are created, the gloss optimiser doesn’t always make an accurate overlay. It will be exactly on the image edges of two sides yet overflows a few millimetres on the other two. This is only evident at an acute viewing angle so it rates as a curiosity rather than a concern.

Needless to say, a priority for gloss printing with the SC-P405 would necessitate ordering extra gloss optimiser cartridges. It is also worth mentioning here that extra cyan cartridges will be required too, as this ink runs down much faster than the others.

The Photo black and Matte black inks have their own channels and no ink or time is expended in changing from one to the other according to the media type. Other Epson printers are plagued by the black ink changeover situation and could well take notice of the SCP405’s arrangement.

FINE-ART AND ROLL PAPER The ‘Print Preview’ option should always be selected.

‘Print CD’ allows photos, graphics and text to be created to print on CD/DVD labels.

The surface finish difference between the EcoTank dyes on Epson’s Premium Photo Gloss and that of the SC-P405 on exactly the same paper is noticeable.

Dyes penetrate the surface while pigments reside on the top with the optimiser as an overlay. “More glossy” for the SC-P405 outcome might be the best description.

The gloss optimiser does its job well and has the added benefit

of providing a protective layer.

Any gloss, semi-gloss or lustre paper is automatically assigned the gloss optimiser, but if matte or fine-art papers are selected then the optimiser is switched off.

The default for gloss is to apply the coating only over the image area in a bordered print, however, if required, it can be set to the entire paper area. By turning the optimiser to ‘Off’, the difference

The rear paper feed is used for printing on fine-art papers. For this test, several sheets of A3 Innova Smooth Fine Art cotton (315 gsm) were assigned display prints while remnant A3 sheets of Lumijet Radiant White (290 gsm) were set up using greeting card templates of four postcards each.

All were printed via Photoshop, letting the printer manage colour.

The ‘Ultrasmooth Fine Art Paper’ from the printer’s ‘Fine Art’ listing was conveniently adopted with quality set at the maximum Level 5 and ‘High-Speed’ switched off.

Print times averaged 7:50 minutes for results that were a good match to the screen. Needless to say, organising a custom ICC profile would turn a ‘good match’ to a perfect one.

The printer’s ‘User’s Guide’ explains how the roll-paper holder is attached to the rear of the printer. First, the two roll holders are fitted to the paper roll and the entire assembly clipped into the printer by sliding into two small vertical slots. Then the paper is fed into the printer as far as it will go and held for about three seconds prior to being drawn automatically

THE ECOTANK MODEL EMPLOYS DYE-BASED INKS SO THE SURFACE ON EPSON’S PREMIUM GLOSS PAPER IS PERFECT. into position. It may take several minutes to sort this out, but once done it’s a fairly simple procedure to repeat.

No separate drive mechanism is involved as far as the roll-paper holder is concerned so the printer organises the paper transport. As there is no auto paper cutter either, at the end of a print the ‘Roll’ button is pressed on the control panel. The printer then creates a very fine cut line and advances the paper. After cutting along the line with scissors or knife as accurately as possible, the button is pressed again to return the paper to the ready position.

Slack in the roll is then tightened by hand. To disengage the roll entirely, the button is pressed for three seconds.

Prints up to 15,000 millimetres can be created if required. Such a large print would demand some small test strips first, an adequate supply of ink and a means of final support. The longest print made for this review was a panoramic image sized at 294x838 millimetres on a custom paper size of 329x1000 millimetres. Allowing extra space at either end is a good idea.

Maximum quality set to Level 5 and ‘High-Speed’ switched off resulted in a print time of 18:20 minutes. Certainly a long wait, but a grand outcome.

Printing from a paper roll has its advantages in being able to produce a run of images at different sizes. If the intermediate cuts are ignored, all the prints end up on a long roll for easier cutting later. It’s important not to allow a

ON TRIAL long print to form a roll, either in a freshly printed ‘wet’ state or in permanent storage.

The roll can be left in place and, provided the paper is not connected, printing may proceed with either the auto feed tray or the rear fine-art feed. Flattening down the prints is the only drawback, with the stiffer gloss paper taking much longer than matte. As basic as the roll paper feed may be on this machine, it is a most affective system and a pleasure to work with.

Because the printer doesn’t record the length of paper printed, it is necessary to maintain your own in order to avoid the prospect of falling short on a long print when at the end of the roll.

BLACK AND WHITE Black and white printing via ‘grayscale’ has its limitations with the SC-P405 as there is only one black ink working with the colours for tonal enrichment. Quality levels can be adjusted – along with brightness, contrast and gamma – but the use of the full colour inkset as ‘Grayscale ’tends to produce bluish, over-saturated results. If black and white print files are assigned RGB colour mode and printed as ‘Colour’ with the ‘Mode’ set as ‘Adobe RGB’, adjustments to a colour caste can be neutralised or a specific tone, such as sepia, can be dialled in.

The ‘backyard’ method of telling the printer the paper is ‘Plain’ while using an inkjet paper sometimes works, but for this printer this is not the answer. Printing at Level 3 quality with ‘High-Speed’ switched on produces a more acceptable tone and quite a nice print compared to printing at Level 5 with ‘High Speed’ switched off and using ‘Adobe RGB’ as ‘Mode’.

The difference may well relate to the mix and amount of inks, but at least it is an awareness that can be used to advantage. All these aspects considered, essentially if monochrome printing is a major requirement, then enthusiasts would be advised to look to printers that have multiple black and grey inks dedicated to this task.

PROJECT Apart from all the standard prints made with review printers, a personal project is always also assigned as an additional test. This time it was a set of prints intended for binding and made on Schoeller 230 gsm dual-sided matte at 350x270 millimetres.

Building a custom ICC profile would have been the best option, however it was convenient to adopt the Epson Archival Matte profile and work with Adobe RGB the ‘Mode’ with Level 5 quality and ‘High-Speed’ off. An adjustment to ‘Brightness’ of +10, cyan -7

TIME TRIALS Print times vary appreciably from the lowest quality level with high-speed switched ‘On’ to the highest quality level with high-speed switched ‘Off’.

As the printer has a high print resolution of 5760x1440 dpi via 1.5 picolitre droplets, images and any supporting text are very well defined – reason enough to be used to advantage. As is always the case in relating printing times

to quality renditions in inkjet printers, individuals should make their own judgements.

If the quality differences between high and standard settings are difficult to discern, then the faster speed at the standard quality should be sufficient.

However, for critical work the recommendation is to let the printer deliver its best, no matter how long this takes.

Postcard

Level 2 quality and High-Speed on Level 5 quality and High-Speed off

A4

Level 2 quality and High-Speed on

35 seconds

Level 4 quality and High-Speed off

3:05 minutes

Level 5 quality and High-Speed off

3:50 minutes

Level 2 quality and High-Speed on Level 5 quality and High-Speed off

2:30 minutes 9:45 minutes

A3+

25 seconds 1:50 minutes

EPSON SURECOLOR SC-P405

and yellow +3 produced accurate matches to screen.

The fine resolution enables crisp, sharp text, even as small as eight-point. This served to indicate that excellent quality is achievable, even if it demands some initial juggling in the print panels.

THE VERDICT The inclusion of the optimiser cartridge clearly denotes that the SureColor SC-P405 as a printer for those who specialise in working with gloss media.

Consequently, for mostly fine-art and or matte printing it would probably be wise to look beyond this model and concentrate on the likes of the SC-P600.

The SC-P405 is a neat and complete package. The inclusion of an USB cable warrants a mention as it’s a welcome and thoughtful inclusion that’s so frequently overlooked in other printers’ box contents. Although the roll-paper holder is rather basic, it’s a most useful feature in dealing with a host of printing jobs.

In many ways, such a solidlybuilt printer promises a lot of happy printing, but several aspects tend to tarnish expectations. The barely satisfactory performance with black and white, the ‘canned’ profiles not as accurate as they should be, the overspray of optimiser on custom-sized images and occasional paper feed situations where sheets from the auto feed tray are drawn through without printing might suggest this is more of an over-priced ‘everyday’ printer. Nevertheless, with a little perseverance and personal adjustments, a consistent work routine can be established where top-quality colour prints roll off with ease.

The Canon PRO-10S (priced at $999) is the direct and formidable competitor for the SC-P405 while Epson’s own Artisan 1430 (at a much less expensive $399) can’t be ignored. The Artisan 1430 is a dye-based A3+ printer with equivalent light fastness inks that work well on all media, especially the gloss type where a gloss optimiser is not necessary. It is also not-so-brilliant when it comes to black and white work and ink costs, but the difference in price between the two models buys a lot of ink. Buyers should also be aware that putting fuel

in A3+ format machine doesn’t come cheap. However, the P405 is now actually more competitively priced than when it was originally launched.

We could drift our thoughts to what might be considered printer perfection if Epson were to combine its Claria dye-based inks (with their bright and durable 98-year under-glass rated colours on any surface without bronzing or gloss differential problems), the convenience of the Ecotank system, and the 35 cents per millilitre cost of the D-700’s 200 millilitres cartridges.

Those who must experiment may make some ‘backyard’ efforts to marry everything up. Perhaps Epson can bring all this together in the future, but in the meantime we do have a number of A3+ photo printers that turn out excellent prints… and the SureColor SC-P405 happens to be one of them.

VITAL STATISTICS

EPSON SURECOLOR SC-P405 $899 Printer Type: A3+ format (13 inches wide) for photo-quality prints via a seven-colour pigmented inkset (but six cartridges in use at any one time with auto switching between matte black and photo black).

Maximum Resolution: 5760x1440 dpi (optimised) Ink Cartridges: Individual per colour, 14 millilitres capacity. Epson UltraChrome HiGloss 2 pigments plus gloss optimiser.

Colours are photo black, matte black, cyan, magenta, yellow, red and orange.

Smallest droplet size is 1.5 picolitres via ‘Variable Droplet Technology’.

Paper Sizes: Borderless printing from 101x152 mm. up to A3+. Printer accepts 210 mm or 329 mm width paper rolls of ten metres length. Customisable print sizes.

Interfaces: Hi-Speed USB 2.0, 100 Base T-Ethernet and WiFi (802.11n).

Acoustic Noise: 39.0 dB (A).

Main Features: ‘MicroPiezo AMC’ on-demand print head with 180 nozzles per colour (eight channels), variable droplet sizing, five print quality/speed settings, Advanced B&W mode, auto matte/ photo black ink switching (according to media type).

Dimensions (WxHxD): 622.5x325.1x218.4 mm (closed).

Weight: 12.5 kilograms (without ink cartridges or media).

Price: $899 (inc. GST) includes roll paper holder. Ink cartridges are $24.99 each.

Gloss optimiser cartridge is $19.99.

Distributor: Epson Australia, telephone 1300 131 928 or visit www.epson.com.au

ON TRIAL

REPORT BY

TREVERN DAWES

EPSON

SURECOLOR SC-P600

SURE THING

Epson kicks off a new generation of pigmented-ink photo printers under the “SureColor” brand. Trevern Dawes puts the A3+ model through its paces.

hile new digital cameras arrive at a rapid rate, it can be several years between an A3+ printer and its updated model.

After four years, the Epson SureColor SC-P600 is the successor to the venerable Stylus Pro R3000.

The new SC-P600 (the “P”, by the way, stands for “Photo”) is essentially the same as the out-going Stylus Pro R3000, but comes in a revised casing and has a new inkset, extended connections to remote devices and a 6.8 cm LCD tilt-adjustable touch screen to control most functions. As a ‘prosumer’ printer, it is the entry-level A3+ pigment model in the SureColor range which is progressively going to replace the Stylus Pro models.

However, the word “entry” could be an

W

ON TRIAL

inappropriate classification as this printer is by no means basic.

We might concede that inkjet printers have reached a plateau of image realism where little else can be achieved apart from the usual consumer wish list of cheaper prices for both printer and inks combined with faster speed and larger capacity cartridges.

However, any improvements are undoubtedly welcome.

The new UltraChrome HD pigment inkset (coded as a T7601 to T7609) comprises five colours (Cyan, Light Cyan, Yellow, Vivid Magenta and Vivid Light Magenta) and four blacks (Photo Black, Matte Black, Light Black and Light Black).

The Photo Black and Matte Black share a channel and automatically interchange according to whatever media is selected to have eight inks running.

The D-Max of 2.84 is claimed

by Epson to be the darkest for any pigment printer. In association with the new colourants, new resin encapsulation and high resolution, the print quality with pigments reaches a new peak. For extra measure, the longevity ratings are expected to significantly increase but we’ll need to await confirmation from Wilhelm Research.

IF THE SC-P600 DOES A CREDITABLE JOB WITH GLOSS AND SEMI-GLOSS MEDIA, IT’S AT ITS VERY BEST WITH MATTE AND FINE-ART PAPERS. THE DEPTH OF THE BLACK HELPS TO ANCHOR THE COLOURS.

EPSON SC-P600

The connections with Apple AirPrint and Google Cloud Print plus WiFi Direct (for smartphones, tablets and PCs) will appeal to the technically minded, but is likely to have little bearing when it comes down to making exhibition quality display prints.

DESCRIPTION The sleek, black SureColor SCP600 has a sturdy construction and is as elegant as a desktop printer can be. Weighing 15 kilograms, it’s easy enough to position on a sturdy desk and comfortable enough to carry over short distances. The top area is ideal for temporary placement of papers.

The LCD touch screen swivels out to 45 degrees. The top left button is a blank while the other three are for power on/ off, back to previous menu, and home. The LCD menu attends to most functions, including media selection, WiFi connection, CD/ DVD label printing, black ink selection and a low ink warning.

Via ‘Administration’ and ‘Print Status Sheet’ there is even a usage history to report on the date of first usage, the number of prints and the A4 equivalent prints.

The default for sleep mode is three minutes. If no operation occurs during that period the printer goes to sleep but is awakened by any new action. The duration can be altered from one to 240 seconds via the LCD menu.

Power supply may be set to ‘Off’ to leave the printer on continually or to a designated time.

Three paper feed systems are available, along with a CD/DVD tray. The auto sheet feeder attends to most printing operations, the front loader is designed for fineart media up to 1.3 millimetres in thickness and heavyweight media, while a roll feeder can be attached at the rear.

General operation is relatively quiet apart from an occasional whir as the printer sorts out its routines. From time to time the printer will stop to have a ‘big think’, sometimes for a minute or so, to check everything and will then carry on.

IN THE BOX The sturdy packing box contains the printer, ‘Getting Started’ instructions, a software disc, the

The angled control panel/screen provides useful information and access to the printer’s features.

The nine-pigment ink cartridges. Each cartridge contains 25.9 millilitres of ink.

The Epson Print CD program allows CD/DVD labels and jackets to be produced.

set of ink cartridges, the CD/DVD printing tray, roll paper supports, a 1.8-metre USB cable and a power cable.

Everything is well presented including the cartridges being in the right order to match positions in the printer. The accessory box should actually be retained to store the transport lock, CD and spare cartridges.

A 125-page PDF manual may be downloaded from the Epson

Website. Take the trouble to read the manual to become familiar with all the features. Alas, the days of a hardcopy manual to accompany a printer may have disappeared forever.

It takes about 40 minutes to remove the printer from the box, remove all the protective tape and the plastic orange transport lock, insert the ink cartridges and load the software. The transport lock should be retained and re-inserted

EPSON SC-P600

ON TRIAL Needless to say, it’s important to ensure adequate ink supply and preferably run a small test piece before committing. There is no auto paper cutter, but a faint line is printed to enable scissors to be used.

The roll paper facility allows banner prints up to 15 metres long.

The ‘User Defined’ setting allows widths from 89 to 329 millimetres and lengths from 89 to 15,000 millimetres. Curiously, the user manual indicates a maximum roll length of 3276.7 millimetres, but only 1117.6 millimetres for Mac users.

MAIN PANEL

The ‘Main’ panel is where all the parameters are established. Regular settings can be saved for quick retrieval.

and taped securely if the printer is to be moved.

The step-by-step set-up procedure is easy to follow and begins by turning the printer on.

After pressing to confirm ‘English’ is the default language (overlook this critical step and the inks will not charge) the cartridge compartment is opened. Each cartridge is given a gentle shake and yellow tape removed from ink outlets before insertion into the dedicated position. When the lid is closed, the printer will take about ten minutes of whirring and general noise to charge the print head. In this initial priming, a small amount of ink is used to run ink through the lines. The screen will then advise to connect the USB cable and install the software.

Upon completion, the default will be for the Photo Black ink.

Consequently, to avoid any ink loss immediately by a changeover, it’s a good idea to start out with gloss or semi-gloss media.

PAPER HANDLING The auto sheet mechanism takes hold of the paper, pushes it up and down to set the alignment and then proceeds. Accurate place-

ment of paper in the auto sheet feeder as single sheets (or as stacked, fanned paper) is important, otherwise the printer may not pick up the paper or will take it straight through, add a dent and announce the failure with some beeps and a ‘Reload’ message.

The review printer proved to be inconsistent with the auto paper feeder, one day working perfectly and the next day causing frustration. Hopefully, this was just a glitch in this particular printer and not a common problem.

The front feed for fine-art and heavyweight papers requires a tray to be lowered and the rear output support platform opened. Paper is positioned and ‘Load’ pressed on the touch screen. The paper is drawn through to the rear outlet and, after a short wait, the printer instructs the tray to be returned to its normal position. The print file is then sent. Unlike some other printers, there are no margin restrictions applied.

The paper roll facility is essential for long banners, but for a metre long panorama the auto paper feeder is fine. Epson has ten-metre rolls of glossy (255 gsm) and semi-gloss (251 gsm) paper.

The ‘Main’ panel is the hub for printing. ‘Media Type’ has a listing for five categories with further options. These are ‘Photo Paper’ (4), ‘Matte Paper’ (2), ‘Fine Art Paper’ (3), ’Plain Paper’ (1) and ‘CD/DVD’ (2).

The range of ‘Print Quality’ is determined by the media type. This list covers ‘Speed’, ‘Quality’, ‘Max. Quality’ and ‘Quality Options’.

The latter cover resolution and the choice of having ‘High Speed’ printing set to either ‘Off’ or ‘On’.

The modes of colour management include ‘Epson Standard (sRGB)’, ‘Adobe RGB’, ‘PhotoEnhance’, ‘ICM’ and ‘Off – No Colour Management’. The first two basic settings simply lock into the colour space of the image while ‘ICM’ follows through to ICC profiles. Although each approach produced satisfactory results, most Photoshop enthusiasts can opt for ‘Printer Manages Colours’ and lock in ICM values, or ‘Let Photoshop Manages Colours’ with the ‘Mode’ set to ‘Off – No Colour Adjustment’.

The ‘Size’ menu lists standard paper sizes and includes a ‘User Defined’ setting where a custom size can be established and saved.

A right-click over any feature will bring up ‘Help’ and further details.

On the Epson Website there is an excellent RGB guide to colour printing compiled by Australia’s Training and Application Specialist.

Simply search on “RGB Print Guide – Epson Australia”.

GLOSS AND SEMI-GLOSS Test prints made on gloss and semi-gloss media had impact and vibrance approaching that of the dye-based printers, but also exhibited gloss differential (i.e.

seeing the gloss surface of the paper where no ink resides). This has always been a problem with pigmented inks used on gloss or semi-gloss media. The only remedy is to use printers with a gloss optimiser cartridge, such as the Epson Stylus Pro 2000. The only disadvantage here is a slight dulling down of the surface. Prints made on papers like Epson Traditional Photo or Innova Fibraprint Gloss were substantial in weight and image quality.

Epson does offer a useful piece of advice for reducing the gloss differential on black and white prints. In the ‘Main’ panel and with ‘Advanced B&W’ selected, proceed to ‘Advanced’ and change the ‘Off’ default for ‘Highlight Optical Shift’ to ‘On’. This adds extra Light Light Black dots to the clear areas.

MATTE PRINTS If the SC-P600 does a creditable job with gloss and semi-gloss media, it’s at its very best with matte and fine-art papers. The depth of the black helps to anchor the colours.

The first test print was an A4 size B&W made on the Epson Fine Art Velvet paper. As a fineart paper, this required the use

IF THE SC-P600 DOES A CREDITABLE JOB WITH GLOSS AND SEMI-GLOSS MEDIA, IT’S AT ITS VERY BEST WITH MATTE AND FINE-ART PAPERS. THE DEPTH OF THE BLACK HELPS TO ANCHOR THE COLOURS.

ON TRIAL of the front feeder. Maximum resolution was set for the B&W print and it took nine minutes and 45 seconds, but the result brought a ‘wow’ response. The front loader is super fussy about accurate paper alignment so if a repeated ‘Askew’ message appears, use the LCD screen to proceed to ‘Paper Setting’ and turn ‘Paper Skew Check’ to ‘Off’.

An A4 colour print – made with the ‘Quality’ setting – took 2:15 minutes. Epson’s Hot Press Bright has been a favourite media and for the A4 test print there was no hesitation in using the utmost resolution. There’s no point in settling for compromises when using a top printer and top paper combination. It took another 9:45 minutes, but produced another outstanding result.

Several prints were produced on A3 size Innova Fibraprint 280 gsm matte paper with 300x200 mm images. The profile for Epson UltraSmooth Fine Art Paper was initially adopted. At ‘Quality’, each print took 2:15 minutes via the front paper feed. The results were a touch yellow, but by using Adobe RGB mode (to match the print files) and taking out -5 Yellow, the colour was then spot on. This proved to be a most satisfactory arrangement without the need to chase down or create a custom ICC profile. A portfolio of prints on A3 could be comfortably produced at about six per hour via the front feed.

The ability to handle other (i.e. non-Epson) media was demonstrated with two A3+ sheets of Lumijet Radiant White 290 gsm (Hahnemühle) fine-art ink jet paper. At ‘Quality, level 4’ and with the profile for ‘Watercolor Paper – Radiant White’, it took four minutes with ‘High Speed’ switched on and nine minutes with ‘High Speed’ off. The results were most pleasing.

A custom ICC profile might extract a few more points, but getting a good result from a canned profile is most encouraging. The general recommendation is to work with ‘High Speed’ switched off to ensure better detail and shadow density. Doubling the print time is not an issue when the aim is quality and the print size is A3+.

Ascertaining the differences in print quality between the SC-

EPSON SC-P600

P600 and Stylus Pro R3000 (or, indeed, any of Canon’s pigmented ink printers) using similar images, papers and appropriate ICC profiles without scientific apparatus can be difficult. For those who dwell on the finest of technicalities the Internet can provide precise data for D-Max, gamut, etc. comparisons. The rest of us tend to judge everything by eye.

B&W PRINTING Black and white enthusiasts are fully catered for, with the scope for either neutral results or warm, cool or sepia tonings via the Epson Advanced Black and White (ABW) control carried forward from the Stylus R3000. Apart from the gloss or matte black inks, the Light Black and Light Light Black combine to provide extensive tonality.

Devotees of monochrome will undoubtedly experiment to find the optimum settings for favourite papers and may find that assigning RGB mode to print files will deliver better outcomes than printing the same file converted to greyscale.

Photo Black and Matte share the same line and interchange automatically. When Photo Black is swapped to Matte Black it takes 1.5 minutes and uses one millilitre of ink, while going from Matte Black to Photo Black takes 3.5 minute and consumes 3.0 millimetres.

However, the ‘Normal’ default changeover mode can be altered, via the LCD screen, to ‘Save’ mode for one millilitres spillage each way. The path is ‘System Administration’, ‘Printer Settings’ and ‘Black Ink Change Settings’.

Although there is a small saving in ink, Epson has taken a cautious approach whereby ‘Normal’ ensures a clean changeover.

‘Save’ can involve some risk of contamination. Epson at least provides the option. The ‘Save Ink’ setting is not mentioned in the manual. As regular changeover of black inks will result in wastage of costly ink, printing sessions need to be well organised.

PANORAMIC PRINTS Paper rolls are the ideal way to produce banners or panoramic prints.

However, the auto sheet feeder can still be used for long prints provided the paper is properly supported and the leading edge cut square for correct alignment (pull

Manual adjustments can be made in the ‘Colour Controls’ panel.

All ink levels can be monitored, along with print progress and the print queue.

EPSON SC-P600

ON TRIAL for an A3 size print and $3.15 for an A4 print. These are based on a cartridge priced at $47.99 ($1.85/millilitre).

When the first low ink warning occurs there still remains plenty of ink to continue the printing. When the second reminder appears another four or five A4 prints are possible before the “Replace Cartridge” message appears. The cartridge to be replaced is noted on the printer’s screen and the computer monitor. Considering the high cost of ink, there is no point in changing ink until the final drop has been consumed.

The first warning for low ink provides ample scope for several more prints and time to organise replacement cartridges.

PROJECT

The ‘Printer Settings’ panel for printing via Epson Easy Photo Print.

In the ‘ICM’ panel data for ‘Input Profile’, ‘Intent’ and ‘Printer Profile’ are selected.

The ‘Print Preview’ is an invaluable feature that should be used all the time.

out the rear paper support only one extension for a wider support).

A 1000x30 millimetres image made on a 1200x329 millimetres custom paper size didn’t present any difficulties.

The paper was cut from a 610 millimetres wide roll of Schroeller 230 gsm matte and the Epson Archival Matte profile adopted.

Maximum resolution and ‘High Speed’ switched off (no comprises

for a big print) may have led to a whopping 36 minutes of printing time, but the result was well worth the wait. Watching the print slowly emerge brought back memories of black and white prints appearing in a darkroom developer tray.

The remainder cut-off piece from the roll – which measured 281x1200 millimetres – was printed by the front feed. This is the better option in ensuring

accurate loading on those panoramic prints when paper from the roll holder is not available.

Borderless printing is only available at set sizes of A4, A3, A3+, 100x148 millimetres, 9x13 centimetres, 10x15 centimetres, 13x18 centimetres and 20x25 centimetres. The front feed does not support borderless printing.

While an A3 borderless print at the ‘Speed’ resolution was produced in just three minutes, it took 16:45 minutes at the ‘Maximum Quality’ setting (i.e. level 5 and with ‘High Speed’ off).

The difference between these two extremes was not immediately noticeable and requires a magnifier to appreciate the variation. The colour in both prints was identical, but the ‘Speed’ setting did create some banding in a clear blue sky.

INK USAGE An accurate assessment of the number of prints per ink set and cost per print would require keeping records of the area of prints created over many ink sets. Our calculations were based on oneand-a-half inksets, weighing full, empty and partially-used cartridges to find the total ink consumed and adding up the total area of printing.

Most printing was carried out at the ‘Quality’ setting. This resulted in a rough ink cost of about $6.30

Apart from producing a number of prints on a variety of papers, one of the best ways to appraise any printer is to see how it handles a typical project. When it comes to D-I-Y book making, dyes have tended to be a better option than pigments because of finer dot structure (for text), deep blacks, strong colours and no problems printing on any paper. The two picolitre ink droplets and the rich blacks of the Epson SC-P600 could well see a change in thinking, especially when the longer life of pigments is taken into account.

THE NEW ULTRACHROME HD INKSET DELIVERED EXCELLENT COLOUR AND THE TEXT WAS CRISP AND SHARP ON A NONTEXTURED SURFACE. AS A BOOK MAKER ON MATTE PAPER THE SC-P600 IS A DREAM.

ON TRIAL

EPSON SC-P600

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The project involved making a book on Schroeller 170 gsm two-sided matte paper using A3+ sheets cut in half to give a size of 329x240 millimetres. Achieving accurate image colour is just one aspect while the sharpness and clarity of text, captions and page numbers is equally important. Twenty sheets at a time were placed in the paper stacker and Indesign commanded to run the pages.

There was no need to prepare a custom ICC profile as Epson’s Archival Matte ‘canned’ profile proved to be an ideal match for the Schroeller paper. The ‘Quality’ resolution of 1440x1440 pixels was adopted (the ‘Speed’ setting cannot be used with some papers).

The new UltraChrome HD inkset delivered excellent colour and the text was crisp and sharp on a non-textured surface. As a book maker on matte paper the SC-P600 is a dream.

blacks to create a foundation for excellent colour, shadow details retained and very simple approaches to matching up everything to images on screen. Longer printing times are not an inconvenience when quality is actually the principal objective.

This printer should not be regarded as a general purpose ‘odd job’ model, but a ‘stateof-the-art’ machine for the very best work at moderate volumes. The CD/DVD label printing capacity, roll paper holder and remote printing capacity are nice features, but not likely to weigh heavily against the prime purpose of sheer quality printing.

The SC-P600 is the first of the “SureColor” branded printers from Epson and it’s a great start… plus a good cause to be looking forward to the other models coming in the series.

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TEMPTATIONS Comparison with Canon printers (the PIXMA Pro-1, in particular) on the basis of initial outlay, running costs, intended usage and features are inevitable and then there are other considerations within the Epson range too.

Each model – in this case the SC-P600 replacing the R3000 – sees the price of the previous model fall. This can be enticing especially if the new features of the P600 are not deemed critical.

Stepping up a notch to the R3880 (or the SureColor SC-P800 model to be released soon) means more outlay dollars for bigger prints, bigger cartridges and significantly reduced running costs. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

And now here is the SC-P600 as a top performer with the latest in technology. How wonderful to have such options with such great printers.

THE VERDICT Despite a moderate outlay for the printer, relatively expensive inks and a black ink changeover system that still needs attention, the SureColor SC-P600 certainly knows how to turn out a top quality print. The 25.9 millilitres ink cartridges do mean longer usage before changeover, but this still doesn’t negate the relatively high cost of the ink.

The SC-P600 is at its very best on matte or fine-art papers. No surface problems, rich

VITAL STATISTICS

EPSON SURECOLOR SC-P600 $1499 Printer Type: A3+ format (13 inches wide) for photo-quality prints via a nine-colour pigmented inkset (but eight cartridges in use at any one time with auto switching between matte black and photo black).

Maximum Resolution: 5760x1440 dpi.

Ink Cartridges: Individual per colour, 25.9 millilitre capacity. Epson UltraChrome HD pigments. Colours are photo black, matte black, cyan, light cyan, vivid magenta, vivid light magenta, yellow, light black and light light black.

Smallest droplet size is 2.0 picolitres via ‘Variable Droplet Technology’.

Paper Sizes: Borderless printing on cut sheets from 149x100 mm up to A3+. Paper rolls up to 329 mm in width can be fitted. Customisable print sizes.

Interfaces: Hi-Speed USB 2.0, 100 Base-T Ethernet, WiFi. Epson iPrint Mobile App., Apple Airprint and Google Cloud Print.

Acoustic Noise: 48.2 dB (A).

Main Features: 6.85 cm LCD display panel with touch controls, Micro Piezo on-demand print head with 180 nozzles per colour, variable droplet sizing, five print quality/speed settings, Advanced B&W mode, auto matte/photo black ink switching (according to media type), head alignment and maintenance sensors.

Dimensions (WxHxD): 616x369x228 mm (closed).

Weight: 15.0 kilograms (without ink cartridges or media).

Price: $1499 (inc. GST). Ink cartridges are $47.99 each.

Distributor: Epson Australia, telephone 1300 131 928 or visit www.epson.com.au

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ON TRIAL

EPSON SURECOLOR SC-P800

Work And Pleasure EPSON SURECOLOR SC-P800 Epson’s current upgrading of its pro-level pigmentedinks photo printer line-up has now extended to the A2+ format. Trevern Dawes put the SC-P800 to the test with both cut sheets and roll papers.

REPORT BY PAUL BURROWS

The printer shown with the receiving tray and the auto sheet feeder fully extended.

WHEN A COLLEAGUE RECENTLY told me how much he loved his Epson Stylus Pro 3880 you’d have to think that he – probably along with many others – is pretty satisfied with his existing photo printer. So how might he react to the arrival of its replacement in the shape of the A2+ format addition to the SureColor line-up?

The basic shape of the new Epson SureColor SC-P800 hasn’t altered from the Stylus Pro 3880, but this time the silver-and-black colour scheme becomes an elegant all-over black while most of the features of the earlier A3+ format SureColor SC-P600 – such as the intuitive tilt-adjustable 6.85 cm LCD control screen and the new UltraChrome HD pigmented inkset – have been incorporated. The LCD screen is primarily used to check the status of the printer, ink levels and to generally attend to routine maintenance tasks. In many respects it becomes a central control system. Add the option of fitting a paper roll holder and the move up to the A2+ format, and the SC-P800 is essentially a step up in size from the highly-capable P600.

Weighing in at 19.5 kilograms, this printer is just manageable, but may take two sets of hands to carry and set up. If a paper roll holder is involved, the depth of the desk or bench will need to be sufficient to accommodate the extra 76.9 centimetres of depth. The LCD screen is located top right, whereas behind are the ink compartment on the left side and the replaceable maintenance tank at bottom right.

There are three paper feed systems.

The top auto sheet feeder has three telescopic sections and can accommodate up to ten sheets of A2 inkjet paper or 40 sheets of plain A4 paper. The maximum paper thickness that can be handled is 1.8 millimetres. Heavyweight, fine-art and poster board up to 1.5 millimetres thick are handled one-sheet-at-a-time via the front-load system while the optional paper roll adapter attaches to the rear.

The receiving tray at front opens and automatically lowers by gently pressing inwards on the three little spikes at the top of the panel. This is a classy little feature and a nice touch.

The front manual feed takes longer to load. The procedure is stepped through the LCD screen and involves lowering the platform, loading and then closing

ON TRIAL

EPSON SURECOLOR SC-P800

Attachment of the paper roll holder to the rear of the printer is quick and easy.

Thirty seconds at most is all it takes to attach or detach this component.

The SC-P800 provides a range of adjustments for black and white printing.

Adjustments to colour rendition are extensive and any new settings can be saved.

Epson’s Easy Photo Print is an alternative way to print making.

The ICM panel locks in ‘Input Profile’,’ Intent’ and ‘Printer Profile’.

the platform ready for printing. If a step is missed a beep sounds and a message appears on the LCD screen (usually you’ll forget to close the manual feed tray).

When a number of manual feed prints are required, it can become tiresome going through the steps to get each print organised. As slow as this might be, it is precise and ensures a straight printing pathway.

Think Ink The new UltraChrome HD inkset comprises photo black, matte black, light black, light light black, vivid magenta, vivid light magenta, cyan, light cyan and yellow. The photo black for gloss, semi-gloss and lustre media, and the matte black for matte or fine-art media share the same line into the print head and interchange according to the paper type. Coding for the ink set runs from T8502 to T8509. Start-up ink cartridges of 64 millimetres capacity each are supplied and thereafter the standard 80 millimetres cartridges are fitted.

Epson promotes the UltraChrome HD inks as having enhanced colour gamut, deeper blacks (a Dmax of 2.86 claimed on Epson Lustre PGPP paper) and reduced bronzing on gloss media, along with greater print longevity over the UltraChrome K3 set. At this time Epson hints at twice the ratings of previous generations of UltraChrome inks – general album and dark storage over 200 years and black and white images exceeding 400 years. The increased longevity ratings are most significant, but they have not as yet been confirmed by Wilhelm Research (see Wilhelm Research Website for details).

For those who like to delve deep into the finer points of ink technology, the data available on www.luminouslandscape.com should be studied. Here comparisons between the Stylus Pro 3880, Stylus Pro 4900 and the SC-P800 are made in terms of tonal smoothness, colour gamut, black depth, shadow detail rendition, resolution, etc.

Of course, so much does relate to the characteristics of print files in terms of tonal scale relationships, contrasts, lifting out of shadow detail, selective colour adjustment, unsharp masking, etc.

Once into the second set of inks, the running costs are about $1.00/millilitre (with the 80 millimetres capacity cartridges currently priced at $79 each)

with slight reductions for discounted prices. The printer provides a printed report on prints created, but the amount of ink consumed for the last ten prints is a feature from the Stylus Pro 3880 that is unfortunately no longer available. For the record, an A3 size print consumed about 1.5 millilitres of ink on the Stylus Pro 3880.

Get Connected Printer connectivity is via four methods.

A Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port, an Ethernet port (10/100 Base-T), Wireless-n 2.4 GHz WiFi Direct or Apple AirPrint, Google and Cloud Print support.

Today most printers have the capacity to print from WiFi and remote devices (iPad, iPhone, tablets or Smartphone, AirPrint, etc.) and now the SC-P800 also has these facilities. Whether these will be used with such a formidable printer as an alternative to print files created by image editing software and linked to the printer by cable is a matter of user choice - but at least it’s all there.

The printer is supplied with a power cord, the nine start-up ink cartridges, a maintenance tank (already fitted), a set-up guide sheet and the software CD (which contains the user guide, printer driver, Easy Photo Print, Epson Net Configuration, Epson Net Set-up, Epson Net Print, software and updater, and Adobe Profile software).

The main operations manual may be downloaded from the Internet. Epson’s Print Layout software is available as a free downloadable plug-in for Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, and Nikon ViewNX-i. This facility produces images to suit a variety of display requirements.

Epson ColorBase 2 may also be downloaded and allows precise colour matching via supported spectrophotometers. It’s intended as a fine-tuning arrangement for those who need to extract the utmost performance.

Setting Up After removing all the plastic wrapping, the masses of blue tape stuck on everything that either opens or moves, and taking out the print head locking holders, it’s simply a matter of letting the set up sheet guide take you through the procedures.

Switch on, press to select the English language default, wait about 30 seconds

ON TRIAL

EPSON SURECOLOR SC-P800 The contents extracted from the packing box… plastic wrapped with plenty of blue tape.

normal viewing distance. The general advice is to go to the Level 5 quality setting with gloss media and settle for Level 4 for matte. However, when it’s a critical print, I’d always opt for Level 5 quality with the high speed option switched off… and not worry about longer print times.

The time results for an A3 print on the SC-P800 are as follows: • Level 5 (‘SuperPhoto’ – 1440x2880 dpi), high speed ‘Off’ – 10:20 minutes.

• Level 5, high speed ‘On’ – 4:00 minutes.

• Level 4 (‘SuperFine’ – 1440x720 dpi), high speed ‘Off’ – 4:45 minutes.

• Level 4, high speed ‘On’ – 3:00 minutes.

Printing for the pop-up ink cover to release, shake each cartridge gently and install. Place the CD in the computer and follow the prompts. Allow about an hour from first opening the packaging carton to being ready to print.

The total ink in the start-up cartridges is 576 millilitres with 138 millimetres used to prime the ink lines and the print head.

That represents a lot of ink at around $1 per millilitre. The ink levels will be shown about 80 percent full. This is a once-only step, but suggests when a printer is purchased, a full set of the 80 millilitres standard cartridges might just as well be acquired as well, along with a maintenance tank.

The set-up sheet makes no mention of a head alignment procedure so we ought to assume the factory settings are accurate for the best possible quality. In print-making, if results start to look fuzzy or vertical or horizontal lines in a print are not correctly aligned then a print head alignment is the answer.

However, if need be from day one, a set of adjustments can be applied by pressing the spanner icon on the screen, then ‘Maintenance’ and ‘Print Head Alignment’. Add two sheets of A4 gloss or semi-gloss paper (but not plain paper) to the auto feeder and press ‘Proceed’.

Examine these print outs carefully and identify the cleanest image for each of the 12 rows. Record the values and enter these on the LCD screen. This will confirm the factory settings are OK or will allow

20

fine-tuning to be applied. The printer has a photo black default when the set-up is complete.

Quality And Speed It’s up to the individual to sort out the settings for each paper type. Running a magnifier over the prints may be helpful, but in the end it’s what is perceived at a

The P800’s tiltadjustable LCD screen is virtually a central control system for the printer.

The ‘Main’ print panel is used to control the printer’s settings.

The ‘Main’ print panel controls the media type, colour mode, print quality, paper source, paper size and advanced paper options. ‘Page Layout’ and ‘Utility’ are the supporting panels. In the ‘Main’ panel, Epson Standard sRGB or Adobe RGB, and PhotoEnhance are Epson’s colour management options, whereas ICM locks into Photoshop (if Photoshop is set to manage colour, then ‘Off – no colour adjustment’ must be selected).

‘High Speed’ as ‘Off’ can make a difference and is based on individual observations, but ‘Edge Smoothing’ should be left ‘Off’ in favour of relying mostly on 300 dpi print file resolution while ‘Finest Detail’ should always be left ‘On’.

Right-clicking on the mouse over any feature in a print panel will allow access to a ‘Help’ facility for further information.

Paper take-up on the auto sheet feeder involves some clatter and the printer will occasionally pause to ‘have a think’ and gurgle whereas the print head action is relatively quiet.

Turning off the paper skew ‘On-Off’ option may be helpful, moreso for the roll and front paper paths, as this feature can be too sensitive.

The ‘Main’ print panel has its initial default settings. When different settings are established for a print they can be saved for quick recall in subsequent printing sessions. Ideally every favourite paper will have its own name and that will make working with different papers convenient, instead of needing to construct a new set from the default for just one print.

ON TRIAL

EPSON SURECOLOR SC-P800

On Paper Performances Epson’s Premium Lustre (250 gsm) paper proved to be the pick of the media linked to the Photo Black ink. The surface has a nice ‘lift’ without the sheen of a glossy paper while gloss differential and bronzing are barely noticeable. Several A2 prints averaged out at 19:30 minutes at the Level 5 quality setting (and high speed switched ‘Off’). No prizes here for speed, but the results were very impressive and only re-enforce the popularity of this paper generally associated with the Epson Stylus Pro 3880.

Alas, there were only a few A4 Epson Hot and Cold press sheets from Epson’s Signature Worthy sample pack to play with. Profiles were downloaded from the Epson Website and UltraSmooth Fine Art Paper selected as the media type with Level 4 quality and high speed switched ‘Off’. These papers truly bring out the very best in the printer. They are not cheap by any means, but they are simply magnificent, especially the Hot Press Bright.

Epson Fine Art Velvet paper (260 gsm) in A3+ format provided noticeably more ‘depth’ to what was achieved on standard matte papers. This finelystippled paper is yet another up-market Epson media to bring out the best in the printer. It would also be well-suited to the making of larger portfolio books, albeit with right-hand page images only as the reverse side is similar in surface base ‘colour’ and texture.

Because pigments do not penetrate the surface of media as per dyes, it enforces a policy of all due care, not just in ensuring the paper inserted is free of dust particles that will invariably leave white spots, but also in careful handling at all times thereafter. Protective sprays are recommended to seal the surface.

Profiles The 11 ‘canned’ Epson profiles are grouped under ‘Media Type’ headings of ‘Photo Paper’, ‘Proofing Paper’, ‘Matte Papers, ‘Fine Art Papers’, ‘Plain Paper’ and ‘Canvas’.

Paper manufacturers like Hahnemühle, Canson, etc., already provide ICC profiles for the printer. Although the profiles incorporated in the printer and by third party paper manufacturers will be perfect for most users, those who

like to extract the utmost will resort to customised ICC profiles.

Most profiles for matte and fine art paper recommend 1440x720 dpi printing.

Innova 280 matte was used with a profile for the SC-P800 downloaded from the Innova Website. This proved to be spot on.

An A3 print with high speed off took 6:00 minutes while an A2 took 15:30 minutes.

Black And White The three ink technology – photo or matte black, plus light black and light light black renders black and white prints free of any colour casting with details in shadow and highlight areas retained.

In the printer’s ‘Advanced Black And White’ mode, the ‘Neutral’ setting can be altered to ‘Cool’, ‘Warm’ or ‘Sepia’ with further adjustments available for brightness, contrast, shadow tonality, highlight tonality, maximum optical density and highlight point shift.

In other words, a complete control package that leaves little to be desired.

Gloss differential on gloss media can be reduced by adding extra light light black dots in clear areas.

This is achieved in the ‘Main’ panel and ‘Advanced’ by changing the ‘Off’ default for ‘Highlight Optical Shift’ to ‘On’.

A shared line between the photo black and matte black means ink losses in the changeovers and the time involved. According to one report, the matte-to-photo black switchover purges 4.6 millilitres of ink and takes 3:30 minutes. Photo-tomatte black switching consumes 1.6 millilitres of ink and takes 2:30 minutes.

Nothing has changed here from the Stylus Pro 3880 and the Pro 3800 despite adverse

comment. It’s still a nuisance and a costly process, sufficient to enforce very careful planning when a variety of print media is being used. Just consider that 4.6 millilitres of ink costs about $4.60 which is the cost of two A2 prints.

Switching from photo to matte black – and vice versa – is automatic by default and is linked to the media selection. To avoid accidental selection of the wrong paper, the automation can be changed to a manual process on the LCD panel.

Ink Out When a cartridge has about 15 percent of ink capacity remaining a warning message will appear – “It is almost time to replace ink cartridge(s)”. The word “almost” may be regarded as a generous warning as there are still many prints

A long print printed from the paper roll and ready for cutting.

ON TRIAL

EPSON SURECOLOR SC-P800 to make before the printer beeps and comes up with the message “Replace the following ink(s)”. Simply press ‘Proceed’ on the LCD panel to open the chamber and make the changeover. During our test, the first ink change occurred towards the end of an A3 print. Printing resumed and the image completed. At no stage during the printer review was a print ‘lost’ due to a cartridge change.

The status of the maintenance tank is shown on the touch screen on the right end of the ink levels. When it’s time for replacement the printer will notify you.

Attachment of the paper roll holder to the rear of the printer is quick and easy. Simply align the roller to the two orange markers, clip in and then tighten up the two screws at the base. Thirty seconds at most is all it takes to attach or detach this holder.

In order to print with the roll, change the ‘Source’ paper settings to ‘Roll Paper’.

If this setting is overlooked, the print will soon let you know. The LCD screen will direct the actions required to load the paper roll. Open the receiving tray and the rear tray. After the message “Feed paper into the slot as far as it will go and hold for three seconds” is addressed, the paper will load automatically to the ready position.

The printer will allocate five centimetres of space prior to printing and 1.5 centimetres at the end. When printing stops a message appears “Printing complete - cut off the printed page” with the options of ‘No Cut’ or ‘Cut’. If ‘No Cut’ is selected, the printer adds more images. If ‘Cut’ is selected, a cutting line is printed.

As a built-in auto paper cutter is not included, it is necessary to carefully cut along the line with scissors, or cut with a blade, and then press ‘Finish’. The printer will adjust the paper position for the next print. In many cases custom paper sizes will be required to ensure adequate lead-in and lead-out space to assist with any framing to follow later. To disengage the roll press ‘Cut/Eject’ and then ‘Eject’.

Back roll the paper to tighten it up.

The first long print made as a test was an image 367x725 millimetres in area organised on a custom paper size of 405x900 millimetres at Level 5 quality and with high speed switched ‘Off’. This took 25:30 minutes. The largest print produced on the roll was a 336x958 millimetres image made on a 405x1100 millimetres

custom-set paper size. For this Level 4 quality and high speed switch ‘On’ was used for a far more agreeable 18:15 minutes print time.

Making a panorama print to the full 15 metres long capacity would require some planning with print file sizes and resolution. If the maximum Level 5 quality setting was used (and high speed switched ‘Off’), it could well be case of letting the printer run overnight! Obviously it’s helpful to run a few small test prints first before committing to the final print in order to avoid wasting paper and ink.

For those longer panoramas it is also wise to create some receiver support as the printer uses a friction drive method, has no vacuum seal system and no separate driver for the roll. Although paper rolls on two-inch cores (rather than the standard three-inch) can be accommodated by removing the outer section of the holder, expect curling problems on the tighter rolls.

The paper holder with paper detached may be left in place for printing to proceed with the auto sheet or front feed manual feeder.

The roll holder is ideal for panorama print-making or just stringing together a run of smaller prints. However, long prints of manageable length are still possible without the roll holder. The auto sheet feeder has no lead-in paper support and this will make it very awkward to ensure a long sheet is taken in squarely while the front feed prefers only fine-art papers and can be equally awkward to load.

The solution lies in working with the roll paper intake.

Follow the instructions to load from the paper roll, even though it’s not in place and a single sheet is being used instead. The printer will take-up the leading edge for several centimetres to ensure an accurate alignment prior to printing. Just remember to allow plenty of space at the end of the image to avoid a ‘Roll Paper Out’ warning situation that will result in the printer stopping.

Borderless printing is a key feature and is set to factory prepared sizes up to A2. When a custom paper size is required, the dimensions for the width and height are established in the ‘Paper Settings’ and ‘User Defined’ in the printer’s ‘Main’ panel. Whatever is established is saved to a convenient name, say “343x450”. This must be locked in and

The SureColor SC-P800 is essentially a fine-art printer and excellent with matte, fine-art and lustre papers especially the Hot and Cold Press media.

The ‘Print Preview’ facility is an important feature on any printer.

Front view of the Epson SureColor SC-P800 printer.

The settings for Photoshop with ‘Printer Manages Colour’ selected for ‘Colour Handling’.

Print quality options default to the paper selected or can be set as required.

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EPSON SURECOLOR SC-P800 SPECS

EPSON SURECOLOR SC-P800

Printer Type: A2+ format (17 inches wide) for photo-

Paper Sizes: Borderless printing on cut sheets from

B&W mode, auto matte/photo black ink switching

quality prints via a nine-colour pigmented inkset (but

90x130 mm up to A2. Paper rolls up to 431.8 mm in

(according to media type), head alignment and

eight cartridges in use at any one time with auto

width can be fitted. Customisable print sizes.

maintenance sensors.

switching between matte black and photo black).

Interfaces: Hi-Speed USB 2.0, 100 Base-T Ethernet,

Dimensions (WxHxD): 684x376x250 mm (closed).

Maximum Resolution: 2880x1440 dpi.

WiFi. Epson iPrint Mobile App., Apple Airprint and

Weight: 19.5 kilograms (without ink cartridges

Ink Cartridges: Individual per colour, 80 millilitres

Google Cloud Print.

or media).

capacity. Epson UltraChrome HD pigments. Colours

Acoustic Noise: 49.6 dB (A).

Price: $2195 (inc. GST). Ink cartridges are

are photo black, matte black, cyan, light cyan, vivid

Main Features: 6.85 cm LCD display panel

$79 each. Roll paper holder sells for $249.

magenta, vivid light magenta, yellow, light black and

with touch controls, Micro Piezo on-demand print

Maintenance tank is $22.

light black. Smallest droplet size is 3.5 picolitres via

head with 180 nozzles per colour, variable droplet

Distributor: Epson Australia, telephone

‘Variable Droplet Technology’.

sizing, five print quality/speed settings, Advanced

1300 131 928 or visit www.epson.com.au

appear on the ‘Main’ page. Just setting the dimensions without saving may cause inaccurate image positioning.

Project After an annual outback trip, having the SC-P800 on test provided the opportunity to experiment broadly with new landscapes, using various print sizes, Epson papers and also third-party papers.

All the ‘canned’ ICC profiles created perfect results with the Epson papers.

Innova – along with most of the other brands – already has its SC-P800 profiles available for down loading. Schoeller has yet to do so, but instead of organising a custom profile Red River’s profile for its 230 gsm Polar Matte and the Epson Archival Matte profile at Level 4 quality were adopted for Schoeller 230 gsm matte. This proved to be a convenient and accurate arrangement. Moving up to the Level 5 quality setting added extra print time and a touch more saturation.

A dye-based printer is usually preferred by photo book companies because of text clarity and the capacity to print on any media without surface problems such as bronzing, gloss differential and flecking, but here was a chance to see what the pigment printer could achieve for a book of the outback journey. Stacked dual-sided 170 gsm Schoeller matte paper at 329x274 millimetres (cut from A3+ sheets to leave a useful A4 remainder) flowed smoothly from Indesign files. There were no paper jams or false pickups and no need to change the paper skew setting from its ‘On’ default.

The book results using the highest print resolution were most pleasing with excellent colour and crisp text, right down to 8-point Garamond captions. Perhaps

not quite as bright as dye printing, but this is offset by the longevity differences with pigments. All things considered the result was certainly sufficient to confidently promote the SC- P800 as being well suited for books using matte papers.

The relationship between printing with dyes or pigments becomes a fascinating choice – dyes with marginally brighter colours, no surface problems on any media, but expensive cartridges on A3+ printers versus pigment longevity (except for Epson Claria dyes) and much cheaper printing via the 80 millimetres cartridges of the SC-P800.

The Verdict Owners of the Stylus Pro 3880 probably won’t be abandoning their trusty and much-loved machines just for the sake of keeping up with the latest printer model.

However, if and when that 3880 finally gives up, any leftover inks cannot be carried over to the SC-800. Nevertheless the replacement printer won’t disappoint and with improved ink technology, remote connections and a roll holder as an option, the scope is extended.

The SureColor SC-P800 is essentially a fine-art printer and excellent with matte, fine-art and lustre papers (especially the Hot and Cold Press), but the bronzing and

gloss differential so common with using pigments on gloss papers needs to be addressed via a gloss optimiser cartridge (unlikely because of printer size) or changes in ink technology. The loss of ink in the changeover of the black inks is an on-going nuisance that also really needs attention.

Although the printer can handle postcards and be linked up with remote devices (albeit with slower printing), its prime role is exhibition print-making in colour or black and white up to A2+ (or longer prints) at comparatively moderate ink cost. In this role it is unsurpassed.

Despite a few minor misgivings, the SC-P800 is a pleasure to work with. The Epson reputation for quality and performance hasn’t changed and the much revered Stylus Pro 3880 has a worthy successor in an on-going printer success story.

The roll paper holder attaches to the rear of the printer and the procedure takes no more than 30 seconds.

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REPORT BY

PAUL BURROWS

EPSON

WORKFORCE ET-4500

ECONOMY CLASS Epson’s new EcoTank range of A4 printers may well represent a mini revolution in inkjet printing. These printers provide a cheaper and convenient long-term printing solution and open up a host of possibilities. Designed primarily for home or small office applications, Trevern Dawes explores their potential for photographers.

pson’s EcoTank inkjet printers reverse the customary printer/ ink strategy. Small and expensive cartridges are replaced by a continuous ink supply from much bigger user-filled tanks, but the initial purchase price of the printer goes up. Apart from offering a new approach, a prime objective must be to make a sizeable dent in the sale of generic inks in the form of disposable compatible cartridges, refill cartridges or continuous bulk ink systems.

The EcoTank printers’ continuous ink system is not a new concept. Bulk ink supplies linked to replacement cartridges have existed as ‘alternatives’ to genuine ink cartridges for some time.

They are promoted as “continuous”, but do require reset procedures when ink levels expire. Epson’s system is truly continuous and is direct to the

E

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print head without intermediate cartridges, while anti-clogging devices prevent tube blockages and stop any air bubbles reaching the print heads.

Another important difference is image longevity. At 18 years for prints under glass, the Epson EcoTank inks are not exactly ‘long life’, but are far more durable than third-party inks whose suppliers don’t dare mention ink ratings.

Epson promotes the EcoTank printers as a general home or small business devices, and suggests that they’re not for everyone, least of all photographers who want the image quality benefits of having six colours or more, print longevity and plenty of control in the print panels. Even so, and despite the limitations, some worthwhile results were achieved, suggesting that these all-in-one printers, at least the higher-end models, do have photographic capabilities.

DESCRIPTION There are currently four models in the EcoTank line-up, called the Expression ET-2500, Expression ET-2550, WorkForce ET-4500 and WorkForce ET-4550. This review is of the ET-4500 which

“TO REAP THE BENEFITS OF AN ECOTANK PRINTER, IT NEEDS TO BE WORKED REGULARLY AND HERE IS WHERE ITS BENEFITS IN THE OFFICE, THE CLUB AND THE HOMEWORK ENVIRONMENTS STAND OUT.”

is not quite top-of-the-line, but is better specced than the Expression models and is certainly well enough featured for the home office user who is also a photographer.

In appearance, the ET-4500 is business-like black all over. At only 6.4 kilograms in weight, it has a light weight plastic construction yet appears sturdy enough. Given the ink supplied is said to last two years with average usage, obviously the printer itself has to be built to last longer than this… one of the reasons for the higher purchase price compared to comparable ‘conventional’ models.

On the printer’s top is a 30page auto document feeder (ADF) for paper to be used for photo copying and, directly under, is the receiving area. The ADF doesn’t handle auto duplex copying. This entire assembly lifts up to reveal the A4 format document scanning platform. At the rear is the twosection paper stacker tray and, at front right, at the base is the single-section pull-out receiving tray with lift-up flap to stop paper from heading straight to the floor.

On the right-hand side is the chamber for the ink tanks, with its single flip-up lid for all four reservoirs. At front and angled

The full upper assembly lifts to allow photocopying.

The lid is flexible enough to accommodate books and documents up to about 15 millimetres in thickness.

EPSON WORKFORCE ET-4500

down is the control panel with a 5.6 cm mono LCD screen, numeric keypad and extra buttons (Redial/ Pause, Contacts, Stop/Reset and Start, B&W and Colour).

All manner of connections are available for both cable-linked (USB, Ethernet), networked and Wi-Fi remote devices (Wi-Fi, Epson Connect, Epson Email Print, Epson iPrint Mobile App, Epson Remote Print, Apple Air Print and Google Cloud Print). A fax capacity is also included.

With the EcoTank system there is the equivalent of about 20 14 millilitres cartridges, sufficient to run up to 4000 pages in black and 6500 pages in colour. As the ink reaches the print head via tubes there are no cartridges riding alone on top of the print head, thereby reducing wear and delivering a smoother action. The four inks – magenta, cyan, yellow and black have a T664 coding. Ink levels may be viewed from the ‘Main’ panel or by simply looking at the side of the translucent ink tanks.

The 70 millilitres ink bottles are priced at $16.99, which brings the cost per millilitre down to just 23 cents. When compared to, typically, about $2 per millilitres with conventional ink cartridges, the savings are significant.

However, this really doesn’t start to take effect in an overall sense until replacement bottles are introduced.

As a special bonus, Epson Australia offers a two-year “Back To Base” warranty on the printer, provided registration is completed within 30 days of purchase.

THE REALITIES The high number of pages that the EcoTank printer can produce seems mighty appealing, but for printing photographs we need to put everything into perspective.

A 4000-page rating refers to only about five percent coverage of text. If an A4 photo print consumes about 0.7 millilitres of ink then that total of 280 millilitres of ink represents about 400 prints. Of course, this is still an appreciable number of prints.

Cost comparisons are not easy to make when printers and inks vary considerably in price, not to mention those occasional specials.

In order to put everything into perspective, some assumptions are required. If a basic four-colour printer costs around $80 and its cartridges each contain about ten millilitres of ink, then a calculation can be made to see how the ink costs square off against the

Ethernet and Wi-Fi are available for networking; various apps and Epson software allow printing from iPad/tablet and networked PC, Macs, and even from remote off-site devices.

No need to check ink levels via software – you can see the tanks themselves on the side.

The main display shows all functions, including networking set-up.

EPSON WORKFORCE ET-4500

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Adjustments can be made to colour and black and white prints in the ‘Colour Correction’ panel.

The ink levels may be viewed from the ‘Main’ panel or by simply looking at the sides of the translucent ink tanks in the printer.

The ‘Main’ panel for the printer is where most settings are organised.

EcoTank model. In order for that to happen, the $80 printer needs another 240 millilitres of ink… or another 24 cartridges. At about $15 per cartridge this works out at $360. The Epson ET-4500 costs $449 for its 280 millilitres of ink while the $80 printer plus a pile of cartridges has cost $440.

From there onwards though, the EcoTank printer wins handsomely. For example, in environmental terms, 28 spent cartridges go to landfill with the conventional printer – or just four 70 millilitres ink bottles. It’s also likely that the cheap printer will end up in landfill quite a number of years before the EcoTank model,

which will probably outlast several replacements.

All things considered, though, the prime difference is the sheer convenience of the EcoTank printer with its true continuous printing.

The choice between an inexpensive multi-functional with conventional cartridges (i.e. the Epson WF-2630 at $99, the XP-200 at $55, or even down to a printer selling for a paltry $28.88 – all from Officeworks) and the EcoTank system will be mostly based on expected print volumes over a year or so. The EcoTank printer is not a machine for casual five print-outs or so a week usage. That does warrant the cheap printer and inexpensive replacement cartridges. To reap the benefits of an EcoTank printer, it needs to be worked regularly and here is where its benefits in the office, the club and the homework environments

stand out. Larger organisations would find the likes of the ET4500 too slow and limited in paper capacity and would look to something like the WorkForce Pro-WF-R series.

PRINTING PHOTOS Not surprisingly, photo enthusiasts will be keen to see what the EcoTank printer can achieve in photographic output. Although photo printing is not a promoted feature of any of these models, the news is that good results can be achieved. However, it all relates to using inkjet papers, so any thoughts of perhaps using plain paper for this should be dismissed.

Dye-based inks on gloss media have always been a great combination, and even the four colours of the ET-4500 turn out a snappy result. Overall, prints lack the tonal scale and subtleties of a

six-ink (or more) system, which is to be expected, but nevertheless if print files are well organised the prints are pleasing.

The ‘Automatic’ approach to printing with either Epson Matte or Epson Premier Gloss papers will provide accurate results. When other Epson surfaces like lustre (or other brands) are involved, either the ‘Epson Matte’ or ‘Epson Premium Gloss’ paper types must be selected. Epson lustre paper, for example, simply takes up the ‘Premium Gloss’ option.

Overall adjustments can at least be made to colour (i.e. cyan, magenta, yellow), brightness, contrast, saturation and density. When a revised set of characteristics is established, everything may be saved and added to the ‘Preset’ listing for future use. For example, a 190 gsm dual-sided gloss paper produced a

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“ALTHOUGH PHOTO PRINTING IS NOT A PROMOTED FEATURE OF ANY OF THE ECOTANK MODELS, THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT GOOD RESULTS CAN BE ACHIEVED.” dark and reddish print when made in ‘Automatic’. The same result occurred in ‘Custom’ with the ‘Adobe RGB’ colour mode, but at least in the ‘More Options’ panel the necessary corrections could be made. By reducing red by minus six in both yellow and magenta, and by increasing brightness by six, the result was a good screen match-up.

These settings were then saved as “190 Gloss 2s”.

Since all my print files are in Adobe RGB and generally printed via Photoshop, I found the best approach was to start with the ‘Main’ panel and lock in the required ‘Document Size’, ‘Paper Type’, ‘Quality’, ‘Colour or Grayscale’ with ‘Print Preview’ selected, and then proceed to the ‘More Options’ panel and set ‘Media Mode’ to ‘Adobe RGB’. If you’re using sRGB files then ‘Custom’ and ‘PhotoEnhance’ are a good option, or simply go ‘Automatic’.

This printer clearly isn’t intended for use with fine-art papers, but we

VITAL STATISTICS Printer Type: A4 format multi-function inkjet printer using four colours of dye-based inks delivered via line from refillable internal ink tanks. Colours are cyan, magenta, yellow and black. A4 document canner, photocopier and fax functions.

Ink Cartridges: No cartridges. Printer has internal ink tanks which are refillable. Initial supply

reviewers like to push boundaries.

An A4 sheet of 315 gsm Innova Smooth Cotton was accepted by the printer and took a lengthy 7:10 minutes to print. Without any set profiles for the paper, the ‘Epson Matte’ setting was adopted at high quality and with high speed switched ‘Off’. Using a fine-art photo paper in a basic four-colour printer might seem like overkill, but the result was rather impressive and only reinforces the view that dyes on fine art media can be an excellent combination. It’s worth noting, though, that papers heavier than about 315 gsm will not be accepted by the ET-4500. But the capacity to still handle relatively heavy papers means that the likes of greeting and business cards are well within this printer’s capacity.

Because dyes exhibit short term colour drift, it is important to make assessments after prints have dried down. It’s equally important to make appraisals in decent lighting conditions. Comparing images on screen to hard copy via a small desk lamp is not the way to go.

A curious aspect of this printer is its ‘stop-and-go’ behaviour. During printing, for instance, it stops after about ten seconds, as if to catch its breath, and then carries on.

BLACK AND WHITE Most four-colour inkjet printers use the full set to print black-andwhite photographs with a resultant slight red cast. The ET-4500 is no exception. Opting for a deliberate colour cast, such as sepia, is a suggestion, but there is a way around the situation. If ‘Plain Paper’ is selected but photo paper used in conjunction with the maximum quality setting and with high speed printing switched ‘Off’, the printer basically resorts to using the black ink tank only, and produces a more neutral result.

EPSON WORKFORCE ET-4500

Viewed under a magnifier, the print will appear to be grainier, but there is no red cast. The more prominent dot structure can create the illusion of a sharper image compared to printing to a photo paper profile. An A4 black-andwhite print, made using this unorthodox approach, took 1:15 minutes to produce.

PRINT LONGEVITY Epson has so far not provided any longevity ratings for the EcoTank printers, but we can make a fair assumption based on the figures for the L800 and L1800 models (which have been available in various overseas markets for a while). For these two printers Wilhelm Research has established a maximum rating of 18 years for prints under glass, but the dark storage results have yet to be finalised. Although these two printers use a six-colour ink system, it’s reasonable to assume the ink formation is similar.

A rating of 18 years is fairly low in comparison to other inkjet printers, least of all Epson’s own Claria inks as used in the Artisan printers which rate 98 years under glass and 200 years in dark storage.

Of course, the EcoTank ratings far exceed those of third-party inks, but perhaps there are technical or marketing reasons why the Claria dye-based inks have not been considered for this application.

THE VERDICT The Epson ET-4500 and its EcoTank siblings are essentially document printers rather than photo printers, although they’re capable enough in all departments.

Perhaps the key words for the Epson EcoTank printers are “convenience” and “usage”.

In many respects, the ET-4500 is an intermediate ‘just right’ solution

for those people and organisations who churn out a fair volume of printing and occasionally have need to scan or photocopy documents. Infrequent or highspeed, high volume usages are probably best addressed with more appropriate printers.

Many enthusiasts might see the WorkForce ET-4500 (or another in the series) as being an economical approach to general multi-functional tasks, including A4 photo printing in conjunction with an existing or proposed dedicated A3+/A2 inkjet printer to handle display prints and work where image longevity is important.

In order to satisfy the needs of photographers, perhaps Epson Australia will introduce the L800 and L1800 models. The L1800 is the ‘real deal’ for photographers – with six inks, borderless printing and A3+ format (see Epson’s Websites for Singapore or Europe) or, better still, include the EcoTank system with the Claria inks from the Artisan 1430. That would address all the main criteria of quality, long print life and economic inks… and keep photographers very happy indeed.

So the Epson EcoTank printer represents a positive step in inkjet printing for the smaller format printers, but in doing so raises many questions. How will consumers and the manufacturers and distributors of compatible systems react, and will Canon and HP enter the field with their own alternatives? It will be interesting to see how everything pans out.

In the meantime the Epson EcoTank printers are here now with multi-functional features, the ability to produce a decent print and packaged with a generous ink supply and a different ethos.

Is this the start of a revolution in inkjet printing?

EPSON WORKFORCE ET-4500 and replacement ink supplied in 70 millilitres bottles.

Maximum Resolution: 5760x1440 dpi with Epson ‘Variable-Sized Droplet Technology’.

Minimum ink droplet size is three picolitres.

Paper Sizes: Postcard through to Legal size (216x356 millimetres). No borderless printing.

Interfaces: High-speed USB, Wi-Fi

(802.11b/g/n), Mobile Epson Connect, Epson Email Print and Epson iPrint.

Main Features: Integral refillable ink tanks, 5.6 cm LCD display panel with touch controls, Micro Piezo on-demand print head with 180 nozzles for black and 59 nozzles per CMY colour, variable droplet sizing (down to three picolitres), choice of quality/speed

print settings.

Dimensions (WxHxD): 489x300x161 mm.

Weight: 6.4 kilograms.

Price: $599 (includes four 70 millilitres ink bottles). Replacement ink bottles cost $16.99 each.

Distributor: Epson Australia, telephone 1300 131 928 or visit www.epson.com.au

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EPSON SURELAB SL-D700

Business Machine EPSON SURELAB SL-D700 ‘DRY FILM’ MINILAB If you’re in the business of selling photo prints, Epson’s new compact commercial inkjet printer offers convenience, speed, quality and economy for on-demand applications or in-situ operations.

REPORT BY TREVERN DAWES.

The release of Epson’s first compact ‘dry film’ mini-lab printer, the SureLab SL- D700, opens up opportunities for commercial photographers, photo mini-labs and general businesses, organisations, institutions, clubs, etc., to own and operate a relatively small, on-site and portable facility for fast on-demand printing.

Mini-lab type operations are a prime target for this printer. It’s a compact, portable, economical and low-maintenance unit with no chemicals involved, no ventilation provisions required, no awkward waste disposal problems and requiring nothing more than a standard power supply. Print longevity rates are higher than conventional wet D&P systems. The SureLab SL-D700 is a stand-alone printer that links via a high-speed USB 2.0 cable to either PC or Mac computers.

Description With dimensions of 430 millimetres in depth, 354 millimetres high and 460 millimetres wide, the SL-D700 is a relatively small mini-lab that doesn’t occupy too much desk space and is easy enough to position and set up. It weighs in at 23 kilograms. As a portable unit, fully loaded with inks and paper to take to venues and events on a short term basis, it will require a trolley for transportation or at least some muscle.

The printer is typical computer light grey. The scrap paper box with its translucent plastic front clips into position and resides above the dark blue slide-out for the roll paper feeder. Prints emerge at the top and fall into one of two optional paper bins or into a makeshift container.

A status indicator with bright blue light is located at the top right-hand side.

The scrap paper box catches the sliced pieces cut off at the start and end of each print.

The SL-D700 employs six cartridges using Epson’s UltraChrome D6-S aqueous dye-based inks which have been especially developed for the printer.

The cartridge capacity is 200 millilitres.

The cyan, yellow, magenta, black, light magenta and light cyan inks enhance gamut and dMax characteristics to promote colour depth, intense blacks and brightness. Three cartridges reside on the left side of the printer and three on the right side.

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EPSON SURELAB SL-D700

“The SL-D700 is a compact, portable, economical and low-maintenance unit with no chemicals involved, no ventilation provisions required, no awkward waste disposal problems and requiring nothing more than a standard power supply.”

A 152 millimetres wide roll of gloss paper loaded up and ready for the tray to be pushed into the printer.

Final cartridge in position prior to insertion.

Three cartridges reside on the left side and three on the right. The maintenance tank is located above the right-side cartridges.

As yet, no longevity ratings for the inks are available, however, as they are essentially the Epson Claria inks, a reasonable assumption would be 98 years displayed under glass and about 200 years in dark storage (based on Wilhelm Research data).

There are three print resolutions – 720x360 dpi is ‘High Speed’, 720x720 dpi is ‘Standard’ and 1440x720 dpi is ‘High Image Quality’. The minimum droplet size is 2.5 picolitres. The choice between speed and quality depends on the project and consumer demand.

The printer employs Epson’s ‘Micro Piezo’ print head technology with high resolution variable-sized ink droplets to deliver precise droplet placement. There is an auto nozzle check, a paper dust removal capacity and an auto cutter with long-lasting blade. An output heater ensures dry exit, especially with gloss media, to promote a finish resistant to damage and moisture. A choice of border or borderless printing is a feature.

The printer accommodates paper widths

from 102 to 210 millimetres and produces prints from 89 to 1000 millimetres in length.

With large-capacity cartridges, 65-metre long paper rolls and automatic features in a compact unit, everything is designed for low maintenance operation and medium volume output.

Out Of The Box The packing carton for the basic kit weighs 29 kilograms as delivered. It contains the printer unit, a five-metre USB cable, a power cord, a set of 200 millilitre ink cartridges, a maintenance tank, a set-up guide, Mac and PC drivers on CD, a media spindle and a warranty for one year. Surprisingly, no paper receiving tray or bin is supplied. There is a standard and large, optional bin available, but if the printer is not on public display an inexpensive plastic box from K-Mart will do the job just as well.

There are four broad purchase choices for the SureLab SL-D700 in addition to the optional extras. These comprise

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EPSON SURELAB SL-D700 It’s important to ensure there is no dust on the leading edge of the roll, otherwise transportation lines could appear on the prints. The paper has the coated side facing down and is slowly fed into the receiving slot until a blue indicator shows ‘OK’. Before the tray is closed, any slack in the paper is removed.

After a little practice, it takes only a minute or so to exchange a paper roll. In a busy mini-lab, more than one printer or rolls of different sizes and paper types already pre-loaded on spare spindles might be necessary.

the printer with a standard one-year warranty, the printer with three-year warranty, the printer with a ‘Photo Pack’ and a one-year warranty, and the printer with the ‘Photo Pack’ and a three-year warranty. Any repairs or adjustments required under warranty are on an onsite basis for metropolitan areas.

The ‘Photo Pack’ includes Epson Order Control software, two six-inch wide gloss paper rolls, two eight-inch wide lustre paper rolls, an A4 roll, two media spindles, a media storage case and a maintenance tank.

The Epson Order Controller V3.0 software is a facility for print job estimations, print scheduling, image editing and colour management.

Paper Choices A variety of 65-metre long paper rolls sizes and surface types are available.

Widths are 102 millimetres (four inches), 127 millimetres (five inches), 152 millimetres (six inches), 203 millimetres (eight inches) and 210 millimetres (A4) in either gloss (254 gsm weight), lustre (248 gsm) or matte (180 gsm). The reverse side does not contain any brand imprint. This is a welcome feature for applications such as making greetings cards.

The lustre finish is likely to be the most popular. It has a bright surface without a high sheen and is versatile enough to suit a wide variety of projects.

The gloss paper will bring out the best

Set Up The printer supplied for this review was not brand spanking new so a detailed description of the set-up procedure cannot be provided.

Other reports indicate it will take about an hour to carefully go through each stage to bring the printer up to the ‘ready to go’ position. This involves insertion of the ink cartridges and paper, plus installation of software. Each ink cartridge has its designated slot and the printer will not accept anything in the wrong position.

The maintenance tank, located on the right side above the cartridge bay, is already inserted. This collects “stray” ink.

The remaining service life is continually monitored. A low level warning message, as per each of the ink cartridges, will eventually appear to allow time for a replacement to be acquired. Initial ink charging time is about 20 minutes. A blue light continues to flash and will cease when everything is complete.

When the blue paper roll tray is slid out, the paper to be removed is backwound by turning the knob on the left of the paper insert position. The roll lifts out, the grey flange is removed and the paper is separated from the shaft of the spindle. Both of the internal and external paper guides must be positioned to accommodate the new paper width.

The need to adjust the inner guide is not mentioned in the Setup Guide.

The paper spindle is colour-coded so the grey left side of the spindle corresponds to the left side of the take-up.

Colour management via ‘ICM’ allows the input profile of the image and the printer profile to be selected.

in any image and the full capacity of the printer with pronounced blacks and lively colour. It has the greatest impact, has that immediate appeal for quick sales at event venues and will compete well with gloss surfaces from traditional D&P outlets.

At 180 gsm, the bright white matte paper with its distinctive smooth surface is probably a touch too light for business and greeting cards. However, as the reverse side is virtually the same as the coated side, it does open up all manner of possibilities, including portfolio books with right-hand pages only. The reverse side will accept text so these pages can always be printed later in a standard inkjet printer. When fast printing is required, the fact that matte paper only has a ‘High Image quality’ setting could be a disadvantage.

Print Panel The SureLab SL-D700’s ‘Main’ print panel controls the paper type, print quality, the paper size, border/borderless printing and ‘Display Printer’ status.

Colour is either the default of ‘Colour Controls’ or ‘No Colour Management’ or ‘ICM’. Proceeding to ‘Advanced’ on ‘Colour Controls’ allows sRGB or Adobe RGB colour space to be set and then any adjustments can be applied to ‘Brightness’, ‘Contrast’ and ‘Saturation’.

When ‘Advanced’ is selected for ‘ICM’, it opens up to Basic, Advanced and Host settings, offers sRGB or Colormatch RGB colour space and, if ‘Show All Profiles’ is selected, the appropriate Epson SL-D700 profile can be locked in.

There is no provision to name and save different settings, other than to change the original default.

In Use The main print panel establishes the printer settings.

The SL-D700 is not a quiet machine.

The paper transport mechanism hammers away while the whirring when it’s in operation can be rather annoying, especially when the printer is positioned close to the computer. In a relatively quiet office, some means of printer isolation may be necessary.

The default ‘Earliest’ time between ‘Stand By’ and ‘Sleep’ is about four minutes. This may be altered from the ‘Main’ panel by clicking on ‘Start SL Printer Maintenance Tool’, then ‘Operational

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Learn more, visit www.epson.com.au Photo© Darran Leal www.worldphotoadventures.com.au

ON TRIAL

EPSON SURELAB SL-D700

“With large-capacity cartridges, 65-metre long paper rolls and automatic features in a compact unit, everything is designed for low maintenance operation and medium volume output.”

Condition Settings’, then‘Power Saver’, selecting a time and pressing ‘Save’.

The first print sent to the printer involves a ‘get moving’ time of about 45 seconds before printing commences.

The next different print still takes the same time, but if multiple copies or a run of images is involved there is no delay between each print.

My initial prints created via sRGB and Adobe RGB colour space and both Colour Controls or ICM had a good screen match. If colour or contrast aren’t satisfactory, manual adjustments can be made. The paper cutter zips away to create a neat, clean cut at the start and end of each print. As the paper catcher is translucent, it’s easy enough to see when it needs to be emptied.

Print Times Epson has compiled average and typical times for various combinations of paper types, print sizes and quality settings: • Gloss/lustre – fast speed • 545 per hour for 5.0x3.5-inches • 430 per hour for 6x4-inches • 140 per hour for 10-inches • Gloss/lustre – standard quality 455 per hour for 5.0x3.5-inches • 360 per hour for 6x4-inches • 120 per hour for 10x8-inches • Gloss/lustre/matte – high quality 225 per hour for 5.0x3.5-inches • 180 per hour for 6x4-inches • 60 per hour for 10x8-inches

The average times (based on print head activity) on 302 millimetres lustre paper – at a 302x305 millimetres image sizing – were 25 seconds in the ‘High Speed’ mode, 35 seconds in the ‘Standard’ mode, and 65 seconds in the ‘High Image Quality’ mode.

Prints viewed at normal distances appeared to be identical and only with a magnifying glass could the finer resolution of the ‘High Image Quality’ prints be identified.

Twenty images created as 203x254 millimetres pages in InDesign and printed in a run took just nine minutes at the ‘Standard’ print quality. It took 65 seconds to print a panoramic landscape to 203x750 millimetres at ‘High Speed’ and 165 seconds at ‘High Image Quality’. The difference in quality is hardly noticeable and would suggest that ‘High Speed’ would be appropriate for most of the time, with ‘Standard’ a fair compromise.

The largest print was made on the maximum paper size of 302x1000 millimetres (from the 302 millimetres wide roll), using an image size of 179x900 millimetres. As the intention was a display print for framing, the ‘High Image Quality’ setting was preferred. The printing time was three minutes and 40 seconds, and the result was a joy. A fascinating exercise was to throw 20 print files at the Epson SureLab SL-D700 as fast as I could bring them up in Photoshop and scale

each up to print with white margins onto 203x305 millimetres lustre print size. The printer kept pace and didn’t complain.

I enjoyed that little game and ended up with a very pleasing mini portfolio of prints from my last Outback venture.

Black And White Black and white printing is not a strong point of the SL-D700, but considering the prime use of the printer will be for colour work, this is not likely to be an issue.

Using the full colour inkset to produce a monochrome result – as per all the Claria ink printers – is not going to create neutral results as a very slight greenish cast eventuates.

Converting black and white files to RGB and printing as colour is a helpful technique. Otherwise, go for a deliberate tint by adding a touch of yellow and magenta in Photoshop or in the ‘Colour Control’ panel of the printer – select ‘Slide Bar’ instead of ‘Colour Circle’ and try adding three units of magenta and yellow, and decreasing the saturation by three. By experimenting with different settings, users will eventually settle on the best outcome for their needs.

Event Photos One of the advantages of the SureLab SL-D700 is its capacity to deliver photos on demand at any temporary location where a power supply is available.

Images can be downloaded from a

SPECS

EPSON SURELAB SL-D700 ‘DRY FILM’ MINILAB

Printer Type: High speed ‘dry film’ inkjet photo printer for medium volume commercial applications.

Ink Cartridges: Individual per colour. 200 millimetres capacity. UltraChrome D6-S type. Colours are yellow, magenta, cyan, black, light magenta and light cyan.

Nozzle Configuration: 180 per colour.

Minimum Droplet Size: 2.5 picolitres with

Variable-Sized Droplet Technology.

Operating Noise: 55 dB. Max. Print Speed: 450 prints per hour at 100x150 millimetres size.

Power Consumption: 120 watts operational.

Dimensions (WxHxD): 460x354x430 millimetres.

Weight: 23 kilograms.

A4 matte roll on a spindle, along with 152 millimetres wide gloss and 203 millimetres wide lustre rolls.

A small knob at the bottom left of the paper roll tray is used to return paper to the roll prior to retrieval.

Price (inc. GST): Printer = $4795. Ink cartridges = $69.95 each. Maintenance tank = $22. 102 millimetres wide gloss paper roll = $41.25. 152 millimetres wide gloss paper roll = $63.25. 152 millimetres wide lustre paper roll = $63.25. A4 matte paper roll = $77.

Distributor: Epson Australia, visit www.epson.com.au

camera, viewed and selected in an image browser, and sent to the printer.

A crunch on time won’t allow Photoshop-type adjustments, but being able to offer prints within a short time frame could fulfil a market need, either as prints now or orders taken on images that can be adjusted. The Epson Order Control software will assist in rapid picture assembly.

If none of the listed paper sizes is suitable, the ‘User Defined ’panel allows a custom size to be created. This is then named and saved to the list. The maximum paper size is 210 millimetres wide by 1000 millimetres long. Photographers accustomed to printing at A4 would need to set the 210x297 millimetres size, name it as “A4” and save.

Running Costs

The status monitor includes ink cartridge and maintenance tank levels, the current width of paper, length of paper remaining and the print queue where jobs can be paused or deleted.

The running cost per print will vary according to the paper used, the printer resolution and the image content.

Figures provided by Epson relate to the gloss/lustre papers (matte is cheaper) per print and should be regarded as average.

• 4-inches: 12-20 cents • 5-inches: 20-25 cents • 6-inches: 25-35 cents • 8-inches: 55-65 cents • 10-inches: 80-90 cents • 12-inches: $1.50 - $1.70

As each 200 millilitres cartridge costs $69.95 (including GST), this works out to about $0.33 per millilitre. This is well under the usual $2.00 per millilitre for A4 and A3+ printers, and could well be an enticement to any photographer or organisation who don’t require prints larger than A4 (or longer prints with 210 millimetres width) and who makes prints on a regular basis. By the same token, organisations like schools, small

businesses or even larger camera clubs could find the running costs appealing enough to pursue a facility they might otherwise choose to forego or to fulfil with an A4 or A3+ printer.

Apart from supplies of paper, ink and maintenance tanks, there is range of optional extras for SL-D700, including a stand and large paper catchers, spindles and a media storage box.

The Verdict The Epson SureLab SL-D700 is designed for high-speed and medium-volume printing operations. When top quality, high-resolution printing is required, it delivers. Although the printer is not specifically intended to target nonprofessional photographers, if A4 is the largest general print required, it could well appeal to organisations and institutions such as schools, art departments and the like. Relatively economical running costs and low maintenance levels are a strong feature while minimal training is required to operate the printer successfully. Portability will open up all manner of possibilities for the photographer working on location to not only capture images, but also to download to a laptop and have prints ready for sale, or for clients to preview. The print speeds of the SL-D700 cannot be denied, but at a temporary site or an event, the speed of organising files to direct to the printer would be the key issue.

The lack of a print catcher tray for the basic kit might seem unusual, but with a tall plastic box positioned under the paper exit prints, can collected in sequence. Apart from the noise and the slower printing times for matte papers, there is little else to detract from what should be an appealing unit for commercial enterprises and even some nonprofessional photographers as well.

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Learn more, visit www.epson.com.au/prographics