Customer Reviews
State of the Art
I’ll start with a short review since I just got the printer and have only run 5 prints through it. I will update in a week or so with more information.
Setup and installation was easy. I have it on my network for my Windows machines and it is connected directly to my Mac Pro. The install documentation said to get the latest driver for Leopard off of their site, which I did and installed with no problem. The latest Windows driver was on the installation CD.
The reason I called this review “State of the Art” is Epson developed Radiance, the new color-matching technology built into the R1900. This is the first printer with it, even the current Epson Pro printers don’t have it. [...] has an article about it.
The few pictures I have printed are beautiful and they printed very fast.
I printed 3 on Epson’s Ultra Premium luster 8.5 x 11 paper using Photoshop CS2. I tried different settings for each print of the same standard color matching target. All three printed very nice and as expected, a little different. Using “Photoshop Determines Colors”, “Printer Determines Colors” and “No Color Management”, with appropriate settings on the printer driver. So it will be up to you to decide which settings you want to use.
Next, as a test I printed a photo, of my daughter, on plain HP Bright White paper. WOW, is all I can say. Plain paper and it looked great.
For my last test I picked a random paper size, 12″ x 12″, that I cut from a 13″ x 19″ sheet of matte paper. I changed the paper size in the driver and printed. No problem, it printed just fine and also was beautiful.
I plan on getting a roll of paper too. I’ve wanted to print some banners, something I couldn’t do with my current Canon I9900.
So far it is everything I expected it to be. However, I do plan on keeping the I9900 because sometimes I know I will want a dye (not pigment) print (and I still have Canon ink and paper left).
I will post more soon.
Update 3-10-08:
I have been playing with the settings on the driver to see which I like best. It is a good/bad thing that there are so many settings to play with. I figure I will eventually figure out which I like best. There are subtle differences in color, skin tones and gray scales on the gray scales. If you are interested in the test targets, you can download the printer test images I used from [...]
I will start printing some of my real pictures to compare with the I9900 versions. So I will post another update in a week or two.
I tried a roll in the printer. It was surprising easy to set up and use. You put the holders on the roll, mount it on the back of the printer, then feed the paper into the printer in the slot on the back. The printer recognizes you are doing it, then grabs the paper to feed in to the proper starring point.
If you print multiple images, the printer spaces them 1″ apart. Unfortunately, Epson still has it’s artificial limit length of 44″. There are expensive RIPs (raster image processors) that will allow you to printer longer images, but unless you are going to do this a lot, it can’t be worth it. The cheapest I found is $500.
I’ve decided that I probably will not use the “roll” on the printer. I want to printer banners every so often, but to use the roll for one print wastes about 10″ of paper. That is the initial feed of about 4″ and when you cut it on the back to free it, another 6″. If you are printing many prints on a roll, then it will be worth it and easier. I suggest (and what I did in my second test), was just cut a 44″ of paper (from the roll) and feed it though the (normal) auto paper feeder and that worked fine for the banner without any waste.
As for ink usage, I’ve hardly made a dent with the 10 8x10s, 1 12×12, 3 8.5 x 44 prints I’ve made. The banners were not printed at high resolution to save ink for my testing. I love Amazon, but it’s ink prices for this printer are currently way out of line. Even the Epson store has them for way less. I hope that changes soon.
Update 3-26-08 (my last update).
After printing 25 more 8×10 high resolution (and in slow mode for better quality), I finally ran out of ink in one cartridge (and it was the gloss optimizer). After more reading, I think I used the wrong setting for the gloss and was wasting it on white area outside of the image. I’m still learning.
After printing 25 more 8×10 high resolution (and in slow mode for better quality), I finally ran out of ink in one cartridge (and it was the gloss optimizer). After more reading, I think I used the wrong setting for the gloss and was wasting it on white area outside of the image. I’m still learning.
Some of the other inks are pretty low, so I have stocked up.
I still have not printed on a DVD/CD yet, but I’m sure that will be fine.
There is not much more for me to say except I am very happy with this purchase and expect to use this printer for the next 3-4 years, when I’m sure something else out there will get my attention.
Update 3-22-11
Epson just announced the R3000. By the specs, it looks to be the replacement for the R1900. The list price of the R3000 is $850 but the R3000 comes with and uses the Epson UltraChrome K3 ink set, which are the larger inks that cost $40-$50, but are 8x larger than the R1900 inks, which meant to me when I got the R3880 (that use the same ink), that the savings in ink will pay for the printer over the R1900.
Epson just announced the R3000. By the specs, it looks to be the replacement for the R1900. The list price of the R3000 is $850 but the R3000 comes with and uses the Epson UltraChrome K3 ink set, which are the larger inks that cost $40-$50, but are 8x larger than the R1900 inks, which meant to me when I got the R3880 (that use the same ink), that the savings in ink will pay for the printer over the R1900.
Howard
Better than I hoped
I have had this printer for a week now and all I can say is WOW! I was concerned after I read the reviews here but decided to buy anyway because of past experience with Epson, and I am so happy I did.
When the box arrived I picked up the ‘Start Here’ booklet and within an hour and three prints (13″x19″) I was getting better results than the stuff I had paid a professional lab $15.00 each for! No more, I just fired my lab.
I am printing from Photoshop CS3 using Adobe RGB color space and ICC information. The prints are incredibly color saturated with great contrast to really ‘pop’.
I am absolutely in love with this printer!
Another week:
No change in my opinion, other than I like it even more. I printed 20 8×10 and 7 13×19 before having to add ink (Yellow and Cyan). Prints on Epson’s fine art paper are fantastic! This is my last review.
Satisfies even this professional photographer.
I have long been invested in a competitor’s brand when it came to high-quality inkjet printing, and making the switch to not only a new printer but also a new vendor was a tough decision. As a professional photographer (Member, NPPA), I carefully coordinate ICC color profiles for true color fidelity from lens to monitor to print. No sub-$2000 printer – until now – has ever satisfied me. Epson’s R1900 is a STEAL even at full retail price. The color fidelity, gamut, and smooth skin tones are unmatched and are more true to life than the professional digital printing service that I formerly used (and have since fired). Your operating costs are not going to be as low as if you purchase a cheap big-box-store style photo printer – you’ll go through ink faster than with other brands (especially the Gloss Optimizer, which covers the entire print with a fantastic gloss coat when selected, but which is fortunately sold in a low-cost 4-pack). Even with higher ink costs, if you’re looking at this product, you’re probably already ready to take your game to the next level. Although this printer will produce stunning prints on any media, you really need to try printing on Epson paper with Epson’s ICC profiles installed – words cannot describe the quality of the prints produced. The first 11×14 I printed not only took my breath away but also that of the fellow professional photographers staring over my shoulder. The Gloss Optimizer cartridge and newly formulated inks are a clear improvement over this model’s predecessor (R1800) and produce fantastic glossy prints. You have to see it to believe it – you will not be disappointed. Also consider purchasing paper and ink directly from the Epson store – the prices are better than I have found elsewhere online – and there are frequently sales on their higher-end papers that make the per-print cost much lower.
An Incredible Printer!
I have to say that this printer has been blowing me away! I have been thinking about getting a larger-format photo printer for some time, as my Epson Stylus CX5200 is getting tired and outdated. I am using the R1900 with an iMac and OSX 10.4.9. My camera is a Canon PowerShot SD900 (10.0 MP).
I expected the printer to come with some paper samples to try, so I didn’t order large-format paper until I received the printer and found that there were NOT any samples. So, I played around with some paper I had on hand until the bigger paper came. First, I printed out a flyer for a concert that contained both text and a color photo. Like another reviewer, at first I didn’t realize how many different settings there are for print and paper quality. Using bright white paper and a “photo paper setting” on the computer, the photo was disappointingly flat. I looked around the menu options on the computer, and under the “print settings” menu, I could go with “Plain/Bright White Paper,” and then the print quality was excellent.
One application that I haven’t seen mentioned here (it’s specialized, I know!) is printing sheet music. My CX5200 often splits the lines or gets kind of fuzzy if the ink is starting to get low, but with bright white paper or heavier, the R1900 prints out incredibly clear music notation – something I will use it for often.
The large photo paper I ordered in sheet form is Ilford Premium Photo Pearl Paper in 13″X19″ size. Two shots were of the beach and one was of an iris that I took on a macro setting. All three came out spectacular. The detail of the flower is just incredible, as is the purple color.
Next I tried some Epson borderless 4″X6″ premium glossy photo paper. I printed out some color shots and a black and white one – all superlative. I didn’t encounter any drops of ink on the edges of the photos as was mentioned by someone earlier.
Then I tried a shot of my black and brown dog on the beach on Kodak Premium Picture Paper that is 8 1/2″X11″. That’s the only print I’m a little disappointed with, but, to be fair, this is an older package of photo paper that might have been improved over the past several years. All of the rest of the prints have been dry to the touch as soon as I took them out of the printer, but this print still feels kind of damp after more than an hour.
I’m still in shock (GOOD shock!) about the last three prints I did, which were on Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper on a 13″X32.8′ roll. One is a shot I took with the zoom on my camera of a harbor seal sunning itself in the surf. The details on the animal and the water are eye-popping. The second one was of two brown pelicans flying over the surf (I live on the Oregon Coast and that’s where I take most of my photos!) – again, breathtaking detail in the wings of the birds as well of the movement of the water. The third is again of the ocean, but this one is almost all blues of varying shades and large areas of sky. This was a good test, because often on other printers, large areas of smooth textures end up with lines or other imperfections in the prints. This one is perfect.
I just checked the ink levels, and not surprisingly, the blue and black are low, but I’ve printed quite a few very large prints without any problems. It would be nice if the ink levels stayed high forever, but for the money I’m saving in not having to send out for enlargements, I’m happy.
I feel very confident that I could enter these prints in a competition and do well. Guess what everyone is getting for Christmas! I give this printer both thumbs up and highly recommend it. My only word of caution is to be sure your camera has enough MPs to enlarge the prints to the maximum level. One of the reasons I bought this particular camera is that the prints are supposed to be clear up to 16″X20″. Not all digital cameras can do that. I’ll keep my CX5200 for everyday printing, but all of the important things will go through the R1900. Love it!!!
Ink and media loading issues
I’ve owned this printer for about a year now and I think it performs reasonably well.
There are two significant issues with the unit I own:
1) Occasionally it will refuse to recognize a replaced cartridge, but Epson has been very good about sending free replacements. The only issue is the waste of time and frustration when this happens. So far it happened to me on two occasions. Both times Epson replaced the defective cartiridges overnight. I did not even have to call them, just send them an e-mail and get a very quick response.
2) I wasted half a roll of canvas trying to load it as per Epson instructions. The unit would accept the edge of the roll, but as I would send a print job in, it would report a media jam every time. Pressing the jam clearing button would result in the printer advancing a blank piece of canvas forward, while the roll back-up button would do nothing and I would have to pull the canvas out of the unit manually, damaging the canvas in the process and risking destroying the printer as well. I tried to follow Epson instructions twice with the same result and then decided to pre-cut the canvas roll to pieces of required length and feed them via a cut-sheet feeder. This approach worked like a charm – no jams and no problems. I got great prints of any length I needed. I will never use the crappy roll feeding system on this unit again.
I gave the unit 4 stars to account for the two issues above.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar