Keith, this is a magnificent review. You put an enormous amount of time and effort into this, and it shows.
The timing is outstanding, for me, because I need a 17" colour printer and this was my top choice. You've confirmed that it's a good option.
One question on the ink tanks. The switch from 80ml to 50ml strikes many as yet another Epson ripoff. However, I have also read that the P900 uses less ink to achieve the same result as the the P800 -- so it might be a wash. Any insights?
Really like the fountain pen shot, btw.
Have you found a "limit" with regard to which papers do well (vs. not so well) with the deep blacks from this inkset?
rdeloe wrote:
Keith, this is a magnificent review. You put an enormous amount of time and effort into this, and it shows.
The timing is outstanding, for me, because I need a 17" colour printer and this was my top choice. You've confirmed that it's a good option.
One question on the ink tanks. The switch from 80ml to 50ml strikes many as yet another Epson ripoff. However, I have also read that the P900 uses less ink to achieve the same result as the the P800 -- so it might be a wash. Any insights?
Thanks - unfortunately I had to swap printers during my use of the printer so any ink use testing is guesswork.
My suspicion is that it's improved, partly because of more inks, but I'm inclined to think, not by enough to make '50'='80'
However, if you swap papers much there is the P900 loss of black ink switching too.
Really like the fountain pen shot, btw.
Have you found a "limit" with regard to which papers do well (vs. not so well) with the deep blacks from this inkset?
What is your experience with paper handling? Some of the reviews indicate that it has problems. I also wonder if it can print 17x25 borderless, i.e., Red River paper. (17x22' is just a silly 19th century proportion, not relevant for 21st century panned/stitched landscapes.)
EB-1 wrote:
What is your experience with paper handling? Some of the reviews indicate that it has problems. I also wonder if it can print 17x25 borderless, i.e., Red River paper. (17x22' is just a silly 19th century proportion, not relevant for 21st century panned/stitched landscapes.)
EBH
This for the specs in the review:
BorderFree Print Widths: 3.5″ x 5″, 4″ x 6″, 5″ x 7″, 8″ x 10″, A4 (8.3″ x 11.7″ | letter (8.5″ x 11″ | 11″ x 14″, B (11″ x 17″ | A3 (11.7″ x 16.5″ | Super B (13″ x 19″ | 16″ x 20″ and C (17″x 22″
I note that it does A2 borderless, which isn't on the list
So I'm going to say no for 17x25 - not a size I've ever come across though (it doesn't cross the Atlantic)
There's a paper handling section in the review, to which I'd just reinforce the comments about the P700 an P900 dislike for curved (non flat) paper.
I gave up on rolls long ago with the 3880. A2 is probably good enough.
For us Epson A2 photo papers don't cross the Pacific.
There are other brands of A2 however. I might try the Moabs as I liked some of their papers years ago.
I gave up owning printers after an Epson 3880 and HP Z5200 44" model died. Just not worth it to do my own printing considering the cost and lifespan of printers, cost of ink and paper.
I don't see any mention of QTR in that review... Did you test to see if QTR functions properly with the printer? Serious B&W printers mostly use QTR rather than AWB for their printing and many of us have been waiting on so info about the suitability of this printer.
There has been speculation that the new printer no longer understands the printing language that QTR is built upon, but I'm not sure anyone has confirmed this.
I have a 3880 that just won't die and a P7000 that takes up to 24" roll paper. Since I get much better dmax and gamut on the 7000 I do my photo black ink prints there and the 3880 does my lower gamut, lower dmax matt work. I have done custom profiles for 3 different papers on 2 printers. The result, my prints match the monitor so close it's hard to tell the difference. I have custom profiles for 2 papers on the 7000 for b&w and I never have any color cast/bronzing. For 3 years, printing was something I did to have the control but cursed and swore as a ran though up to a dozen test prints trying to pull the correct combination of brightness/contrast out of my netherregions. Once I created the custom profiles, it turned printing into pure pleasure. Kinda like using a sekonic meter, it just works. I understand there are vendors who will email you a couple of tests for printing that you mail back and they create a custom profile and that may be less expensive than the $400 Istudio monitor calibration/ paper profile device. But it put an end to me chasing my tail, especially when I was up against a delivery deadline and making endless test prints that weren't quite right.
How does the P900 compare to the P5000? Both 17inch printers, but is the P5000 more robust with the roll paper feeder included, plus roll paper cutting?
The standard version of the P5000 would have the same number of grays and the non-switching black, but not the violet?
I've decided to finally move on from my 2200. I'd rather have a 24 inch printer, but they are all like 54 inches wide and on a stand. Makes 17 inches look pretty good.
Two important features of the 24" printer is it is designed to take roll paper and does it efficiently. If ou are buying 13x19 sheets of say epson platine, the cost is $7.50 per sheet. With a roll purchasing buy any 3 get one free, my cost is $1.80. Then ink cost for my 3880 is 78 cents a mil, for the p7000, as low as 38 cent for the large cart, about 50 cents for the medium. I got my p7000 on sale for 2100. At a $5.70 savings a sheet and ink at about half the cost, the difference is made up in about 100 prints. So even if it is near break even, I blew past that a year ago, you can make larger prints, have amazing quality and that is using one of he best papers out there. You can't buy cheap paper with lower dmax, small gamut and no 200/400 yr color black and white life. Oh, and in 2 years, not a single clog.
EB-1 wrote:
What is your experience with paper handling? Some of the reviews indicate that it has problems. I also wonder if it can print 17x25 borderless, i.e., Red River paper. (17x22' is just a silly 19th century proportion, not relevant for 21st century panned/stitched landscapes.)
EBH
17x25 was developed in response to printing 16x24 images which preserve the common 2x3 ratio. Personally, I love that format and it is a great option leaving 1" border all the way around to facilitate mounting/signature. Incidentally, all of the Epson 17" printers handle the 17x25 easily with a custom paper size. You won't find any support for borderless 17x25 because it isn't a widely adopted standard.
Interestingly, there has been a flurry of different sizes of pre-made frames available in just the last few years. For those who like 16x24, the 17x25 paper facilitates that. Since, I tend to use roll paper and custom frame absolute size is less important for me. .
When I shopped for 17" x 25" a couple years ago it was very difficult to find papers. Red River (already mentioned) is one source.
Another is Premier Art. I use their Smooth Fine Art 320 gsm paper on my Epson 3880 for monochrome printing. If I recall correctly it was a custom order directly with Premier Art.
I'm always on the edge of wanting to get a 24" printer. However, when I look at the size of the frame that is needed for a 17" x 25" print, I'm reminded that that's already quite a large print. Obviously there's a market for larger, but it's not tiny!
| letter (8.5″ x 11″