Epson Stylus R1900 special buy

[David_C...@adobeforums.com]

Staples has a special buy on the Epson Stylus R1900 until 1/31/09. The beginning price is $549, but from that they deduct $100 instant savings, plus a $150 rebate (via debit card), bringing the total price before taxes to 299.00. Also shipping is free. This is the best price I've found on this product. Of course you must wait for the rebate card to arrive.

<http://www.staples.com/office/supplies/StaplesProductDisplay?storeId=10001&noredir=true&langId=-1&partNumber=735344>

[Q_P...@adobeforums.com]

While I'm not a fan of jumping thru the rebate hoop, I will say that Staples is very good concerning rebates. I've gotten rebates at least a half dozen times from them and always for the full amount and in a reasonable amount of time.

I believe that is a very good printer. My R1800 is still going strong and gives great prints.

Q

[john_pa...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks for the tip! I was thinking about a new printer and the R1900 was
on my short list. But that price is too good to pass up so I will be
picking mine up at the Staples store tomorrow.

I sure hope it's as good as the reviews. After I had a custom profile
made for my Epson R200 I have been getting very good prints. This
printer should do much better. (fingers crossed)

John Passaneau

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

What problems has anyone who owns an R 1900 experienced?

Numerous reviews mention various ink problems including the too-small cartridges; a huge appetite for ink; and cartridges drying up before they are empty.

Is the R1900 still worthwhile … or is it being sold off to clear the way for a newer model with larger ink cartridges?

And if not the R1900, has anyone a better recommendation?

[Q_P...@adobeforums.com]

Ann,

Sorry I can't answer about the R1900 as I'm still using an R1800. However, there are a few facts that I'm aware of.

1. The newer printer uses MOST of the same color cartridges as the older R1800.

2. The R1900 has only been out for about a year or so. Usually Epson has a much longer run of their models. That being said, it does seem like a big discount which indicates a newer model soon.

3. I never had a cartridge dry out.

4. Cartridges are pretty small. This has been a good thing for me because my work has dropped off recently and I would hate to replace a dried out $80.00 cartridge. This is a rough estimate but I would guess that I can get a little over forty-five 8x10's from a set of inks. Inks list for $14.00 each but can be purchased for around $12.00.

Now that I've reread this I realize that it's not very informative. Sorry about that but only trying to help. I will repeat that I'm 100% satisfied with my R1800. Years ago I purchased my first Epson photo printer. After about three weeks I decided that I was not happy with it. They let me exchange it for the 1200 which was just then coming out. I thought that was rather good of Epson.

For the price, I would get the R1900.

Q

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

Seems like a good recommendation … and the Printer is only the price of 3 sets of ink!

[Allen...@adobeforums.com]

Is the R1900 still worthwhile

Probably

...or is it being sold off to clear the way for a newer model with larger
ink cartridges?

Probably

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

I will chime in here since someone is spending money, it is about as far away form post script than any other inkjet I know of that is it will not print line or vector art well from illustrator and sending the file to Arcobat will give you little help.

You can print photos and it seems to do this very well you will like the color.

Text looks good. So if you only use Photos or Photos and Text, that is not outlined, then you have a good deal. Otherwise like me you will be returning it.

B&N sells it for $474.00 plus you get the $150 rebate and if you buy it with a digital camera you get yet another $100 rebate. That last one you will have to hurry as the deadline is Jan 31.

The reason I say B&H which will come out about the same price since they will not charge sales tax like staples is that they will take it back within 15 days if you are unhappy with it.

They did not seem surprised I returned it.

So Buyer Beware.

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

The Staples "Deal" is similar:

Price: $549.99

"Instant savings" (meaning Discount at time of purchase): $100.00

"Rebate": $150
(This is NOT cash, nor is it credited back to your credit card, but is a credit against future purchases. You have to send in for your Rebate and it only applies to purchases made between 01-23-2009 through 03-28-2009.)

However … Staple's offer expires on 01/31/09 … and Staples are now OUT OF STOCK of the R1900.

<http://www.staples.com/office/supplies/StaplesProductDisplay?storeId=10001&noredir=true&langId=-1&partNumber=735344>

:(

[john_pa...@adobeforums.com]

Ann:
The rebate is a Visa prepaid card. You can use it any were you could use
a Visa check card. I would have liked cash in some quick manner but this
is OK.
I had trouble getting mine as they held up the order to call and check
with me about a credit card problem. The problem was I had a different
shipping address than my billing address. I was having it shipped to my
local store to get the free shipping. It was annoying that no one at
Staples could see the stupidity of that! When you go to the store to
pick it up you are asked to show picture ID and have a copy of the email
that was sent confirming the order. But calling me and asking if I
really wanted to ship to a different address was still required, go figger!
Anyway my printer is in for pickup this afternoon at the store. If I
have any problems I'll report to the forum.

John Passaneau

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

I think that you will be delighted with it, John.

I managed to get in under the wire too and Staples actually delivered it to the house for free (via UPS) yesterday evening.

I printed this test file:
<http://www.outbackprint.com/printinginsights/pi049/essay.html>

using the advanced Premium ICC Profiles which you need to download from:

Profiles <http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/support/supAdvice.jsp?noteoid=98484&type=highlights&ref=r03074WE4Z>

and the first test print was spot-on! Beautiful quality and a wonderful printer for photographs.

I do still have my Epson 1270 for PDF, InDesign and Illustrator output — and it uses much less and cheaper inks.

I also downloaded the latest Driver for the R1900 from Epson UK.

R1900 Drivers <http://esupport.epson-europe.com/ProductHome.aspx?lng=en-GB&data=wsMoc1iChVFCCp3Uow6U002F0TBXugZWr+U002FLKlEmKqAyFCAU003D&tc=6>

Epson USA never seems to have the newest drivers for some unfathomable reason.

Downloading the ones from the UK solves the problem many people had with getting dark prints when printing to Epsons from CS4.

Oh, do register IMMEDIATELY with Epson because there is a 10% discount offer on your first purchase and the offer is about to end! Good opportunity to stock-up on ink!

[Q_P...@adobeforums.com]

Ann & John,
I hope both you are happy with the R1900.
I'm a little envious. But not maliciously so...
Q

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

Q:
I am thrilled with it at the moment but I am not so sure that I will be so thrilled with its reported appetite for ink — particularly as the temptation is now to want to print every shot at full size!

[Q_P...@adobeforums.com]

Ann,

When printing photos, on my R1800, there are two settings. They are called "Photo" and "Best Photo" The "Best " setting prints at a much higher dpi and therefore uses a lot more ink. I honestly believe this to be overkill. I simply always just use the "Photo" setting. I see no difference unless checking with a magnifying glass.

Just my opnion...

Q

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

I think that you get much smoother gradations of tone and color on the "Best" setting.

This becomes more apparent in smooth tones, out-of-focus or blurred areas. It is also true on the Epson 1270. However, if I am printing a long run of something (like my Christmas cards), i am afraid that they get the 720 dpi treatment.

The R1900 lets you print at one level better than "Best" if you want to: to "Photo RPM" (which they recommend for printing on Canvas) but I haven't tried it yet.

[Q_P...@adobeforums.com]

Ann,

I know we're comparing apples and pears with R1800 & R1900. However, on my printer "Photo" = 1440dpi. "Photo Best" = 2880dpi. I think Best setting on 1270 (I had one) was 1440 and second best was 720.

You are seeing the results of your printing so I certainly can't argue with you. Nor, would I want to. Smiley goes here...

Q

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

I can't find any official figures for the R1900 but Maximum Resolution (dots per inch) is being quoted as:

"5760 x 1440 optimized dpi" (which I am guessing is what is deployed for "Photo RPM".

That would probably mean that Photo Best is "2800 x 1440 optimized dpi" and
Photo is "1400 x 1440 optimized dpi".

You are right about the Epson 1270: the two Photo settings are 1440 and 720 — with a 360 choice for quick and dirty proofing on plain paper (which i have never used because i am still running a REALLY ancient HP 1200C/PS for that sort of thing.

(It must be nearly 20 years old but I just can't bear to throw out equipment that still works!)

[-sh...@adobeforums.com]

Speakin' of which, Ann, if/when you get a chance, could you pop me an email at: rsts REMOVE @ REMOVE sheppardandstaff DOT com . I have something for you, if you're interested.

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

Sure! It's on its way

[john_pa...@adobeforums.com]

Well I got my R1900 this afternoon, hooked it up, loaded the drivers and
the first print (thanks for the link to the test print and the latest
drivers Ann)ran my first print and the color, sharpness and brightness
was spot on. But (there is often a "BUT") it's putting a number of what
looks to be scratches about a 1/10 inch apart the length of the short
side of the paper on the end that comes out of the printer last. It
messes up the last 1" to 2" of the print. I tried every printing paper I
have and all the feed paths and they are still there. So I called Epson
(Nice, they are on the left coast and were still open) and talked to a
tech. After describing the problem he said "Oh my, there is nothing you
can do about that! I will send you a new printer Monday by over night
express" Good service, but I hate to have to wait. I should get the new
one Tuesday. I asked him if I could keep the Ink I put in the old
machine. He said, sure but don't use them as the first carts in the new
printer as charging the head takes 1/3 of the first carts and if a cart
run out of ink while charging the new heads, you have to start over
again and lose another 1/3 of the next set of carts you use. He
suggested that I just keep the old carts and use them up as the new set
runs out. As they seal themselves when you remove them from the printer
it's safe to just store them in a zip lock bag.
I hope that is of some interest to everyone.

John Passaneau
PS I do have to return the old one.

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

What great service! And isn't it nice when a company behaves like that?

I have obviously been lucky — no scratches on my prints.

Check the Manual concerning storage of removed inks because you need to store them spouts-down as well as keeping them in Ziplocks.

Meanwhile, perhaps you could carry on printing until Tuesday by making square pictures that just occupy the first 8.5" of the sheet?

[Nick_...@adobeforums.com]

John, sounds like the "pizza wheel" issue that I've occasionally heard about with some Epson printers. I've never had the problem with any of the Epsons that I've owned, but I think it has something to do with the rollers in the paper path being assembled incorrectly at the factory.

Glad to hear that Epson is taking care of you.

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

One thing that I forgot to mention: I am printing 16-bit ProPhoto RGB images through Photoshop CS4 (with Photoshop managing colors using the Epson Premium profiles) and the smoothness of tones, lack of banding and incredible image detail in the results are outstanding.

Unfortunately it is only CS4 on a Mac that lets you print at 16 bits — that technology is not available to Windows-users at this time — but if you have CS4 on a Mac, do try printing ProPhoto RGB with 16-bits.

[David_C...@adobeforums.com]

I also received the R1900 very quickly and so far am very happy with it. I went back to Staples site today and it says they are now out of stock. Staples is also a good place to order ink. Orders over $50 are delivered next day and free. Epson Store also has free shipping and next day service for orders over $35 (I think). My ink purchases over the last 4 years have probably helped keep Staples afloat! (kidding)

[Ho]

<http://www.atlex.com/epson-stylus-inkjet-printer/photo_r1900_printer_paper_ink.htm>

I used to buy all my ink and paper here. I don't know how prices compare lately but it might be worth checking out.

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

Nice, Ho! VERY nice!

I will definitely be ordering from Atlex from now on too.

:)

[Donald...@adobeforums.com]

I always use atlex,and never had any troubles, plus they ship from more than one locale. They did say epson was raising ink prices feb 1st i think.

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

Then I got in "under the wire" on that one too because I already have extra ink on its way from Epson under their "first order discount" scheme.

:)

But after that, it will be coming from Atlex …

[Nick_...@adobeforums.com]

Atlex is good. I've been using them for years. I recently needed ink for my 3800 and buy.com was a bit cheaper, but it took forever to get the ink. Not good when you need it within a reasonable amount of time.

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

A few posts ago Wade mentioned that one could not print Vector objects or Illustrator files on the R1900.

I have now had time to test this and I find that you can indeed print perfectly smooth and crisp Vectors and gradients out of both Illustrator and Photoshop CS4 on this printer.

When printing from Photoshop, you just need to make sure that "Include Vector Data" is checked in the Print/Output panel.

I assume that the same will hold true for both InDesign and Acrobat but have not tested printing from them as yet.

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

I was not able to print form illustrator smoothly and I do not believe there is include vector data in the Illustrator Print dialogue check your print again that yo made fro Illustrator unless you brought it into Photohop to print it.

I do not believe it will print well in Illustrator unless the drivers you downloaded from the UK are responsible for this. If the other people say it works form Illustrator I will get the printer back B&H I am certain they will be pleased.

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

Wade:

I printed directly out of Illustrator CS4. I did Save with PDF capability checked (but I always do) and in the Effects menu, I set Raster settings at 300 ppi. The vectors are dead smooth — even diagonals under a 10x loupe.

It could well be due to the UK drivers.

In Photoshop CS4, there is that "Include Vector Data" box and, with that checked, both Type and Vector shapes are printing smoothly too.

The Premium ICC Profiles have been very well done and the prints are matching the "Soft Proof" screen preview. As you say, the colors are absolutely luscious — I have become addicted to this thing and have been printing almost non-stop most of the weekend.

"Neutrals" are very clean.

I have only printed one B/W so far — the one that was part of the test print which I mentioned in an earlier post — together with the black and white steps and gradients that are also on the Test Print. As you said, "Pure Grays" … no color casts in them at all.

Epson would actually like to encourage us to buy BOTH the R1900 AND the 2800 of course — one for color and the other for B/W!

If you can "borrow" the R1900 back from B&H again to give it a second look, you might want to keep it after all.

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

I said it was a excellent printer for color photographic prints. i suspect the drivers.

I'll try again and thanks for the info.

The Gray is Gray is an important issue.

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

Doesn't print well from Illustrator I figured but I can place in Photoshop and get a very good print.

Print photos very well. And the export to photoshop is very good This include Vector Art is an elusive option as well.

Even if it eats ink like all the others it is more economical because you send the image to the printer and you get a excellent print the first time.

But it does not print well in Illustrator as many other users have noted.

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

What Document Raster Effects Setting have you set in Illustrator?

I only have tried it with 300 ppi Resolution and even that was fine and you could set it at higher than that if you wanted to. I was printing an RGB file too and I don't know if that would affect the results.

And your Transparency Flattener Presets?

I was using "High" with Text Resolution at 1200 ppi and Vector balance = 100

Have you tried printing an Illustrator file through InDesign? I haven't tested an InDesign file yet.

I just can't tear myself away from printing photographs and am thrilled with the consistent high quality of the prints — spot-on every time!

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

No that is not the problem! I know the problem it is Illustrator and Epson and Intel that is the problem.

ID prints out very well. But there to the pen tool i not quite 100%.

I guess I can try running Illustrator under Rhapsody and see if it works.

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

Ahh … Intel. And maybe Leopard?

That's probably the difference because I am running a non-Intel G5 on OSX 10.4.11.

Perhaps Epson still haven't fixed their drivers properly for Leopard?

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

10.4.11 and actually Epson Drivers are really native to OS 9 I understand. they have been fudging them rather then redo>

I'll bring Illustrator art into photoshop and raster there if I need to print.

I am going to guess they took the easy way out and waited until they could not longer rely on the old way and that would be Snow Leopard.

Thanks for the advice and help.

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

Glad that I could help.

I think that we owe David Cornwell a huge "Thank you" for alerting us to the R1900 offer in the first place!

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

Thank you David.

For those who wish to send out DVDs, BluRays and CD with either data or media this printer does the best I have seen from Epson.

Comes out right the first time like the prints.

Finally what you see on the screen is what you see on your prints. if you have an Intel and work with Illustrator or vectors bring a copy into into Photoshop and raster and print.

[Silkr...@adobeforums.com]

You guys almost have me sold on it. But I think I need a laser printer worse. I have been wanting a color laser printer that handles postscript for quite awhile. Don't know why either something most have sold me on the idea way back when.
For now I think printing documents out weights photos. But I know the more I get into photography the more important printing your own photos become. Especially large sizes.
Anyway, glad you guys enjoy your find.

[Lar...@adobeforums.com]

Wade what system are you running?

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

OS 10.5.6 and OS 10.5.5 and that seems to be the problem.

[john_pa...@adobeforums.com]

Just a note to update on my printer.
The replacement printer came Thursday but I've not had time to hook it
up yet. I've been playing with the "broken" one as I have a free set of
Inks to use. I've used up the black because most of the pictures I take
have black backgrounds. I think I will need to keep several black carts
on hand. The print quality still looks great except for the scratches
but they should be gone with the new printer. The profiles I've
downloaded for the various papers I have seem to be spot on. I've done a
few black & whites and I don't see much if any color casts. If there is
any color casts it's going to warm side and I've always liked the warm
tone papers anyway. I'm happy with everything except the size of the ink
carts.

John Passaneau

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

The size of the ink carts was my major concern too.

I found that I got 36 US Ltr sized prints before the first cartridge (Gloss) needed replacement and Epson do state that we will only get 2/3 of regular output from the first set of cartridges because of the initial "Priming".

So that would indicate that i can probably expect to get about 50 prints from now on.

There is another side to the "small carts." issue however:

I reckon on keeping two complete sets of ink in the cupboard as "Spares" at all times.

With the R1900, that means that I am locking-up about $200 in spare inks.

With the R3800 (which I had been considering), I would be locking-up $1080 in Spare Inks!

[Q_P...@adobeforums.com]

I'm going to chime in again about my old R1800. Not nice and shiny like youz guys R1900. I would not be surprised if the cartridges that come with a new printer are less than full. And concerning the gloss ink. It is priced the same as the colors but for that price you will receive TWO cartridges.
I'm still envious,...Q

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

Don't want to make you envious Q ů but the R1900 really is a SUPERB printer ů!

:)

Concerning the original carts.:

I think we got the regular ones because the outer sleeves were identical to the sleeves on my replacement inks. However, Epson did clearly state that the initial priming of a new printer would use one third of the contents of the cartridges.

As you mentioned, you do get two Gloss cartridges per package.

My first two inks have now emptied (Cyan and PK) after 40 prints.

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

There is another side to the ink situation that i noticed. You all mention it but missed the connection. Usually your first print is your keeper and the second print is as well.

Many of the other printers require tow or more prints to get things right. So if you count those test prints as a print and you got 10 prints more you really are losing a lot of ink and paper and time printing.

So in the end the R1900 is an economical printer. In many ways. The fact that Ann is making a lot of prints with the R1900 and she was not doing this with her previous printer should indicate what I mean.

Before it was not practical and now it is. I t will cost you more money then what you were doing before but if you tried this before the amount of time and money would either kill you or make you go broke.

I mean it takes all of like two minute, if that, to do and 11x17 print I have not tried a 13x19 but I would say probably add another 15 seconds.

The downside is that when making say ten prints that size you don't have enough time to have a quite cup of tea or coffee, as you always could in the past.

The next go around will probably spit it out in less then a minute, we will have to find other ways to stretch the work out.

It's always something!

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

There is another side to the ink situation that i noticed. You all mention
it but missed the connection. Usually your first print is your keeper
and the second print is as well.

Exactly!

And you won't even make that second print — unless you needed two copies in the first place.

With the R1900, I find that I want a hard copy of just about every photograph that I have taken; whereas, with the 1270, I only printed what was needed for client purposes and VERY seldom made prints for my own personal enjoyment.

[Q_P...@adobeforums.com]

I have been a huge supporter of Epson products, scanners in general, and printers in particular. I'm truly glad that you are pleased with the R1900. As I stated near the beginning of this thread, my R1800 has given me great reliability and excellent prints.

Another benefit, for me, is the use of Premium Presentation Matte paper. I use it for quite a lot of things. I print my wedding previews on it and then the prints go into an album with plastic pages. Considering it is on matte, the color saturation is great.

Many (most) of my customers like the matte look and want their entire order on it. I think this is a good thing for two reason. First, that paper, with Epson pigment inks, has a very long projected life. And second, that paper is priced at around $14.00 per 50 sheet pack. And the kicker is that Staples will regularly have it on sale at half price.

There is nothing I can say about the prints on paper that use the gloss inks. You already know how beautiful they are.

Enjoy your R1900's and may the Force be with you.

Q

[Nick_...@adobeforums.com]

Ann,

With the R3800 (which I had been considering), I would be locking-up $1080
in Spare Inks!

But, the carts for the 3800 are much larger, which, for me, means that I don't have to keep as many spare carts on hand. Even when the ink level in a cart gets down to 10% remaining, I still have more than enough time to order a new cart to replace it.

Of course, one's ink inventory needs will vary with how much volume you're printing, but for me, keeping two backup carts for every color would be extreme overkill.

[john_pa...@adobeforums.com]

I printed with my replacement printer last night. I did some black &
white on Epson presentation matt. There has been some mention that the
black $ whites are not true "gray" and they are not. To my eyes they
have a very slight green tint to the blacks which I could neutralize
with 5cc's of magenta. The green tint is not that bad and one must
remember that almost no silver black $ white prints were truly neutral.
Most had a slight green tint which was neutralized with selenium toning.
I kind of like the look of black $ white on matt paper. I've not used
matte paper much before. I'm also not a big fan of gloss paper either, I
like pearl much more and I really like the old silver print paper F
surface air dried. I just don't know why paper manufactures can't come
closer to that look.
By the way Epson is paying the return shipping for the defective
printer. Also the instructions says not to return software, paper trays,
Ink, and roll paper holders. So I have a bunch of spare plastic parts.

John Passaneau

[Ramón_G_Castañeda@adobeforums.com]

John,

To my eyes they have a very slight green tint to the blacks

Make sure that is the case by viewing your prints either directly under a Solux lamp or out in the open under direct sunlight.

Sunlight coming through a window will often induce a green cast of lesser or greater intensity due to various kinds of glass. When you look at the unmounted glass or a piece of broken glass from the side, you can see how green glass can be,

[Allen...@adobeforums.com]

With the R3800 (which I had been considering), I would be locking-up $1080
in Spare Inks!

Yup, the cost of printing is in ink and paper, not in the up-front printer cost. Of course the main benefit of the 3800 is the availability of 57% larger A2 prints while maintaining similar footprint and use of non-roll papers. Another benefit is that the SP3800 receives quality pro Epson support; Epson support for consumer printers is worse than useless.

Also, after tens of thousands of small-cartridge SP200 prints and at least a thousand large-cartridge SP3800 prints IMO larger ink cartridges are all kinds of beneficial. Changing smaller cartridges involved the PITA of interrupting workflow that much more often.

My work sometimes involves unplanned large over-the-weekend printing projects on deadline, often with one color dominating. The consequences of running out of ink mid-project would be disastrous, so with the SP2200 I kept 3-4 spare cartridges of each color. With the SP3800 I keep one spare cartridge of each color and 2 of the matte and photo blacks.

Of course, one's ink inventory needs will vary with how much volume you're
printing, but for me, keeping two backup carts for every color would be
extreme overkill.

The reason for two spares is in case a spare happens to be defective. For me in my high altitude low humidity environment it did happen with some frequency with SP12xx cartridges but never with the SP2200 or with the SP3800. And don't forget to keep spare "maintenance" cartridges for the printers that use them.

Another benefit, for me, is the use of Premium Presentation Matte paper.
I use it for quite a lot of things. I print my wedding previews on it
and then the prints go into an album with plastic pages. Considering it
is on matte, the color saturation is great.

I too have found the matte printing of the SP3800 saves money on paper. In my case the Presentation Matte works well for posters that used to require more expensive higher gloss paper. I will try the Premium Presentation Matte with wedding clients.

[john_pa...@adobeforums.com]

I'm using a Solux lamp. Learned that lesson years ago. The slight green
tint is not that strong and I probably will not bother to remove it as
it is so slight. In the old days of color printing 5cc's of change was
very small. By the way for those interested on the The Lights Right
digital dark room has a set of actions that lets you make color
corrections in cc units. This is very nice for those of us that use
viewing filters to judge how much of some color needs to be added or
subtracted to fix a color problem. The web address is:
http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com/digital-darkroom.htm

It's shareware and I like it allot.

John Passaneau

[-sh...@adobeforums.com]

A bit off topic, but your link reminded me of this one, John. Kinda' handy little accessories for anyone doing a lot of table top work.

<http://lightrightreflector.com/>

[Allen...@adobeforums.com]

Nice.

[Marc_va...@adobeforums.com]

Attn to Wade Zimmerman:

Still have problems with r1900 & MBP Intel OSX 10.5.6 Printing in InDesign CS3!
Many, many ours, ink and paper spending of solving the problem of very bad prints. Not bright, even dull and very dirty colours (sp. magenta). Tried the Gutenprint-drivers: no solution. I've uninstalled the drivers which came from CD (via uninstall-tool and manually) and installed the latest driver (6.60) from Epson support site.
The answer of Epson support: You're printing with software (Adobe CS3) which is not from Epson, so we can not help you...
Yesterday we've spend a FULL day, together with a very experienced guy, well known in colormanagement, and we couldn't find a solution. Remark: on his MBP G4 OSX 10.4 the prints where a little bit better, but still not satisfied.
Does anybody know how to solve this problem???

Regards,
A frustrated Marc (from Holland)

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

Have you tried using InDesign C4 (Free trial is available) instead of using InD CS3 because printing was quite problematic from InD CS3?

Are you using the "Premium" ICC Profiles (downloadable from the Epson Site)?

Are you using an official Epson paper?

Do you have "Let InDesign Determine Color" and the correct Premium ICC Profile for your paper and for Best Photo selected; and that in the Graphics" tab, you selected "Send Data: All".?

Check in the "Page set-up Panel" that you have the correct printer selected;
and in the "Printer" panel that you have:
the correct profiles and printer showing;
that High-speed printing is UNchecked,
"Best Photo" is checked and "No Color Management" are both selected.

I can only tell you that I am getting perfect prints from the R19900 using InDesign CS4 and the set-up described above.

There is one BIG difference however: I am using a G5 (not a MacIntel); and I am using OSX 10.4.11.

There are indications in threads in the Photoshop Forum that there are still double-color-management issues with the Epson Drivers when used with Leopard 10.5.6 on a MacIntel computer.

You might also try exporting an InD CS3 file to Acrobat and printing from Acrobat.

[Marc_va...@adobeforums.com]

Ann,
I 'm allmost sure that the combination Intel-OSX10.5.6-R1900 is the problem. I will download the premium ICC-profiles and test it.

In InD CS3 I can't choose for 'no color management'. I suppose that that might be the problem...
In a few days I will continue to solve this BIG issue. In the meantime I have to catch a deadline and will print somewhere else. Keep you in touch. Thanks for your suggestions.

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

In InD CS3 I can't choose for 'no color management'. I suppose that that
might be the problem...

Yes, you can!

:)

Click on the buttons that InDesign tells you not to use: "Page Set-up" and "Printer":

<http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1dlYHAphltW42k9UTZR0DzTNqtHE2w0>

<http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1JCvLh4rmJIWl7e29GVCKYeY4UjIw60>

<http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1lKI2i8QZzAfGHad8bfZb9LMutKg>

[Marc_va...@adobeforums.com]

Ann, thanks. But I suppose that you are showing me a different type of screenshots than InD CS3 on OSX 10.5.6. My screens look different.
Please send me your e-mail to in...@marcvangastel.nl so I can send you my screenshots.

[Allen...@adobeforums.com]

Please send me your e-mail to in...@marcvangastel.nl so I can send you
my screenshots.

Post on Pixentral so the entire forum can participate.

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

<http://www.pixentral.com>

follow the instructions for posting uploading the screenshots.

then when you see the screen shot is uploaded copy the the text in the upper input field which is called http and paste it into your message here and the thumbnail will show up.

Copy all of the text in the field.

What part of Holland are you in? I have done so work at Lelystadt and Almere there is an exhibit at Almere of the work by Portzamparc the french architect who I took some of the images for which are in the exhibit. At least that is what I am told. I eventually have to go back sometime this year probably March or April. Unless I go to China. But if you are any where near Amsterdam I can help you waste paper.

BT the dialogs should look like the ones that Ann posted.

Maybe I will be there soon I can drop by and help you waste more paper and ink.

Just kidding a get good prints form Espon the colors are great my problem is with vector graphics but photographs print great.

Wade

[Ray_Ph...@adobeforums.com]

Definitely Wait
Larger ink cartridges are a must!
Also-the prices are ludicrous!
$105 for a complete set-does include 4 glosser carts
However-
I'm unable to print more than 35 prints at the 8.5" x 11.5" size without the black cartridge being sucked dry. Maybe I underexpose my shots-not sure.
I have found that I can only print around 65 prints at the 8.5" x 11.5" size before I'm replacing all 8 cartridges-after having already found by that time that the black is almost gone-for the 2nd time!

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

Bigger cartridges would certainly hold more ink but the price per ml (and therefore per print) won't be that much different.

I too am getting between 65 to 70 US Letter-sized prints printed at "Photo Best" quality per colored ink although Black and Gloss only do about half that.

The advantage with the R1900 printed through Photoshop CS4 is that the Profiles are spot-on so you VERY seldom (if ever) have a wasted print.

However, I have always found it expedient to buy two Black cartridges with each Color Ink set that I have bought for any printer that I have ever owned. Epson actually sell double-sized Blacks for some of their printers.

[Ramón_G_Castañeda@adobeforums.com]

prices of anything imported from Japan are climbing because of the declining
value of the Dollar against the Yen

Not for the last month, though. The economy in Japan is declining faster than in the USA.

One US dollar in yen for the past month:

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

Someone had better tell Nikon because they bumped up their prices fairly heftily at the beginning of February.

[Ramón_G_Castañeda@adobeforums.com]

Check their prices today, Ann. I haven't been following Nikon prices, so I can't comment on that particular brand. But Amazon.com reflected some nice price drops on Pentax equipment today.

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

I am currently as fully-loaded with Nikon goodies as I intend to be for quite a while but the list price of certain lenses went up by more than $500 at the beginning of this month.

Anyway, my shoulder can't take the weight of any more glass — and neither can my credit card!

:(

[Ramón_G_Castañeda@adobeforums.com]

the list price of certain lenses went up by more than $500

Ouch!

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

And now Ritz Cameras have filed for bankruptcy leaving Nikon and Canon as major creditors it appears.

[Ramón_G_Castañeda@adobeforums.com]

Yes, Ritz filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors, but my guess is that will soon turn into a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation of assets. Bye, Ritz.

[Silkr...@adobeforums.com]

Thats not good. First Circuit City Now Ritz. I hope some of the other can hold out till better times. I hate seeing any company going under.

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

It is definitely not good — and both Nikon and Canon are owed multi-millions by both of those companies.

It appears that Circuit City owes Nikon nearly $15 million and Ritz owes them $26 million.

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

I wonder where the money went?

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

It seems to have gone on take-overs of small photographic retail businesses, the purchase of too much real estate and the and operation of too many outlets in the case of Ritz — coupled by the explosion in sales of digital cameras and Photo Printer inkjets which killed their processing/printing revenue.

[Allen...@adobeforums.com]

Thats not good. First Circuit City Now Ritz.

I do not like to see any firm fail, but those two sleazeball firms should have been gone long ago.

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

Agreed.

[ashle...@adobeforums.com]

I had a whole long message here which somehow got lost when I had problems logging in, so here is the short version!

The old printer packed up, so I did some research and bought a used R1800 rather than the new R1900. The R1900 sometimes gets mentioned with banding issues and I can't live with that in a printer. Then I did some more research and decided to get a CIS from inkjetfly which took about 45 minutes to install taking care and deliberately going slowly. I get great results with no problems and save roughly 90% in ink costs which is the single biggest cost on printers. I now get results which knock spots off anything I could achieve with my previous printers such as the Canon i9100, Epson 1290 or the Epson 2100. For anybody doing lots of printing I'd seriously consider getting a good CIS.

[ashle...@adobeforums.com]

For those who aren't aware CIS stands for continuous ink system

[Fred_...@adobeforums.com]

I've run CIS since 1999 (Conetech's Piezography B&W back then, on an Epson 1100), and then installed a colour CIS on my R2400 soon after I bought it about four years ago.

Sure it saved in ink costs (and in the day there was no real alternative to the Piezography system), but in both cases the ink blockages that increased in frequency and stubbornness with age became a hassle not worth the effort.

The 1100 eventually expired with a complete failure of the electronics, but the R1200 was rendered useless when the LLK head blocked up. No amount of cleaning with every forced cleaning method I can find has been able to free up the head, with at least 50% of the nozzles permanently blocked.

My Epson 7800 meanwhile, bought a few months after the R2400, has never had anything more than temporary blockages in one or two of the M, C, and LK heads, always cleared by a single clean and a few hours rest. Only genuine Epson inks have gone through this printer, and it has had at least as much if not more use than the R2400.

The Epson ink in the large cartridges in the wide format printer range is only marginally dearer than the CIS bulk inks for the smaller printers, so perhaps the best answer is to buy a larger format printer for an admittedly higher initial cost, but with similar running costs with genuine ink as a small printer has with CIS and non-genuine inks.

[ashle...@adobeforums.com]

You may well be right on that score and only time will tell how this works out in the long run but so far its been smooth sailing and I read an awful lot of reviews and spoke to several experts before I opted for this combination. Regarding the big beasts like the 7800 I just wouldn't have the space in my office to keep one.

[john_pa...@adobeforums.com]

On a good note, my rebate card for the R1900 came today. The printer is
working very well. The prints look great. The ink carts don't last all
that long and I'm really using up the black but much of what I do has a
pure black background. I really like the printer wish it had bigger ink
carts.

John Passaneau

[Allen...@adobeforums.com]

The Epson ink in the large cartridges in the wide format printer range
is only marginally dearer than the CIS bulk inks for the smaller printers,
so perhaps the best answer is to buy a larger format printer for an admittedly
higher initial cost

Regarding the big beasts like the 7800 I just wouldn't have the space

in my office to keep one.

Space is also an issue for me, but the SP3800 provides a reasonable footprint at reasonable price and takes all kinds of sheet fed paper up to A2/17x22.

I did some research and bought a used R1800 rather than the new R1900...
Then I did some more research and decided to get a pigment ink CIS...
The prints with this set up knock spots off anything I could achieve with

my previous printers such as the Canon i9100, Epson 1290 or the Epson
2100.

I don't know about the i9100 but the 1290 and 2100 are legacy printers. Out-printing them is a given. Comparing to the R1900 or SP3800 would be the meaningful comparisons. In my Epson experience (1200, 1270, 1280, 2200, 3800) each new model has printed better than the last, the step from 12xx to 2200 being really huge.

...save roughly 90% in ink costs which is the single biggest cost on printers.

I would be interested in seeing the raw cost data over a long period of time, including time spent maintaining the CIS system vs. a printer like the SP3800. Also how many prints per day are involved. E.g. in my case a few years ago I literally print constantly but not as much today. My guess is that there is a daily volume break point where CIS becomes long term cost effective.

[ashle...@adobeforums.com]

I work from home and my office area is basically a converted bedroom which has all my computer stuff on one long desk but then I also have some big shelf wall units that are laden with paperwork, lighting equipment, camera gear and all the rest. Its fine but I have to stay organised and there really wouldn't be space for anything bigger than a large A3 printer here on the desk.

The i9100 produced fairly decent colours but it was plagued by micro banding and it was a dye ink printer so the prints never lasted any kind of reasonable period unless they were mounted behind glass. The old Epson 2100 I had printed images as flat as a pancake and this put me off the pigment printers for quite a while even though I really wanted the longer life prints. I remember the 2100 also seemed to suffer from all sorts of other problems like ink leakage and an inability to feed paper properly which eventually became really annoying since I was spending a small fortune in Epson inks. The new set up I have seems to combine the best of all worlds so far and its a much more refined machine in every way.

Yes I really need to measure the costs here over an extended period but after the cost of the initial CIS you'll generally find that 1 Epson cartridge costs roughly the same as one CIS colour refill but the CIS refill will contain 100ml of ink. As far as maintenance goes there has been none at all so far.

I do switch on the printer once every couple of days if its not being used just to stop the heads from blocking up but I had to do the same thing with the Epson or Canon cartridges and the R1800 always seems to print a perfect or near perfect nozzle check with no additional cleaning required. This particular system has auto resetting chips, so you never lose that big chunk of ink which normally occurs when you change a single cartridge and it goes through a big cleaning cycle for all the colours. Like everything I think the better CIS systems have improved a lot over the years.

[Nick_...@adobeforums.com]

Space is also an issue for me, but the SP3800 provides a reasonable footprint
at reasonable price and takes all kinds of sheet fed paper up to A2/17x22.

Actually, you can print much longer than 22". The actual length limit is more like 37" (I don't have the computer that's hooked up to my 3800 fired up at the moment, so I'm not sure of the exact figure.) Of course, you won't likely find cut-sheets at that size, but you can certainly find 17" rolls of a variety of papers. Since the 3800 isn't really intended to be roll-fed, you'll need jury-rig a method of holding the tail-end of the paper before it goes into the printer, but that's not hard. I love my 3800.

[Allen...@adobeforums.com]

Yeah, early on I considered cutting roll paper for the 3800 and decided it was too much trouble. However I should relook at that and do the math on costs.

And I too sure do like the printer.

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

I actually just printed the image of Peter's portrait from Photoshop and that was very good but it was really excellent from ID CS4.

I sent Peter the one from Photoshop but will send him this one as well I think he will related much better to the image printed from ID though there really is only a small difference.

[Noah_...@adobeforums.com]

I have to say I'm having trouble getting good prints with CS4 and my R1900. I've even tried the UK drivers mentioned above but the issues are the same as I was seeing with the US drivers. I'm getting a muddy darker image then what I see on screen. Yes, I use the ICC profiles, turn off color mgmnt in the print dialog, set the quality to best, turn off hi speed printing, use 16 bit, set EPSON premium glossy paper - all the things the manual says to do. My prints def. lack the punch and sharpness I get on screen. Also I am getting fantastic prints using iPhoto so I think this is an Adobe / CS4 issue. I'm running on an Intel MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo w/10.5.6. The image was shot with a Canon 5D Mark II in RAW2 mode. I used the Canon software to import the RAW and transfer it to photoshop where I preserved the original color space. Did my PP sharpening and it looks great on screen. Any suggestions? Thanks.

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

Is the R1900 set as your Default Printer in Printer Setup Utility and in System Prefs./Print & Fax?

Believe it or not, that actually matters!

Also, how are you Calibrating and Profiling your monitor; and how have you set your Color Settings in Photoshop?

[Noah_...@adobeforums.com]

Ann,

Thanks for the response. I checked and indeed it is set to Default Printer. I also looked at the Drivers tab and noticed it said EPSON SP R1900 (1) - I thought the (1) was odd so I manually searched for R1900 and only one driver was shown so I selected it. Now my driver tab has the EPSON SP R1900 driver without the (1). I wonder if this had something to do with installing the UK drivers. I did reboot after installing them but who knows.

The LCD has the default calibration/profile.

1.8 Standard Gamma
Native White Point (which works out to the same as D65)

Photoshop Color Management settings:

Document (Profile SPR1900 PrmGlsy BstPhto.icc)
Color Handling: Photoshop Manages Colors
Printer Profile: SPR1900 PrmGlsy BstPhto.icc
Rendering Intent: Relative Chromatic
Black Point Compensation: On

-Noah

[Wade_Zi...@adobeforums.com]

Document profile try Adobe RGB or Color Match RGB.

Bet you do fine that way.

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

I see some problems:

Change your settings to:

Monitor: 2.2 Gamma

Do you have any way to calibrate the monitor?
(Unfortunately, Laptops are not the best for Photoshop work.)

Photoshop Color Settings: Use North American Prepress 2

Document: Adobe RGB

Color Handling: Photoshop Manages Colors
Printer Profile: SPR1900 PrmGlsy BstPhto.icc

Rendering Intent: Relative Colorimetric
Black Point Compensation: On

[Noah_...@adobeforums.com]

Thanks for the tips on the settings. I'll try these out and report back. One thing I am seeing now is that in the Print Dialog (after I made the driver selection change that I mentioned above) I not longer get a bunch of options in the Printer Features section of the Print dialog. Instead I am now seeing a smaller set of options, including some I have never had on this dialog before. They are:

Color Model: Color ( had this before)
Media Type: Premium Photo Paper Glossy (had this but the list was a little different)
Resolution: 720x720 dpi OR 180x180dpi (I never had this before)

Also I lost a bunch of options including the one to choose to turn off Color Management (or select EPSON Vivid etc.)

I am wondering if my driver is now borked after installing the UK driver and then making the switch in the drop down.

[Noah_...@adobeforums.com]

Also folks are suggesting using Adobe RGB for the document type but the Epson manual suggests using the Embedded Profile if there is a mismatch between that and Adobe RGB which in my case there is as my photos have sRGB v1.31 (Canon) embedded with them. Thoughts?

[Noah_...@adobeforums.com]

So I tried running the Uninstall option for the UK and then US drivers just to be safe. Both uninstallers said they ran successfully. I disconnected the printer and rebooted, then installed the US drivers and reconnected the printer. Now the driver in the drop down has the (1) back next to it AND my print dialog has gone back to having those extended options.

Ann, I tried changing the gamma to 2.2 but at least on the screen things got way to dark. I'm a bit uneasy to switching to that - esp. considering the success I've had with iPhoto under the original gamma settings.

[Ramón_G_Castañeda@adobeforums.com]

Stick to the embedded profile for the source, and the paper profile for the target profile (printer profile).

By all means delete the printer from the printer queue and install a fresh driver, than add the printer back again.

[Ramón_G_Castañeda@adobeforums.com]

Also, please check this post:

Eric Chan, "PS3 prints fine, PS4 prints too dark, same Mac" #12, 12 Dec 2008 7:07 am </webx?14@@.59b73c7a/11>

[Ann_She...@adobeforums.com]

Are you shooting Camera RAW or as JPEGs?

If you are shooting JPEGs with embedded sRGB profiles in your images, then set your RGB working space to sRGB instead of AdobeRGB.

If you can shoot RAW and Convert to a wider space such as AdobeRGB or even to ProPhoto RGB, you will get even better color out of the R1900.

If your images look too dark at Gamma 2.2 that is because they probably ARE too dark — as reflected in your dark prints — and need to be corrected in either Photoshop or your RAW converter.

I have no experience with laptops but perhaps somebody who has could tell you how you can calibrate and profile the monitor on one.
(Does Apple's calibration work with lap tops or can you use a puck with them?)