Which Epson Printer should I buy
Lou
I hope someone can help me make a descision. I want to purchase either an
Epson 2000P or a Color Stylus 3000 Printer. My wife is an artist and we want
to begin to produce archival prints that she can sign and number. I know the
specs, ink price, etc. for each printer but unfortunately; I am not able to
see any acutal prints nor do I have any first-hand experience with these. It
also appears that I can purchase non-Epson archival inks for the 3000 that
state longevity values approaching those of the Epson resin coated inks for
the 2000.
What I need help and advice on is the quality and ease of color matching
from each printer. My wife is a mixed media collage artist who works with
many vibrant rich colors and is particular about color matching prints to
originals. I guess my question about the Epson 2000 is that it appears more
suited to color photographs. Is this true or would it be suitable for the
above collage work?
How does the quality of the prints between the two printers compare? Are the
ink droblets more visable on one printer over the other. Currently I have a
740i. On areas with little color saturation I can see the individual ink
droplets with the 740i. Would the 2000P or the stylus 3000 be better at
eliminating these droplets?
My last question has to due with color matching. I would think that I would
have an easier time matching colors with the 2000P. But is six colors
overkill for these non-photographic prints? Lastly how difficult is it
matching colors with the non-epson archival inks. I know that some of these
inks have a wider gamut than others, but in general is it difficult to
obtain the original colors?
Thanks for your time and advice.
Lou
Ashley Gilbert
I don't have either of the printers you mention but the are lots of folk on
the epson-inkjet-list who know the answers to all your questions and who
could give you the benefit of their first-hand experience.
Regards,
Ashley Gilbert
"Lou" <loug...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:B6064081.D642%loug...@earthlink.net...
Jan Steinman -- jan AT bytesmiths DOT com [remove .gov]
<loug...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> Hi All,
> I hope someone can help me make a descision. I want to purchase either an
> Epson 2000P or a Color Stylus 3000 Printer. My wife is an artist and we want
> to begin to produce archival prints that she can sign and number...
Run! Hide! IMHO, "Epson" and "archival" should not be in the same sentence.
Have you looked at the Roland FJ-40? A bit more than you were looking for,
perhaps, but extensive ICC support and Wilhelm-certified longevity (>120
years) make Roland the current darling of the fine art market.
With the equivalent Epson, prepare to spend a lot of time and material in
color matching, then pray your prints will last, since it has not
undergone formal, independent testing.
With the Roland and a complete color-managed workflow, my first print
looks like my 100th print looks like my screen!
--
: Jan Steinman -- Jan AT Bytesmiths DOT com
: Bytesmiths -- digital artistry <http://www.bytesmiths.com/Art_Gallery>
: +1 503 635 3229
Keith D. Smith
reproduced using a mutual friend's 36" HP printer that I recall uses
just four colours of ink. (The friend has a full-service photo
processing lab and does custom b&w and colour photo enlargements, but
for the past couple of years his large format digital printing accounts
for about half his dollar volume.)
Output from this digital printer is very sharp and pleasing,
particularly when laminated with plastic and mounted on gator board.
My artist friend did not have the images laminated but did have them
mounted. The scanned originals were as large as 3 x 4 feet printed out
about 20 x 24. The thing about the colour reproduction, however, was
the matching was off (less intense and not quite true to the original)
in a side by side comparison. However, the images were perfectly fine
in their own right, albeit not a true reproduction.
The artist has had other, similar images printed that look excellent
after two or three years.
I would recommend trying to find a large-format digital output shop
where you live and ask some questions about how they try to ensure
quality, long-lasting images. It would seem to me that might provide
useful information and insight into inks and papers used.
The medium on which the image is printed is very important. My
housemate, a Master Gardener, printed out hundreds of black- and
blue-type plant labels on a crank'n'peel medium (like a bumper sticker)
on her HP 870Cse printer. Those labels have worthstood 100+
temperatures and water sprinklers for days on end during four annual
garden tours.
Cheers,
kds
Lou wrote:
>
> Hi All,
> I hope someone can help me make a descision. I want to purchase either an
> Epson 2000P or a Color Stylus 3000 Printer. My wife is an artist and we want
> to begin to produce archival prints that she can sign and number. . . . It
> also appears that I can purchase non-Epson archival inks for the 3000 that
> state longevity values approaching those of the Epson resin coated inks for
> the 2000.
>
> What I need help and advice on is the quality and ease of color matching
> from each printer. My wife is a mixed media collage artist who works with
> many vibrant rich colors and is particular about color matching prints to
> originals. . . .
>
> My last question has to due with color matching. I would think that I would
> have an easier time matching colors with the 2000P. . . .