Yep. The best photo printer. I have seen quite a few and looked at the test prints of the competition.

The one to get? Epson Sylus PHOTO R2400. Just set it up and I have been printing for hours…..
[photopress:epson2400.jpg,full,centered]

And here are some of the reasons;
*Clear set up instructions out of the box
*Downloadable paper profiles instantly available.
*Outstanding prints FIRST TIME OUT!

The monitor had been calibrated, the images chosen.
Here’s what was tested:
*digital image jpg
*digital image raw converted
*medium format B&W neg, scanned and digitized
*Photoshop CS2
*Photoshop Elements 4
*IPHOTO

Of course the heavier duty software helped make this printer sing. IPHOTO was fine but only because I know its limitations for my images. Great for the snaps , but if you are investing in a fine printer like this, its time to make the move to a more robust software, if you haven’t already.

The set of 8 inks for the unit (they give you 9-one of ink of Photo black and Matte Black)
[photopress:DSC01235.JPG.jpg,full,centered]

I went through the sample paper in short order ( some sheets of Matte and Glossy) ,8×10.
It was time to bring out the big box 13×19 Premium Lustre paper.

Oh yeah. Nothing like a testing session to burn through paper and ink.

I did have to do some adjustment on the brightness once we came to B&W. But the blacks were rich and full and I felt like I was back in the wet darkroom. Overall, this printer gave me the tonal range that I had been looking for without a nasty cast of unwanted hue. And this was true in the glossy,matte and Lustre.
OK, we’ll see how long the inks last as I keep pumping in the heavy blacks.

The color rendition was blow away. The first print I made in 13×19 , I forgot to adjust the size of the image and it took a portion and made it massive. An unexpected proving ground for the sharpness of these jets.

Now I had used a 2000 for awhile and had decided to skip the 2200. Not sure why.

But this was so worth the wait. Honestly I have been happy with the Epson color before and it was better now.

It was the black and white that did it. The images i worked with were full tonal range with subtle shadows on one,and a higher key studio portrait on another.

All things of beauty. Not the shots necessarily, but the quality of the prints.

All I can say is, if you print B&W, and 13×19 is a large enough size for you, here is your printer.

Next up is running a roll for paper through for some panoramics. 13 in. wide by…….?
There was a time when all of my photography was panoramic Been looking at making some panels with them.
With this printer I know that the quality I can produce here will be worth the time put into the digital file.

Anothr handy review.
It takes you to a similar place with a much more astute methodology.

So you can refer back to a previous article under REVIEWS regarding color calibration devices, get your digital darkroom tuned and ready , pick out some of your favorite images, and enjoy this excellent printer.

And to further enchance your printing experience…

shhhhh….come closer…….I’m going to tell you a little secret………

Epson OnLine Experience! Now I have no idea why they are not spreading the word more. But this is a great series of on-line printing lessons ( 60, count em’,60) for about $30USD. They are about 5-10min in length but you get some amazing learning in that time. And you can view as you wish. Save it ,look at it later , i think you have up to 6 months.

The first one is free (ever hear that before? ) and is hosted by Graham Nash ( yes, the rock and roll one; but also one of the major innovators and promoters of digital photography, a major collector, etc)

It’s a great bargain.

Lots to go over here. But its time to start printing.

Cheers!
Damon webster

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 7th, 2006 at 10:17 pm and is filed under Product Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.