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Epson
1520, Epson 3000 and Epson 5000 wide format inkjet printers
The Epson 1520, Epson 3000, and Epson 5000 turn themselves
into a color proofer for prepress companies if combined with
a proofing RIP such as ProofMaster, CGS ORIS, or comparable
RIP for proofing. Epson is famous for making inkjet printers
at an economy price. You don't generally need long lasting
output for a proof, so most prepress places use dye inks.
Most
good inkjet printers work better if harnessed to a RIP. To
learn what a RIP is, go to the index (links at bottom of every
page). In the index go to the pertinent pages of RIPs. There
is different and additional information on RIPs on all the
other printer sites, so be sure to visit those other sites
as well. Selecting the right RIP is as crucial as figuring
out which printer is the most appropriate
your needs and pocketbook.
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at this color, this is what the ads for Epson printers
promise. Beautiful, rich, deep, colorful colors. Yes,
you get this quality with every Epson printer, but colors
made fade. You can avoid the fading by using aftermarket
inks such as Lyson, Staedtler, etc.
Yet
these prints are from a Hewlett-Packard
DesignJet 2800CP ! These colors will hold their
beauty even with dye based inks. This is the advantage
of the 4-ink system; it's the weaker extra two inks
of a six ink system which may fade first.
11x17
prints enlarged from 35mm color slides with a Scitex
EverSmart Supreme flatbed scanner; photographs by
Nicholas Hellmuth of indigenous Mayan handicrafts,
Chichicastenango and Panajachel, Guatemala, FLAAR
Photo Archive, scanned and printed at the Digital
Imaging Technology Center, Essen, Germany.
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Epson
has successfully marketed an economical printer which puts
color printing on the desktop at a price people can afford.
The problem is when a printer made for home use/occasional
office use is used for professional or commercial use. Then
it may be the inappropriate printer.
"I
did my own test with printing on Epson photo paper and it
has now been 6 months and the half I have in sunlight is
streaked and undeliniated. So much for personal printers.
It
seems to me that they are all misleading the public with
implied durability when in fact the results are only good
for weeks, not months or years. I use mine now for making
greeting cards of my artwork. You can't expect years of
use from a greeting card.
Thank
you for your web site. It is the only place I have been
able to find such information."
Summary:
Yes, we have met people that tweak outstanding images out
of an Epson 3000. If you have an appropriate RIP software,
you can get consistent professional images from the Epson
1520, Epson 3000, and Epson 5000 printer (and from the Epson
7000 and 9000 as well). If you use aftermarket third-party
inks you escape the expensive inks that fade rapidly.
I
am a Mac user, and have just purchased an Epson 1520. The
printer seems really temperamental, and I get many "OUT
OF PAPER" messages when there is plenty of paper. It
also does quite a bit of whizzing and whirring for some reason
when there is no printing happening. Unusual?
Within
one week we got two e-mails, one from a person who was perfectly
content with his Epson 1520 printer, and another who wanted
to upgrade to a better printer. The advantage of an Epson
printer is that you can use it as an economical way to experience
with fine art prints, to experiment with the various inks,
and to learn more about digital imaging. We would, however,
recommend that you consider the Epson 7000 as your entry level
machine, or even an Encad Chroma 24 (albeit a rather rough
ink dot pattern). In the long run you will get a more professional
output from a printer which is made for serious wide format
printing.
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FLAAR
images about to be printed on Epson 7600 at Parrot
headquarters
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Overall
we receive more complaints on the Epson 1520 and Epson 3000
than on any other printers (with the possible exception of
the complaints on the Epson 1270 and Epson 2000). If you would
like to know more about these printers before you buy one,
better send
us an e-mail.
If
your clients expect an Iris giclee print, then you need a
CreoScitex Iris printer but if your budget won't cover an
Iris, there are many other printers to select from, such as
Epson, Roland, HP, Mimaki, Mutoh, ColorSpan, or other fine
art printers. Enter the world of digital fine art printers
on www.FineArtGicleePrinters.org
Parrot
Digigraphic is a place to get the large format models of
Epson. Parrot Digigraphic is for serious wide format which
means the models 2200, 7600, 9600, and up through to the
new 1440 dpi variable droplet model Stylus Pro 10600. If
you need a printer wider than Epson, Parrot now also sells
the Mutoh Falcon II. Same printheads as the Epson printers
but much wider.
Contact:
John Lorusso, Tel (978) 670-7766, fax (978) 670-7744, e-mail imaging@parrotcolor.com
Fortunately
the Epson 1520, 3000, 5000, 5500 are no longer made. But they
linger on eBay. Avoid them. You are much better off with the
newer models such as 2200 and 7600.
If
you really want technical details on inkjet media, inks, and/or
inkjet printhead technology, and especially if you wish to
meet the movers and shakers in this industry, be sure to sign
up for the next conference organized by IMI. Their contact
is imi@tdstelme.net.
These seminars are outstanding; the senior review editor of
FLAAR usually attends because he can get so much fresh information
for the readers of the FLAAR Reports in PDF format and the
FLAAR Information Network of web sites.
Updated
July 11, 2001, last updated May 14, 2003
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