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Informative
description and review of the Epson Stylus 9000 and Epson
7000 large format printer
Epson
has produced a large format printer that produces impressive
color of the highest professional quality. Indeed the quality
of their piezo printhead technology made us recognize the
deficiencies of some thermal printheads such as those of Lexmark
(the printheads used by Encad). For the first two years we
had championed Encad large format printers because Encad
wide format printers are production workhorses. We had
Encad printers or prints on the home pages of four of our
network of eight sites, and Encad printers or prints featured
on the other four as well.
Then
we had an opportunity to experience the Hewlett-Packard DesignJet
2800
and found that the HP printer was easier to use, required
less maintenance, and produced a better quality image than
the Encad. On top of that I get the impression that HP DesignJet
printers cost less than Encad printers.
Now,
after inspecting Epson printers and their output at countless
trade shows we
feel it is time to report how far Epson has come in reaching
the professional market. The slow speed, fast fading colors,
over saturation, costly ink, expensive paper, quirky print
drivers and unrealistic claims in ads of the several low-end
Epson desktop printers that we made the mistake of buying
several years ago had left a lasting impression on us...but
the Epson 9000 and Epson 7000 are better than those desktop
models. The next upgrade, the new Epson 10000,
demonstrates conclusively that Epson can deliver a product
acceptable to the professional market.
With
the Stylus 9000 Epson has produced a large format printer
that is often considered by professionals. Main downside is
the slowness of all Epson piezo printhead designs. The only
model that overcomes this limitation to some degree is the
newer Epson 10000
(shown in Japan in 2001 and recently shown in the USA).
If
you want images that leap off the wall due to their dynamic
color range, then consider the Epson 9000 with dye inks. These
are similar printheads as used by the Mimaki,
Mutoh,
and Roland.
The Epson
9500's colors are a bit muted, being pigmented inks. The
dye inks will tend to fade faster. Like everything in life,
its a tradeoff.
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So
far we have only seen results at trade shows and had reports
from end users. The reports are mixed. Some people were
very disappointed because no one had warned them about the
slowness. That is why the new Epson 10000 uses a completely
new wider path, with more nozzles, to catch up somewhat
with speed.
However
if you print just one or two images a day, and do not need
more than one copy of each image, than the slow speed is
perhaps not a drawback.
New
inks and new paper (media) will allow you to produce Epson
prints that last years and years (now that the 7500
and 9500 are improved over earlier versions shown last
year at DRUPA trade show).
In
summary, the Epson Stylus 9000 is okay if your budget absolutely
will not allow you to go for the Epson 10000. The Epson
10000 has somewhat overcome my aversion to Epson inkjet
printers of past years. The quality of this new printer
has redeemed any earlier questions professionals might have
had about whether this product was acceptable if all you
previously knew were the low-cost desktop models.
 We
recommend Parrot Digigraphic as a reliable place to
buy the complete range of Epson printers, models 2000,
5500, both 7xxx models, both 9xxx models and either
of the new 10000 models. Parrot Digigraphic sells
to museums, universities, government agencies, in-house
graphics departments, as well as individuals including
for home or hobby.
Contact:
John Lorusso, Tel (978) 670-7766, fax (978) 670-7744,
e-mail imaging@parrotcolor.com.
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If
you select an Epson, we recommend you link your Epson up
to a RIP
from BEST, Onyx
PosterShop, PosterJet or other good software RIPs. If
you need a high quality color management with your RIP,
then BEST or ProofMaster from Perfect Proof is the product
to consider for your Epson RIP. If you need speed and ease
of use in a production environment (tiling, nesting, etc)
then you might consider PosterJet. If you have a dozen printers
and full-time operators, you might wish Onyx PosterShop.
We
will be glad to assist you on your quest of what printer
to select. Just e-mail the review editor Nicholas Hellmuth,
Help
is just a click away. Let us know what printers you
are considering. If you are new to this we can do our best
to provide introductory guidelines for selecting the proper
wide format printer that will provide you the best solution.
The tips and "what to watch out for" information
are well worth the effort of clicking to send an e-mail.
For
example, the quality may be nice, but if the inks fade within
a few weeks you can hardly expect to sell these as fine
art giclee prints. Yet there are now archival inks for longevity.
Rather important to know about this before you buy the wrong
printer. Yet some archival inks can't produce some red colors!
Maybe you might want to know about this before you buy that
printer. Also realize that the Epson 9000 is made for dye
inks. We had color management nightmare with the Epson 9000
on our campus until a bit of clout pried assistance out
of Epson America. Indeed Epson America sent the updates
and now the Epson 9000 functions. We also had the assistance
of Parrot Digigraphic to overcome some problems of clogging
with our Epson 7500 (clogging happens when you don't use
your printer for a few weeks).
Also,
did you know that certain printers can't print on all media?
This is something the printer advertisements don't warn
you about. Before you spend lots of money buying a large
format printer, perhaps it might be helpful to get some
professional advice (especially when from a nonprofit research
institute; this is a public service in the interest of helping
people select a printer on the basis of a wider spectrum
of information).
UPDATED:
Jan. 22, 2002
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