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November 15, 2005
[REVIEW—EPSON STYLUS PHOTO R2400 inkjet printer ]
Price: $1800
Rating: 4.5 stars
The low-down: The Epson Stylus Photo R2400 inkjet printer is the company’s top of the range A3 plus printer using the long life Ultrachrome K3 inks. These are pigment inks, rather than the dye inks that are more common in inkjet printers and that are susceptible to fading. The Ultrachrome inks, used with Epson’s own paper, have a promised life of over 100 years stored in ideal conditions.
The R2400 uses ten ink cartridges altogether, with 8 installed at any one time -- the usual CYMK plus Light Light Black, Light Magenta, Light Cyan, Light Black. Photo Black is used for glossy paper and Matte Black for specialist matte papers. Replacement cost for a full set of cartridges is $214. Not cheap, but they only need to be replaced one at a time as they run out.
This printer is not for the technophobe. To produce the best results -- which are breathtaking -- it is essential to understand how Photoshop communicates with a printer. Our first attempt to produce a print was a disaster and we realised that we needed to come to terms with the assignment of colour profiles.
Simply creating a perfect image on the monitor and pressing Print won’t do the job. It is necessary to go to Epson Downloads to find the right workflow instruction set for the printer and operating system. It’s complicated but it is worth it.
Like this: The prints! They have richness and vibrancy. Sumptuous is the best word. Resolution is not quite as acute as the best Canon printers, but this is probably the trade-off for using the long life pigment inks.
Dislike that: The user manual is an html file on disc. This is cheap! And for an expensive and complex piece of equipment is simply unacceptable. This is what cost the printer half a star.
The Epson is slow to start printing compared with the best Canon units.
Parting shot: The Epson Stylus Photo R2400 is a superb machine. It is highly recommended to anyone considering the transition from the darkroom to the PC.
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Posted by terry at November 15, 2005 02:44 PM
Comments
I have had this printer for three months now and love the results, particularly on photo-rag paper.
The colour prints have a 'water colour'look to them, and the B&W is v. linear.
I concur with the writer that it is essential to go to the epson site and use their profiles and settings.
I suspect this printer is better suited to the art photography user rather than for dynamic glossy look, but I have not gone for that look so I could be wrong.
Posted by: grumpy at November 22, 2005 11:51 AM