Rating: Summary: Do you need a semi pro photo printer? Review: I've had my Epson 2200 for about six weeks. With free shipping Amazon's price was best on the net. Looked at Canon's and Epson's lower end models. I thought the Epson outperformed the Canon tonally. Have done about 45 8x10 glossies with medium grade Epson paper. Not disappointed in the output. Two pics were banded and short colored. Did a basic head cleaning and that corrected the problem. The light toned inks are used at slightly more than twice the rate of the dark tones. Am just now looking for a replacement for light magenta cartridge. I figure amortized cost per pic is about 1.25 per print with ink paper and printer costs combined. If you demand quality output for your pics with a fairly low volumne output, this is a hard printer to beat right now. If you're not too concerned about darker toning and flatter colors you can probably get by with something half as pricey. I'm delighted with mine.
Rating: Summary: Saving money in the long run with 7 colors Review: The Epson 2200 may seem like a lot of money to put down for a 13x19 inch printer when compared to the Epson 1280 or other printers of similar size, but totaling the amount of money spent using the printer tips the scales in favor of the more expensive 2200. With seven color inks you replace each cartridge individually as opposed to a multi-ink cartridge as in the 1280 that costs three times the price and needs to be replaced even if all the inks aren't empty. I've owned this printer for five months and have had great results. The ColorSync profile works great and have resulted in accurate colors most of the time without tweaking in Photoshop. I recommend Epson Premium Luster paper or the Enhanced Matt paper for this printer. Luster produced prints indistinguishable from photo lab prints when viewed straight on, but does show 'ghosting' in shadows when viewed at sharp angles. The main factor of this printer, and other Epson 7 color ink printers is the color life. The enhanced matt paper is rated up to 80 years when the paper is not exposed to direct airflow, and the luster is 20-25 years under the same conditions, which is the same as photo lab prints. If you have a 4+ mpx digital camera and you want to make prints at 13x19 inches, which is essentially the same size you would print a 35mm negative on 16x20 photo paper, this printer is for you. And, 13x19 inch prints look good on a wall and matt nicely with standard 20x24 inch frames.
Rating: Summary: Prints as good as Ofoto Review: I researched photo printers for weeks and read all the reviews. I wanted a dedicated photo printer for the best prints so I did not care about text or speed. I had decided on the Epson 960 based on the PC World review that rated it just below the 2200 and above the Canons. I went to Compusa and they did not have a 960 and were sold out of the 2200 for weeks. While I was looking at the other printers a shipment of 2200's rolled in, so I bought one. I compared identical prints from the 2200 to an Ofoto print on photographic based paper and I can say they are equivalent. The 2200 had a little less contrast but better shadow detail. With magnification the the grain was about the same on both prints. I used Premium Glossy paper. You do get some obscuring sheen when you look at the 2200 prints at an angle due the pigment based ink, but it is not a problem in my opinion. I then compared these to prints from my Epson Photo 780. With the naked eye there is not much detectable difference, but with magnification you can see the ink pattern on the 780 prints. The skin tones were not as realistic. I expect with various photos the differences would become more readily apparent. I think the 2200 is a great printer but a bit expensive. The 960 may be a good choice for less $$. I wish I could have compared them side by side. Addendum: Upon more research I've learned a big advantage of this printer over the 960 is the Ultrachrome pigment ink, which is water resistant and good for 80 years. All of the dye based inks apparently will start to fade in just a few years (or some in just a few months). There are also compatible generic papers (try Redriverpaper.com). This printer uses the same inks and has similar quality to Epson professional printers ... Getting the best prints with the 2200 may require a little tweaking of the settings and adjustments in Photoshop or the like, where you can set the contrast and color saturation to suit your eye. Plan to use some paper and ink experimenting. Professional photographers and artists like this printer a lot. It is outstanding for black and white and for artistic papers such as matte and card stock, and of course it prints pics up to 13 inches wide and 40+ long. If you want the best and have the know-how (or want to learn), this is the printer to get.
Rating: Summary: Disappointed- Real Photo Prints difficult to acheive Review: I've been using the Epson 1200 for 3 yrs to produce excellent glossy prints up to 11x14. Only problem is slight "bronzing" on black areas and lack of "archivalness". I print and sell wildlife photos and am extremely critical in how it will look hanging on a wall.After testing the EPSON 2200 for a week with 4 different papers and numerous driver settings I am not able to achieve what I consider an acceptible glossy print. The prints have a sickly sheen in the white areas when viewed even at a slight angle. They lack the "punch" saturation and sharpness of my old 1200. YEs, the printer is nice looking, very quiet and smooth compared to my old work-horse. Yes, I like the idea of water-resistant, fade proof prints that will last 25 years, but to paraphrase Shakespeare, "the photo's the thing" I'm going to give it one more try with Epson Professional Glossy Paper, which is hard to find, sold only in Super A3 in the U.S. and expensive. If that doesnt work, it's back to Amazon, and I'll probably upgrade my 1200 to a 1280 dye based printer.
Rating: Summary: Unsurpassed Print Quality Review: I researched tons of color inkjet printers before deciding upon the Epson Stylus Photo 2200. I use it exclusively for my personalized prints business so both photo and text quality was must with no room for compromises. In the 4 months that I have owned this printer I have nothing but praise. No paper jams, high quality prints with little if any recognizable dithering/dots in photos, great value priced printer, also saved tons on inks with 7 seperate ink containers that can be replaced individually. This is a semi-pro printer instead of traditional consumer grade printers. Even so, I didn't really have to fiddle with anything, it worked and printed quality prints right out of the box. Yet it still has extensive setting controls to tweak prints and I had to only use it once or twice to reduce the Cyan level in advanced settings page to -10 to get as the printer rendered/printed portions of the white in the photo with a slightly greenish tint. Aside from that minor problem that was isolated and easily resolved, everything else about this printer is absolutely wonderful!
Rating: Summary: BEWARE: Archival Inks are TERRIBLE for glossy Review: The Epson 2200 uses archival inks that supposedly will last for 80 years...but the inks sacrifice the overall quality of the glossy prints...creating a 'bronzing issue'...which is to say that the prints have annoying reflections depending upon how they are viewed. There is also a dull sheen over the premium glossy photos that are distinctly inferior to the prints of the Epson 1280 or 820. There are other annoyances...like having to switch black ink cartridges when switching paper types from matte to glossy. Also, this printer cannot print borderless matte photos! Once the matte black cartridge is inserted, the software won't allow borderless. Using the glossy black will really sacrifice image quality. The matte photo results are very impressive, the colors are accurate and vibrant,this is where the printer outshines the competition. However, amongst Epson's own printers, the matte prints are no better than what you will achieve using the Epson 1280 or 820. The extra resolution is absolutely meaningless. I have scanned Medium Format film...so there was plenty of detail to be distinguished when I ran a side by side comparison test of the 820 versus the 2200. Upon close inspection the lowly stylus 820 was as good and possibly even better in the resolution department. Absurd...but true! And those printers (1280 and 820) are far less expensive, more versatile and give incomparably better glossy photos. So what's the deal? If large matte is all you print, then the printer is excellent. If you want premiums glossy as well then don't make the same mistake I did. Get the 1280 instead. I would also add that the 2200 is of course considerably faster than the others(1280,820) when set at 720dpi(all things being equal). And it does an excellent job with text as well. So it is a bit more professional in that sense.
Rating: Summary: My Epson Experience Review: My Epson Experience Let me begin by saying that I have over ten years of experience with all things computer related. During that period I have worked in almost every aspect of computer support. I have personally cleaned out countless numbers of inkjet printers with q-tips distilled water and alcohol. I kept my own Epson 740 going for 5 years without too much difficulty. I only got rid of it because I had a client that was desperate for a printer that would accept a Mac serial port. Boy due I miss that Epson 740. I bought a C82 a little less than a year ago, after reading good reviews. I assumed it would be built at least as well as the Epson 740 I was using before. Even after ten months my C82 still appears in almost brand new shape inside and out. Heck, I've only used it about thirty times or so. I keep it inside of cabinet shielded from dust. Plus as a matter of standard practice, I turn off all inkjet printers as soon as I finish using them, and I always change ink cartridges as quickly as possible to prevent ink from drying out inside printers. So was I ever surprised when my printer stopped working. It had worked fine with the first set of cartridges I had installed. However, as soon as I changed cartridges the printer stopped working. I tried cleaning it at least fifty times, but it did nothing to improve the situation. So I did the natural thing and googled my problem. I was shocked by the sheer number of search results. After reading through the reviews at Amazon and the hundreds of messages at fixyourownprinter.com I've come to realize that Epson has built and continue to build a printer that is so poorly designed one must question their integrity as a company. To think that so many people would experience the same problem and that their only solution is to continue to send people refurbished printers until their warranty expires. Oh, and the part that will really get you, is that they require you to purchase and install a new set of four Epson branded ink cartridges to insure that your currently installed cartridges are not what is defective. So before you can even have your printer replaced you must invest at least sixty dollars on ink. Of course they offer to send you new ink with the replacement printer. Still to ask me to sink my time, energy, and sixty dollars into having my printer replaced with another one, which will simply get me right back to where I began. I mean really, the nerve. Is this what our present day world has come to? Have we set ourselves up so that these large corporations can totally take advantage of us in this way? Is there no recourse? Are there no standards of business ethics that they can be held accountable for? The experience has left me feeling unusually sad. Epson has made me realize just how much I am at the mercy of these large corporations. I mean, if you want to print, who else can you buy a printer from? I know that even if Epson would own up to this, they would argue that they had to make the printers so cheaply to remain competitive. Without doing so they would go out of business tomorrow. We've heard all that before. Haven't we? Still though, this printer is made by someone in a Chinese factory. I know I'm going out on a limb here, but I would guess that that person is not well paid. Perhaps they are even exploited to some extent or at the very least we could guess that they are taken advantage of to some extent. Then as they role off the Chinese production line, Epson sends these defective printers all over the globe, wrapped up in fancy magazine advertisements. People like me buy the printer, use the ink, put in new ink, discover it no longer works, call Epson, ship the printer back to Epson, get the refurbished printer in the mail, and <repeat>. Once the warranty is up we move our broken printer into the garage for a year or so, and then throw it away. It all seems so pointless. Don't think me a luddite either. I love computers, printers, and gadgets as much as the next person. It's just that it disgusts me that I am forced to deal with a corporation that is not held to any kind of moral or ethical principles. As long as they are making money and growing we think of them as a good thing, without worrying about who they are taking advantage of. What are we doing here? How can we let Epson get away with this? Really! Well it's not difficult for me to say I will be boycotting all Epson products in the future. I mean I'm sort of doubtful of their quality anyways. Oh and I haven't even mentioned the very unhelpful tech support and customer service representatives that I called long distance at my own expense. What a waste! Really what a waste! Sincerely, - Mark Whitney - Hollywood, CA P.S. I know the solution is to buy myself a do-it-yourself printer cleaning kit. If you google it you'll see that many companies sell them specifically for the Epson C80/C82. However, if you try to buy one you'll soon discover that they are all sold out, as I mentioned before I'm not the only one with this problem.
Rating: Summary: WOW!!!! THIS THING IS AWESOME!! Review: I just bought this thing from Amazon and all I can say is WOW!!!! This is probably the best purchase I have ever made. This thing is everything I ever expected and more!! It's very easy to use as well! I have bought other brands before, and this one just blows everything else out of the water! I have to say, everyone out there who is thinking of buying this, stop thinking. I bought it and I am extremely happy with it the moment I powered this thing on. YOU ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY CANNOT GO WRONG WITH THIS PURCHASE! I GUARANTEE IT!!!
Rating: Summary: My 2200 a lemon Review: This purchase was a nightmare. First, the printer was incompatible with my page layout program (InDesign CS) when it came to printing custom-size (poster) pages. The jobs simply won't process. One Epson technician I talked to (and there were many calls to Epson technical support) basically conceded that the 2200 doesn't do well with InDesign-type post-script software. And InDesign CS, which comes with Photoshop and Illustrator in the CS package, is not an obscure program. I was able to get some jobs out in Illustrator (cumbersome in page layout duty) but then there were problems with banded lines and jams. It's the worst purchase I ever made.
Rating: Summary: love it Review: I don't have much to compare this printer with, only a darkroom. No, it's not like the good ol' fashioned way of making photos but a fantastic alternative and that goes for black and white and color alike. Definitely read all the reviews here because you will learn from what everyone has to say. I print black and white mostly (restoration)and have fantastic results. I do have to tweek. Color management is key and my monitor is a slacker so I had to develop and intuitive feel for what the print will look like. TEST MANY PAPERS. It may be an upfront cost to test out all the different papers available and use up lots of ink but if you're serious you won't mind too much. If you're looking for "right out of the box" printing then you're going to be frustrated. You will sometimes see a mask over the printed image - PHOTO SHOP TWEEKING! It has driven me crazy at times but I won. If you're meticulous, this printer will accommodate, just be patient and really "get to know your printer" and invest some time in color management knowledge. I'm still learning more and more about things I like and don't like. It can go through some ink so be prepared to drop $ on that. The Epson Stylus Pro 4000 is on the way but you're going to spend some $ on that for sure. This is my first photo printer and have thoroughly been pleased for the money. It's a great printer to learn on... Pros: -really nice black and white and color printing -larger format printing -pretty fast (considering WHAT you're printing) -Epson addresses so many questions - easy to find answers on the web -color detail (gamut I think you call it) is wide and detailed (paper dependent of course) Cons: -tweeking is a learning curve (I was not too bothered by this because I'm learning a new world of photography) -it doesn't work with a really wide variety of printing media (according to epson)I want to try the super fine art media but it doesn't come in the right sizes -not a lot of variety on the roll paper
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