Printer News

As the price of D-SLRs and high-resolution digicams drops to more affordable levels, an increasing number of families and serious photo enthusiasts want a better photo printer. We found lots of new machines at the photokina show, some with high-tech features such as Wi-Fi and Ethernet compatibility. Lack of space precludes coverage of every new product, but the following printers are worth...

Three years ago, Epson brought out a solid 13x19” printer using the new UltraChrome K3 inks. This model, the R2400, was a major improvement over the 2200 it replaced, thanks to the additional gray inks and a new Advanced Black and White mode in the printer driver. Three years is nearly forever in the digital market, and people have been wondering when a replacement would come and what...

Challenge is good, and Epson's new 13" Stylus Photo R1900 presents a challenge to those who want it all--great color and great black and white printing. Its color output equals anything in the Epson line-up, while black and white is less advanced, perhaps because its target is the photo enthusiast seeking colorful, high-quality, long-lasting prints.

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The Epson UltraChrome K3-series printers are a well-known and popular choice for many digital photographers who are looking for quality prints with a good archival life. So when Epson asked if I'd like to take a look at their newest line-up, I was very interested in seeing what they had done.

The UltraChrome K3 ink set is pigment based, with a total of nine inks:...

Every year it seems that print quality gets better while prices come down. Oh, how I wish that applied to the high-end camera market! Pigment printers in the 13x19 desktop size have become the new standard for many photographers. Capable of 11x14 (and obviously larger) prints, they're a perfect match for the needs of most people, and the size and price is within range of...

The introduction about a year ago of 12-color pigment printers by Canon was a major addition to the fine art and photo printing area. No longer did only Epson own this category. For the first round, Canon brought out the 17" iPF5000, 44" iPF8000, and 60" iPF9000 wide format printers. Using a new LUCIA pigment inkset, these printers offered long archival life...

It has been well over a year since Canon announced the Canon PIXMA Pro9500. In fact, I was so impatient that I requested the opportunity to try out the professional Canon imagePROGRAF iPF5000 17" 12-color ink model (report published in the March 2007 issue of Shutterbug, and now online at www.shutterbug.com). So now the question is: does the consumer-oriented 13" Canon...