The Z2100 printer’s built-in spectrophotometer provides advanced users with the ability to create their own profiles and calibrate the printer. However, for many customers the process of creating profiles may prove to be time-consuming and burdensome. To take full advantage of this feature, HP customers need to repeat the process for each and every media they want to use. Canon has taken a different, more efficient approach. The built-in calibration function of the S-Series printers provides users with the ability to reset the printer back to the original factory settings and to do so across all types of media in just 10-20 minutes. Because Canon has already created and optimized profiles for a wide variety of media types, this approach enables Canon customers to achieve excellent print quality in less time and with less effort.
EPSON STYLUS PRO 11880 64” WIDE-FORMAT PRINTER
Pros: This new printer, announced by Epson in Q2 2007, is a large 64”-wide printer aimed at the production printing marketplace. With more nozzles in the print-head than previous Espon printers, this new model is expected to be faster than earlier Epson products. A new ink formulation announced by Epson promises a more vivid color space. The expected MSRP for this printer is $14,995.
Cons: This printer is not expected to launch in the United States until late 2007. Though improvements are anticipated with this model, early information released by Epson suggests that the StylusPro 11880 will not be on par with the Canon S-Series printers in terms of productivity, reliability, and quality control. More information on these printers will become available once Epson has launched them into the marketplace.
EPSON STYLUS PRO 9880 44” WIDE-FORMAT PRINTER
Pros: Announced by Epson in Q2 2007, the Stylus Pro 9880 is a 44”-wide printer that also utilizes the new ink formula- tion with a more vivid color gamut and a new print-head with more nozzles than previous Epson printers. The expected MSRP for this printer is $4,995.
Cons: This printer is not expected to launch in the United States until late 2007. Though improvements are anticipated with this model, early information released by Epson suggests that the StylusPro 9880 will not be on par with the Canon S-Series printers in terms of productivity, reliability, and quality control. More information on these printers will become available once Epson has launched them into the marketplace.
EPSON STYLUS PRO 9800 44” WIDE-FORMAT PRINTER
Pros: Epson targets this 44”-wide printer for use by graphic designers, prepress professionals, and photographers. The piezoelectric print-heads are capable of producing three different sizes of ink droplets–a feature Epson calls Variable- sized Droplet Technology. Each nozzle in the Epson 9800 is capable of producing all three sizes of ink droplets. Normal print mode for the Epson 9800 is 1440 x 720 dpi and a maximum resolution of 2880 x 1440 make this a reasonably high- resolution printer. Epson’s pigment inks are durable and color prints are estimated to last over 100 years without fading, while black-and-white prints are claimed not to fade for up to 200 years. The base model 9800 has an MSRP of $4,995 but doesn’t include any value-added software other than the print driver. The 9800 Professional includes a ColorBurst RIP with PANTONE® matching and SWOP® certification for an extra $1,000.
Cons: With only 180 nozzles per color for a total of 1,440, the Epson will print much slower in all print modes than the Canon S-Series printers, which have 30,720 nozzles. The relatively low number of nozzles also increases demand on each, thereby shortening each print-head life and increasing the opportunities for misprints and errors. Unlike the Canon printers, the Epson 9800 also requires manual switching between matte black and photo black, which wastes both ink and operator time. By Epson’s own estimates (www.epson.com Stylus Pro FAQs), the total ink wasted is about 88ml to 117ml per switch. Therefore, switching from one black mode to another wastes a significant amount of ink, money, and time.
