Printers

[Doug Nelson]

By Amanda K Jones on Wednesday, August 01, 2001 - 12:44 pm:

Hi All . . .

I hope this is the proper place to post this message . . .

I had someone recommend the Epson Stylus Photo 2000P. I can't help but notice that this printer is a bit more expensive than the 1270 or 1280 that seems to be popular. What makes the 2000P so special? Is there anyone out there who owns the 2000P?

TIA

Amanda


By thomasgeorge on Wednesday, August 01, 2001 - 03:25 pm:

Amanda, The main "selling point" of the Epson 2000 is the reported longevity of its prints, reported to be between 100 to 200 years. However this is accomplished by using special pigment based inks and special paper both of which are pricey. Additionally prints from the 2000 display a green shift when viewed under certain light conditions , mostly daylight as I understand.When viewed under artificial lighting conditions this is not noticable. I have seen prints from the 2000 and they are outstanding, (except for B&W which seemed to lack neutral tones).However,so are prints from the 1270 and 1280 if you take time to learn how to properly set the printer up.I opted for a 1270 and have been very pleased with the prints it produces as have my customers. At one time there was a problem with prints from the 1270 turning orange, this seems to have been a problem with the premium Epson glossy photo paper which that company has reportedly reformulated. I only observed the "orange shift" on two prints, both of which were displayed without the benefit of being behind glass in a frame. As to longevity, the Wilhelm Image Research web site reports print life of approx. 5 years or so before noticable fading using the glossy Epson paper and 25 plus life using the heavy weight matte papers for the 1270 and I suppose the 1280 as well.Epson is suppost to be releasing a new paper this month with a several decade fade resistance. As with all things, nothing lasts for ever and print life can be extended by properly displaying the photo, as in avoiding hanging it in direct sunlight, very high humidity etc.. I used my 1270 to print Sports pictures for 5 schools this past year and it performed without a hitch. Hope this was of some help to you. Good luck, Tom


By Amanda K Jones on Wednesday, August 01, 2001 - 07:40 pm:

Thanks Tom, for your in-depth review. I've always worked with the web so printing is kind of a new thing for me. I've never gone beyond Menu-->File-->Print.

Lots to learn : )

Amanda


By DJ Dubovsky on Thursday, August 02, 2001 - 11:51 am:

Hi Amanda,
I own the Epson 2000. I am very happy with the quality of prints it delivers and the ease of use. I think Tom gave you some excellent advise. Consider your needs and will it benifit you to pay the added costs to get it. Also bear in mind that the paper and archival inks are really only available online. Not many computer or office supply stores carry them. That also goes for the paper too. As of yet there are only a few papers you can use with it. Archival matte, premium semigloss, premium lustre and watercolor matte. These are not the same ones you use on the 1270 or 1280 either. If you don't use the proper ink and papers you get a real mess to clean up on the rollers. I am not in anyway putting it down, it's a wonderful machine. I really am pleased with the quality of prints I have been getting and how easy it is to use, but you need to weigh all these things out vs. your needs. You made a great first start in asking questions. Information is always the best way to make a choice especially one that will set you back several hundred dollars. You might do a search on the Epson 2000 and look for reviews on it. It really helped me make a decision. Good luck.
DJ


By Amanda K Jones on Thursday, August 02, 2001 - 07:41 pm:

Thanks DJ,

I'm not exactly sure when I'm going to take the plunge and buy a new printer but I want to make sure I know what I'm getting into! It may be a few more months or so, but I'm sure I'll have more questions when I finally do get one to make sure I've got it set up properly as Tom noted. Thanks again.

Amanda


By Alan Rubin on Thursday, August 02, 2001 - 09:07 pm:

Ed,

I’ve been thinking of upgrading to either the Epson 2000 or the 1280. I am currently working with a HP930, which has gotten good reviews as a printer.

I’m still looking into this, but I’ve decided to stick with the HP930 until I really have much better control of my image correction. If I change printers too soon, then I lose a constant in evaluating my progress. Also, the printer technology is changing very rapidly, so there might be more choices available when I am ready to upgrade.

You comments were most helpful.

Alan


By Ed Ladendorf on Friday, August 03, 2001 - 06:47 pm:

I thought I posted this yesterday, but I guess I probably didn't press the final "post" button. Thanks for giving me the credit, but i really think it is DJ who wrote the post.


By christie williams on Saturday, August 04, 2001 - 06:06 am:

Well I thought I'd jump in on this one, I have an epson 3000 and have had it for a couple of years...it's fantastic but I guess I'm bias towards epson. I noticed the price has come down considerably since I purchased it but that's the world of computers and peripherals. Switched from HP printers some time back and haven't regretted it once. Also just an FYI, I recently purchased a can of the inkjet spray and am testing it for longevity by placing it in direct sunlight to see if there is any fading. After spraying it on the picture there was no difference in color, just a grainy feel versus the smooth feel of photo paper...but in a frame I didn't mind grainy. So far the picture is remaining good it's been in the sunlight for a month.


By Amanda K. Jones on Saturday, August 04, 2001 - 09:45 am:

Hi Christie,

Forgive my ignorance but what exaclty is the inkjet spray you are referring to? Is this just something you spray on photos to give them texture? Just curious.

akj


By DJ Dubovsky on Saturday, August 04, 2001 - 01:32 pm:

Hi Christie,

Didn't know you could buy something specific for inkjets. I have been using spray coating for art and photos. It comes in gloss and matte finish and costs about $6 a can. It goes a long ways though. I don't notice any texture after spraying this stuff unless there was some dust on the prints or something. I also can't tell if it will give extra life to the prints or not but it is supposed to protect art works and photos as a clear varnish would. You can't even tell you sprayed it on when it's done. If you're curious and want to compare, it's called Blair coatings protective finishing spray for art/craft projects. I found it at Jerry's Artarama. I think you could get it online too. Where do you get your inkjet spray? I think I would like to compare it with what I'm using now. Thanks for the info.

DJ


By christie williams on Saturday, August 04, 2001 - 03:18 pm:

Hi Amanda and DJ,

Well I happened onto this inkjet spray business because of the loss of color on inkjet photos after they have been exposed to sunlight for a period of time... Here's the website I ordered my spray from but I'm not saying it's the best or even that it will work that's what I'm testing out now.

http://www.currys.com/digital2/inkjet.html

The spray is supposed to have a UV protection in it and you lightly spray it over the photo after you've printed it and it dries fairly quickly.

I thought about going the route you have DJ but I thought well what the heck...says for inkjet pics and that's what I have so I'll try it...it's not cheap though that's why I would also be interested in your comparison between what you are using and the stuff I bought. There's so many options and different brands of this stuff out there it's hard to know which one is going to deliver the best product. I guess all we can do is read and experiment.

Also, here's a link to a site that has tested one type of spray as well as a number of photo papers...just an FYI type thing...not to say good or bad.

http://tedfelix.com/FadeTesting/InkjetAging2.html

Well glad to be exchanging ideas and thoughts with all of you. I do love this photo work.

Have a great and safe day all.


By DJ Dubovsky on Saturday, August 04, 2001 - 05:56 pm:

Amanda,

After checking out Christie's test link, I found another link you might like to visit. It really gives you a good idea of the comparisons between the 1270 vs the 2000. http://home.cox.rr.com/meyerfamily/epson/epson.html

Christie,

Thank you so much for the links and info. That spray sure is costly. I can see why you might like to have a cheeper resource. The test site was a real eye opener too and it has good leads to other test sites. Especially the one on the Epson printers. I have been looking for a good glossy paper to use on the Epson 2000P and think I may have found one.

Yeah this site is proving to be a gold mine in info and fun. Thanks again

DJ

[akj]

OK, I think I'm going to take the plunge and purchase the 1270 within the next month or two. I really need to get a nice printer. Right now I have an Epson 440 and it's just not cutting it! I also figure if I am able to give people good prints I can start charging a little more for my work.

Anyway, this might be a silly question, but when you initially buy the printer does it come with all the necessary ink catridges and cables, etc? I know I'll have to buy paper seperately and all, I just noticed that on Amazon's site they listed power cables and cartrdiges as "accessories" and I was just wondering if I needed to buy these seperately.

Also, a question for you Doug--I really want to buy the printer through your link to help out the site. But whenever I go to "My Account" it goes into a different area of Amazon. (i.e. the "retouchpro" part of the URL address goes away) Is there a way I can do this and still have Amazon recognize me as 'Amanda K Jones?' I want to make sure I do this right!

akj

[Doug Nelson]

The Epson 1270 is still a great value for the money.

No on cable to computer (it can use USB or parallel), yes on power cable and ink (though you might want to buy at least one each extra inks, and some nice paper if you get free shipping, otherwise go to Office Depot)

I know the 'retouchpro' part goes away, but it's replaced with my super-secret-coded number ID, so if you go via the link on the site, I'll get credit.

And thanks, that's SO nice!

[thomasgeorge]

Akj, When I purchased my 1270 it came with ink,parallel cable, CD with drivers and some bundled software. It would be a good idea to get a couple of extra ink cartridges as the ones which were shipped with my printer seemed to go dry unusually quickly. I would suggest sticking with the parallel port for printing as on occasion (I am assuming you are running Windows) the USB can "act up" requiring you to jump through some hoops like refresh the system and/or reload the drivers. When you get ready to load the software and connect the printer for the first time I would also suggest that you turn off any virus software you have and disconnect any peripheral devices other than Monitor,Keyboard,Mouse until you have the Printer up and running. Good luck Tom

[Doug Nelson]

You got a cable???

I guess my old memory is acting up.

I'd suggest also downloading the newest drivers from the Epson website, and use the ICC profile when printing (I think that comes either with the printer or with Photoshop, maybe Tom can refresh my aging memory)

[thomasgeorge]

Doug, Guess I lucked out as I got a parallel cable with mine. Probably an accident at the factory for which some nice soul got canned!!! Epson printers have an imbedded profile which is very good. The only thing I have to do is change some settings in the transfer section, a simple job (or I couldnt do it). Hope this helps. Tom

[akj]

Hi Tom,

Just wondering what you meant by "changing settings in the transfer section"? Also, how would I go about turning off the virus software while I install the printer? I have Norton 2001 on Windows ME. AND (sorry for all the questions!) when you say disconnect any additional periphreals, does this simply mean manually unplug them from the computer or is there something else in Control Settings that needs to be done?

Thanks for all your help--I want to make sure I do this right!

Amanda

[thomasgeorge]

Akj, No problem about the questions. Peripherals: With your computer off disconnect all external devices except for your Monitor, mouse, keyboard. At this time you can connect your 1270 to the parallel port and follow the directions for installing the ink cartridges etc.. After you restart the computer and it has loaded Windows click START, PROGRAMS, and from the list select NORTONS.From the pop out list select NORTONS 2001. A control panel will appear. Click on REAL TIME SCAN (its the first or second item in the menu) A box will appear .Follow the instructions for turning off the Real Time scan (its easy- only a couple of mouse clicks) then close the panel and proceed as directed by the Epson install instructions(they are easy to follow. No kidding). Once the printer is up and running follow the same instructions to turn Nortons back on. You may not have to mess with transfer settings. My printer consistantly does a great job however I like to tweak things. Anyway, when you install the printer and have it going,open a picture then select print from the file menu. A dialog box will appear. Click on SETUP button. Another box will appear. At the lower left corner you will see a button marked TRANSFER . Click it. Yet another box opens with a curves graph on the left and a series of boxes numbered 0 thru 100( or there abouts) to the right. these work just like curves adjustment. I usually select the "50"% box and if my prints are dark I type in a number less than 50 to lighten them (47 is good to start). If you think your prints are too light type in a number greater than 50( 54 is a good place to start). This probably wont be necessary. I simply cant resist a little final "tweaking". Good luck and I hope this is of some help to you. Tom

[thomasgeorge]

Akj, When you get ready to turn on the NORTONS follow the START>PROGRAMS>NORTON>NORTON2001>REAL TIME SCAN ENABLE path instructions I gave. I think I made it sound as if you should follow the Epson instructions which would be a deeply frustrating and unrewarding experience!!! Sorry about the poor wording. Tom

[akj]

Thanks

Hi Tom,

Thanks so much--I think I can handle that. Sometimes I need extensive hand-holding.

Amanda

[Doh]

I just thought I'd put a couple of cents in here.

We bought the Epson 1280 on Saturday and the few samples that we printed were phenomenal! (The other printer we have is an HP Deskjet 890c - not really good for photos.) It didn't come with a cable (we are using USB since I have the HP on the parallel port) but we popped out a picked one up. Installing it was not a problem.

Maybe I'm impressed because the HP didn't produce very nice photos but I think the quality of the prints from the Epson are really great. For the most part, I don't think you can really tell them apart from an actual photo unless you know what to look for. We also just got a new digital camera so we'll be doing a lot of our own processing now. (Can hardly wait! )

Doh.

[DJ Dubovsky]

Looks like Doh's got some new toys.....Look out. Hey, those Epsons are great arn't they? I got the 2000 and I love it.
DJ