Epson 1280 or 2200?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Robert
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Robert

Which of the Epson wide carrage photoprinters would you recommend and why?
thanks
rtm
 
The 1280 is an old design and the 2200 is newer and pigment based.
I have a 1280 and once you learn printing with color management the results
are awesome, which is why Epson still markets this venerable beast.
The argument for pigment based printing has to do with longevity and
probably has the edge in B&W.
However not all paper surfaces can be used with the 2200.
Whatever you do if you are serious about printing with color management
stick with Epson.
 
I guess I haven't learned the "printer management" skills just yet on my
1280. I am printing brand new Epson carts, not refills, and my photos and
general purpose stuff is awful. Photos have a significant magenta cast to
them.

I've calibrated my monitor and all of that. Right now, I'm very frustrated
with this one.

Steve
 
I guess I haven't learned the "printer management" skills just yet on my
1280. I am printing brand new Epson carts, not refills, and my photos and
general purpose stuff is awful. Photos have a significant magenta cast to
them.

I've calibrated my monitor and all of that. Right now, I'm very frustrated
with this one.

Steve
Click to expand...

Steve

It sounds like you have turned on color management in both the Epson
printer driver & in Photoshop. If you turn off color management in the
printer driver and use the color management settings in Photoshop
only, the magenta cast will disappear assuming everything else is
correct.
 
Steve

It sounds like you have turned on color management in both the Epson
printer driver & in Photoshop. If you turn off color management in the
printer driver and use the color management settings in Photoshop
only, the magenta cast will disappear assuming everything else is
correct.
Click to expand...

One more thing. The new Photoshop Elements 3.0 & the replacement for
Photoshop CS will have Epson printer driver features built in to the
software, so it should eliminate problems associated with incorrect
software & printer driver settings.
 
Thanks. I keep learning more each time I use the products together. I don't
think I had these issues with my old Canon i950.

Steve
 
What OS are you using, and what program are you printing from? Did you
recently install XP SP2?

Art
 
I guess I haven't learned the "printer management" skills just yet on my
1280. I am printing brand new Epson carts, not refills, and my photos and
general purpose stuff is awful. Photos have a significant magenta cast to
them.

I've calibrated my monitor and all of that. Right now, I'm very frustrated
with this one.
Click to expand...

First stop of course is to do a nozzle check printout to verify all the
individual nozzles for each color are printing properly. next please tell
us explicitly what paper, all the printer driver settings and finally what
program you are printing from and what settlings in it's printing dialog
pertaining to color you are using.
________________________________________________________
Ed Ruf Lifetime AMA# 344007 ([email protected])
http://EdwardGRuf.com
 
I recommend you wait a few months and get the new G5000 when it ships. It
has wider gamut inks than the 2200 (which also last longer without fading),
will do true glossy, is *much* faster and the ink costs are about 30% less
than the 2200. It is considerably more expensive though--cost in Japan is
69000 yen or about 680 USD at the present exchange rate.

Toby
 
Windows XP SP2 installed within a few weeks of its availability.
Photoshop CS or Elements.

Steve
 
Been away for awhile and haven't check this group for a few weeks.

I am finally able to print from both CS and Elements 2.0 with correct
colors. Here's what I did, some of which is probably over kill.

uninstalled and reinstalled CS, Elements and the Epson software to get back
to defaults.
Calibrated monitor again.
Downloaded latest printer/paper profile from paper supplier, Red River Paper
out of Dallas.

In CS and Elements, Set color settings (Edit =>Color Settings):
Advanced,
RGB - Adobe RGB (1998)
Rest of that group was set to defaults

Managements polices, All preserved and all check boxes selected.

I saved these settings as "Steve's Defaults" so I could retrieve them again.

When I go to print, I select the profile for the paper I'm using, either
what is supplied by Red River for their "Polar Satin" which is what I
normally use or for Epson Premium Photo Film which is what I use when I
print onto Epson Premium Luster paper.

In the printer driver section, I turn off all color management.

Bottom line, after many "issues" of swearing "at" the printer, I can now
safely swear "by" it.

Steve
 
So, you have not upgraded to SP2 on your XP system, is that correct?

There is a known problem with that and Epson's website (www.epson.com,
then choose your country or North America/USA otherwise and go to
support for your printer)


There is also a known problem with magenta cast with the 2200, but I
can't recall the fix (there is one)... do a Google search if no one here
chimes in for something like: "Epson 2200" +"magenta cast"

Art
 
You bring up a point worth mentioning in a general way.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you got the printer going again...

The three most common causes of sudden color shift in an inkjet printer
are:

A: one head has clogged fully or nearly so (or run out of ink), often it
is one of the light colors because you may not consider it as a cause,
since the color change is more subtle, so always do a nozzle test first

B: You are using a new paper and need a new profile. SOme paper coating
will markedly shift the color balance

C: You have installed new software or a patch that has altered your
color management, often switching on or off a feature that wasn't as
such previously. (Many XP Epson drivers were effected by the SP2 patch
from Microsoft.)

D: If on ink cartridge replacement: you are using a new ink supplier
and the ink is substantially different in color, or an error was made in
refilling and the whole colors were placed in the wrong cartridge Most
cartridges are keyed to prevent using the wrong color in the wrong
place, but not all, but manufacturers and refiller have occasionally put
the wrong color ink in a cartridge. With Epson this can be done more
easily because the cartridges are opaque and now there are many
different ink combinations in use, including blue, red, and light and
dark colors.

Lastly, always do a search engine check. Your problem may be well
documented. If you don't already use advanced searches, learn how to
design your query to get right to the information you need. Use the +
and - and "" and < and > signs appropriately and you will not have to
sift through thousands of sites for the answers you are looking for.
Most search engines have on-line instructions for how to use advanced
search techniques, and ANY time you spend learning this will more than
make up for itself in the first few searched you do.


Art
 
Arthur Entlich said:
So, you have not upgraded to SP2 on your XP system, is that correct?
Click to expand...

I have upgraded to SP2.
There is a known problem with that and Epson's website (www.epson.com,
then choose your country or North America/USA otherwise and go to support
for your printer)


There is also a known problem with magenta cast with the 2200, but I can't
recall the fix (there is one)... do a Google search if no one here chimes
in for something like: "Epson 2200" +"magenta cast"
Click to expand...

I'm using a 1280, not a 2200.

Finally, my paper supplier, Red River, suggested lowering the magenta a
small amount.
 
OK, then put "Epson 1280" +"Magenta cast" into Google!

I don't recall exactly which printers had driver problems after SP2 but
they are all listed on Epson's site.

Other causes of magenta case include: clogged cyan or light cyan head,
corrupted drivers that require reinstallation.

Art
 
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