rafe said:
Have you seen prints from the R800 or R1800?
I'm pretty pleased with the results, on Epson PGPP.
Bear in mind that there are now several different
formulations of the Epson Ultrachrome ink set, and
more still in the works, I hear.
Eg., a new variant of the R1800 was just introduced
in Japan, dubbed PXG-5100. Offhand, since I can't
read Japanese, I can't tell what's new about it.
saw them...
it's just ....no matter how they try and improve their ink, the real point
is in pigment technique:
photo paper has ultra gloss layer at the top. Dye ink is absorbed by it and
so ink goes UNDER this gloss layer, as a result gloss remains on the top,
shining like hell, (and then also waterproofing is achieved by this).
Pigment ink is made of micro particles and as such remains on the surfface
ABOVE this gloss layer, covering it and preventing it from shining. Then
only thing Epson can do is to add a finish gloss layer (kind of liquid),
which, no matter what they do, can't be as glossy as gloss layer on the
paper. The difference isn't space big, but it's there. Compare print on, say
Epson ultra gloss paper (or whatever), and print on Canon Photo paper
pro...results ARE visible. And that is comparing cheap ip4000 with expensive
Epson model. I made a couple of prints on that paper, took it into store (my
friend worked there) and we made some prints on Epson R800, which costs
somewhat than twice as my ip4000...results were .... well, i'm very glad i
chose Canon...that's all i'll say.
See, the main point when printing photos is (at least for me and many
others, i'm sure) that i give a shit about lasting 100 years or so...i just
want to make a perfect print. If it fades after 2 or 5 years, i'll just
print another one and it will be new again.