Epson R2400 question

[Henk]

Hi all,

For the moment I do my printing via a Photolab. I find the results very good.
(Kodak endura photopaper).

I have a question : can anyone tell me if the epson R2400 gives photoquality
printouts. Can anyone compare with a photolab ?


Anyone tested the new baryta papers on an R2400 with the K3 inks ? Any good ?

Thank you !

Henk

 

[sebastel]

hello henk,

when comparing my R2400 printouts (on epson paper), i find the epson results superior to the printouts "my" photolab provides.
but that may also be related to the lab's (possibly) inferior quality.

to me, the main advantage is that i can completely control the colour rendering at home - my monitor renders closer to the printer render than to the lab's renders, although the monitor is calibrated only by "guesstimating".

so, my choice is the epson print for quality.


cheers,
sebastian

 

[Tuolumne]

I use an Epson R1800, which I believe is one generation earlier than your R2400. Since getting it I have completely stopped using outside print labs. The results are much better than any photo lab I have used in the past. Also, try the Hanehmuhle art papers - they are to die for!

/T

 

[kuzano]

Good enough for marketing work

Good enough for marketing work

I have a friend who is a twice retired art history professor and semi professional photographer. He is selling his work printed from an Epson r2400 and happy with his results. He's had his own darkroom for years, has a huge archive of work, and the R2400 meets is expectations.

 

[Keith]

In some comparo I read the R1800 is supposedly slightly better with colour but the 2400 excels at black and white. I bought a 2400 a week or so ago but have yet to use it.

Incidentally ... Freestyle have genuine Epson ink cartridges for these at very competitive prices ... I ordered a spare set of blacks from them with a recent film order as I intend mainly printing black and white with mine. 🙂

 

[mfogiel]

Henk
I use the R2400 with satisfaction, and can say the following:
- in colour, if you want to print on glossy plastic, the quality may not be equal to the best lab output due to a slightly more natural gloss appearance of chemical prints, however on semigloss, luster or mattè papers, R2400 is superior than lab output, and this not to mention the output on "fine art" papers.
- in B&W the same rule applies, but the R2400 guarantees you perfect B&W neutrality when needed - something difficult to get from some labs.
I have used so far the Ilford Gallery Gold Fiber Silk baryta paper, and it is extremely good - i'd say better than the Hahnemuehle Photo Rag Pearl for example, and costs half as much, however, you can notice some gloss differential in the highlights. So far, the best surface appearance for B&W is given by the staple Gallery Smooth Pearl, which costs half as much as the Fiber Silk, and a quarter as much as the "fine art" papers. You should try the mattè Photo Rag 308, which is the basic fine art paper, and extremely pleasant in B&W too.
The final point: do not make the same mistake Keith made, and do not buy R2400 - go straight to Epson 3800, you will save tons of money and have a better printer.

@ Keith
For your guide, even when you print B&W, you also use some colour inks, in particular the light magenta and light cyan, so make sure you also replenish these cartridges - my rule anyway, is to have AT LEAST 2 spare cartridges of each type at home, because from experience I know Epson does not supply always all colours to your distributors, and bottlenecks can happen - if even one colour is down completely, the printer will not print no matter what.

 

[Keith]

Henk
I use the R2400 with satisfaction, and can say the following:
- in colour, if you want to print on glossy plastic, the quality may not be equal to the best lab output due to a slightly more natural gloss appearance of chemical prints, however on semigloss, luster or mattè papers, R2400 is superior than lab output, and this not to mention the output on "fine art" papers.
- in B&W the same rule applies, but the R2400 guarantees you perfect B&W neutrality when needed - something difficult to get from some labs.
I have used so far the Ilford Gallery Gold Fiber Silk baryta paper, and it is extremely good - i'd say better than the Hahnemuehle Photo Rag Pearl for example, and costs half as much, however, you can notice some gloss differential in the highlights. So far, the best surface appearance for B&W is given by the staple Gallery Smooth Pearl, which costs half as much as the Fiber Silk, and a quarter as much as the "fine art" papers. You should try the mattè Photo Rag 308, which is the basic fine art paper, and extremely pleasant in B&W too.
The final point: do not make the same mistake Keith made, and do not buy R2400 - go straight to Epson 3800, you will save tons of money and have a better printer.

@ Keith
For your guide, even when you print B&W, you also use some colour inks, in particular the light magenta and light cyan, so make sure you also replenish these cartridges - my rule anyway, is to have AT LEAST 2 spare cartridges of each type at home, because from experience I know Epson does not supply always all colours to your distributors, and bottlenecks can happen - if even one colour is down completely, the printer will not print no matter what.

Well Marak,

Someone lied then 😱 because in a test I was reading of an Epson 2400 a while ago one of the things they commented on was the fact that in pure black and white mode it was one of the few printers that didn't introduce the primary colours to create the necessary greys and this fact was the defining point in it's black and white superiority over the R1800 ... which tends to create black and white prints with a very slight colour cast!

I always knew you couldn't trust journos. 😛

 

[Toby]

I've got an HP B9180 - direct competitor to the Epson and would certainly recommend it. It's cheaper than the epson, has both matte and photo black cartridges available without swapping them and purging the system, and is self calibrating. The only disadvantage is it only has one grey cartridge as opposed the 2400's two - but I produce BW prints on photo rag 308 for clients and they really are excellent. I've also used baryta inkjet papers but I've found that the paper curling at smaller sizes to be a major PITA.

 

[Michael M]

I use a 2400 and i'm very satisfied with it, i'm able to produce superior prints compared to my local lab. Hahnemühle and Ilford are the way to go with papers, I use Photo Rag Pearl frequently and the new baryta type papers are said to be even better. I also recommend buying one model larger, the money you save for ink and the larger printsize is enough to go for it...

 

[KEH]

I've just started using the Harman baryta gloss on my r2400 and I am very impressed with the results. Beautiful tonality, nice surface, plus it dries very flat (no curling).

Ink for the r2400 is expensive and there is still the occasional head clog. So I would second the idea of going for a 3800 if you have a bit more cash and enough room for the beast...

Cheers,
Kirk

 

[mfogiel]

Keith,
The usage of colour inks is primarily related to the "toned" prints, but even the "neutral" B&W will use some, because, I believe, there's a certain degree of fine tuning necessary owing to the paper surface itself, and also to the components that incapsulate the pigments, and can have a slight colour cast, however this is a lot different from synthetizing greys from primary colours, so in this sense Epson was telling the truth, though they have probably exaggerated with the purity question...

 

[stevew]

ABW on 2400 colour casts.

ABW on 2400 colour casts.

There are some colours used in ABW mode.

http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/2400.pdf

Check out this resource for alot of information.

 

[Toby]

Keith,
The usage of colour inks is primarily related to the "toned" prints, but even the "neutral" B&W will use some, because, I believe, there's a certain degree of fine tuning necessary owing to the paper surface itself, and also to the components that incapsulate the pigments, and can have a slight colour cast, however this is a lot different from synthetizing greys from primary colours, so in this sense Epson was telling the truth, though they have probably exaggerated with the purity question...

As I understand it pure carbon inks (for blacks and greys) actually print with a slight red cast so the printer has to add some colour to counter this.

 

[Henk]

Thanx

Thanx

Thanx all for the feedback. I will follow mgofiel's advice and go for a R3800.
After longer saving money, that is...

 

[rogue_designer]

Thanx all for the feedback. I will follow mgofiel's advice and go for a R3800.
After longer saving money, that is...

Good call - i've run a few prints through one owned by a friend, and it's high on my list of printers to acquire.

Enjoy it.

Hmm - maybe I can convince other Chicago users to timeshare one and a Flextight X3 scanner. 😀