Epsn 2200 arrived today...Yikes!

W

wblanchard

Guest
I was stunned at how LARGE this printer is....The box from UPS was 45 pounds and I had to carry it up to the third floor where my condo is located! :eek:

I actually don't know where to put it right now. I might have to get a printer stand somewhere or seperate piece of furniture...

I hope this printer is worth all the trouble. :)

Anyone want to recommend some paper for color prints and black and whites? I was thinking entrada natural for b/w...the color, i'm not sure yet. I do like glossy, but heard the epson 2200 is not as good as i9900 for glossy.

Any help would be appreciated.
Bill
 
Re: Epsn 2200 arrived today...Yikes!

wblanchard said:
I was stunned at how LARGE this printer is....The box from UPS was 45 pounds and I had to carry it up to the third floor where my condo is located! :eek:

[...]

Any help would be appreciated.
Bill

I'd be happy to help you out; just send it to me if it's too big for ya :D
 
Keep us updated on your printer, Bill. I've not purchased a photo printer yet but I've had my eye on the 2200 for some time. I'd like to hear how your experience goes.

Gene
 
Try to stick with the Epson papers or be sure you have Epson-compatible papers. Otherwise, you can get roller marks. Epson Photo Quality Glossy is my favorite, and not terribly expensive. I got a complimentary pack of Epson-compatible Fuji that also works nicely. I had trouble with B&W until I discovered some additional printing software for Mac OSX, if that's your operating system:
http://www.outbackphoto.com/artof_b_w/bw_03/essay.html
It's shareware, and you can try it as long as you want. But it's so good I paid the fee right away.
 
Congratulations on you new printer. I do not experiment much with paper but I do use the Epson Enhanced Matte for a lot of proofing because of cost and Ilford soft pearl for landscape.

B&W is a troublesome item. It is difficult at times to get good monochrome throughout the whole tonal range. When you get the light tone looking good the darker tones have a color cast and vis-versa. If you are going to print B&W check out http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/printers/Epson2200.shtml. This offers some good suggestions.

Go to the Epson web site and download the latest ICC profiles for the 2200.

Good Luck, Bob
 
I first looked at one in a store and it didn't look half as intimidating as it did at home. I still haven't installed the roll film holder-just not enough room.

In addition to the paper suggestions above, I suggest you try the Ilford Galerie Smooth papers. I like them very much. Make sure you get the Smooth and not the Classic.
 
Do not, I repeat, do not use third party inks! It'll screw it up. Try to stay with EPSON papers. I don't know what program their running, but the guys at the local Pro-Shop, are getting beautiful B/W prints from it, on some thick fiber paper. The color prints are great too.

Russ
 
Congratulations. Great printer. I have one, love it.

I'd suggest starting with Epson Enhanced Matte....it's the most truly photographic-seeming of anything I've tested. I use it as a sort of benchmark/baseline for my printing.

I love Moab Entrada, it'll probably become my main paper .. beautiful but slightly textured and not as photographic-seeming as EEM. I use the "Natural" version because the whitened version, like Epson Enhanced Matte, will likely get less white over the years. Not a big concern, given my mediocre photography.

In general I find EEM and Entrada print almost identically, but Entrada is warmer so in some instances I add 5C at the printer.
 
Two easy ways to get *great* B&W prints from a 2200 both use Epson standard pigments.

One way is simply to check "black only" in the printer box. You'll get a warning about probable bad-looking photos. Ignore that, it's just machine aesthetics. Black Only looks slightly grainy in prints over A4. Other than that, it's super.

The other easy way involves use of Quadtone Graphic User Interface....QTRgui

http://www.harrington.com/QuadTonePC.html

Download it for free and if you love it, pay the nice man $50. It's a foolproof (I should know) way to get very fine B&W in your choice of a range of tones from very cold to very warm.

One big secret: you need to load your files into TIFF because QTRgui only works with TIFFS.
 
I've been using the Epson 2200 for a couple of years now and it is the best printer I've ever owned. I'll buy a 4000 someday but not now. Some suggestions:

Color: Be sure to install the Epson software because that will install Epson's custom profiles on the computer. From Photoshop, choose "print with preview" and specify an Epson 2200 profile according to the paper you're using (see the manual). See your instructions because you'll need to set some advanced settings in the printer driver to overide various automatic corrections the printer will otherwise do. Using profiles for printing requires a little study, etc. but it is the best way to get consistent, accurate color.

B&W: Djon is dead on about Quadtone RIP. It is fantastic and I say that having been a B&W exhibition printer years ago. That program is one of the best things ever invented for B&W digital printing.

Cheers,

Sean
 
Bill,
I have had the 2200 for several years, my observances:

Use Epson color inks.

MIS has a great Black ink for matte printing called "ebony", works very well for BW printing.

Quadtone RIP is sweet but you would be suprised at how nice the 2200 prints with "Black Only" printing workflow, see here: http://search.netscape.com/ns/boomf...move_url=http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm

Go to Epson and download the available paper profiles that you may use, ie. EnhancedMatte, Premium Luster, etc., they make a huge difference.

I use mine for portrait work mainly, I have never had a customer complain about the quality, it's a great printer!

Todd
 
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