Epson Stylus Photo R1800

drinks ink. have to replace cartridges every time i print as i dont print often

color printing

sink hole for ink

I.T. professional. many used

wanted money

I had used a 1280 printer for several years, and overall I was very happy with it. There was some work involved with getting it to print accurate colors, along with decent B&W, but I got it there with help from camera forums and colleagues in the camera club. The colors on the 1280 were good, but not as saturated as I would have liked. And then because it was a dye-based ink system, it was not archival. The best results I was able to get were with Ilford Gallerie Classic Pearl paper, later sold also by Epson as ColorLife.

I had a difficult time deciding between the 2400 and the R1800. The 2400 has K3 inks and I do some B&W printing, so I was thinking about that feature. But I learned that it is necessary to exchange photo black and matte black cartridges prior to printing the different types of files (text on plain paper vs. photos on photo paper). This was a turnoff. Also, the R1800 can print on CDs and DVDs, and I have a need for that. So I made the decision to get the R1800, after reading many positive reviews.

Overall, I'm fairly happy with the printer, because when it does what it is supposed to do, the prints look very, very good. The colors are saturated and the gamut is clearly wider than the 1280. I haven't gotten it 100% tweaked yet in terms of having the prints match the screen - they look a tad orange. But with more time, I'm sure I can get that straightened out. One big disappointment, though, is the fact that this printer will not print with black ink only on certain kinds of paper. I mostly use the Epson Ultra Premium Lustre paper, and with this paper (one of their highest quality) the R1800 will not print with black ink only. When I have been able to choose black only using Premium Glossy paper, the results are outstanding. However, the results are awful with Ultra Premium Lustre because the printer uses the color inks despite the image being grayscale and the color:black being chosen in the driver. Very annoying.

So this brings me to the main issue: the hardware is very, very good with this printer. The driver software is just terrible. I use a Mac with OS10.3, by the way. Here's what happens. The driver allows a specific paper/profile setup to be done and saved with a name. But then sometimes, that saved profile reverts to default settings. So EVERY print I make, I have to go through and check to make sure that the driver has not re-set itself to the default paper, profile and color matching options. Boy is this ever annoying. Here's my theory: this eats up more ink and paper, which makes Epson happy.

Just in case you might think it is just me - my father's friend has an R1800 and has been extremely frustrated with it for the same reasons. He also owned a 1280 for years and ended up happy with it. But now is really pissed off just like I am.

If you have infinite patience and don't mind buggy software, and are willing to spend a lot of time to get good prints, and you don't mind wasting paper and ink, then this printer is for you. When it is working correctly, the prints do look very nice.

Oh yes, and one other thing. I leave mine on all the time to avoid the ink-wasting turn-on cycle. Only twice so far have I needed to run the head check/cleaning steps. Epson loves for you to waste ink because it's how they make their money. But by being careful, you can conserve ink and prolong the life of your cartridges.

The hardware is great, and I like being able to replace individual ink cartridges. The prints look fantastic when everything goes will during the printing prep steps. The 13x19 size is really nice, and the ability to print borderless is also a nice feature.

The driver software is absolutely terrible. Completely inexcusable that it would be so buggy.

Espon Stylus Photo 1280

I sent a note to customer service about the issue of not being able to select black ink only, and perhaps if there would be a firmware update. They never responded.

A great printer for a great price. This printer is hands down better than any other printer I have used (Canon i850, Epson 1270, various HPs). I use it in an easily accomplished color managed workflow. I use Moab Paper exclusively and use the ICC profiles they publish on their website. This saves me the hassle of having to custom profile everything (I do have a day job). 13x19s printed on Moab Entrada paper (a matte surface) are wonderful and very sharp. One nice point about the Epson inks that most others lack is they dry instantly. This allows you to see what the image will look like right out of the printer rather than having to wait a while for the colors to come around. I have not done any rigorous light-fastness testing, but I believe Epson when they claim an archival life span. Just make sure your paper is up to the longevity task as well. If I wasn't such a slave to newness, I would likely never need to buy another photo printer as long as I live. I am that satisfied.

Image permanence (Epson's claim)
Quick drying inks.
Excellent sharpness.
Moab Paper has custom profiles available on their website for this printer.
Inks aren't too expensive (in the US at least).
Color gamut and no metamerism on matte paper. This has apparently been a problem with Ultra Chrome inks in the past, but I don't see any problem when using Kokopelli semi-gloss either. Haven't tried with high-gloss paper however.
Very easy to use.

The first print I made had some banding, but on all subsequent shots it hasn't been a problem.
Charging the system and cleaning the heads uses a large amount of ink.
As mentioned in a previous review, the output tray is too small for Super B paper.

Epson 1270

Haven't needed to use them yet.

It's a couple of month now that I own this printer and each and every time I use, I am amazed. The output quality is great, it's fast, it's quiet! I print a lot on "archival Matte" paper, but also on "Premium Photo Glossy" - I love both, each having its qualities. I do print sometimes in Black/White; I know the Epson "Expert" for this is the R2400 (I bought this R1800 before the R2400 came out), but to my personnel opinion, the prints out of the R1800 are already very good. To me this is really good, although I am a professional photographer who used to work in the wet darkroom for years...

Print Quality, Print size, Quitness, Speed it has all it.

I think it eats (or maybe better: drinks) ink! I believe the inks are more expensive in Europe than they are in the US (+- 17 Euro/cartridge), and unfortunatelly it uses a lot of them. I also do think that Epson made an error putting these small cartridges of the R800 in it. When you print A3 & A3+, you have constantly one or the other ink running empty... so you have to have quite some stock to avoid disruption of your work.

Several (older) HP's before this, Olympus P-400 Dye-Sub

No reason yet to contact them.

This is my second Photo printer I have purchased and what a differnce in how far along they have come in quality. This printer delivers the GOODS, prints are absolutely beutiful. The colors are accurate, bright and has wider color gamut then my Epson 1280 did. Prints a lot faster then previous models and having the Auto head cleaning is a real treat. I also thought that the canned ICC profiles that come with it are Excellent. This is a much improved area with Epson printers now. You still can benefit from creating you own custom profiles to get that extra little bit of accuracy out of it, but don't have for quality prints. When I compare "13x19" prints made from this printer and shot with my Canon 20D DSLR, they are every bit as good in quality as the prints I have had made in a proffesional lab from Medium Format film and printing on a Epson 2200. The printer is also quieter then my 1280 was, you hardly know when its printing. The only down side I could find at all about this printer is how hard it was to find a store that had any in stock to buy. I had to drive two hours to Portland, OR to find a store that had any in stock. Apparently they sell out very quickly. There is not much else to say except the printer is a real bargain and should be highly considered for hobbiest or professionals. HIGHLY RECOMEND!

Build seems fairly robust Auto head cleaning Ease of use Speed of printing time Quality of prints

Wish they made a longer telescoping paper tray to catch the photos when they are done, Super B paper is to large for the tray to hold when the photo is finished

Epson 1280

Never used