Inkjet NEWS & Tips 28 Sept 01: report from Seybold
UNITED STATES FLAG DOWNLOAD:
Before we get into the "Report from Seybold", we'd like to do our part for patriotism and provide you with a high resolution U.S. flag image that you can use to make your own inkjet prints of the United States flag. You may have seen other flag downloads available on the web, but all that we've seen are inaccurately drawn. We had a graphics artist build us a vector file of the United States Flag from scratch using the official government rules for proportions. For a small flag up to 9.5" x 18", download the GIF file and convert it to an RGB TIFF file in Photoshop before printing. For larger prints, download the Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Illustrator files:
REPORT FROM SEYBOLD:
The number of exhibitors and the attendance to the Seybold Expo in San Francisco (Sept. 25 - 27) was down compared to past expos, most likely due to the tragedy of September 11th. Prominent exhibitors like Kodak and Olympus pulled out at the last minute, leaving noticeable holes on the trade show floor. Still, there was a lot to see, and EPSON (our main reason for coming), rewarded us with a wealth of new information.
Because Seybold is an expo that deals mainly with the professional graphics and media crowd, Epson's exhibit was centered around their PROGRAPHICS division, and not their consumer products. However, some of this information will be very important for users of Epson's desktop printers, so please read on:
ARCHIVAL MATTE is NOT recommended for DYE-BASED INK, i.e. the 1270/1280 ink! As you know, Epson's "Archival Matte" paper was introduced in April 2000 with the Epson 2000P, and was given their highest longevity rating of over 200 years. Because the paper was rated so highly with pigmented inks, and because it produced slightly richer blacks than the Epson Matte Paper Heavy Weight (not to mention its slightly heavier weight than the MPHW), many 1270/1280 users have turned to this paper as one of their favorites. Unfortunately, Archival Matte's coating chemistry is not suitable for the dye-based 1270/1280 inks, and will give you less longevity (maybe only 10 years) than Epson's MPHW, which is rated about 25 years. Paul Lukacs, Epson's Assistant Product Manager of Pro Media & Supplies, cited this as another example of how inks and papers must be carefully matched and tested, and one cannot just assume that one paper will work well with another inkset just because it tested well with one.
ARCHIVAL MATTE will NOT be introduced as a roll paper format this Fall as we had formerly predicted -- instead, its name will be changed to "ENHANCED MATTE" and introduced in late November 2001 (Epson seems to love confusion ;-)
ENHANCED MATTE Paper will therefore be the roll paper version of "Archival Matte". The name change was made partly to position this roll paper as a pigmented ink roll paper for the 7500, 9500 and the Archival Ink 10000 printers -- and to steer people away from thinking that it is also a dye compatible paper for the Photo Dye version of the Epson 10000. Available in late November 2001.
PROFESSIONAL GLOSSY PAPER: Available only in 13" x 19". This paper is really not a new product. It was actually introduced shortly after the 5500 was introduced in February of this year, as another paper that works well in this printer (which also makes it a good choice for the 2000P) -- it's just that Epson forgot to promote it or even mention it! Tom York, our Epson Pro Graphics representative, mentioned the paper to us in August, but we were unable to locate it (product #S041456) on the Epson web site at that time, and it's still not there! But it is available on our web site:
SIDE NOTE: When we mentioned to Epson's Paul Lukacs that "Professional Glossy Paper" looked very similar to Epson's "Glossy Paper Photo Weight" paper in rolls (#S041388: 22" x 65' and #S041389: 44" x 65'), we were told that it was the same paper (another example of how Epson seems to love confusion). Anyway, we're happy to see this paper available in sheets for the 2000P and 5500, because we've often recommended it highly to users who have wanted a glossy paper that doesn't have nearly the "gloss differential" or pigmented ink reflection problems that are exhibited with other glossy and semi-gloss papers such as the "Premium" papers (Glossy, Luster and Semigloss). If you come from a B/W photographic background, you'll recognize "Professional Glossy Paper" and "Glossy Paper Photo Weight" paper as having the look of an air-dried glossy fiber-base B/W paper. This medium gloss Epson paper also has enough heft to be given to the customer without lamination or mounting.
ENHANCED MATTE POSTERBOARD: A new 1.2mm posterboard that it can be quickly used as signs and other presentation graphics without having to laminate or mount to a board. Specially made for printing with pigmented inks that are used in the 7500, 9500 and 10000 Archival Ink models. We suspect that this posterboard will be similar in size to Epson's "Posterboard Semi-Gloss" (20.25" x 28.7" and 28.7" X 40.6") which was is only suitable for the for use with the 7000 and 9000 dye-based inks. Available in late November 2001.
NOTE: Hahnemuhle was also at the expo, introducing their new "PHOTO ART BOARD", targeted for fine artist and photographers who want to minimize the risk of ruining prints during post-printing finishing. The 1.3mm inkjet printable boards eliminate the need to mount printed images. The pH buffered boards have a plasticizer-free, conservation-grade adhesive and meet or exceed Library of Congress specs for matting and mounting. Photo Art Board is available in various sheet sizes and three textures: PHOTO ART SMOOTH (like Hahnemuhle's German Etching, Luminos' Classic Velour or Lyson's Standard Fine Art), PHOTO ART ROUGH (like Hahnemuhle's Albrecht Durer, Luminos' Flaxen Weave or Lyson's Rough Fine Art) and ART TORCHON (like Hahnemuhle's Torchon, Luminos' Museum Parchment or Lyson's Soft Fine Art). All three Photo Art Boards should be available soon in our Hahnemuhle section.
PREMIUM GLOSS PHOTO PAPER is projected to be available in December 2001 in ROLLS. Although usable with Epson's Archival pigmented inks, the paper is mainly being introduced for the Epson 10000 Photo Dye version printer.
EPSON STYLUS PRO 10000: is selling very well nationwide, and new statistics (more detail in our next newsletter) will show that Epson has overtaken all other companies as the printer of choice for "photographers" and "artists" and "fine art" reproduction houses.
EPSON STYLUS PRO 9000 & 9500 PRICE DROP: Epson is eliminating the $1,000 mail in rebate after 9/30/01 (and the average 30 days wait to get your rebate check), and just dropping the price on both models from $6,995 to $5,995. This price will remain until their existing supplies are gone. (Call for OUR price.)
EPSON STYLUS PRO 7000 w/FREE STAND: Epson had already eliminated the $500 mail in rebate after 8/31/01. Beginning October 1st, instead of a rebate, they'll offer the 7000 with a free stand ($495 value) for $3,995 until their existing supplies are gone. (Call for OUR price.)
What about the 7500? This model is still selling so well, that Epson is offering NO price incentives, rebates or special deals. MSRP is still $4,995. (Call for OUR price.)
EPSON HAS THE MOST CHOICES FOR PIGMENT COMPATIBLE MEDIA
Epson has done a terrific job in putting together a wide variety of papers and media that are not only compatible with pigmented inks, but many that work very well with pigments. No other wide-format inkjet printer manufacturer (i.e. HP, ColorSpan or Encad) has come close to a producing a selection of media that works so well with pigmented inks. InkJetArt has been approached by several inkjet media manufacturers that carry a wide selection of wide-format media, but when we asked them which of these papers and media were compatible with piezo printers (i.e. Epson, Roland, Mutoh and I-Jet -- all using Epson Piezo heads), the selection went way down. And then when we asked which papers and media were compatible with pigmented inks, the selection dropped to only one or two choices! Epson is to be commended for their planning in this area and a vision that has brought together so many choices, with more coming this November and December:
EPSON HAS DISCONTINUED THE EPSON STYLUS 880 PRINTER
We think the Epson Stylus 880 printer was one of the best all-around "office" printers Epson has ever made, along with the 900, 980 and 740 printers. If you have any of these printers you know what I mean. The 740 was a very reliable little workhouse, and still continues to be one at my home office. Epson phased this printer out at about this time last year. The 880 was taken off Epson's web site as of this week. The 980 will probably be next to go. It sold at one time for $499, and is now a steal at $199. The 880 originally sold for $129.
Why do I mention these printers? They are the last of Epson's "NON-CHIPPED" (no Intelledge chip) cartridge type inkjet printers. All of printers that have been made to replace them are CHIPPED cartridge printers. (The 740 was replaced by the 777, the 880 was replaced by the C60, and the 980 will soon be replaced by the C80 - which although it has individual ink cartridges for each color, are still CHIPPED.)
Why should you care? Because CHIPPED cartridges make it much more difficult for third party compatible ink companies to compete with the Epson OEM cartridges. The extra costs for R & D to produce the chips takes 6 months to a year before the compatible cartridges are finally produced, and another year before they are competitively priced to make significant reason for one to purchase them over the genuine Epson cartridge. This gives Epson an 18 - 24 month window (and more time for the printers to wear out) before Epson has to worry about any significant competition. In the end, you the consumer, lose.
I would suggest you purchase an Epson 980 or 880 (some of the discount office supply stores still have the 880). You can also purchase the 880 online from us ($79.95) while our limited supply lasts:
The 880 and 980 have much larger capacity black ink cartridges that many other desktop inkjet printers, and the 980's color cartridge has the largest capacity of any desktop printer. Compare at:
Although any Epson desktop printer hooked up to a Continuous Inking System (with bulk tanks) is very cost-effective, the convenience and economy of third party compatible inks (without the extra space and mess of CIS tubes and tanks) is pretty hard to beat. Using the same Epson ink life stats (on the above web page), our InkJetArt Solutions (I.J.A.S.) Epson compatible ink cartridges can give you the following costs per page compared to the Epson cartridges:
880 printer BLACK INK costs per page with I.J.A.S. inks: $ .0126
880 printer BLACK INK costs per page with EPSON* inks: $ .0475 (376% more)
880 printer COLOR INK costs per page with I.J.A.S. inks: $ .0498
880 printer COLOR INK costs per page with EPSON* inks: $ .0998 (200% more)
980 printer BLACK INK costs per page with I.J.A.S. inks: $ .0131
980 printer BLACK INK costs per page with EPSON* inks: $ .0393 (300% more)
980 printer COLOR INK costs per page with I.J.A.S. inks: $ .0360
980 printer COLOR INK costs per page with EPSON* inks: $ .0702 (195% more)
*Based on MSRP - our prices are often about 10% less, so your cost with genuine Epson cartridges would not be quite as expensive as shown.
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"Inkjet NEWS & Tips" is published by
Royce Bair, Editor royce@inkjetart.com
Inkjet Solutions for Photo-realistic & Archival Fine Art Printing
http://www.inkjetART.com/
Inkjet Art Solutions
8100 s. 1300 w., Suite A
West Jordan, UT 84088
Phone: 801-256-0360 Fax: 801-256-0369
(c) Copyright 2005 The Stock Solution, All Rights Reserved
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without written permission from Royce Bair or his stock photography agency, The Stock Solution.
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All longevity estimates should be treated as such, Inkjet Art Solutions is not liable for pre-mature fading of prints or damage to printers through use of our products. Be sure to properly research your purchase and follow the directions given. If you need help, please contact us.
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