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Rangefinder
Magazine First Exposure: Epson Stylus Pro 4000 by Claude Jodoin
Using their most advanced DX3 head technology to date, this unit represents the highest level of performance in the industry, hands down. The new heads feature finer dots of various sizes (as small as 3.5—as compared to 4 picoliters for the 7600/9600 Stylus Pro), 180 nozzles per head (vs. 96 for the 7600/9600) and more advanced drivers/dithering algorithms. All of these features, combined with the supplied ICC profiles and a wide array of different papers, give the photographer the ability to produce higher quality prints than those achieved by any other pro inkjet printer on the market, including other Epsons. It also allows for full bleed printing, which means no paper white space ever need be wasted. All of this comes at almost twice the speed of the 7600/9600 for only $1795. The 4000 can also achieve, through better profiling and better driver linearization, a more neutral black-and-white output on any paper using all the colors. You can even have a toned black-and-white print for certain effect. For a warm-toned black-and-white print, you can make a print with Black Ink Only and get stunning results with the highest fade resistance possible.
Anyone can make great prints on any Epson paper right out of the box. Just set the Print Space Box in Photoshop to “Printer Color Management,” and the driver will automatically apply the correct ICC profile for the paper selected, avoiding common errors in the older models. Epson has made it that easy.With a maximum print width of 17 inches, this product represents an affordable “lab in a box” for most photographers. Since 95 percent of the prints sold in the wedding and portrait market are generally 16x20 and smaller, this printer is the ideal solution. It’s also an exact match for the Lacquer Mat coating machine or an affordable 18-inch laminator. (See my article on the Lacquer Mat coating machine the June 2003 Rangefinder. Online archives can be found at www.rangefindermag.com/.) Ultrachrome inks have quadruple the display life of dyes, while achieving 95 percent of their color gamut and reducing metamerism effects of the past (color shifts under different viewing lights) to a nearly imperceptible amount. With the advent of Fuji Crystal Archive paper and Kodak’s Endura, print longevity is what professional photographers want for their work, not a promise to replace faded images. In the last few years, pigment inkjet has matched or exceeded the life of RA-4 color materials. Setup
and First Print The first print that came out of the printer was on Epson Premium Luster Paper—great flesh tones, neutral white and good shadow detail. It looked as good as any professional RA-4 lab print and as good as a 7600 print. Any dot pattern laid down by the printer was completely invisible to the naked eye and could only be seen with a loupe. No surprises there, since I have been enjoying the same print quality from a 7600 for a few years. The big difference, however, was that the 4000’s driver was set to 720ppi, not 1440, like on my reference 7600 print. To make things even more impressive, this 8x10 print on 8.5x11-inch paper, came out of the printer in 2 minutes and 7 seconds, flat, from the time I hit the Enter key on the keyboard. The second and third test prints were done at 1440 (3 minutes and 4 seconds) and 2880 (5 minutes 42 seconds). The amazing part is that to this 40-something’s unaided eyes, they all looked identical. As another bonus, I printed a GretagMabeth EyeOne test target at 1440 on the 7600 on the cut sheet stock and one on the 4000 at 720. Surprisingly, the colors looked more saturated on the 4000 print, even though the same Ultrachrome inks were used on both. I can only logically attribute this result to a superior driver software and finer ink droplets, since the materials were the same in either case. With the kind of throughput speed available at 720ppi, this printer rivals the speed of sheet-fed dye sub printers and could be used for event photography. The only drawback is the size and weight of the unit. This thing is built like a tank and feels like one when you lift it, which takes two people to do comfortably, since it weighs 88 pounds (about 18 pounds more than a Kodak 8650 dye sub printer). By the way, these units only use 50 watts of power to operate, so there is not a large electric bill associated with their use. This is much less power than any dye sublimation printer. Digging Deeper With certain papers on the older units, one would get horizontal banding when using the high-speed setting in the driver. The new 4000 technology eliminates all those worries. I could not detect any banding on any high-speed or slow-speed setting at 720, 1440 or 2880, even with a 5X loupe. So you can use the high-speed setting at all times on the driver. Meanwhile, if you use the preferred setting on the 7600/9600, high speed “off” as recommended by Bill Atkinson, you will see an even greater speed difference between the two. One thing I have noticed during a more extensive testing is the 1440 setting looks just as sharp as the 2880 under a loupe, and it runs much faster. This is something you would have to judge for yourself, but you will definitely need a loupe to do it. I doubt even young eyes could tell them apart without this viewing aid. The only paper that takes full advantage of the 2880 resolution would be the Premium Glossy. Otherwise, it’s wasted and 1440 is good enough for 99 percent of prints being made, detailed landscapes a possible exception.
This 8th cylinder allows the driver to automatically call up and use the correct black ink to match the paper you are using. Photo Black looks dull and gray on the matte papers in comparison to the Matte Black, which looks velvety rich in comparison. Some matte prints can achieve a density of 1.7 or greater with the Epson Matte Black, which is quite good visually. But this ink is subject to weak black value, bronzing and “rub-off” when used on glossy papers. Prior to the 4000, we had to change out the inks each time we wanted to switch between matte and glossy papers, which is expensive and time consuming. Many photographers chose to buy two printers, so they could run both paper types and have simultaneous output with no wasted ink. The Dual Black capability of the 8-cylinder 4000 is the answer for those who, like me, want to print on both types of paper. We now have that feature automatically and without waste. I’m sure it’s just a matter of another year before we see the same technology on larger printers. In the meantime, the ones out there are still cranking out great work everyday. Tray Feeding Some photographers prefer working from sheet stock, especially for 8x10 packages. This tray is a marvel of mechanical engineering and molded plastics. It will pull out to accommodate big sheets or provide a large landing platform for roll stock prints. Or, it can push in all the way to accommodate 8.5x11-inch paper for those who print packages. Depending on the thickness, you can stack well over 100 sheets in the tray. With Qimage Pro Software (see June 2003 Rangefinder) you can cue up a whole bunch of images and go to bed. They will be waiting for you in a neat stack in the morning. Meanwhile, Back in the“
Desktop Lightroom…” Additional
Benefits to Photographers The beauty of using roll stock printers versus the more popular desktop units is that the material cost per print is almost half that of desktop units. It’s much cheaper for Epson to package the inks in larger cartridges and to ship paper on a roll rather than cut them into sheets and put them in a box. The same is true for the Ultrachrome inks. This printer takes the same 220-milliliter cartridges as its bigger siblings, the 7600 and 9600, so the same economies are realized. In short, you can’t go wrong with this unit. It will spoil you so much, you’ll want to get two. For more information visit this web site: www.epson4000.com/. Claude
Jodoin has been involved in digital imaging since 1986 and has not
used film since 1999. Email claudej1@aol.com. |
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Epson’s
New Baby
