FLAAR
acquires second Epson printer for evaluation
 |
| Epson
Stylus Pro 5500 printer being unpacked in the FLAAR facility
at Bowling
Green State University. |
The
pigmented inks of the Epson 7500 look nice so we decided to
add an additional Epson to our arsenal of printers. We felt
it would be good to try out Epson's top-of-the-line desktop
unit, their Stylus Pro 5500. This printer was taken off the
market early in Europe because some photographers said it
did not reproduce all the colors they needed. Subsequently
Epson cancelled the 5500 printer line in the USA also. Color
management specialists we talked with at tradeshows also stated
clearly that the color gamut was unacceptable. Actually so
far we have not noticed any particular glaring problem with
this Epson printer. Of course today you have the options of
the newer Epson 2200 or 7600.
The
evaluations are being undertaken by a representative from
the Art Department on campus as well as by Brent Cavanaugh,
newly hired Lab Manager for the BGSU facility were all the
FLAAR equipment is handled.
Over
the course of the summer the results of the evaluation will
be posted here and in PDF format.
 |
| Yes,
you can unpack and install this on your own. But don't
do it when you have a photo which has a deadline of one
hour. |
One
thing we can report, don't buy something like this low-bid
from some cheap internet source. Sooner or later you may need
some technical assistance over the telephone. Even with all
the techs in our facilities we still find it essential to
have the capable people at Parrot Digigraphic on call. They
have rescued our Epson 7500 (at our other university facility
in Guatemala).
If
you intend to print museum quality photos or fine art giclee
then it is recommendable to purchase your printer from a place
who know how to handle giclee.
If
you intend to attempt doing B&W prints on any Epson, never
buy that low bid. You will definitely need color management
assistance to get rid of the green tint or other color tint.
B&W is tough to do even on a thermal printhead machine
such as an HP DesignJet and definitely a challenge with a
piezo printer such as the Epson.
So
if you are considering doing B&W images, learn how to
prepare them in Adobe Photoshop (FLAAR now offers a new report
on B&W Photography and black-and-white inkjet printing).
We recommend Sundance inks with R9 software, available from
info@bwguys.com.
First
posted Apr 25, 2002, revised May 13, 2002, last updated
May 26, 2003
