Last hebdomad , Epson ’s Professional Imaging groupquietly announcedfour fresh printer in its wide - data format line . Three of the printer , the Stylus Pro 4880 , 7880 , and 9880 , are updates to existing models ( the Stylus Pro 4800 , 7800 and 9800 , severally ) , and offer incremental , albeit important , enhancements over their predecessors , while the quaternary , the Stylus Pro 11880 , is a brand - new poser with some features that offer tantalizing perceptiveness into Epson ’s succeeding directions at the pro end of the market .
The biggest change in the 880 serial is also the first alteration to Epson ’s UltraChrome K3 pigment - based ink set since it was harbinger in May 2005 : the replacement of the existing magenta and short Battle of Magenta inks with “ graphic ” magenta and light magenta ink . With these new inks , Epson claims that the 880 printing machine not only offer a wider color gamut than late UltraChrome K3 pressman , but also over competing printer from HP and Canon . ( Due to the composition of the ink , the Vivid inks wo n’t work in earlier UltraChrome K3 printers , however . )
Other change across the pipeline admit a Modern coating engineering on the printhead that is designed to eliminate entirely the issue of clogged nozzle , and a newfangled screening algorithm , shout AccuPhoto HD , that produces prints with more exact Department of Transportation locating , finer blends and scale down grain than unity produced with Epson ’s current line of work of Stylus Pro printers . Epson ’s Mark Radogna also told me that all of these printers will support printing process of 16 - routine images with Mac OS X 10.5 ( Leopard ) when the novel operating system ship this pin .
The 64-inch Stylus Pro 11880
As beseem a printer of this size , it includes an automatic take - up bobbin , which is heavy when you ’re start the printer in a high - mass production environment , borderless printing at a variety of sizes , and USB 2.0 and Gigabit Ethernet support . The print cartridges include a whopping 700 ml of ink .
A feature that will also be of cracking use to gamey - production shop is a system that imprint a small bar codification on the end of the newspaper when you transfer rolls to run a job on a unlike paper case . The codification contain information about the report type and the amount of newspaper left on the roll . When you put the old roll back on , the 11880 mechanically glance over the saloon codification , and updates the printer ’s options without requiring any further operator intervention .
The Stylus Pro 11880 will be available for $ 15,000 in special quantities afterward this year , and a version with the ColorBurst RIP should also be available soon after launch .
The rest of the line
Pricing remains the same as the the models they replace : the 17 - inch Stylus Pro 4880 is $ 2,000 ( $ 2,500 with the ColorBurst Rip ) ; the 24 - in 7880 is $ 3,000 ( $ 4,000 with the RIP ) ; and the 44 - inch 9880 is $ 5,000 ( $ 6,000 with the RIP ) .
What does it mean?
It is also interesting to finally see Epson confront the nozzle clogging issue . This is one of the things that has made some hoi polloi wary of enthrone in Epson printing machine over the years , although I can aboveboard say that , when I have run into this , it mostly has been with one of Epson ’s consumer printers , not the ones in the Stylus Pro line . But for some users , it is a real proceeds , and it ’s full to see that Epson is paying attention . ( Ultimately , I would mean that the rise made in the Stylus Pro mannikin would be applied to consumer - level inkjets . )
The fresh nine - television channel printhead in the Stylus Pro 11880 is obviously where Epson is fail with its entire Pro job , and it will be a skilful affair to finally have the ink - swap issue behind us once and for all . Because of the timing of the announcements , and Epson ’s general product exit cycles — I have no inner information — I would n’t imagine that Epson will be announcing 17- , 24- and 44 - inch versions with the 9 - channel printhead for at least a class , if not farseeing , so , if you ask to betray your mark now , and can last with the swapping , the updated models present a jolly decent raise .
The other challenging thing about the announcements was the lack of a replacement for the Stylus Photo R2400 . My guess here is that Epson is finding that the improved ink efficiency of the Stylus Pro 3800 makes that printer a beneficial draw for master and serious amateurs , while many other user are seem at lower - priced alternatives , such as the Stylus Photo R1800 ( ) or Stylus Photo 1400 ( ) — or HP ’s Photosmart Pro B9180 ( ) .
