Top Quality Prints at a Slightly Higher than Average Price
Written: Aug 03 '01 (Updated Aug 05 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Strong color, complete fills, no streaks, wide-format
Cons: Non-archival, all colors in cartridge
The Bottom Line: Graphic designers, and anyone else who needs high quality, wide-format prints will find the Epson 1280 well worth $450, and even the retail price of $500.
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| visage's Full Review: Epson Stylus Photo 1280 |
Epson has a HUGE line of inkjet printers! I was stumped as to which model I should get. Some print legal size, some do 13 inches wide, 720dpi, 1440dpi, 2880dpi, border free prints, and archival ink. So many choices, so many prices.
As a graphic designer, I'm turning out comps and mock-ups daily. They vary in sizes from tiny logos, to large posters, and sometimes even bigger. I need a printer mainly for making comps that do not have to last very long, just long enough for a client to see what their piece is going to look like before it goes into mass production. A good wide printer that is capable of at least 11” x 17” prints. I looked at the Epson Stylus Photo 2000P. Boasting a $900 price tag where the only major difference between the 2000P and 1280 was the archival ink, I think I'm going to put my money on the 1280.
Several days after making my order for my newest color printer in four years, the delivery guy asks me to sign for it and the box is mine! Full of anticipation and excited, I reluctantly slice the tape thinking in the back of my head “Damn, this thing better be worth $450.” I mean, I've seen prints of its predecessor the 1270 and I was very impressed. Out of the box comes a very wide 1280, drivers and all the good free software, paper roll holder, one sheet of Photo Paper, one sheet of Heavyweight Matte Paper, but no USB cable? Actually, I wasn't surprised about the missing cable because Epson does not supply one. Why is this? I have no idea, but I already purchased one before hand. Installation was a simple. Throw on the USB cable, plug the power in, install some drivers, and its ready to go.
When printing, a few simple options come up asking what type of paper, size of paper, and whether it is to print for quality or print for speed. There's also this great meter that pops up when printing telling the user how much of which ink is available. Unfortunately, if one color goes out, all the colors need to be replaced because they all reside in a single cartridge, black is a separate cartridge. The other options are pretty straightforward, there's no need to learn new lingo or anything like that.
Borderless prints up to 13” x 44”, 2880 x 720 dpi, all kinds papers to choose from, and 6-color printing! It works on both Windows and Macintosh systems! So how is it?
The prints that come out of the 1280 are dang near immaculate! Very bold and strong colors, complete fills, and extremely detailed. A million words cannot explain what can be seen. Its one of those “You have to see this!” things. Borderless prints result in 1440 dpi, but the quality is still there.
Whenever looking for good quality prints, always use one of the specialty papers. They all have their different properties from glossy, to matte, transfer sheets, and the list goes on. These specialty papers are going to be the only way to achieve the print quality that Epson brags about. Plain paper will yield a 360 dpi print, that's quality that cheap $60 printers are for.
Sound wise, the 1280 is silent. The first thing that came to my mind when I heard it printing was a very small mouse running around. No loud fans, just a subtle hum when the ink moves from left to right.
Now the footprint that this thing takes up is huge! Of course, expect that from a wide format printer, but I was a bit shocked to see that I have to clear a two-foot by two-foot space for this printer. This I guess has to come with the territory of a large printer.
Even though I know I was buying a printer that was not intended for archival prints, at times I still would like to at least have the archival capability at my fingertips. I have not had prints begin to fade yet, and Epson calls for approximately 25 years before noticeable fading occurs when using Matte Heavyweight paper. I have my fingers crossed.
Bottom line. Graphic designers, and anyone else who needs high quality, wide-format prints will find the Epson 1280 well worth $450, and even the retail price of $500.
Recommended:
Yes
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visage
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Reviews written: 26
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