Re: [Leica] Epson Printers

[Henry Ambrose <henryambrose@home.com>]

From off list came this query:
>Henry
>
>Saw your post about the Epson 1270 and the other printers that you
>have.  I have an M6 and G2 contax with several lenses and use a canon
>slr for macro and telephoto.  I like to shot people nature and
>landscapes.
>
>I scan my 35mm on a polaroid sprintscan (unfortunately not a 4000) and
>have made prints on my epson 750 which are pretty good.  Also sent
>prints out to be done on a fujix 3000 and 4000 which are good but not
>always predictable in color.
>
>How do you like the quality of your prints on the 1270? Is that the
>printer with the inks or dyes and are the prints fairly permanent?
>(resistant to fade?) Are you able to print as large as 12x18 and would
>you recommend that or another printer if your budget was about 400-600
>dollars?
>

Yes, I would buy the 1270. You'll find it to be very fast, quiet, and the 
quality of the prints will be much better than your 750. The 1270 can 
print on up to 13X19 paper, full frame 35mm of about 12X18 is no problem. 
You may find the limiting factor in your system isthe scanner. I've found 
that the 2700 ppi scanners can give GREAT results on 8.5X11 paper but 
sometimes not great on 13X19. This is where the 4000 ppi scanners really 
take over.

One qualification is that Epson is coming out with a 1290 soon that is a 
slightly improved model. If you want one now get the 1270. I think the 
new model is a small step above the 1270 in that it offers 2880 dpi 
printing. Funny though, I always use 720 dpi and my prints look great.

The other qualification is that if you are going to do B&W only I wold 
buy an Epson with the Cone Piezography inks. No color here, but the best 
B&W with very long life.

1270 prints can last up to 18-20 years before fading very much. So they 
are about as good as conventional color prints. (perhaps not as long 
lived as the very best) This depends on the particular paper and ink 
combination. I use Matte Heavyweight for most of my printing which is 
largely B&W but the Premium Glossy Photo Paper may look more like a 
conventional color print. There has been an issue with the Prem Glossy 
paper about orange discoloration but I think that is largely solved and 
if you follow Epsons suggestions for display you should not have any 
trouble.

As far as color matching goes, if you are on a Mac and have Colorsync and 
Photoshop set up correctly you should have very good results. On Windows 
it might be more of a chore to make it all work right. Here are a few 
links on color management and setting up your system. You can use color 
profiles for the Pictros (and other printers)  as well and get good color 
from them too.

http://www.digitaldog.net/tips.html

http://www.btinternet.com/~ian.lyons/

Both are very reliable sources and if you follow directions given on 
these sites you can make really good prints.

Henry Ambrose