Epson 1280 printer
Written: Oct 29 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great photo quality, no paper jams
Cons: cleaning heads a lot, not EPS compatible, need RIP software to print EPS
The Bottom Line: Same, if not better, quality as the $1,500 printers, but it costs half as much. For Graphic Designers and Photographers. Mac users need RIP software to print in EPS format.
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| macman74's Full Review: Epson Stylus Photo 1280 |
I've had this printer for close to two years (in March). I'm a Graphic Designer and have had experience with numerous types of printers over the years.
If your a Mac user, you'll notice right away that you won't be able to print an EPS file using only the software that came with the printer. This is very frustrating for Graphic Designers since we print EPS files all the time (Illustrator). The only way to get around this is to either convert your files to TIF or buy Epson's RIP software which cost me $145. Add that to the $499.95 price of the printer.
In addition to being able to print in EPS format, the RIP software brings out the printers full 720 resolution power.
Your printing time will be much slower when using the RIP, though.
You can still achieve good results in normal printing mode as long as you don't print in EPS format. The overall quality of the images, text and color are good. A great improvement over the older model (1270).
I don't like the fact that I have to clean the heads between multiple print runs. I run a nozzle check before printing anything important in order to make sure there are no breaks in the image. This can be tedious at times. Although, I've never seen a printer yet that I can set up to print a big run over night without having to babysit it.
As far as supplies go, I get all my ink from Epson.com. They are at least $10-$15 cheaper than going to any store. For a while Epson.com did not charge ground shipping on any orders. Now they only charge $1.50 if you buy 2 ink cartridges. That's still a very reasonable price. Plus, if you place an order before 1pm Epson will get your order to you very quickly. I can get my orders shipped to me the next day (even using ground shipping).
For text and other low res printouts, I like to use cheap printer paper. For the 360 dpi prints, I use Kodak's bright white paper (great paper). Finally, for the 720 photo-realistic stuff, I use Epson's Photo Quality Glossy Paper.
I use this printer at home for personal and business use. My wife, a high school French teacher, uses it as well.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
macman74
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Location: Chicago, IL, USA
Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
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