Epson R2000 Review and First Look

[redriverpaper]

The Epson R2000 started shipping a couple of weeks back. It is the replacement for the R1900. We have a review and first look at the printer here if you're in the market for a new machine:

The review is accessible from the front page of our website.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions.

Drew Hendrix
Red River Paper

 

[websnail]

.. and here's the review link
http://www.redrivercatalog.com/info...-introduction-first-look-getting-started.html

Not had time to read it all but looks to be pretty comprehensive and well illustrated.

 

[Redbrickman]

Be nice if Red River had a distributor of their paper in UK.

I read so much good stuff about it in forums and would love to try some, but shipping and the inevitable VAT and handling/delivery charges to UK make it a non starter :-(

 

[Chakonari]

Nice review, thanks for that. I've been considering buying this printer, but all the other reviews out there seem to be modified versions of Epson's press release. This one is also like a quick start guide

Questions about the review:

What magnification are the samples in the section "Quality Settings"? I'm aware that it also depends on the monitor I'm viewing them on, however for someone like me who has only owned average A4 printers so far, it's like "OMG, look at all those dots!" Or are those just a result of the magnification of the paper's texture. Would it make sense to include a full scan of the 8x10" at 576x720 px for reference purposes?

What are the "Negatives" in you opinion? (You did mention the positives)

As you have made such a cool guide, how about adding a section with screenshots, where you use ICC profiles(s) for your paper when they are available.

@ Redbrickman: I noticed on German forums, that there a quite a few people who order directly from Red River, so I can't imagine it costing too much(although it would of course cost more that from a UK supplier) - but don't you get the paper tax free from the US anyway? As it's being exported. Or are the prices on redriver excluding tax?

 

[mikling]

One aspect that is overlooked is the black ink switch routine and what it entails and also many could be looking at this R2000 and looking at some R2880s and wonder whether one is worth purchasing over the other. I have seen R2880s discounted to the point that their cost is close to the R2000 suggested price and being a new printer is probably not going to get discounted heavily right away.

Right off the bat, I still think if you intend to do any B&W, clearly the choice between the two should go to the R2880, assuming your pocketbook has the necessary funds. The R3000 is the larger sibling to the R2880 but supposedly does not replace the R2880.

About the switching thing. Bear in mind that the R1800, R1900 and R2000 have both matte and photo black inks always loaded into the printhead. That means that as the heads are flying around back and forth, the printer MUST eject ink from both of the blacks even if it is not being used to prevent clogging. The back and forth motion creates a fanning effect and if you don't eject ink to keep the inks from drying out, you will end up with a clog.
So for example, even if you don't use matte paper, you will still end up consuming matte black ink, just to keep the ink in the nozzles in a liquid state.

On say an R2880 or R3000 which requires switching, the matte black ink is not wasted and is not in the heads while printing with photo black inks. However some is wasted when the time comes to switch from photo black to matte black. Which system is superior? it really all depends.

Depending on the user, it can be good and bad. If you use printer that needs to switch and switch frequently between printing matte and luster media, then the fact that there is ink wasted in each switch is going to bother you. If you use a printer that does not need to switch. like the R2000, and you don't print on matte, then the preloaded matte ink is going to be wasted each time you use the printer. Sounds like a plot? I really don't know.

Therein lies the criticism that has always been hoisted when it comes to switching inks? fair or unfair?

What I did not get from the review is whether the R1900 and R2000 actually produces identical output and whether the key difference is the larger cartridge and connectivity. From my experience with the R1900 and IF the R2000 prints identically.... fantastic fleshtone details. The R1900 is vastly improved over the R1800 in printhead technology. I can go with no printing for a couple weeks on my R1900 and can bring it back up into operation without a head clean. I cannot accomplish the same thing on the R1800 and R2400. So something has changed dramatically in the head design and it looks like it works. The R2880 should behave similar to the R1900 as it has the similar technology in the printhead.

In actual real world prints the R2880 produces better images than the R1900 and then there is the really nice advanced B&W feature that the R1900 completely lacks. However, the key to the R1900 and R2000 is the flexibility and convenience of no switching and ability to use glossy photo paper with the gloss optimizer.

Each printer will attract a particular type of user.

 

[Chakonari]

... That means that as the heads are flying around back and forth, the printer MUST eject ink from both of the blacks even if it is not being used to prevent clogging. The back and forth motion creates a fanning effect and if you don't eject ink to keep the inks from drying out, you will end up with a clog. ...

Doesn't this mean that any printer would eject all inks that are not used during printing to prevent clogging? How much ink gets used for this process?

Re. ink switching on the R3000: From the Epson website, "Ink used during conversion: Matte to Photo Black approx. 3 ml; Photo to Matte Black approx. 1 ml". They also add as a footnote: "Ink used in conversion varies based on temperature, humidity and other factors." The cartridges contain 25.9 ml.

The print head on the R2000 is supposed to have been improved. It has a special coating to help prevent clogging and according to Epson's support, the print quality has been improved as well(compared to the R1900).

 

[mikling]

Any printer does this. ALL multicolor inkjets.

 

[Chakonari]

@ mikling:

Thanks for the clarification. So if I understand it correctly, the R3000 would be using much less ink overall, if Epson had given it a print head that has separate nozzles for matt and photo black. Guess if you can afford the printer, you can afford the ink.

Back to the R2000, after more reading, I found that the print head of the R1900 has a special coating as well. Is this correct? I found this in a R1900 review from 2008, but nowhere on the Epson website. Epson makes it difficult to compare the printers on their sites anyway - I tried on the US, UK and German sites. They mainly have different sets of details for each printer, making a direct comparison impossible.

If it's the same print head coating that's used in the R2000, judging by other other details on the web, they both use the same print head. Is it really possible to improve print quality(like Epson says) when the same print head and inks are used? Perhaps accuracy can be improved, but wouldn't that be something a user can do through software settings anyway?

In your signature you list the R1900. Have you ever had the chance to make a direct comparison to colour prints made by the Pixma Pro9500 MK II? I'm trying to find out how the R2000 would compare to the Pro9500 for colour printing. All I read is that here, Epson's has a wider colour gamut. Whilst things like wider, bigger, faster sound good on paper, does it mean I can expect better colour prints from the R2000 compared to a Pro9500 MK II?

 

[redriverpaper]

Thanks for the feedback and comments.

@Chakonari

The dots you see are really not evident at viewing distance. The magnified images are more for reference as to how the printer lays down ink at different quality settings. The middle quality setting seems to be the best even looks good viewed close up.

Regarding ICC profile usage, we have written (screen grabs) and video help on the topic at redriverpaper dot com / useprofiles

The print head on the R2000 and R1900 are probably very similar. Clogging has not been an issue with our R1900 to date. I think if you use it heavily after some point clogging will begin which is a sign of wear.

Not sure if I answered all your questions. Feel free to email me dhendrix@redriverpaper.com if you have any.

 

[Chakonari]

Thanks Drew, yes, you've answered my question. I had already guessed that, but wanted to be sure. I've started a new thread because my other questions would get too off topic from your initial post. Thanks again.