dSLR Dad

At the 2008 Macworld Conference & Expo, HP unveiled the Photosmart Pro B8850 Photo Printer. The HP B8850 prints on a wide range of photo and Digital Fine Art media up to 0.7 mm thick (versus 1.5mm of the B9180). Not too big of a deal, as you can still use some of the new, fantastic Baryta fine art papers like Ilford’s Galerie Gold Fibre Silk (Amazon, B&H Photo). The B8850 also uses the same print heads and ink cartridges of the HP Photosmart Pro B9180 Printer. It does not, however, include the B9180’s Ethernet port or LCD display. But, at around $500, this is a great value for a 13×19 inch, pigment ink, fine-art inkjet printer.  Perfect for any dSLR Dad. (more…)

This 13 inch R1800 Successor promises improved color output and faster speeds.

Today, Epson has announced the R1900 Large Format, pigment ink-based photo printer. This 13 inch wide, 8 color Printer is an update to the popular Stylus Photo R1800 Inkjet. Epson has has replaced the blue ink found in the R1800 with orange and also reformulated the Red, Magenta, and Yellow inks. The gloss optimizer was also enhanced.

Other improvements include:

• Colorimetric calibration of the MicroPiezo(r) print head applied at the factory. This will greatly improve the quality of the color profiles from one printer to the next.
• A second USB port for two computers to connect (a desktop and laptop perhaps).
• A new coating applied to the print head to help prolong life (and hopefully decrease the number of cleaning cycles if left unattended for long periods of time).

Epson has made some quality improvements to their entry level 13″ wide color photographic printer. Please keep in mind, that since the R1900 lacks the extra light black inks of the 2400 that it is not going to perform spectacularly in the greyscale department. But hey, you’ve got to accept some compromises at this $550 price point.

The following is an unedited Press Release: (more…)