With an identical ink sets, but better screening technology (found in the 4900), smaller droplet size, and a greater resolution I expected that the R3000 might even have better print results.
The strength of Epson is certainly accurate color that matches what you have on a calibrated display (like my NEC PA Series), and despite this printer lacking the “Pro” moniker, it certainly prints pro quality prints. One thing I was very pleased with is that the included paper profiles from Epson were very well done to match the 3880 as really it’s the paper profile more than anything that gets you accurate color. As of the time of this article I haven’t done any Matte Black Ink comparisons, but if I notice any differences I’ll be sure to add them here – I don’t expect any based on my printing experience. Visually I can see the difference in image quality in both color and black and white prints printed with Photo Black Ink.
I won’t jump into all of the stats as you can do that elsewhere online, but I’ll say at a high level I’ve been impressed with how this printer matches the quality of my trusty Epson Stylus Pro 3880. This coupled with its roll support, smaller droplet size, and overall user-friendliness – I’m seeing why this printer has been so well reviewed – it’s pretty awesome! Compared to the Epson Stylus Pro 3880 This printer features the same ink set as the legendary Epson Stylus® Pro 3880, but it is a higher resolution printer featuring the same AccuPhoto HD2 imaging technology as the 4900. This is how printers are supposed to work! In fact, I had no trouble printing 4圆”, 8.5x11” (Letter), or 13x19” prints and I even threw on a 13” roll of luster with no hassle for good measure. The Epson Ultra Premium Luster and Epson Premium Semi-Gloss are a great photo papers and great profiles are included with the printer to get you productive in a hurry.
Out of the box, both Mac and PC printed perfect color matched prints from Photoshop CS6 that were identical despite being printed from different computers and operating systems.
When I tried to install it on my Macbook Pro some of that work done on Windows could be leveraged so I end getting it working in less than 5 minutes. From the time I got all the wrapping paper and tape off of it until the time I was making my first print was about 10 minutes on Windows 7. When you set up this printer you quickly find out why it won the PC Editors Choice award – it doesn’t take long from the time you open the box until you are making great prints. The Stylus Photo R3000 is set to retail for £699.99.Epson Stylus Photo R3000 Inkjet Printer ( Adorama, Amazon and B&H ) Some users may be disappointed that increasing the ink volume by 2.27x only reduces the ink cost per millimetre by 3 pence - though wastage is reduced as one cartridge is used for every 2.27 of in the R2880.
This compares with 97 pence per millilitre for the R2880's ink which is supplied in cartridges with a volume of 11.4ml.
The list price of compatible cartridges is £24.35 (inc VAT) each, which means a complete set of nine cartridges will cost users £219.15.Īs each R3000 cartridge contains 25.9ml of ink, a unit cost of £24.35 means that every millilitre of ink cost around 94 pence. As well as reducing the frequency with which the cartridges have to be replaced this allows some economy of scale. A cartridge capacity of just 11.4ml can also mean that keen A3+ printers are also likely to become anxious about the frequency with which the cartridges need replacing.Įpson has addressed this with the R3000 by fitting it with cartridges that contain 2.27x more ink, 25.9ml. Another issue with the R2880 is part of a wider concern about the cost of inks.