Epson P900

[dkmoore]

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Has anyone received their unit yet and have any feedback to share? Positive or negative?

I am still awaiting mine after many of months on the waiting list. 

[Guest]

Epson seem to be running late with delivery of P900.

There is a very good article on installing and using the P 700,which has many of the same features as the P900 on https://photopxl.com/epson-p700-print-at-home-print-them-out-no-excuses/.

The article is written by Kevin Raber who always in my opinion writes accurate and informative and reliable articles. 

These people are expecting a P900 by the end of Sept ?

Edited September 8, 2020 by Guest
Omission

[robert blu]

Owner of a P600 I'm tempted by the new printers, have to decide if stay with A3+  with the P700 or go A2 with the P900.

I almost never print large, I love small prints...but you know...sometimes a large print home made can ba a satisfaction.

I like the possibility to switch from matt to glossy paper without loosing ink 🙂

Both are within my photo related budget. Waiting for availability here...

 

[Jeff S]

Northlight’s review of the P700 was somewhat more technical and detailed than Kevin Raber’s. No doubt Mark Segal will have his usual more detailed review approach for the P900. (He has explained in a video presentation at Photo PXL that he has had technical difficulties with both his computer and X-Rite setups, which would have delayed his review even if he had his P900 in hand, which he doesn’t expect until late Sept.)
 

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/epson-sc-p700-printer-review/

Jeff

[jwr50]

Adorama appears to be getting a few in stock now.  Apparently, COVID caused some delays in production.  Mine is shipping next Monday.  😉  I've been using an Epson 3880, and I'll let you know what I think of the P900 when I receive it.

Edited October 8, 2020 by jwr50

[dkmoore]

Printer ordered. Out with the 3880 and in with the P900. I'm looking forward to testing this weekend and I'll update this thread with first experiences. 

 

[dkmoore]

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On 10/8/2020 at 5:19 PM, jwr50 said:

Adorama appears to be getting a few in stock now.  Apparently, COVID caused some delays in production.  Mine is shipping next Monday.  😉  I've been using an Epson 3880, and I'll let you know what I think of the P900 when I receive it.

how are you liking the printer?

[Jeff S]

I‘d be surprised if both of you aren’t impressed coming from the 3880. I saw improvements when I moved from the 3800 to the P800.  I think the P900 will offer incrementally less (with disappointingly small inks), but I’m still awaiting reviews that compare most recent generations.  

Jeff

Edited November 12, 2020 by Jeff S

[jwr50]

8 hours ago, dkmoore said:

how are you liking the printer?

I'm very, very pleased with the P900 printer.  Coming from an Epson 3880, here are some quick thoughts:

• The prints from the P900 are every bit as good -- and probably better -- than the P900.  Print quality is consideration #1 with me, and the P900 does a great job.
• The P900 touch screen user interface is a big improvement over the 3880.  Simple to use, very user friendly -- I like it.
• I load single sheets from the rear paper feeder, and the rear feeder on the P900 seems to do a better job than the 3880.
• Haven't used it enough yet to judge ink cartridge longevity, but so far it's no worse than the 3880.  Thus far, I've only replaced 2 cartridges from the initial set, which are used mainly to prime the lines.
• The smaller footprint is nice, and the P900 seems to have several "nice to have features" over the 3880.

[dkmoore]

5 hours ago, jwr50 said:

I'm very, very pleased with the P900 printer.  Coming from an Epson 3880, here are some quick thoughts:

• The prints from the P900 are every bit as good -- and probably better -- than the P900.  Print quality is consideration #1 with me, and the P900 does a great job.
• The P900 touch screen user interface is a big improvement over the 3880.  Simple to use, very user friendly -- I like it.
• I load single sheets from the rear paper feeder, and the rear feeder on the P900 seems to do a better job than the 3880.
• Haven't used it enough yet to judge ink cartridge longevity, but so far it's no worse than the 3880.  Thus far, I've only replaced 2 cartridges from the initial set, which are used mainly to prime the lines.
• The smaller footprint is nice, and the P900 seems to have several "nice to have features" over the 3880.

Am I understanding correctly that you think the prints are not noticeably better?  While I’m happy with the 3880 prints I was hoping the prints from the P900 would blow me away. 

[Jeff S]

3 hours ago, dkmoore said:

While I’m happy with the 3880 prints I was hoping the prints from the P900 would blow me away. 

You may be a bit disappointed based on that lofty expectation, i.e., dramatic improvements. Print quality was already excellent for the 3800/3880 generations. The P800 offered blacker blacks and, in some instances, some subtle gamut improvements. There were other mechanical improvements regarding feeds, clog resistance, etc.  I suspect that the P900 will carry that tradition of incremental improvements.
 

The P4900 did offer more in the way of better color/tonal results than other Epson 17 inch machines, but it’s a beast,  suffered badly from clogs, and was replaced with the P5000.  We’ll see if the P900 can get to that print quality level, but I think the P900 has 10 inks vs 11 for the P5000, using different colors. The P5000 also has 200ml cartridges vs 50ml for the P900 (and 80ml for the P800).
 

As always, one person’s experience and opinions may differ from another’s, especially given paper choices, print style, print size, workflow (including Epson driver or RIP), and other variables. Hopefully you’ll be very pleased, even if not blown away.  But maybe I’ll be surprised.
 
Jeff

Edited November 13, 2020 by Jeff S

[jwr50]

13 hours ago, dkmoore said:

Am I understanding correctly that you think the prints are not noticeably better?  While I’m happy with the 3880 prints I was hoping the prints from the P900 would blow me away. 

I haven't done a 3880 vs. P900 side-by-side print comparison, but I agree with Jeff S.'s comment -- I didn't see much room for improvement in the 3880 print quality, and the P900 print quality matches or exceeds that of the 3880.  I tend to stick to one or two papers, and with the correct ICC profiles for those papers, I am well pleased with the prints I'm getting from the P900.  The P900 is certainly a worthy replacement for the 3880.

Edited November 13, 2020 by jwr50

[Guest Nowhereman]

12 hours ago, Jeff S said:

...The P4900 did offer more in the way of better color/tonal results than other Epson 17 inch machines, but it’s a beast,  suffered badly from clogs, and was replaced with the P5000.  We’ll see if the P900 can get to that print quality level, but I think the P900 has 10 inks vs 11 for the P5000, using different colors. The P5000 also has 200ml cartridges vs 50ml for the P900 (and 80ml for the P800)...

Looking at the Epson specs for the P900 vs the P5000:
Max resolution: 5760 x 1440 dpi vs 2880 x 1440 dpi
Min droplet size: 1.5 picoliters vs 3.5 picoliters 
Nozzle Configuration:  180 nozzles x 10 vs  360 nozzles x 10 [significance? - faster printing?]

Looks like the P900 should have higher resolution. Are the P900 and the P5000 of the same generation, or is the P900 a newer design? (Sometimes, it seems, one has to look at the Epson Japanese website to find the newest printers.)

A few years ago, I bought the 3880 and was happy with the print quality; but had trouble with sheets slipping, especially when I tried to print full-bleed: the trailing edge would sometimes slip sideways when reaching the last inch of the paper length. Epson replaced my printer twice. The problem persisted and they wanted to replace the printer for the third time. By that time, I concluded that the 3880 paper feed mechanism was too flimsy and was affected by the ambient humidity — July/August in the Washington, DC area — and sent the printer back. 

I wonder if the feed mechanism of the P900 has been improved to deal with humidity issues. Or was that done already on the P800?
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[Jeff S]

The P5000 is a few years old, having succeeded the problematic P4900, but it’s a beast compared to the tiny P900; David and Goliath. Feed mechanisms on the P900 have been revised from those on the P800.  
 

I always wait for real life user experiences before switching to new printer platforms, as sometimes problems emerge as users gain experience. The P800 was already a fairly proven platform as successor to the 3800/3880.  We’ll see about this new P700/900 series, which incorporates some newer technology, and of course newer inks, which is what the printer companies are really pushing. 

Jeff

[Guest Nowhereman]

There are extensive reviews of both the P700 and the P5000 on the Keith Cooper's North-Light site. He has not yet reviewed the P900, whose design and build apparently are the same as that of P700. So, it seems that Cooper's review of the P700 should give a good indication of what the P900 is like. 

Unlike the P700/P900, which have separate PK and MK heads, the P5000 requires switching MK and PK inks (involving substantial inks loss) when switching between matte and glossy papers. Presumably, there will be a replacement for the P5000 that will have the P700/P900-type design.
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Frog Leaping photobook 

[Jeff S]

I’m well aware of Northlight reviews, and have linked them elsewhere (including post #4 above).  I’ll still wait for P900 reviews from Northlight, Mark Segal (LuLa) and others, as well as non-reviewer experiences.

Specs never tell the whole story.  A good friend had the P4900 and he loved the print output, but the clogged head problem caused him to switch to the smaller, but newer tech P800.  He still can’t quite achieve the lovely tonal gradations (on some pics) with the 800 that he could with the 4900.  I saw the same from his prints.  But he’s reluctant to switch to the P5000 since Epson let him down servicing the 4900.  He wouldn’t give a hoot about the ink switching (with huge 200 ml cartridges) if he could get the same print quality from the 5000 as the 4900, but without head clogs. And he’s patient like I am with the P900.  
 

Canon provides another good option these days (and now works with ImagePrint, which he and I swear by....it provides even better results than the Epson driver, at least on prior machines).

Jeff

Edited November 13, 2020 by Jeff S

[Tailwagger]

I can't add much to the conversation around upgrading from earlier Epson as the P900, received from Adorama this morning, is replacing an 8 year old PRO-100 (mk I).  My initial test print certainly seems a significant step forward in quality, particularly from a subtlety of tonality PoV.  Significantly quieter, the foot print is tiny for a A2 capable printer (noticeably smaller and a few pound lighter than the 100).  While it wasn't an issue previously for me, the elimination of black tank switching is appreciated. Surprisingly easy setup and the addition of a touch screen display certainly beats the hell out to having to count flashes and look up an error code on the web, something the PRO-100 forced me to do far too often over the years. In my case, certainly well past time I upgraded and frankly given the footprint of the Canon offerings (and the p5000), this was the only game in town capable of getting me to 17".   Time will tell, but my initial impression is that this was certainly a no brainer for me. 

[dkmoore]

Similar to Tailwagger my P900 was delivered today. I plan on testing the printer thoroughly but figured I'd post my first thoughts.

After unboxing and un-taping (lots of tape) I was able to get the printer set up and print wirelessly within 20 minutes. This alone is a huge improvement over the 3880 that I am coming from. I still remember setting up the 3880 and getting the drivers to work. I also had a couple of issues along the way with my 3880 as apple rolled out updates. That said, the 3880 was incredibly stable and I've always been happy with the results. 

I did expect the build quality of the P900 to be improved over the 3880. I don't know why I thought this since the price was the same as what I paid for the 3880. I guess I figured manufacturing processes and materials would be improved. But, that isn't really the case. This was a let down for me as the P900 still has the flimsy feeling trays, lids, etc. I'm ok with plastic but for $1200 I do feel that the plastic and covers should be more substantial. I doubt this would change even on their higher end printers but I could be wrong. 

The good news is that the print quality upon first print was excellent. I purposefully printed an image that I had already printed on the 3880 and the P900 was noticeable more vibrant and with deeper blacks. That for me is great because I love my deep blacks. I only printed one image as I had other things going on but I was pleasantly surprised after reading jwr50s post. I expected to be let down. 

That said, this was literally one print so I have a lot of testing to do. I will print 10 or so more images this weekend on nice papers. 

[Jeff S]

The P800 had deeper blacks (and wider gamut) than the 3880 as a major selling point, so I’m not surprised the P900 is similarly recognized for its deeper blacks compared to the older generation. I noticed the difference between my P800 and 3800 immediately. I’ll be interested to hear from former P800 users regarding P900 differences, if any.

 Build quality, and reliability, is of course also worth following, particularly the feed mechanisms, which have historically been finicky for many printer brands and models. There are certainly trade offs in size and build standards for small footprint home oriented printers vs their larger counterparts. The P900 weighs about 35 pounds.  The P5000, also a 17 inch printer, has a much larger footprint, more robust build, and weighs 115 pounds. It needs a heavy and stable support structure. The large format (24/44 inch etc) machines are another category altogether.  It’s amazing, though, that the little siblings can now also crank out some superb prints.

Machine prices will eventually be subject to substantial discounts, just like all its predecessors, as the profits are in the inks, not the hardware. 

Jeff

Edited November 14, 2020 by Jeff S

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[dkmoore]

For anyone still following this thread I take back my earlier comment about the P900 printing noticeably deeper blacks. This weekend I re-printed 3 black and whites that I had recently printed on the 3880. I used the same paper, Epson exhibition. I didn't change any of the editing. I printed to the same size on 19 X 13, printed to 18 X 12. 

For the prints made with the p900, I printed all three images with two options, the new carbon black feature and without. The carbon feature makes the print slightly more shiny but in general the exhibition paper is already pretty shiny so it didn't make a significant difference to my eyes. 

In black and white I can't find/see any noticeable difference between the print quality between the p900 and 3880. I looked very hard to distinguish any differences and really didn't find any. I assumed there would be at least some difference. One of the images I printed is below and I thought it would be a good test because of the rocks and detail.  

I was always happy with the 3880 prints so this isn't necessarily a bad thing because the auto paper feed works a lot better and connecting wirelessly is a huge plus. 

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