Epson P900

[Jeff S]

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13 minutes ago, dkmoore said:

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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Did you profile your paper(s) specifically for the P900?  With custom profiles from IP, I often attained deeper blacks using my P800 compared to my 3800.  Some papers and pics, however, demonstrated this better than others.  Over time, I have switched some of my papers to better suit my preferences and, in some cases, because the papers themselves changed formulas. 
 

Jeff

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[dkmoore]

12 minutes ago, Jeff S said:

Did you profile your paper(s) specifically for the P900?  With custom profiles from IP, I often attained deeper blacks using my P800 compared to my 3800.  Some papers and pics, however, demonstrated this better than others.  Over time, I have switched some of my papers to better suit my preferences and, in some cases, because the papers themselves changed formulas. 
 

Jeff

I used the profile specific to Exhibition Fiber Paper from Epson's site. What is IP? I'd be interested in custom profiles. 

I use Epson Platine, Exhibition Fiber, and a few Hahnemuhle papers like bartya. 

[Jeff S]

41 minutes ago, dkmoore said:

I used the profile specific to Exhibition Fiber Paper from Epson's site. What is IP? I'd be interested in custom profiles. 

I use Epson Platine, Exhibition Fiber, and a few Hahnemuhle papers like bartya. 

ImagePrint (I use IP10, which has since been replaced by IP Black). It’s a full RIP that replaces the Epson driver, optimizing paper and printer settings.  But, beyond that, it provides superb printer-specific custom profiles for virtually all papers, for different lighting conditions and grey scale, and works permanently in soft proof mode. They make free profiles for any paper that isn’t already covered, but that’s rare.  I also like their various editing and sharpening tools for final print actions.  Costs a lot, but well worth it for me.  Custom profiling gear alone would cost about double, not to mention all the work required to generate great profiles.

I switched from Hahnemuhle papers to Canson and some others.  Once in a while I’ll try Epson Exhibition Fiber, but it’s not my favorite.  Canson Infinity Baryta Photographique is a favorite, but they recently switched to version II, which I have yet to test. It replaced Ilford Gold Fibre Silk as a mainstay, once formulas changed for the worse. Canson Platine is a warmer alternative.

Jeff

 

[Jeff S]

Here's the Northlight review of the P900.

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/epson-sc-p900-printer-review/

Bottom line, he sees no difference in print quality from the P700 (review linked earlier).  And he sees no significant improvement in print quality vs the P800; rather, he sees the black ink swapping as the major improvement. For me, this is nice, but I'm not sure it offsets the smaller ink cartridges.  

Jeff

[didier]

Great picture by the way  

[Jeff S]

And here’s Mark Segal’s long awaited P900 review at PhotoPXL.  As usual, Mark is very thorough, and includes some practical tips (and some minutiae) not available elsewhere. His tips using the front feed, for instance, might help some avoid problems.

https://photopxl.com/the-new-epson-sc-p900-printer-review/
 

Bottom line, he likes it from both a usability and print quality standpoint. Like the Northlight review, the print quality differences compared to the P800 are very subtle, not practically important in most printing conditions, even though the measurements (e.g., color gamut) are better, and some features (carbon black mode and violet ink) are added.  And black ink switching is a nice addition for those who print on both glossy and matte papers.

I’m still on the fence, very happy with the P800.  
I hope that Kevin Raber, site publisher, adds his own take, as he uses ImagePrint and might offer some thoughts on its P900 interface and print results.

Jeff

Edited December 8, 2020 by Jeff S

[Guest BlackBarn]

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Expecting my p906 to arrive this week or early next. Then the Eizo....Setting up my first printing system so found the Northlight reference very useful and would appreciate any other advice for a newbie.