BKPhoto@aol.com
Date: 06/19/02-05:10:20 PM Z
Susan-
I own and use a number of Epson printers, for both dedicated b/w printing and
color. I originally purchased the C80 because I thought it might be a good
printer for my students (college level photographers who are learning digital
imaging). I've been very pleased with it. There are several things that make
it interesting:
- The general image quality on regular bond paper is the best I've seen
from any inkjet printer. This makes it an excellent choice for quick proof
prints and digital contact sheets. Cheap paper means lower operating costs.
That's a nice feature when you don't need archival prints.
- The paper profiles included in the C80 print driver software seem to be
more accurate "out of the box" than any I've used with the exception of the
Epson 1280 printer (an excellent printer, by the way, that offers a larger
carriage). With a profiled monitor, you should get very good results on a
variety of Epson papers.
- The printer uses individual ink cartridges. I like that very much. You
only throw away what is empty.
- The printer is fast and very quiet. I like that, too.
The image quality from the C80 is excellent if you are printing color
photographs. The tonal curve is not linear, however, and that has lead to
some interesting results when printing both grayscale images or black/white
images that have been "toned" by either applying a duotone curve or
converting to RGB. You may notice some "dumping" in the shadow values of an
image, or exaggerated contouring. This will occur regardless of how good your
scan quality is, or how large your image file may be (though both certainly
can help).
I've recently been using the C80 to produce color prints for commercial
clients and they simply cannot detect any difference between the C80 print
and a Type C print. I think this has much to do with the slightly "flatter"
color gamut of the pigment inks---which, with a good profile, look more like
a traditional Type C print than many of the dye ink printers.
I am eager to see a 2100 printer, though, and the larger 7600. We live in a
wonderful time to be photographers!
Bill Kennedy
Austin, Texas
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