First Prints.

From previous reviews this is the page everyone wants to see. In the past we were looking for colours and detail that closely matched the original image. Today any variation in colour can be put down to variations in setup and colour management. As for print quality we now have to split hairs in order to find any differences.

	Original file
Pro 3880	Pro 3800	sRGB colour space

The first print was produced using Epson Premium Semigloss Photo Paper A4. From the Print screen in Photoshop I selected Printer Manages Colours, and I have set the printer driver to Quality, Mode to use automatic with Adobe 1998. The first test print took exactly four minutes (4.025 to be precise). You can click on the first picture to download the original test file, this is for your own personal use.

The 3880 colours are vibrant especially the new Vivid Magenta. I have also printed out the same file on the Pro 3800 using exactly the same settings.  Closely comparing the original prints side by side, at first glance there doesn't seem to be a lot of difference, until you stand back from the two. The Pro 3880 colours are solid and have a more saturated look to them. I have also enclosed a third print, this was created on the Pro 3880, but this time I sent the same file using the same media and the same settings to the printer, only this time I set the printer Mode to Epson Standard sRGB. You can see how dull the print looks. If the picture had been in the sRGB colour space then this would have also looked OK. This highlights my point about making sure you use the correct settings to get the best quality from any printer, and of course using the correct profile for the media being used is also important.

Pro 3880	Pro 3800
3880 scan at 1200 dpi	3800 scan at 1200 dpi

In terms of image grain, or print dot. At normal viewing distance there doesn’t seem to be any significant difference between the 3880 and 3800, although Epson claims the new LUT (Look Up Table) has improved grain reduction. In my test it’s showing better definition in the grain and thereby image sharpness, but not in grain reduction. Notice on the 3800 how some of the eye lashes are losing a bit of fine detail when compared to the 3880 scans. The bottom two scans show how the spectrum colours are rendered. The 3880 produces a brighter magenta, so there we are the Vivid Magenta has been noticeably improved.