Setting up (UPDATED 28/01/08)

The inks have to be loaded into the printer before you install the drivers. Connect the printer to a power outlet, I am pleased that the mains transformer is an internal unit which means you haven't got another bulky box on the floor - I wish manufacturers would look at the way most people connect their devices, most users haven't got the luxury of endless power sockets. Each of the Eight ink cartridges has to be shaken before installing, this is to make sure the pigment particles are fully circulated prior to fitting. Pigment ink particles are denser than dye ink particles and will gradually settle at the base of a cartridge, which could result in blocked nozzles.

Stage 1 Turn On the printer	All eight inks can be loaded at once
Cartridges are very small	Shaken but not stirred
Each ink has its own slot and they can't physically be fitted in the wrong slot
Close the cover	Press the centre button to prime the heads

Fitting the inks is very simple, just pop it into the colour coded slot. You can't physically fit the wrong colour into another slot, which may be obvious, but in the case of the Matte and Photo Blacks, you could be forgiven for making a mistake. Once the inks have all been fitted then close the ink cradle lid and the printers top cover and press the centre ink button. The printer circulates the inks and primes the heads. This process will take about 4 minutes and will use up a quantity of the included ink. Subsequent ink replacement will not use up as much ink. This is going to be difficult to work out how many prints can be obtained from a set of inks.

As with some previous Epson Pigment ink printers, both blacks are fitted at the same time, I will test to see if the Black ink switching is "on-the-fly" or if the printer has to purge the ink before it can proceed with a new media type.

Update:

I have just been given the price of ink cartridges. The individual ink cartridges for the R1900 cost £8.60 RRP (inc VAT) and the gloss optimiser is £6.61.

The capacity of each ink cartridge is 11.4ml, which in my opinion is far too small for an A3+ printer. I would have expected at least double this amount. I am surprised that Epson didn't produce a front ink compartment as with the Pro 3800. I am sure that the small cartridge size is going to put off some users, especially semi-professionals, who may want to produce a large volume of prints to produce, but don't need an A2 printer.