Colour Printing
One of the disappointments with the 2100 was the lack of punch in colour photographs, the prints looked very flat and lifeless, especially when compared to the Canon i950 dye based printer. I am more than happy to report that the R800 with the new UltraChrome High Gloss inks, produces photographs that display a wider dynamic range and colours that jump of the page.
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The Original file - scanned 35mm film |
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R800 print on Premium Glossy paper |
The above print was printed using sRGB colour space and the settings as outlined in the previous page. The print in hand is a very close match to what I am seeing on the monitor. There is a slight bias towards red which has added warmth to the buildings on the hill (top right). The blue on the actual print is a very close match to the original file, but on my scan this has deepened. Please bear in mind that the scan of the print may not be 100% accurate.
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The original digital file - shot with a Nikon D1 |
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R800 Epson Premium Glossy Paper (A) |
SP2100 Epson Premium Glossy Paper |
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Epson R800 (B) |
Epson SP2100 |
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Epson R800 |
Epson SP2100 |
Some of you may recognise the picture above, I used them for the Epson SP2100 review. I was very interested to see how the new UltraChrome inks compared with the original set especially in shadow areas. The overall scene (A) is about as accurate to the original screen version as I would hope to get, the shady areas still contain detail and the lighter stonework also displays detail. The SP2100 has better shadow detail due to a softer tonal range. The SP2100 has a slight magenta cast, whereas the R800 is neutral (B). All prints were made using the default Epson drivers, the magenta cast could be easily removed in an image editing application or with a custom profile. The bottom pair show how the 1.5 pl droplet has totally eliminated print dot, compare this to the SP2100 print. Notice the slight horizontal banding on the 2100 which is not present on the R800. Under very close examination with a Horeseman Loupe, it is very hard to see any print dot, I would go as far as to say you can forget about print dot with this printer.
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