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24
June 2002
2100
Accessories and CD printing
The
2100 printer is supplied with a set of accessories that include; a roll
paper holder, automatic roll paper cutter, photo catcher, CD-R tray and
a cleaning kit.
The
roll paper holder comprises of two separate sides, this will accommodate
media sizes of 100mm, A4 and A3. The paper, which is on a card tube, forms
a bridge between the two sides. The roll paper has a natural curl which
must be straightened out, otherwise paper loading problems can occur.
The next stage is to attach the roll holder together with paper onto the
printer. Fitting the holder for the first time caused some problems as
there didn't seem to be a logical place to attach it. As with most other
functions, instructions are provided as animated Gif's on the on-line
manual CD. Perhaps the roll holder fitting instructions could be clearer
here. The paper then has to be manually fed into the rear slot (but not
in the same slot as the sheet paper) and held in position for three seconds
before the printer automatically takes up the feed. With the roll holder
in place, together with the sheet feeder attached, the printer didn't
take up any more physical space on the desk.
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The
roll paper holder for 100mm A4 & A3
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Attached
to the rear of the printer
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The automatic roll paper cutter clips to the front of the printer, but
first the output tray must be removed. The cutter is easily fitted, just
hold down the two grey buttons and push it home until it clicks. Before
you can start using the auto cutter you have to go to the printer control
panel (Start>Settings>Printers & Faxes),
select the Epson 2100 Printing Preferences, go to the Utility Tab, select
Printer & Option Information and then check the Auto Cutter Attached
box. As the cutter receives a signal from the printer to let it know when
to perform a cut, it can't be an impossible task to make the Printer automatically
recognise that a cutter is attached "Plug and Cut". The Photo
catcher clips on to the autocutter, and it does what it says. The cutter
itself is a substantial unit and there are several cutting options, including
a simple to use auto cutting adjustment for precise alignment. The cutting
options are: single cut - the paper is cut at the image boundary; double
cut - the gap between images is extended and each picture is cut twice
leaving an 18mm strip of paper; no cut - the cutter doesn't perform a
cut. There is also a cutter cleaning option, this uses about 7cm of paper
to clean the blade.
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The
auto cutter and paper catcher
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Oops!
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The
auto cutter is an efficient unit that will be useful for churning out
proof prints. Cutting alignment was well maintained, although on a large
run this may wander. On my test run of 20 prints, every picture was cut
precisely on the image border. Once the last print has been printed, you
press the roll paper button to make the final cut and the remaining paper
retracts. I used the 100mm wide roll for the test. The prints produced
when the roll was nearing the end suffered severe curl problems which
will be hard to smooth out. I can't help wondering why this feature has
been included on a printer that is primarily aimed at photographers who
will be using it for high quality archival/exhibition work. Surely an
Epson 950 or other Dye ink printer would be a better option for volume
printing?
The
paper catcher clips on to the auto cutter, a simple enough process. The
catcher is a relatively sturdy unit which can be folded upward and left
attached to the printer when not in use. The catcher hangs over the edge
of a desk, this means that it is in a vulnerable postion for getting knocked,
I think this is may be the first item that bites the dust in a studio
environment. The catcher itself is made from heavy duty fabric (despite
my picture "Oops", no pictures
fell out of the sides during the test).
CD printing
I
know this will be a sore point for many of our readers in the USA and
Canada, but the 2200 printer will not have a CD printing facility - perhaps
someone from Epson US would care to take the time to explain why not,
or what feature they will be offering instead.
Having
printed many CD labels on sticky paper and then got a wrinkle or air bubble
whilst applying the label to the CD, I won't be sorry to see my last pack
of paper hit the bin. What a great idea, printing directly onto a CD surface.
But how good is it?
The
CDR tray slots into two slots within the paper out aperture. Set the paper
lever to matte board (all the way down), place a compatible inkjet printable
CD in the tray - white side up. Push the CD tray in until the two arrows
match and then set the paper lever to the CD icon.
An
application called Epson Print CD is bundled with the 2100 printer. This
software is very easy to use and has more features than you are likely
to need, although with text the character descenders disappeared. You
will be designing and creating your own CD labels within minutes.
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CDR
tray fitted in the 2100
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Epson
Print CD software
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The manual states that data should be written to
the CD before printing. They state that "fingerprints, dirt, or scratches
on the surface may cause errors while writing data". I can see no
reason why you should risk your data in preference to risking a blank
CD. It is important that you use the correct type of printable CD, I tried
a couple of inexpensive no-name disks and they smudged badly. Both Sony
and TDK have inkjet compatible disks. The manual states that the disk
should be left to dry for more than 24 hours and smearing may occur if
the colour saturation is too high. A TDK CDR was dry to touch within 30
minutes, I rubbed it vigorously and nothing shifted. With the non-branded
CD even after 3 hours the ink still smeared.
But
how does it print? Well in a nutshell I was unimpressed with the quality
and the colours look washed out. This was the only output, in one week's
use of the 2100, that I found unaceptable. I also think that having to
wait for 24 hours for the CD to dry is unreasonable
I
wonder what feature the 2200 will have?.
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Colours
on CD is not one of this printer's strong points
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The
mystery cleaning kit
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Lastly,
the printer is supplied with a cleaning kit - well that's what it says
on the label. I couldn't find any further reference to this tool.
Update
Just
had this message from Epson UK
"The cleaning tool
with a sponge on the end is for removing any ink that may have been deposited
on the rollers - the small ones that you can see when you open the lid
(there are 18 of them)."
www.photo.i.co.uk
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