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  | Epson Stylus Photo 2200 Inkjet Printer
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Average user rating:  | |
 Epson 2200 | |
| As most of the previous reviews have stated this is a great printer and I wholeheartedly agree. I use Adobe Photoshop CS for my photos and the biggest problem I ran into was that the image on my monitor didn't quite match the printed image. This may be OK for some but being a perfectionist I had to adjust the image in Photoshop which is a hit or miss proposition (ie make the image lighter in photoshop to get a darker printed image which was satisfactory). The solution I decided on was to get color management software called MonacoEZcolor (I also got the colorimeter option) so that a color profile can be generated of the monitor and the printer. With the profiles generated you can then set the Photoshop image on your monitor to look like what the printed image will be. Unfortunately to do this I also had to purchase a scanner to profile the printer. $500 later (scanner and color management software with colorimeter) I'm getting better prints but it is costly, however if your a professional or just trying to get the best prints possible you may want to factor in color management software.
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| This is the center of my home photo-lab | |
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I have used this printer for over a year now to support my hobby of ultra high resolution semi-digital photography. Using a different Epson product I scan 4x5 film negatives, creating 100 megapixel images, and then print them on my Stylus Photo 2200. I use 13x19 semi-gloss paper, and typically print at maximum quality. The results are vastly better than any photo lab I can imagine. Really -- I can't think of any way to suggest print quality improvement. I do black-and-white maybe three quarters of the time, and when I do color it's lurid. Detail is astonishing, and I have been very satisfied with the borderless printing. The printer always warns me that it might not do as well at borderless printing, but I tell it not to worry and it always does fine. I have used only the standard 7 inks. I've been very impressed with how easy ink cartridge replacement has been. I am glad that I have left behind the bad old days of throwing out *all* the ink because *one* of the colors ran out. The 2200 allows me to only replace the ink cartridge that actually ran out, which is even more important for the cityscape photography that I do -- in color, the sky uses a lot of cyan. I don't know about text quality, since I've never printed any of that, but the thought makes me nervous. Like it would if someone suggested using a thoroughbred horse to pull a plow. Don't do that, it's silly. Use this printer to make great big beautiful photographic prints of flawless quality on lovely paper. For this purpose, I really can't imagine how it could be better. If it ever dies, I'll get another just like it. If I ever get rich, I'll get another just like it except even bigger. Thanks, Epson. Please keep doing this. | |
 Very Nice, But Can stand Some Improvements... | |
| The Epson 2200 Stylus Photo is a very nice printer. That said, there are still several areas that should be improved upon for the next version to make it a “perfect” printer.
Looks… •Black & silver just does not do it for me at all. •The color scheme does not blend in well with all my other computer equipment. •It seems that every manufacturer is trying to be bold & different by coming up with new wild color schemes. The results are that my computer system now looks more like a modern artist painting then a computer system. Light green, dark green, black, light silver, dark silver, gray, & oh yes plain old reliable computer beige… still my overall favorite! •The black color makes it very hard to attach the front tray as I can’t see the mounting holes (also very black) to mount it. •Why is the front of the automatic cut-off device rounded & not flat? Because of its roundness, the front tray can not be put in an upright storage position like it can without the cut-off device. Also, there is no lock for an upright position for the front tray like there is without the cut-off device. The mounting holes for the cut-off device are a little too wide for the front tray which just barely fits without falling out… an oversight? Left hand not talking to the right? Inks… •Not supplying the Matte Black cartridge was a big oversight… Many reviews of the printer have commented on the poor text quality of the 2200. At $699.00 USD they are amazed that such an oversight could happen. Some of the reviewers seem to not be aware of the missing eighth Matte Black cartridge. Unless you read all the instructions, the Matte Black cartridge is not too apparent. I am sure that most reviewers do not have the time to totally go through all the instructions to find the little points like this… they simply test the product as supplied by the vendor. Even if they do happen to notice mention of the Matte Black cartridge in the instructions, few reviewers have the time to acquire & test the printer with the extra cartridge. An example of such a review is Consumers Reports (May 2003 pg 31). They made comments such as “If you want excellent photo printing but care little for text or graphics” & “At text and graphics, however, it was only so-so”. Consumers only mentioned seven inks so I am sure they also were not aware of the eighth Matte Black ink. I also was dismayed (at first) by the poor text quality until I discovered the Matte Black cartridge in combination with bright white high quality inkjet paper. This does run up the overall cost of printing text on this printer not to mention the labor cost to swap black cartridges & get them working. As nice a find as the Matte Black cartridge was, I believe there still needs to be some overall improvement in text printing as the only way to currently get good text is to print at higher resolutions which slows everything down & runs up the cost. Many $99 & $199 USD printers do a better job with text at lower resolutions. •Switching Photo Black for Matte Black… Switching cartridges is a real pain in the you-know-what as each time this is done much ink is lost due to the ink head cleaning which seems to take place every time a cartridge is replaced. This runs up my total cost for ink & labor & is not a good thing. I’m very tired of having to constantly switch between the two black cartridges for best results. I find I use the Matte Black for about 90% of my printing. Often when I switch cartridges, the one just installed will not print as it has dried out in storage (yes in a tightly sealed plastic freezer bag). I loose much ink trying to get it started. Sometimes, after several head cleanings, it won’t start at all after being in storage (and opened) for awhile so I have to throw out a nearly full cartridge. A real @!#$% pain in the you-know-what not the mention the additional cost in time & dollars! Software… •A lot of little things need improving to bring the software up to a more usable standard… After doing a Nozzle check, I should have the option to only clean the one or two print heads that need cleaning & not all of nothing. Currently all heads are cleaned if they need it or not. This takes too much time & waste a lot of ink which adds to the cost of owning this printer. Adding the eighth Matte Black cartridge will simplify (and make less confusing) the paper selection in the software. Currently, after a Photo Black or Matte Black cartridge swap, the paper associated with them does not show up in the Paper Quality & Options unless I open & close the software a couple of times. This is confusing to the user as it at first appears that nothing has happen & the printer did not acknowledge the new cartridge & paper choices. Changing saved settings in the Paper Quality & Options does not always take. I have to re-select it several times before it finally takes. I had the same problem with Minimize Margins. The Print Nozzle Check shows the colors in an improper order. oCurrently order… Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Light cyan, Light magenta, & Light black. oShould show in the actual order of the ink cartridges… Black, Light black, Cyan, Light cyan, Magenta, Light magenta, & Yellow. This would also be in order with the Status Monitor which shows the inks in proper order. oThe reason this is necessary (other then to make more since) is because when one or two inks stop working it is very difficult to determine by the printout which cartridge to replace as I often can’t tell which color is bad as the printout for the color is missing. I usually end up playing a guessing game of elimination & comparing the printout to the actual inks until I determine which ones are ok on the printout thereby eliminating all the good ones leaving only the bad one that did not print. This is totally ridiculous & needs to be changed to reflect the actual colors in the proper order. Next Version of this Printer (see above for details •Go back to a more conservative color. •Improve overall text quality! •Add the missing Matte Back cartridge for a total of eight cartridges. Will actually reduce the total cost of operation to the user. Will simplify the paper selection in the software. Will improve (somewhat) text quality on plain paper. •Change the automatic cut-off device so it better accepts the front tray... Flat front. Easier install front tray. Lock in upright position. •Speed up the overall printing process. A printer of this cost should be very fast! •Improve the software… make less confusing & easier to use. | |
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