Digital Prints

the Epson Stylus Photo 2200, the maximum printable area is either 13 × 44 inches or
13 × 129 inches, depending on your computer’s operating system and the application
software. (See more about printing big in Chapter 11.)
Another issue that may be important to you is the ability to make “borderless” prints.
Epson introduced this capability (also called “borderfree” or “edge-to-edge printing”) with
its newer Stylus Photo printers, and Canon soon followed suit. Canons make borderless
prints by slightly enlarging the image and overspraying beyond the edges of the paper.
Wide-Format
Any printer that can accept media 24 inches or wider is called “wide-format” (or sometimes
“large-format”), with the Epson 4000 (and the classic Epson 3000) exception already noted.
Another distinguishing characteristic of wide-formats is that they can generally take both roll
and sheet media. Granted, some desktops can also do this (mostly Epsons), but virtually all
wide-formats can. The reason is simple: Wide-format printers are designed for highproduction
environments. Service bureaus, high-volume outputers, professional printmakers—these
are the typical users of wide-formats with a practical paper width of 24–60 inches
or even more. If you only want to print 4 × 6-inch snapshots, you could use a wide-format,
but unless you wanted thousands of them, it would be overkill—and expensive!
When North Carolina painter Craig Forrest was looking to step up from a 13 × 19-inch
printer to something larger, he chose a refurbished (and still on warranty) Epson Stylus
Pro 7600 (24 inches wide) and skipped the Epson 4000 (17 inches wide), even though it
was newer and speedier. “My local gallery had several customers who wanted larger-size
reproduction prints of my paintings,” explains Forrest. “These customers were looking
specifically for sizes that when matted and framed would be large enough to work well
over a couch or in a similar situation. The 4000 prints were just not large enough.”
Any outside printmaker you use will undoubtedly have wide-format print devices.
Remember, wide-formats can always print a smaller image, but a desktop can’t print a
larger one (with the exception of panoramics).
Chapter 6 ■ Selecting an Inkjet Printer 185
The Roland Hi-Fi JET Pro II can print
any image size from 8-5/16" to 53-
9/16" wide (210–1361 mm).
Courtesy of Roland DGA Corporation