Digital Prints

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Mastering Digital Printing
2. How Old Is It?
Pay attention to the age of the printers you’re considering. By this, I don’t mean when a
particular unit was manufactured, but rather, when that particular printer model was introduced.
For example, when the Epson Stylus Photo 2200 was announced in April 2002, it
effectively wiped out the demand for the 2000P, which was released in May 2000 (the
2200 was also positioned as a step-up printer for those with 1280s). The same can be said
for Canon’s i9900, which improved on the i9100 that was announced only the year before,
and the HP Designjet 5000/5500 series, which replaced the older HP2000/3000CP and
2500/3500CP series. Each of the newer products introduced innovative technology that
everyone immediately wanted to have.
I’m not saying that older printers can’t do a good job for you; they obviously can. For certain
specialty uses, some older printers are highly desirable, even to the point of being
sought out and stockpiled when they go out of production. The Epson Stylus Color 3000
had been around for seven years, and it was still available from Epson at the time of this
writing! However, you may not want to be on the trailing edge of a technology just as a
new type of printer is introduced.
How do you know when a printer is being replaced? You don’t. However, by using some
of the clues I’ve already given, you can bet that any printer that’s more than 12–18 months
old will soon be on the chopping block (wide-format “professional” models typically have
longer life expectancies than do desktop models). Also be aware of any large price reductions
in a printer model; these tend to be used to clear existing stock before a replacement
model is announced.
The HP Designjet 5000 series (5500
shown in both 42" and 60" sizes)
replaced the HP2000/3000CP and
2500/3500CP series.
Courtesy of Hewlett-Packard Company