Reader's Comments - Index of - Free

Color Printers
especially if we're talking 13x19". Whether you scan your own or use an outside
service, those image files add up - even a 6gb drive starts to shrink precipitously
after an enthusiastic weekend of work. Thinking ahead, I went out and bought a CD
burner the same day I bought the Epson. A reasonably fast computer also helps,
since printing out large image files takes a little while, even for a PIII or G4.
As far as paper goes - there's so much out there, and so much more coming to
market, that I can't say which is the greatest, which is positively awful, etc. Aside
from Epson's own Photo paper, I've tried Luminos' Gallery Gloss 11x17 paper with
excellent results. A colleague, who also owns an Epson 1200, is quite enthusiastic
about Pictorico's papers and films.
All in all, a hearty thumbs-up for the Epson 1200.
-- Barrett Benton, November 9, 1999
I have been following this page with considerable interest. For the past couple of
months I have been experimenting with an HP PhotoSmart scanner and the Epson
1200 and Photo EX. I have also been working with a colleague using a similar
setup, each of us racing to test out new ideas, papers, techniques. The colleague is
printing multi-exposure images, with an eye toward getting the most expressive
colors; I've been after the most photographic (in distinction from "photo-realistic)
results.
First, I will echo the comments that many other have made regarding how far inkjet
printing has come. Moreover, having done a fairly extensive survey of material on
the Web (the best of it is on or linked through Singapore Digital Darkroom, http://
www.magix.com.sg/Users2/kltham/), there seems to be overwhelming testimony
from both enthusiastic amateurs to seasoned pros on the excellent quality of the
Epson printer. There can be, however, a very steep learning curve toward getting
the great results some people claim. Not the least significant aspect is gaining
facility in PhotoShop, the tool of choice for most digital darkroom applications.
Another is the vexing array of color management, device synchronization (making
sure the scanner, monitor, and printer are all, more or less "in tune), driver, and
software configuration issues. I would say that from my reading and discussion
thus far, these problems are so ubiquitous as to overshadow most of the others. For
some folks, the path toward what they claim to be excellent and photographic
results without a traditional darkroom is straightforward and smooth; others seem
lost is spirals of endless tweaking and non-linear results. Most working with this
technology/method acknowledge that most aspects from software to technique are
evolving. Encouraging is the degree of interest and willingness to collaborate and
share results (the Internet is an indispensable resource, especially in light of the
http://www.photo.net/equipment/digital/printers/primer (19 of 36)7/3/2005 2:20:36 AM