Epson’s Stylus Photo R1800 Printer

February 15, 2005: Epson’s latest ‘A3’ desktop printer, the Stylus Photo R1800 has been unveiled just before the PMA International Trade Show.
Based on the award-winning A4 Epson Stylus Photo R800, the R1800 uses the same Epson UltraChrome Hi-Gloss eight-colour pigment inks and is capable of making photo quality prints up to 330 mm wide and 1,117 mm long. Designed for photographers who want to produce exhibition quality, archival photo prints on both glossy and matte papers, the R1800 is Epson’s fastest photo printer to date and can print a 279 x 356 mm colour image in less than two minutes.
Epson’s UltraChrome Hi-Gloss ink set is designed specifically for professional and advanced amateur photographers and digital artists who seek superior image quality, fade-resistance and flexibility. It includes red and blue inks that expand the colour gamut of the primary cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks and the printer’s eight-channel print head contains dedicated Photo Black and Matte Black ink cartridges plus a Gloss Optimiser that adds a protective coating to prints on glossy papers. The printer driver automatically determines which black ink to use – and whether to apply the Gloss Optimiser – based on the paper type selected.
The Stylus Photo R1800 takes advantage of Epson’s Advanced Micro Piezo ink jet technology to achieve a 1.5-picolitre ink droplet (the smallest dot size in the industry) and resolutions up to 5760 x 1440 optimised dpi. It also features true BorderFree photo printing technology, and can produce prints in a variety of frame-ready and portfolio-ready photo paper sizes. The printer comes with Epson Print CD Software, Print Image Matching Plug-in for Adobe Photoshop and three filters from Nik Color Efex Pro 2.0, which operate on both PC and Macintosh platforms. Epson RAW Print (which works with Canon EOS 300D and Nikon D70 cameras) is included for easy printing of RAW image files. Premium ICC colour profiles are also supplied. The Stylus Photo R1800 supports Windows 2000 and XP and Mac OS X 10.2.4 or higher with both Hi-Speed USB 2.0 and FireWire (IEEE 1394) ports.
The R1800 is compatible with a wide range of media, including all Epson-branded photo and fine art papers and is the first A3 printer capable of printing directly onto inkjet-printable CDs or DVDs. Prints made on Epson’s Watercolour Paper Radiant White paper can resist fading up to 200 years, while prints on Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper can maintain their integrity for up to 300 years when kept in “dark storage” environments such as in photo albums or 104 years in normal lighting conditions.
The Epson Stylus Photo R1800 is due to ship in March in North America. Local release date and pricing will be posted on this website as soon as details are available.