Reviews

An affordable high-performance, large format inkjet printer for serious enthusiasts and professional photographers.Designed to fill the gap between the high-end enthusiast and professional printer categories, Epson’s new Stylus Pro 3800 has the same print engine and ink set as Epson’s professional Stylus Pro 4800 and, like its more expensive ‘sister’ can print up to A2 size. Higher-capacity (80 ml) ink tanks distinguish the 3800 from A3+ desktop printers like the R2400 and R1800.

A sophisticated and well-built inkjet printer that delivers excellent print quality for photo enthusiasts and professional photographers.Epson’s Stylus Photo R2880, the long-awaited replacement for the popular R2400 model, boasts a new ink set and some technological advances that should please its target market. But, although it provides some welcome advances over its predecessor, the main flaw that frustrated owners of the R2400 has not been corrected. You still have to change black ink cartridges when you swap from printing on glossy media to matte papers.

A mid-range A3+ printer for photo enthusiasts who require WiFi connectivity. Replacing the Stylus Photo R1900 in Epson’s enthusiast’s printer range, the Stylus Photo R2000 uses the same UltraChrome Hi-Gloss 2 pigment ink set. However, each ink cartridge contains 17 ml of ink, compared with 11.4ml in the R1900. Like the R1900, this printer has been designed mainly for use with glossy and semi-gloss media but works equally well with the right kinds of matte papers.

A sturdy A3+ printer that will suit photographers who want long-lasting colour prints and are happy to use standard papers.Released almost three years after the Stylus Photo R1800 (which it replaces), Epson’s new Stylus Photo R1900 introduces a new UltraChrome Hi-Gloss2 ink set in which an orange ink replaces the blue ink. Epson claims this substitution results in better skin tones. The new model is slightly larger and marginally heavier than its predecessor and carries an Energy Star logo.

An excellent ‘digital darkroom’ printer for DSLR camera owners who wish to make fade-resistant, poster-sized colour prints.Epson appears to be targeting photo enthusiasts with its new Stylus Photo 1410 printer, which replaces the long-lived Stylus Photo 1290 model and delivers some significant improvements. However, it lacks some features that many photo enthusiasts would like. One positive feature is use of Claria inks, which have been developed to deliver ultra fine detail in prints plus high print durability. On Epson’s glossy photo paper, the molecules in Claria inks’ colouring agents claim to have a stronger and more stable structure that makes them more resistant to the fading effects of light and atmospheric chemicals.

A portable, easy-to-use snapshot printer that delivers long-lasting photo prints for an affordable price.If you’re onto a good thing – as the old ad. used to say – why not stick to it? Epson has certainly followed this advice with its new PictureMate 215, which is a simplified version of the PictureMate 250 we reviewed in November 2006. The new model is a little squarer and 300 grams lighter – and its price is lower. Its power efficiency has also improved.

An attractive, highly portable snapshot printer that is easy to use and delivers long-lasting, photo quality prints.Looking rather like a miniature Esky, Epson’s PictureMate 250 snapshot printer has a generous handle that makes it easy to carry about plus the ability to accept an optional rechargeable battery (RRP $99). There’s some justification in Epson’s designation of its PictureMate printers as ‘portable photo labs’ because they produce prints that look and feel like ‘real’ photo prints. However, the prints last much longer. Wilhelm Imaging Research has given them a lightfastness rating of 96 years.

A portable, easy-to-use snapshot printer with some creative functions children and scrapbookers will enjoy.Canon’s Selphy ES3 is the latest in quite a long series of snapshot printers that use dye-sublimation technology to produce prints with the look and feel of traditional photo prints. Designed for portability, it is more curvaceous than the Sephy ES2 model it replaces and has a curved carrying handle on top. Unfortunately, it’s mains-driven only; no battery pack is available.

A portable dye-sublimation snapshot printer that is simple enough for everyone in the family to operate.It’s obvious from the packaging that Canon is targeting families with its latest Selphy printer, the ES2. Essentially the same size and weight as last year’s ES1 model, the ES2 has the same upright design and small footprint and uses the same dye-sublimation printing technology. We didn’t review the ES1when it was first released so we were interested to see how the new model compared with other snapshot printers we’ve examined.

A solidly-built A3+ printer that can produce exhibition-quality colour and monochrome prints on a wide variety of media.We’ve waited a while to review Canon’s ten-colour PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II A3+ photo printer, which was announced in March for release in June but only became available at the end of August. Replacing the PIXMA Pro9500, which we reviewed in September 2007, like its predecessor the Mark II is targeted at high-end photo enthusiasts and professional photographers and is a good choice for those who shoot raw files.