Epson’s new Stylus Photo 2200 is, as you might guess from the name, a new printer especially designed for photo use. It uses seven-color, pigment-based, archival UltraChrome inks, and can print images at faster speeds with a larger color gamut than the previous generation, according to Parker Plaisted, Epson’s product manager of photo imaging, Epson.
It’s due in July and should carry an estimated street price of US$699 through mail order, computer superstores, specialty camera and art stores and at Epson’s retail Web site. The Stylus Photo 2200 will be compatible with both Mac (no specific OS was mentioned) and Windows systems and will feature built-in parallel, high speed USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394 FireWire ports.
Epson’s new UltraChrome Ink retains the advantages of high resistance to water and light, plus the largest color range for pigment inks, he added. The Stylus Photo 2200 is the first printer to utilize those inks. It’s also designed to handle “stunning” black and white photographs with the addition of a new lower density black ink (Light Black) that helps produce more neutral grays, Plaisted said.
The UltraChrome ink has faster printing and drying times so the Stylus Photo 2200 can print an 8×10 photo on glossy paper in four minutes. That’s three times faster than the Epson Stylus Photo 2000P. What’s more, its prints can last up to 80 years on Epson Watercolor Paper and black and white prints lasting up to 100 years on various fine art papers, Plaisted said.
The printer also features new interchangeable black inks, so you can choose between the printer’s standard Photo Black cartridge and an optional Matte Black cartridge. The Photo Black ink supports any type of paper and the Matte Black ink supports matte paper only. The Matte Black also yields higher density and contrast on matte papers and is suited for matte fine art photography.
The Stylus Photo 2200 offers a resolution of up to 2880 x 1440 dpi using ultra small four-picoliter droplets, which produce an equivalent dot size to a two-picoliter dye-based droplet. It has a large printable area up to 13 by 44 inches. Eliminating left and right margins, the printer also features 4, 8.3, and 13 inche edge-to-edge borderless printing on roll paper.
A roll paper holder is included with the printer, in addition to a built-in automatic cutter that can cut borderless prints on roll paper straight out of the printer. The cutter can be removed from the printer and enclosed in a protective casing. Also included with the Stylus Photo 2200 is a ”photo catcher” that attaches to the printer and keeps prints in a neat stack as they are cut from the roll.
The Stylus Photo 2200 includes Epson Software Film Factory.