Epson Stylus� R2880 Wide-Format Photo Printer

"I print for my portfolio with this printer and I have no complaints so far. The price was definitely right for what it does."

"I have a new Epson R2880 printer. Those who know me, know that I NEVER print at home. It all goes out to a lab. Well, many friends told me that I should get a printer but….you were talking to a brick wall. But a new friend convinced me to give it a go.

To say I was apprehensive might be mild. I want things yesterday and I want them simple. I had no reason to believe that printing in house was simple. I have listened to you all, printer settings, color problems, alignment, paper, clogged printer heads, ICC profiles, costs, etc, it all sounded like a real hassle. I have to admit, it came and all I could think was “What the heck was I thinking?” I had real mixed emotions. The excitement of instant gratification. BUT what if it doesn’t work or I am too thick headed to use it? I have to admit it took me a full day before I opened that box.

I took everything out. Took all the tape off the printer, plugged it in, installed the ink…so far so good, it hasn’t bit me yet or squirted ink everywhere! Charged the ink, loaded paper. Now I installed the software and followed the directions. Ok now what??? The last step says I am ready to print. I have a pack of Epson Ultra Premium Photo Paper (Luster). I feel really stupid. What do I PRINT??? So I print the last photo that I edited. It is coming off the printer, Uhhhh, I don’t think so. This is UGLY. It is so dark I can hardly see anything. See I knew I couldn’t do it. S TOP, Chill out, think. Maybe I just got too excited. I only read the START HERE document! It said I was “ready to print”. So let’s “RTM” Let’s read the part called “Printing from start to finish”

Did you know that printers have preferences and paper types? Quality setting (I know what that is!). HUMMM, Select “Mode Setting” Epson or Adobe RGB, now I have to make choices? Geezz. Print again. This looks MUCH better.

Well, let me try to make a long story short so you don’t all fall asleep. Second print better but not quite there. I played with the printer settings and by about the 8th print things look good. Reeeeally good.

I know that I still have a lot to learn. PAPER, where do I even begin. At this point I can’t do any cost comparisons, but guess what… I DON’T CARE… this is too much fun.

I just printed a new photo 13x19. Can I just say WOW. I am ordering more ink NOW. Can’t take the chance I might run out!!!!"

"This is a great printer.My previous printer,which was a brand X,while being a very good printer for the price,just wasn't up to the task.Finally the quality of my prints match the quality of the images that I was seeing on my Mac.When I first got this Epson I had a PC which was a couple of years old and I was very disappointed by the long time that it took to print a photo.Shortly after getting the Epson I upgraded to a Mac and I was amazed at how much quicker my Epson printed.Combined with the Mac I'm getting some very nice quality prints that rival the photo store.I love the custom feature that allows me to produce some very nice oversize posters.My only complaint also has to do with the oversize posters however.Sometimes the Epson just can't make up its mind which paper tray to use on the posters.No big deal tho.It does seem to use a little more ink than the brand X but nothing I can't live with.Bottom line:Good job Epson"

"Before commenting on the print quality of the Epson 2880, which is astounding, I want to say a few words about moving from a letter size printer to a wider format printer (in this case to a 13"x19" cut sheet or 44" long panorama). Having owned several letter size printers, I can report  it is very much like graduating from a one touch digital camera to a D-SLR and the multitude of lenses available for it. Sure, the one touch digital camera can make very high quality images, but since it's the lenses that make the photo, your creative potential is greatly enhanced by moving to a D-SLR. Similarly, a letter size printer is very capable of making superb photographic prints, but when you move to a wider format printer you also move into the realm of photographic prints more suitable for display and sale. There is just something about that larger print size that says "art" as opposed to snapshot. The Epson 2880 claims it is capable of making "Exhibition Quality Prints", the implication of which is that prints from the 2880 are worthy of being hung in a gallery or museum, not simply my refrigerator (which still, technically, qualifies as "exhibition"). Quite a high bar to set, but one, I am happy to report, the Epson 2880 met with flying colors!



When I see the words "Exhibition Quality" used with ink-jet printers, my first thoughts turn to black and white printing. By now, most of us are familiar with the excellent color prints today's ink-jet printers can generate. The Achilles Heel of most ink-jet printers is trying to approach the quality of traditional black and white darkroom printing. Whether it is banding, metamarism (the shift in color that prints show under different lighting) or the inability to correctly render tinted B&W images using the color ink set, affordable ink-jet printers capable of producing prints as good as or better than a darkroom have been more of a concept than a reality. 



The Epson 2880 is the first printer I have used that makes me comfortable with my decision to decommission my darkroom. The black and white prints I have been generating are nothing short of breathtaking. The "Advanced B&W" option in the print dialog is something photographers have been waiting for for years. Previously, you would have had to purchase after market driver software and ink sets to achieve the level of control that Epson has incorporated into the standard ink set and print driver right out of the box with the 2880. I no longer have to make multiple duplicate images in Photoshop (or multi-layered images with a range of tints) in order to generate a tinted B&W print. Now I can do it right through the print dialog and with a level of flexibility and precision that has never been available in a printer at this price point. I can adjust from warm to cool tone BW (or neutral, of course), as well as make the BW conversion from the color file all through the print preferences. And the prints I am getting, particularly on the Epson Fine Art papers, are truly exhibition quality. With the ability to print at the SuperPhoto setting of 5760 dpi, I defy someone to tell the difference between a darkroom print and the prints from the 2880.



The color prints are no less impressive. Epson has clearly hit on the correct subtleties of ink color and combination to achieve color reminiscent of the best Type R or Cibachrome prints I used to get from pro photo labs. In many ways the prints are better because my control is immeasurably better by using image editing software and a printer that can accurately deliver the image I see on my monitor. The variety of Epson papers available and the free downloadable print profiles on the Epson website make getting great results on the first print a reality. The "cost per print" always advertised as a reason to do your own printing was sometimes not so cost effective if it took multiple prints to get good results. This problem, along with my darkroom, are happily a thing of the past thanks to the 2880. It's a great feeling to "nail it" with the first print.



If you have invested the time to increase your photography skills, you really owe it to yourself to try large format prints or large panoramas on the 2880."

"I have been looking for an inkjet printer that could make both color and black and white prints that would showcase my panoramic photography. The Epson Stylus 2880 was an incredible find for me. It is very reasonable and its K3 inks are archival. I had my doubts that a printer under a thousand dollars could produce the kind of prints I was used to. I was surprised and extremely pleased with the results. For a panoramic photographer the 13inch wide format was perfect. I could make my prints at home up to 47” allowing me to produce museum quality prints without going to high-end labs. I have shot with the Linhoff Technorama and Fuji G617 for decades. Printing in the wet lab on Oriental Seagull with filtration on a cold light had been my hallmark for many years. When I made the transition to digital printing it took me quite a while to adjust to the new format. However I have found that good scans (I use an Epson V750 pro which allows me to use oil scans which I find superior and cleaner in terms of dust and flatness) I was able to produce very large prints at a fraction of the cost and with impeccable consistent results. In truth getting the first print is always harder than working with chemistry but the subsequent prints are almost effortless. I tried the Epson first with the glossy prints and after calibrating my monitor and making sure my paper profiles were correct, I made my first print and was stunned by the results. It was every bit as good as the 9880 which I had just used at a lab but I was not expecting such good results. The printer was easy to set up and use. The prints looked professional. Next I tackled my B&W panoramas on the roll paper. I used Epson ultra smooth matte and after using the correct profile printed a stunning 13x38 panorama on my first try. I admit cutting the print required care but the final result was truly superb. I would recommend and even urge panoramic photographers to use this printer as you will be very happy with the results and it will save you a ton of money. Finally a printer with archival inks and a roll feeder at a reasonable price that is easy to use and delivers great results has arrived. In addition those digital photographers who do panoramic stitching should seriously consider this printer as the 13 wide format allows you to print images up to 13x47 in an archival print. It’s been a long time coming but the wait was worth it. My compliments and kudos to the engineers at Epson who remembered the artists who do panoramic prints. Thank You! "

"After years of good service my R-1800 printer started giving me messages of impending doom so I decided to upgrade to the 2880. As always Adorama took my order and I had the printer within 48 hours. Adorama has their stuff together on getting the product to you. Setup was a breeze and the machine was ready within 35 min. The print screens are different than the 1800, not quite as intuitive but clear enough. When printing on matt paper there is no question that the 2880 has better color and contrast than the 1800. On glossy paper the 1800 look is hard to beat, but the 2800 generates a wonderfull print with, I think, a bit more contrast and shadow detail. B & W prints are much, much better than with the 1800. There is one item however that is still up in the air with me. That is what do you do with either the Photo Black or Matt Black cartridge when you are printing on the other type of paper. In talking with friends who use the 2200 & 2800 they had told me that they keep the unused cartridge wraped in plastic and stored in a small zip lock bag when it is not in use. Epson, however, recomends against this practice in the User Guide, recomending that when you remove a cartridge, that cartridge should be discarded. To me, that is a very impractical solution that wastes a lot of both ink & money. Epson needs to adress this problem and find another more practical solution to fine tune what is otherwise a fine printer."

"This printer delivers on the promises of great, vibrant color and exceptional, neutral b&w prints. Installing and getting to print was easy enough. I also installed Premium Profiles for matte paper from the Epson website. It's easy to do, but the names of these special profiles are less than intuitive.



One word of caution: avoid as much as possible the Power Clean cycle. It's nowhere mentioned in the Epson documentation, but it takes many minutes and wastes 5 to 10% of your ink. Power Clean is performed every time after power to the printer has been disconnected, even for a short time, so never unplug it and don't connect it through a power strip as some power strips may be intermittant. Power Clean also is performed after a couple of successive normal head clean cycles. The manual seems to hint it would do so after 4 normal cycles, but an Epson support person advised me not to run more than 2; if clogs still persist, switch the printer off and try again after at least 6 hours. I wish Epson would spell out these precautions in there documentation, but they don't. I emailed them about it and expect a reply soon.



I would strongly recommend this printer to anyone who wants great color and spectacular b&w prints.



Frans Waterlander

Photography"

"There are dozens of reviews out there so I won't go in to minute detail. If you like previous Epson photo printers in the 1200, 1800, 2000/2200 series, you will like this one. So far it's the best Epson I've used for Black & White by far and along the lines of the R2400. If you've been frustrated trying to print B&W with the R800, R1800, 1270, 1280 or the 2200, then this will fix that for you.



Easy to set up and use and a reasonable footprint. The new print interface is still familiar, but seems to be a little quicker.



I'm disappointed to see they aren't using the gloss optimizer cartridge on this model and would love to see them make it so both blacks (matte and photo) could be installed at the same time.



I will keep the R1800 to do glossy color prints because of the Gloss Optimizer cartridge."

"In general, I'm not happy with this printer. I considered the R2880 for sometime. I purchased it after reading some favorable reviews stating that although the ink carts were smaller than the R2400, the R2880 was more efficient in its ink use and, therefore, could be expected to use approximately the same amount of ink as its predecessor.



When the R2880 is functioning the way it is supposed to it does a fine job. Color and B&W prints look great. What I am finding is the printer is finicky in its behavior. If you do not select the correct paper path the printer will enter into an error mode which involves an extended head cleaning cycle purging huge quantities of ink. I read this of this in several other reviews but it seemed to be isolated. In addition, after turning on the printer after being off for a few days it again goes through an extended head cleaning cycle consuming even more ink. I owned a 2200 previous to this printer that never had any problems like this. My only conclusion is that Epson's design is defective.



I can not recommend this printer if every time I turn on the printer, or there is an error it consumes ink. Epson's inks are far too expensive to tolerate this.



One additional issue I have is with Epson customer support. I understand that the R2880 is a "consumer" level printer. Still, after spending a great deal of money having to deal with someone in another country who seems to have little familiarity with the product over a substandard telephone connection to resolve basic technical issues is insulting. I am disappointed that I did not go ahead and purchase the 3800 which people seem to be happy with."

"The Epson Stylus Photo R2880 printer is a sweet machine. From start up to printing the quick start guide was clear and concise with a step by step approach that did not leave this novice confused. Frankly, what has kept me from printing photos in the past has been a fear of technical language beyond my vocabulary. But the instructions given here left nothing to chance or misunderstanding. Loading the ink, the paper, connecting to my MacBook Pro and printing the first photos was easy and did not take a lot of time. From box to print took about 45 minutes and that was after checking everything twice.



So far, color family photos, a couple of scenics and several black and white photos have gone through the machine with fantastic results. The color on the print very well matches what I see on the screen. And black and white photos come out even better. They are fantastic. After showing my wife the same photo in color and black and white, she preferred the black and white, but it was a hard choice for her to make.



I am only beginning to explore the capabilities of this printer and I know that in the hands of someone more experienced this machine would put out awesome photographs. I would highly recommend the Epson Stylus R2880 to anyone who wishes to have more control over their printing. Its ease of use and quality photos will spoil even the most critical user."