Digital BW, The Print

This just came in DAS' newsletter:

The Epson 4000 has finally been officially announced.
(The 4000 is the replacement for the EPSON 5000).  This printer
is clearly a professional grade printer that targets several markets,
(see below.)

Epson's announcement states that the new 4000 will be shown at
Photo Plus Expo, (in NYC at the Javitts Center),
on Oct 30th thru Nov 1, 2003. According to their announcement,
they (EPSON) plan on giving away one printer each day at the show!
If you are planning on attending, stop by their booth, (Booth #1017.)

Here are some details we have on this new product.

There are 3 versions of the printer:

(1)Photo; (2)CAD; and (3) Proofing. To the best of our still
spare product knowledge, we understand that you can NOT change
between the 3 versions. It is our understanding that the 4000
sets its motherboard to the initial version/application and thereafter
is locked into that application, (i.e., once you put the ink
cartridge in the unit the chip is read by the motherboard and
permanently sets the application state.  There is no “changing over”.

General Description:

· Price $1795.00 (This is an expected price, NOT yet confirmed.)

· Its a Desktop Printer. We have been told that there is an
optional stand, however, we don’t yet have a price or picture of
the stand.

· Speed: About 18 minutes for an A2 which is roughly 17x22 at the
  highest settings

· Maximum resolution is 1440 x 2880.

· Cartridges: Uses either the 110 ml/7600 or 220ml /9600 cartridges.

· Borderless printing up to 43 cm / 17", roll and sheet.

· Built-in high-capacity paper tray handling up to 250 sheets of
  plain letter-sized paper or up to 50 sheets of photographic
  media at 17"x 22"

· Media can be loaded four different ways including a front-loading
  straight-through path capable of handling 1.5mm poster board.

· Roll paper on 2” or 3” cores.

· Monochrome prints variable in neutral, warm, cold, sepia.  Also,
  the prints have a much higher than normal D-Max (range) even in
  matte prints.

· The ink levels are monitored on a the user panel

· Also, a system prevents the cartridge to be inserted
  in the wrong slot.

· Inks: Ultrachrome assures high stability and longevity.  When the
  prints are covered with glass yields >70 years for high-grade
  glossy photo paper and >75 years for textured art paper.

· The new printing system assures a much higher gamut of colors;
   higher than that achieved by offset printers.

· Automatic head alignment, nozzle check, as-needed cleaning.

· The machine is less sensitive to changes in temperature
and humidity.

. There are three versions of the printer:

1. The Stylus Pro 4000-8C, (for photographers, artists, design studios):
   The printer has 8 cartridge slots, seven of which are active
at any given time. This means that you can switch between
Matte Black & Photo Black very easily.
Ink choice is a driver selection.

2. The Stylus Pro 4000-4C, (3D-CAD, industrial design, GIS,
and POP display):
The printer uses the eight cartridge slots as CYMKCYMK,
virtually doubling the printing speed.

3. The Stylus Pro 4000-GA,(Postscript version for
the graphic arts world and proof printing):

Epson will begin shipping these printers in January.
We expect this product to be another very high
demand Epson product.  In order for Digital Art Supplies
to get an early shipment, (i.e., get at the front of the
line and satisfy customer demand), we need to take
HARD orders only. This means if you order a printer from us,
you have bought the printer. We will ship first come/first served.
Please note: This is not a "Wait List".
Your credit card will be charged upon receipt of your order.
If you order a Stylus Pro 4000 and change your mind,
we will have to charge you a $200 processing fee.
We understand that this is not our typical method of processing.
However, please recognize that because of the
expected demand, and in order to get you the printer
as quickly as possible, we must get in front of
the (EPSON) queue.

As we learn more details our web site will be updated.
The link for 4000 info is:

http://www.digitalartsupplies.com/epstpro40.html

If you have any questions about the 4000 printer,
(either technical or purchasing), please contact
either Steve or Karen. Their emails are:

steve@digitalartsupplies.net, or
karen@....

We will get back to you as soon as we possibly can.
Please feel free to call.  We made need to take your
phone number and return your call later.  We will
try to be as prompt as possible in returning your calls.