Digital BW, The Print

chipcarterdc wrote:

>Here's the text of that message, so that you don't have to join the Epson 2200 
>group to read it:
>
>"The June issue of Shutterbug magazine, pg159 has a 1/2 page article on
>4 new Epson printers including a replacement for the 2200. They will
>have a new 8 color pigment ink set, including photo or matte black,
>light black, light light black, plus cyan, magenta, yellow, light cyan
>and light magenta. "The claim is that these pigment inks will
>significantly improve the printer's gray balance while eliminating
>color casts and dramatically reducing metamerism and bronzing." There
>will also be a new "advanced black and white print mode". The
>replacement for the 2200 is the R2400 and will sell for $849."
>
>I have several thoughts about this:
>
>(1) What are the other 3 new printers using the new inkset other than the 
>R2400?  I can see replacements for the 9600 and the 7600, but would the 
>fourth printer be a replacement for the 4000?
>  
>

Correct, the Croatian text mentions a 4800. The head assembly of the 
4000, 4800, 7800 and 9800 will be the same, 8 heads of 180 nozzles each. 
The 9800 will be a replacement for both the 9600 and the 10600/10000.  
Prices of all 3 are dropping here. Most likely the 9800 will be at least 
as fast as the 10600 was, same nozzle quantity per head, so no 10800 
model needed. The difference between the 4000 and the 4800 will be that 
the last will have to switch between MK and PK but in return you get an 
extra grey for Quad quality. With this difference I do not expect an 
upgrade for the 4000 to make it a 4800.

>(2) Notice that it refers to photo OR matte black.  That would indicate that, like 
>the 2200/7600/9600, and unlike the 4000, R1800 and R800, it can only have 
>one of these inks loaded at a time.  If true, that seems like a silly step 
>backwards.
>  
>

>(3) Why would the new printers be designated "Rxxxx" if they're not using the 
>R800/1800 inks?
>  
>
No idea, I thought the R is only used for the 2400.

>(4) Doesn't this leave the 4000 as kind of an orphan in the lineup?  It doesn't 
>fit with the R800/1800, which use the gloss optimizer and red/blue inks.  It 
>doesn't fit with the 2200/7600/9600, because it can hold photo and matte 
>black at the same time.  And it doesn't fit with the new printers either.  
>UNLESS, as someone suggested, Epson shows some common sense and 
>allows use of the new inks and "advanced B&W print mode" in the 4000 by a 
>firmware/driver update -- since the 4000 already has 8 ink channels, this 
>would seem sensible unless the new inks require a physically smaller drop 
>size than the 4000's heads can produce.  You would, of course be giving up 
>the ability to print on glossy or mattte without swapping blacks (assuming the 
>Shutterbug article is accurate), which is probably the primary reason you'd 
>buy a 4000 instead of the larger 7600.
>
>  
>
There's a chance that of each model there will be two versions. One with 
PK and MK installed and the other with the extra grey. The 4000 was 
launched in 3 varieties here. This is mostly firmware dependent and 
Epson can adapt to what is asked for at the end of production or even 
then when the first inks are loaded. Happened before with pigment and 
dye models. So not one orphan but 3 twins.

So far the R2400 is described and not the rest of the models AFAIK. That 
makes the picture a bit hazy.

Ernst