Epson Stylus Photo R200/R300/ R320/1280/RX500/ RX620. • 6-color dye-based ink—Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black plus Light Cyan and Light magenta to smooth the.. View
What are the key differences among the Epson ink solutions? Key Differences Target Application Epson Photo Ink Advanced amateur photographers and home photo DURABrite® Ink Home general purpose and photo--dedicated productivity with the flexibility to print photos PictureMate® Photo Ink Home photo Epson UltraChrome HiGlossTM Ink Photography, including commercial and advanced amateur; scrapbooking Epson UltraChrome K3TM Ink Commercial, fine art, black and white, and advanced amateur photography; pre-press proofing, posters, and signage Current Epson Printers Ink Characteristics Epson Stylus® Photo R200/R300/ R320/1280/RX500/ RX620 Epson Stylus C66/C86/CX4600/ CX6600 PictureMate, PictureMate Deluxe Viewer Edition Epson Stylus Photo R800/R1800 Epson Stylus Photo R2400, Epson Stylus Pro 4800/7800/9800 · 6-color dyebased ink--Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black plus Light Cyan and Light magenta to smooth the tonal gradations critical for photography · Wide color gamut and widest media selection · Best output quality on ink jet papers (matte, glossy, premium photo), and good output quality on plain paper; also supports specialty papers such as photo stickers, transparencies, and iron-on transfers · 4-color pigmentbased ink: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black · Delivers exceptional text and image quality on plain and matte papers; also produces good output on glossy papers (optimized for the Epson DURABrite Ink Glossy Photo Paper) · Water, smudge, and fade-resistant on plain, matte, and glossy papers · Only four-color all pigment ink set in its class · 6-color pigment ink--CMYK plus Red and Blue inks deliver archival quality photos with quality comparable to dye-based inks · Optimized for 4x6 photo printing, producing smooth tonal gradations critical for photography · PictureMate Print Pack includes one PictureMate photo cartridge and 100 sheets of photo paper to deliver a cost per print of about 29¢--satisfaction guaranteed1 · High-fidelity ink set using Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Matte Black and Photo Black inks, plus Red and Blue inks and a Gloss Optimizer · First pigmentbased ink set to deliver archival quality glossy and matte photos, with glossy quality comparable to dye-based inks · Best output quality on premium glossy papers and very good quality on matte papers · Pigment-based Cyan, Light Cyan, Magenta, Light Magenta, Yellow, Photo Black or Matte Black, plus Light Black and Light Light Black · Three-level black ink technology significantly improves overall gray balance, produces impressive midtones and highlights, and reduces metamerism · Best output quality on matte and fine art papers, with very good output on glossy papers Permanence Water and smudge- resistant Fade resistance rating2 Yes (Epson Premium Photo Papers) Up to 36 years under glass, over 300 years dark storage Yes, on all supported papers Up to 100 years under glass Yes, on all supported papers Up to 104 years under glass, up to 200 years dark storage Yes, on all supported papers Up to 200 years under glass, over 300 years dark storage Yes, on all supported papers Up to 108 years (color) and over 200 years (black and white) under glass, over 200 years dark storage 1 If you receive fewer prints than the number of sheets in the Print Pack, return the remaining sheets for a refund of the difference. For more details visit www. MyPictureMate.com/SatisfactionGuarantee. 2 Fade resistance ratings on specific combinations of ink and papers, based on accelerated testing of prints displayed indoors, framed under glass. See www. wilhelm-research.com for test details and ratings on specific papers. Actual print stability will vary according to display conditions, light intensity, humidity, and atmospheric conditions. Epson does not guarantee longevity of prints. For maximum print life, display all prints under glass or properly store them. Epson, Epson Stylus, and PictureMate are registered trademarks and Epson UltraChrome K3, Epson UltraChrome Hi-Gloss, and Exceed Your Vision are trademarks of Seiko Epson Corporation. DURABrite and ColorLife are registered trademarks of Epson America, Inc. All other product and brand are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Epson disclaims any and all rights in those marks. ©2005 Epson America, Inc. 6/05 Frequently Asked Questions about the Epson Ink Solutions Q: If the DURABrite Ink, PictureMate Photo Ink, Epson UltraChrome K3 Ink, and Epson UltraChrome Hi-Gloss Ink all have higher light-resistance, then why does Epson offer six-color dye printers (using Epson Photo Inks) for photo applications? A: The dye-based Epson Photo Inks produce smooth gradations critical for photography and are compatible with premium photo papers and many matte papers, but also support many papers not compatible with the pigment ink systems, including iron-on transfers, photo stickers, glossy photo greeting cards, and other glossy papers. The six-color dye-based ink set is designed for the photo enthusiast who is looking for premium photo quality, rich feature set, and flexibility. Prints produced with these inks will last for generations when stored in an album (using Epson Premium Photo Papers or Epson ColorLife® Photo Paper) and are ideal for framing and sharing with friends. Q: What are the main differences among the pigment ink technologies offered by Epson? A: The main differences are: · DURABrite Inks are featured on most of the Epson dedicated productivity printers and are optimized for general purpose printing. They produce optimal print quality on plain and matte papers, and provide water-, light-, and smudge-resistance on plain, matte, and glossy papers. DURABrite Inks are ideal for printing text and everyday documents on plain and matte papers, and also have the flexibility to print photos on matte or glossy papers. · PictureMate Photo Ink is featured on the PictureMate personal photo lab family of products, and is designed specifically for printing photos that match the expectations customers have about printing their photos at a lab: Lab quality prints that are water-, smudge-, and fade-resistant. In fact, PictureMate prints exceed customer expectations--these prints last as much as four times longer than prints from the photo lab. · Epson UltraChrome Hi-Gloss Ink is designed for photography and scrapbooking, and delivers archival quality glossy and matte photos. With an ink set that includes Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Photo Black, Matte Black, Red, and Blue inks, plus a Gloss Optimizer, the Epson UltraChrome Hi-Gloss Ink produces a large color gamut and is ideal for commercial and advanced amateur photography. This ink set excels at producing uniform glossy prints similar to traditional photo labs but with more vivid colors. · Epson UltraChrome K3 Ink is designed for photography and pre-press proofing, offering both a large color gamut and neutral black and white prints using the new Advanced Black and White Print Mode. With an 8-color pigmentbased ink system, including three-level black ink technology, the ink produces significantly improved gray balance, impressive midtones and highlights for smoother tonal range. It also provides reduced metamerism and reduced gloss differential. The ink further offers improved scratch resistance with professional print permanence ratings for truly sellable quality prints and gallery displays. Q: Why don't the Epson pigment ink solutions support the same papers? A: Because the formulation of inks in all the pigment-based inks is different, they are optimized for different papers: · DURABrite Ink uses a high-density, super-penetrating formula optimized for printing on plain and matte papers, yet also offer the flexibility to print photos on glossy papers. The new Epson DURABrite Ink Glossy Photo Paper is optimized for DURABrite Inks and is the best paper to use for glossy prints with this ink system. · PictureMate Photo Ink is designed for use on the PictureMate family of products. These 4x6 personal photo labs use the PictureMate Print Pack, which includes a photo cartridge and glossy paper sold together in one box. Because most home photo customers want glossy prints that look like lab prints, the PictureMate Print Pack currently includes 100 sheets of glossy 4x6 PictureMate Photo Paper. · Epson UltraChrome Hi-Gloss Ink is compatible with a wide variety of Epson glossy and matte and fine art papers. Because the print driver selects the Black ink (Photo or Matte) based on the paper selected in the printer driver, maximizing both color and density is automatic and often transparent to the user. Additionally, with the Gloss Optimizer, prints on glossy papers have uniform gloss level. This ink set produces its best output quality on premium glossy papers and very good quality on matte and fine art papers. · Epson UltraChrome K3 Ink features user-interchangeable Matte Black and Photo Black inks. The Matte Black ink produces a higher optical density and the best quality prints on matte papers, including Fine Art papers. The Photo Black ink is encapsulated in a resin, allowing it to bond onto glossy and semi-glossy Photo Papers. The Photo Black is best for printing on glossy media, producing its best print quality when used with the Epson Premium Luster Photo Paper. Epson UltraChrome K3 Ink produces its best output quality on matte and Fine Art papers, with very good output on glossy papers. Q: How does DURABrite Ink compare to the pigment black / dye color ink system used in many competitive printers? A: Some competitive printers use pigment ink for black and dye ink for color. Because DURABrite Ink uses pigment ink for both black and color, you get water-, light-, and smudge-resistant benefits for everything you print. Additionally, with DURABrite Ink, you get the benefit of crisper text and graphics for both black and color printing. Q: Can DURABrite Ink be used with non-Epson papers that are specially coated for ink jet printing? A: Other specially-coated ink jet papers are primarily aimed at thermal ink jet printing, and DURABrite Ink is not designed to work with these papers. DURABrite Ink produces its best print quality on plain and matte paper types. ©2005 Epson America, Inc. 6/05Adobe PDF Library 6.0