Hi Chris,
Rather than steer you towards a specific printer (though I have an Epson 2200 and LOVE it...
the 13x19 UltraChromes are incredible!), I would suggest that even with your current
printer you will get the best results by *correctly* setting the profiles for your system.
These assure your monitor has been properly calibrated (what you see is exactly what any
other calibrated monitor sees... no lighter, no darker, and every color precisely
interpreted), your scanner properly interprets what is presented to it, and your
printer prints EXACTLY what you see on your monitor with a given paper. In other words,
ALL the devices are playing TOGETHER on the same field.
You might be surpised too, how much deviation can exist by using non-OEM inks or papers.
I had used the highest quality Kodak papers, only to get "pizza-wheel" marks and
color shifting from my UltraChrome Epson prints. Come to find out that Epson specified
papers had coatings that allowed their UltraChrome inks to dry more rapidly. I switched
back to their own papers and Voilá... problem solved!
Printers that support individual ink tanks (a separate cartridge for each color) can be
tremendously less expensive to operate than many "benchmark" tests might indicate, as a
multi-colored cartridge needs to be tossed when one of the colors is depleted. Not so with
something like the Epson 2200, which will run until a tank is completely empty, and even
allow you to change that individual color in the middle of a print with seamless results.
Another point you may wish to ponder is do you want those (possibly) fantastic looking prints
to last for 6 months before they fade into oblivion? Seven months? Or for many, many years?
Archivable inks and papers will assure they look as crisp and vibrant in ten years as the
day they were originally printed. Limit your search to those printers that support
archivability, and you will not be cursing the results later on down the road!
Perhaps there is a reason why superb printers seem to abound at reasonable prices...
the manufacturers make their bread and butter not by the selling printers, but by selling
expendable commodities: ink and paper!
)
Cheers,
Paul
PS: Scenes like this recent "Orions Sword" look stunning when printed in 13" x 19" format!
(image info at: http://www.astro-nut.com/m42-03dec25.html )
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