Photo-i have just started an interactive review of the new Epson Stylus Photo R2400 A3+ photo printer.

“photo-i was launched three years ago with the first interactive review on the Epson Stylus photo SP2100. Now Epson have replaced this much loved printer with the R2400. Just how much progress has been made in photo quality printing over the last three years or have we reached a quality plateau, whereby improvements are minor? I have a gut feeling that we are seeing real issues being addressed by manufacturers - issues such as cast free monochrome printing. longevity of prints amongst other. It will be interesting to see what innovations manufacturers come up with next as far a photo quality is concerned. Looking at the some old photographs I wonder how much better an inkjet print can get, it is already streets ahead of most photo lab printing.”

Website: Photo-i - Epson Stylus Photo R2400

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CameraTown have posted a review of the Canon PIXMA iP5000 printer, which features the industry’s first 1 picoliter droplets.

“The Canon PIXMA iP5000 is an ideal printer for anyone who wants a fast, high quality 8.5” x 11” photo printer. The combination of Canon’s ink and paper will provide water and smudge resistant prints that will last as long or longer than traditional prints (when stored in an album). Canon’s ContrastPLUS ink system offers highly saturated colors, high contrast, and sharp prints, while the individual ink cartridges help to reduce waste. If you prefer a printer that will handle larger print sizes, take a look at the Canon i9900 wide-format (13"x19”) photo printer, which features Canon’s 8-color ChromaPLUS ink system. “

Website: CameraTown - Canon PIXMA iP5000 Review

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DIWA member and Czech website FotoAparat.cz have published their review of the Epson R300 photo printer, which offers convenient and innovative features such as printing directly onto the surface of ink jet printable CDs and DVDs, and being able to print photos with or without a computer.

Website: FotoAparat.cz - Epson Stylus Photo R300 Review

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Multi Union Press Release

Multi Union is pleased to announce that it has agreed to a final settlement with the Seiko Epson Group of the two US Court Actions filed in the District Court of Oregon in 2001 and 2005.  In both actions, Seiko Epson alleges infringement of Epson’s US patents by certain Multi Union inkjet cartridges on sale within the United States.

The terms of settlement prohibit Multi Union’s continued sale of certain Epson compatible inkjet cartridges in the United States.  The settlement contains no restriction whatsoever on the sales outside the United States.

DIWA member Steves Digicams have reviewed the new Canon SELPHY CP600 compact photo printer.

“The CP600 can be easily taken along with you to your next party, family get together or anywhere thanks to its battery pack. It produces brilliant 4 x 6-inch prints in just 63 seconds, 4 x 8-inch prints in 106 seconds or credit card size prints in 40 seconds. Setup and use is easy and simple - there are only a few print-time options that need to be selected such as bordered or borderless or print a date stamp. If you can work your digital camera, you can work this printer.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Canon SELPHY CP600 Review

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The Epson Stylus Photo RX620 has just been reviewed by Pocket-Lint. Tthe Stylus Photo RX620 is an all-in-one inkjet multifunction printer featuring a 2400X4800 dpi flatbed scanner, 2.5 inch preview monitor, integrated memory card reader, 6 individual ink cartridges and up 5760dpi print resolution.

“On the positive side, the high quality prints I was expecting were duly delivered via the RX620’s six separate dye-based inks (cyan, magenta, yellow, black, light cyan and light magenta) that are deemed to last up to 25-years under the correct conditions before fading starts to affect them. A maximum optimized output of up to 1440x5760dpi on the right media provides bags of detail and thanks to a tiny, 3-picolitre ink droplet size, no visible dot ‘grain’ is visible in the prints. The RX620 is however quite slow, particularly in the to quality Photo RPM mode where a borderless A4 image took just under 10-minutes to print.”

Website: Pocket-Lint - Epson Stylus Photo RX620 Review

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Tom’s Hardware Guide have published a great roundup of compact photo printers, including the HP Photosmart 375 (pictured).

“Just as 8½ x 11 / A4 printers use two technologies, laser and inkjet, two printing technologies are in competition in the 4"x6” printer market. Here though, they are inkjet and thermal (or dye) sublimation. But where the laser and inkjet markets are relatively compartmentalized in terms of objectives - laser for speed, inkjet for quality - the same isn’t true for 4"x6” printers. Whether you choose thermal sublimation or inkjet, the goal is the same: getting the best possible quality and photos that will hold up as long as possible over time.”

Website: Tom’s Hardware Guide - 4"x6” Printers: Your Own Photo Lab

Website: Read my HP Photosmart 375 Review

Website: Read my Epson PictureMate Review

Lexmark X2350 All-in-One and Lexmark Z735 printers are announced. Both the X2350 and Z735 use a single ink cartridge, called the the Lexmark #1 cartridge, for all types of printing (inclduing photos). The Lexmark X2350 has an estimated retail price of $69 after a $30 mail-in rebate, while the Lexmark Z735 is expected to retail for $49 after a $30 mail-in rebate.

Lexmark Press Release

Lexmark’s new printers ‘uncomplicate’ printing at home

- Lexmark’s one-cartridge system redefines ease-of-use and affordability for high-quality printing -

Lexmark International, Inc. (NYSE: LXK) today announced two new printers that help redefine ease-of-use and affordability in the home printing market for a key group of consumers who want a basic, easy-to-use printer with low-cost supplies.

The Lexmark X2350 All-in-One (AIO) and the Lexmark Z735 use the specially designed #1 cartridge to produce brilliant photos, vibrant color graphics and text with a single technology-rich cartridge, eliminating the need for multiple cartridge “swapping.” In addition, with a larger swath and more nozzles than previous entry-level models, these printers feature one of the fastest color speeds available in their classes—up to 15 pages per minute (ppm) for color or text documents and 4-inch x 6-inch photos as fast as 38 seconds*.

Australian photographer Pete Walsh is one of the first people to take delivery of the new Epson Stylus Pro 4800 printer. Pete has conveniently started a blog to document his experiences with the Epson 4800.

“‘I’ve walked around this morning with 4800 B&W side by side with 2100 B&W, under a wide range of light sources - daylight, fluro, bulb etc. Keeping in mind my limited testing - time and papers, metamerism looks to have been resolved. There’s _very little_ shift in the 4800 B&W PSPP print, where the 2100 B&W on matte ebbs back and forth, magenta, green, wildly in comparison to the 4800’s. I think this is great. B&W inkjet prints are back on the menu. I’m really looking forward to getting my hands on the matte black ink!”

Website: Epson Stylus Pro 4800 Blog

Forbes.com have published a short review of the new Epson PictureMate Deluxe Viewer Edition printer.

“Epson claims that photos print out in about 75 seconds. I’m not sure how they arrive at that figure. About 88 seconds lapsed between the moment I pressed the “print” button and that at which I was able to take a finished print off the tray. A group of 10 pictures took a little more than 14 minutes. Regardless of the somewhat longer than expected printing time, the 4-by-6 inch prints were generally excellent.”

Website: Forbes.com - Epson PictureMate Deluxe Viewer Edition Review

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Epson UK Press Release

Epson Stylus PRO 4800 and 7800 to make their UK debut at Adobe Live!

26th-27th May 2005 -  The Epson stand (number 230) at Adobe Live 2005 will see the UK debut of two of Epson’s brand new large format printers; the Epson Stylus PRO 4800 and the Epson Stylus PRO 7800.

Marking a new era in digital imaging, both the Epson Stylus PRO 4800 (17” wide) and the Stylus PRO 7800 (24” wide) incorporate the innovative new Epson UltraChrome K3 inkset, a new standard in ink technology for the photographic, design and proofing markets.

Shutterbug Magazine have published their review of the A4 HP Photosmart 7960 printer.

“Thanks to the new photo gray ink, the HP 7960 is also an ideal printer for making black & white photos, particularly on Premium Plus Glossy photo paper. Start with a neutral image—not sepia, for example—and your prints should not exhibit any apparent color cast. There’s no need to make any adjustments—using trial and error experimentation with various types of paper—as with some other printers. My best monochrome prints match the level of quality that I expect from a pro lab, with rich dark blacks, luminous whites and accurate mid-tones.”

Website: Shutterbug Magazine - HP Photosmart 7960 Review

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Photo-i have reviewed the new A3+ printer from the HP, the Photosmart 8750, which was announced at PMA in February.

“As far as monochrome printing (B/W to you photographers) goes, HP still packs a good punch. The prints I produced didn’t display any colour cast whatsoever. I tried sending a file to the printer which was greyscale but in RGB and printed it as if it were a colour file. There was a very slight shift towards cyan but nothing when compared to the competition. Printing the same file but with the Greyscale box checked in the HP print dialogue panel produced a totally neutral grey print. I can’t fault this printer for monochrome printing.”

Website: Photo-i - HP Photosmart 8750 Review

Website: Read my HP Photosmart 8750 Review

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PC Magazine are first off the mark with their review of the very new Epson PictureMate Deluxe Viewer Edition printer.

“When we reviewed the original PictureMate, we said that we’d like it even better if it had a color LCD for previewing images, but that was the only important trick it missed. The PictureMate Deluxe Viewer Edition adds that missing color LCD, as well as faster printing and a few more tricks. And, indeed, we like it even better.”

Website: PC Magazine - Epson PictureMate Deluxe Viewer Edition Review

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Canon USA Press Release

Canon Unveils imagePROGRAF W6400 and W8400 Large Format Printers Combined with New Software Solution  

PHILADELPHIA—(BUSINESS WIRE)—May 17, 2005—Canon U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:CAJ)—Canon imagePROGRAF W6400 and W8400 Printers with New Proprietary Software Offer Complete Workflow Solution for Creating, Processing, and Printing

Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leading provider of office imaging systems, ink-jet technology and digital photography, today announced the new imagePROGRAF W6400 and W8400 pigment ink large format printers. Engineered to satisfy the most demanding print applications, the recent additions to Canon’s large format portfolio bundle exceptional printing speeds and enhanced image quality with a brand new suite of workflow software. The new W6400 and W8400 printer systems address an expanded spectrum of large format output environments and requirements, including corporate, print for pay and photo retail operations as well as photography and the fine art markets.

PhotoshopNews have a couple of great articles about the new Epson R2400 and 4400 photo printers.

“The R2400 is MUCH MORE NEUTRAL than the 2200 when printing in the Advanced B&W mode. The 2200 suffers from considerable hue wandering, particularly between green/magenta, throughout the luminance range from black to white. The R2400 does a MUCH better job of reaching the neutrality of that found in traditional silver gelatin prints.”

Website: PhotoshopNews - Epson R2400 and Ultrachrome K3 Ink Report

Website: PhotoshopNews - Interview with Greg Gorman about the New Epson Printers

Last week Epson announced 7 new printers, all featuring a new inkset called Ultrachrome K3. This week, the completely independent body Wilhelm Imaging Research tell us that black and white prints from the large format Stylus Pro 9800 printer have a lifespan of 325 years under glass on Epson Enhanced Matte - yes, that’s right, 325 years! Apparently the three black inks that the 9800 uses (and all the other printers that use the K3 ink) are extremely stable carbon pigments, resulting in the dramatic increase in longevity. You don’t have to pay thousands to get this level of performance either - the £600 A3+ sized R2400 uses exactly the same inkset as the larger models. The improvements for colour prints aren’t so great - they’re comparable with the older Ultrachrome range - but black and white photographers should be grinning from ear to ear…

Website: Wilhelm Imaging Research - Epson Stylus Pro 9800 Permanence Ratings

Kodak have had a lot of success recently with their Easyshare line of compact photo printers. Now they look set to introduce a range of bigger photo quality inkjet printers, at least according to a report by Reuters.

“Photo-quality consumer inkjet printers will be announced in mid-2006 by Kodak, which believes its technology is superior to that in current models, Cross Research analyst Shannon Cross said following a briefing with the Rochester, New York, company.

Kodak spokesman Dave Lanzillo reiterated that inkjet printers are part of its growth plan, but declined to comment on the likelihood of a 2006 product launch.”

Website: Reuters - Kodak seen selling consumer inkjet printers in ‘06

More Kodak news is the announcement yesterday of a new CEO, with Dan Carp retirng and being replaced by Antonio Perez.

Website: Yahoo News - Perez to Replace Carp As Kodak CEO

Thanks to Sanj for letting me know.

Epson PictureMate 500 is announced today by Epson UK. The PictureMate 500 is an updated version of the original popular PictureMate which offers several improvements. Most notable is the addition of a 2.4 inch colour LCD screen for previewing and editing your photos (the lack of a colour LCD was something that I criticised in my review of the original PictureMate). There is also a new battery option which makes the PictureMate 500 truly portable. The PictureMate 500 can now print more quickly - Epson claims 40 percent faster than the original PictureMate. The PictureMate 500 will be available by June 2005 for a suggested retail price of £179.

Editor’s Note: This product was announced earlier today by Epson USA, where it is known as the Epson PictureMate Deluxe Viewer Edition.

Epson UK Press Release

PictureMate 500, the latest personal photo-lab from Epson

Visits to high-street photo labs promise to be a thing of the past, as Epson introduce their new PictureMate 500. The 10x15cm photo printer offers a colour LCD screen, fast print speeds and an optional battery for improved portability.

June, 2005: As digital cameras continue to be favoured over the traditional film camera, the number of photos printed at home continues to increase.  In light of this change, Epson’s easy-to-use home photo printer range just gets better.  The PictureMate 500 is the latest 10x15cm photo printer providing professional lab quality photos from the comfort of your own home. It makes home photo printing even quicker and easier with the addition of a 2.4” LCD screen, optional battery for improved portability and faster print speeds.  You can now enjoy high quality photos, minutes after they are captured.  At 29p a photo1 it rivals the cost of most high-street vendors.

Epson PictureMate Deluxe Viewer Edition is announced by Epson USA. The Epson PictureMate Deluxe Viewer Edition is an updated version of the original popular PictureMate which offers several improvements. Most notable is the addition of a 2.4 inch colour LCD screen for previewing and editing your photos (the lack of a colour LCD was something that I criticised in my review of the original PictureMate). The Epson PictureMate Deluxe Viewer Edition can now print more quickly - Epson claims 40 percent faster than the original PictureMate. The PictureMate Deluxe Viewer Edition will be available by June 2005 for a suggested retail price of $249.

Epson USA Press Release

At-Home Photo Printing Even More Convenient with Epson’s PictureMate Deluxe Viewer Edition

LONG BEACH, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—May 10, 2005—Extension of PictureMate Line Features Premium Photo Viewer, Faster Print Speed And Enhanced Printing and Editing Features for Easier, More Versatile Digital Photo Printing

With digital camera adoption surging to nearly 46 million households(a), an increasing number of consumers want better solutions for printing lab quality photos in the convenience of home. One of the biggest annoyances has been having to download images onto a computer and then fuss around with software in order to format and print photos, which can be difficult and time-consuming. And what about the growing number of digital camera owners who don’t even own a computer?