24.4.2015

This is The Best 13 inch (A3) type printer you can get.I bought this instead of the Epson R3000 as this has just been released and has had rave reviews on the Web and in Print.Amateur Photographer gave it 5/5 stars in the latest review, and the results are superior to any other comparable printer out there!So bottom line is, if you're thinking about buying this but cannot decide between this or the R2000 or R3000 - or Canon/HP offerings, just go for this, it is Seiko Epson's latest offering and has their latest and best results and user friendliness.The box was very heavy, weighing around 40 lbs and contained the printer,all the inks - complete 9 pack with full 25+ml capacity.The package also contained accessories for Roll Paper and CD/DVD printing and a CD Rom plus simple instructions.It was very easy to set up - easily explained on the leaflets inside.The wonderful thing about this is the WiFi wireless printing. The printer is BIG, so I connected it in my Darkroom/Studio upstairs and not in my room where my Macintosh and Scanner are.Turn on the printer and set it up as instructed, installing the inks too - and it's touch screen interface gives you the option of connecting to your Wireless network - basically the same procedure an iPhone or Computer would use- you select the WiFi network out of available networks and type in the password.I switched on WiFi on my Mac and selected printers on the preferences and it had already discovered it!I then went on Epson's website and downloaded the P600 driver package which I installed with a few clicks.I use Photoshop CS4 to print, and on that the ICC Profile was present of the Printer plus papers etc.Printing was a doddle, everything is straight forward on the menu to sleect - you can use the Printer to handle colour or use Photohsop to do it and the paper types plus tray/feeder/front load selections are all there and the print quality is astounding.I printed just two different test prints which were very accurate in colour, very vibrant and had great deep blacks. Flawless, gob smackingly brilliant!I then went straight into my project which consisted of three prints to be mounted and framed - these were to replace identical photographs I had done in a Lab on Fuji Crystal Archive paper - and the three prints I made (on Epson Ultra Glossy Photo) simply BLEW the lab prints away in all ways - sure the Lab prints weren't professional.The colour is wonderful, the gradients and tonality is astounding - I scan Medium Format Fuji Velvia and Kodak Ektachrome (of which the three prints I made were scanned from) and the prints were befitting the nature of the Slides! Of course, you'll never get Cibachrome/Ilfochrome but you sure as hell are going to get some fantastic end products using the various papers available.I'm looking to order some Epson Traditional Fiber based paper for another project and am looking forward to it - I an only imagine how Fiber paper or Fine Art will look!It's so clever, you press print, and the wireless method is blindingly fast! Within a couple of minutes your photo has been printed beautifully.So there you go, brilliant printer, easy peazy to set up, quick to print, looks great, build quality is top notch - it's a heavy big beast! Ink cartridges are BIG 25ml monsters and the end product is breath taking.NB. The other reviewer has made more prints than I, but he possibly received a dud, I've used Epson printers and scanners for years and years and I find that they're the Best in their ranges in terms of build quality and longevity, I have had my Epson 4990 scanner since 2006 without any problems.The Box - it's a BIG cardboard box, easily opened with a blade along the brown tape sealing it, and you lift out some polystyrene to access the printer - my box and packaging is all intact so I don't know how the other reviewer manged to rip his up!Apple Photo's works great!Use Colorsync to install the ICC profiles for other papers.Epson papers profiles are auto installed in your Library (Mac OS X)UPDATE:Made a few more prints and tried the front loading with Hahnemühle Canvas matt (A4) I downloaded the ICC from their website - installed in the colorsync folder in Library.Made two prints one colour one BW. The Printer auto swapped ink for the black matt ink - SUPERB results!Easy straight forward, as the Printer tells you what to do!Made another two 8"x8" prints on the Ultra Glossy - using Photos - superb results!Apple Aperture 3.6 is IDEAL for printing with this.Simple, straight forward and a God send with everything you need there on the first pop up!Printed a photo of Barmouth Harbour which was shot with Agfa Ultra 100 and a 21mm Biogon lens on a Contax G2.The print was sublime, lush, saturated popping colours without looking garish, fine detail, great shadow detail and gorgeous.I think Apple Aperture and the Epson SC-P600 will be my final print combination.UPDATEMade a complete set of Prints on what I believe to be The Best Photographic paper for this printer - Epson Traditional Photo paper, also known as Epson Exhibition Fine Art Fiber paper. A Fiber based paper which is very close to traditional fiber based photographic paper.http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005ZBMDMM?ref_=cm_cr-mr-titleThe prints were another level entirely compared to the Ultra Glossy.So to conclude, after using this printer for many prints, with different papers and software I can only say that my experience has been 5/5 stars and the printer is better than I expected it to be.UPDATE.Several prints later, no problems. The previous reviewer was probably unlucky as happens with electronic items at times.NB. Another reviewer has complained about the print not looking as if it's a part of the paper, and looking as if it's over it.This is not the case, perhaps the other user needs to learn how to print.Printing on Epson Premium Ultra Glossy and Epson Exhibition Fiber (Epson traditional photo paper) the ink has merged beautifully with the paper. The Ultrachrome HD ink and the printer itself are but upgraded versions of the tried and tested and supreme R3000 printer, so any criticism of this kind os obviously an error with the user's methods.The correct ICC Profile's for the relevant Paper can be downloaded and installed!And as for printing the whole area - I guess that depends on the settings. I've never had cause to print a whole paper (I print to fit a frame size in the aspect ration/dimensions gathered from the scan I customise in Aperture).UPDATE.After 3 weeks of printing, and getting to grips with colour, wysiwyg profiling and getting my vision from screen to final print I'm extremely happy with my purchase.The print quality, done the correct way, with the correct profile, and with the relevant paper is simply breathtaking.I have to admit, the Epson Exhibition Fiber Paper (USA) / Traditional Photo Paper (in UK) is phenomenal! Brilliant look and feel and very precious when coupled with a worthy print. It's my paper of choice, it has the perfect balance of lustre and fine art mat quality with that real fiber look. Prints meld with the paper. To be honest, I had my heart set on this paper anyway, from reviews and from the fact that I adore using Fiber based paper in my Darkroom and love the quality and feel and look which is way beyond anything resin coated - drying Fiber paper after printing in the darkroom is a royal pain, no more ironing the paper or using a hoffman press with this Epson! For BW it's simply superb, I would not use mat fine art paper for BW as this has so much depth to it and is a different class.I also printed B&W on this same paper and the results were fantastic - don't ever expect the same as a traditional expertly done darkroom wet print on high quality Fiber paper - but expect something which is about as good as it gets in BW digitally and I am so happy!So if you're serious about printing, and don't want to blow £1000's on the larger A2 range, then I can't think of any other printer than matches this - and reviewers in Magazines and Online think the same!

17.3.2018

I absolutely love the Epson Expression HD XP - 15000 - A dream to use, has so far done everything I wanted it to..I am an artist and I wanted to make my own art prints to sell..The first prints were from photograph and then manipulated in Photoshop, but did not come out right, it was just scruffy/pixellated and too saturated, I thought it was because I hadn't bought a good enough printer! but Im guessing I didn't have settings right in Photoshop and the quality of the photo was not good enough. I thought as I printed on Canson watercolour paper and not Epsons matte paper that might be the problem.Then I tried a scanned image at 1200 ppi and discovered printing in CMYK and a fair few othersettings and 10 prints later I got the perfect print and i am thrilled!!As a complete beginner in Photoshop and using Printers it was a massive learning curve for me, watching lots of Youtube videos over 3 days and also studying everything I could on the internet all helped me achieve my desired outcome..I thought I had bitten off more than I could chew doing all this myself when most artists go to printers to do all of this and I thought it was actually going to be more like 3 months before I could print out a decent print, so I was thrilled to get it right within 3 days, a day before someone wanted to buy my first print!It took me about 50 minutes to unbox and completely set up and it even connected to wifi instantly, I didn't have to do anything, not even press any buttons on router! It was well packaged, it didn't come with any free paper, but the ink cartridges it came with seem to be full and not partially filled like is sometimes the case with new printers.It has taken 140lb Canson watercolour paper in rear feed and front feed tray with ease, surprisingly, I wasn't expecting that..I was worried it would only take certain papers, I have also read elsewhere that it does lots of other things too, like cd printing and stickers and t shirt transfer/iron ons, so I will be trying these other things too, along with seeing if it will take canvas paper to print photos on to make my own personalised photo canvas.So it sounds like this printer has endless possibilities and I am truly thrilled with it!I highly recommend this printer, I hope that I will still be just as happy with it in 6 months time or 3 years down the line! We shall see!!Thankyou Epson!!As a complete beginner in Photoshop and using Printers it was a massive learning curve for me, watching lots of Youtube videos over 3 days and also studying everything I could on the internet all helped me achieve my desired outcome..I thought I had bitten off more than I could chew doing all this myself when most artists go to printers to do all of this and I thought it was actually going to be more like 3 months before I could print out a decent print, so I was thrilled to get it right within 3 days, a day before someone wanted to buy my first print!It took me about 50 minutes to unbox and completely set up and it even connected to wifi instantly, I didn't have to do anything, not even press any buttons on router! It was well packaged, it didn't come with any free paper, but the ink cartridges it came with seem to be full and not partially filled like is sometimes the case with new printers.It has taken 140lb Canson watercolour paper rearfeed and front with ease, and from what I have read it can do t shirt transfer/iron on, stickers etc and I will be trying canvas to do my own photo/art canvas, we shall see how that goes, anyway I hope that I will still love my printer in the following years to come and it will always do a good job!The added photo is of my first sold art print done on this printer that I so far highly recommend! Thankyou!

21.3.2020

Having had several Epson colour printers before (A4 and A2+ large format), I've always been impressed with their quality of print. I've currently got a Canon B&W laser printer for standard prints but needed a 'simple' A4 for colour output. Having reviewed all the current A4 colour printers on sale by both Epson and Canon, I've realised that the replacement inks are horrendously expensive, or the current generic versions haven't yet made it to affordable prices.So, I searched for a year or two older design still on sale and for which there are good quality generic refill inks available. The XP-55 has satisfied that requirement. The six inks will provide somewhat higher quality photo prints.

15.2.2019

This is a brilliant low cost high quality printer. It fits a series of low budget projects I am doing perfectly. The quality of the printing is quite stunning. The ink however.... The printer ships with 378 ink. The box identifies the 378 Multipack for replacement inks. Amazon ships 378 multipacks as a bundle if you like, when you buy the printer. Curiously the XP-15000 User Guide identifies a 312 and 314 ink cartridge (A four color package, that is not the right ink.)But wait the Epson 378 multipacks sold through amazon and all UK shops are not the right ink either : )That ink package include four colors that match the printer and two that do not; light cyan and light magenta.

4.12.2019

Be careful with this purchase! Amazon claim that the Squirrel 378 pack with the light cyan and light magenta is compatible - it is NOT. Do not buy the bundle pack advertised for this product! Epson are just as bad not knowing what's what with their inks.Also, Epson only make Red and Grey XL. The only multi-pack that is compatible with this printer that I can find is the C13T379D4010 which is the pack that comes with Red and Grey and it's only XL! So the cost is £112!!!I don't understand why Amazon is still advertising the light cyan and light magenta as compatible! I purchased this printer on the fact the ink (£53 pack) was doable. I didn't purchase the advertised pack,

1.8.2017

An unusual but most worthwhile printer, it is a printer and not a multifunction device, for all of us out there that do not need or already have a scanner. It is first and foremost a very high quality photo/art output printer, text quality is fine but not its forte. Paper handling is generally excellent with two trays and a manual feed (for those that complain about low tray capacity, it is not an office printer (buy something more suitable for the task at hand) and for those that moan about how to use the manual feed slot, read the instructions its not hard to use really.) It also prints on to CD/DVD etc (using the supplied adaptor tray, usefully stored under the machine and again easy to use once you have read the instructions).

13.5.2018

I had been waiting for the time when I could afford / justify the expense of a good quality A3+ photo printer, then Epson announced the launch ofthe Expression XP 15000. I didn't take long to search and find the lowest cost suppliers, and decide which one I trusted most.Just a little frustrating to not have any media to check the printer, but luckily, the delivery was just in time to beat the Saturday closing time ofmy nearest supplier.Then I spent about half an hour unpacking and setting up.Note that there are several adhesive tapes holding various parts firmly together with some of them not easy to find, which involves removing the two paper trays to get at the internal ones (which are not visible from the outside)

15.1.2015

An excellent printer. We've used Epson printers for many years, previously with four colour cartridges rather than the six in this model.Setting up the printer was simplicity itself. Load the CD into the computer and follow the instructions. Initially, you need a usb connection until the on screen instructions tell you to disconnect. There are a couple of times you need to be a little patient and, if you are, everything progresses smoothly and the wi-fi configuration just works. The downloadable user guide is well laid out and instructions are easy to follow. I was soon running my first test print and was impressed with the qualityWhen compared with the output of four colour printers there's

11.3.2017

One of the best A3+ printers on the market. I set mine up using a wired Ethernet connection and it couldn't have been easier. I generally print on Epson Archival Matte paper, both A3 and A4, and the results are simply stunning. The black is particularly impressive: large areas of black print with no trace of banding. Printing speed is not really relevant for this type of printer (I really can't imagine anyone using it to print long text documents) but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it will print an A3 image at maximum quality in under 5 minutes.The reason I've given it 4 stars rather than 5 is that, although the printer has both "Matte Black" and "Photo Black" cartridges among its nine ink colours,

30.5.2020

The printer replaces another, an Epson XP that had printed around 45,000 colour A4 photos and 65,000 pages of text, before dying and needing major work that would cost more than buying a new one.The replacement does have slightly more uses, but with my being in my mid 70's I am having to try to get to operate a updated machine. It has one feature that I'm worried about and that is a plug in item that is a maintenance device, which from what I understand collects ink when the machine goes through a head cleaning operation, and I'm not sure how long it will work before needing replacing, as when it is full the machine will not work until the item is replace by a new one.

18.4.2020

I bought this printer to replace my previous HP printer which had been an absolute disaster of unreliability and connectivity problems.Well this is completely the opposite. Setup was incredibly simple, adding it to WiFi very easy, both Macs and PCs happily found and installed the drivers for it straight away, and the print quality has been excellent. I have some very slight concerns that there are moving parts that just don't need to move (the output tray extends itself out when it's about to print - it makes the device more compact when it's not printing, but the plasticky gears seem like a good failure point to me, and it's really unnecessary)

29.6.2017

It has taken me sometime to get started although I am familiar with other Epson printers. I put a piece of paper in the back as per other printers and it was gobbled up and I could find no trace. The sheet of instructions was difficult to follow as each English instruction was followed by 5-6 other languages - and nowhere could I find an instruction about gobbled up paper which is nowhere to be seen. I am making much more progress now I have googled the full instructions. (Not sure what's on the disc as I have no disc drive on the laptop.) Took a while to find the original manual by Epson as google offers you lots of them. Now I have discovered how to retrieve the gobbled up piece of paper,

5.1.2017

I've only ever had Epson inkjet 'Photo' printers, as they are the best. - That's over a period of 30+ years. My last one was the 2880, of which I had 2. This is the only replacement, and is a good quality printer, but oh boy is it slow! I have to print many pages at a time of black text, and it spends an inordinate amount of time buzzing to itself between prints. This is a new noise from Epson, and it appears the head is doing some sort of traversing at the time. Why I don't know, but it does irritate me! Also I think it's time Epson introduced a 'black only' print option,as all one can select is 'greyscale' which slowly uses all the other colours - at £20 a cartridge.It does seem to have an identical paper feed cam to the 2880,

30.12.2015

Having been disappointed with the Canon iP7250 which I had purchased as successor to a line of Canon printers, I purchase the XP55.It fulfils my needs because it can handle any of the media that I may wish to print on, photographic paper, plain document paper or non standard paper such as specialist photo' paper and card.Set up was straight forward, helped by a logical step by step process for which there are ample instructions. Wireless connection was established automatically with no problems.It is apparent that the XP55 is designed for the person who wishes to use it for a variety of printing tasks, I haven't discovered any limitation within the maximum A4 size capability.

6.6.2016

I won't go into the technicalities of setting this machine up and performance, others have done that very well and in addition there are videos on YouTube which are very helpful. Simply put, this machine connected faultlessly via my wifi, much easier than I had expected. It is worth setting aside a couple of hours to get this from boxed arrival to first print. I have been an Epson man for nigh on 30 years and have always been pleased with the quality and performance. The first print off this machine just blew me away. I am using Permajet Oyster paper with their profile as I already had this paper at home and surprisingly Epson did not include in the box any samples of their qualities,

Epson Expression Photo XP-8600 - Reviews

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