Starts First Time - Epson

The sad news is that my old printer carked it. I let a batch of out-of-date-ink sit unused in it for too long a time and the head clogged up. None of the easy solutions cured this, and the repair technician at the printer place found that the replacement of the head would have cost nearly as much as buying a new printer - decision easy.

I selected a slightly smaller printer than before - in the time I used the original I never really exploited the largest size of paper. I could quite easily use the next size down.

The good thing about the next size down is that it is cheaper - and does a little more in the bells and whistles line. It can print roll paper for panoramas and also has a tray that handles CD disks. As it has the sort of font feed that can cope with thick material, it seemed to be a good choice.

Epson Photo R3000 is the model. I takes the same sort of ink as the previous printer, though the cartridges are somewhat smaller. This means a higher per/ml ink cost but a faster throughput of cartridges and less chance of the ink staling in the system.

Paid my money - full price too* - took it home, opened the box, unpacked the goods, and read the instructions. That is the beauty of Epson - the instructions are printed as well as disked, and they assume that the new user is a boob - and write accordingly. Even the dimmest of us can do it and I did it...

Once the thing was hooked up, inked up, and disked up, I tried the simple option for connecting it - the enclosed USB cord. There are simple instructions for using it with a Wifi link but I thought that wire would be more reliable - plus I like the option of something that I can trip over in the dark.

The command pathway from my computer to the printer seemed to be similar to the previous printer so I called up and image, sized it, and asked for the same sort of colour handling as before. First file went perfectly and to my eye is precisely the same as the monitor screen. Four more images confirmed this fidelity. I could not be happier.

I also reflected that the paper was helping a lot - I selected Epson Premium Glossy in A4 size. The printer knows this paper and has the correct profile as part of its basic structure. I might change a few times to other well-known brands or surfaces, but for me the A4 Premium Glossy looks to be the best option. I don't do soft romantic matte shots...except when I do soft, out of focus shots that I miss the exposure on badly and am too ashamed the throw in the bin. Then I talk myself out of it.

So that's the report. Epson works. Works well. Works FIRST IMAGE through the printer. Can't ask for better than that.

* 'cause I get tired of people trying to skinflint the price of luxury items down to nothing. I want to do the job well and I expect to pay for the goods. If I wanted to do cheap printing I could make a stamp out of a potato and use a school watercolour set...