Epson Stylus Pro 3880 Color Inkjet Printer (CA61201-VM)
by Epson
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Category: CE
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: EpsonAudio: English (Original Language)
Model: CA61201-VM
Color: Black
Product features:
- Industry-leading pigment ink technology
- Professional control
- Precision print head technology
- Optimal black density
- Advanced image quality architecture
- Adobe Acrobat X Standard
- Adobe Acrobat X Professional
- Microsoft Office Home & Business 2010 - 2PC/1User (Disc Version)
- AmazonBasics USB 2.0 A-Male to Mini-B Cable (6 Feet / 1.8 Meters)
- AmazonBasics USB 2.0 A-Male to A-Female Extension Cable (9.8 Feet/3.0 Meters)
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Epson Stylus Pro 3880 Color Inkjet Printer (CA61201-VM)
Customer Review: Excelent output for pros and perfectionist amateurs
Summary: 5 Stars
The 3880 is Epson's entry-level professional printer. It was announced in September 2009 and as of the end of 2009 it's still in short supply, but it's worth waiting for. As a pro-level device, each one is supposedly aligned at the factory and the ink tanks hold 80 ml each vs. the 11 ml cartridges for the top end of the consumer line (Epson 2880). It prints 4" wider than the 2880. It weighs about 45 pounds and it can be moved into place by one person.
I'm an amateur who likes to be in control of the print, so I don't use photo printing services. I upgraded to a 3880 from an Epson 2200 (bought in 2003) for three reasons. (1) I wanted to print black & white and while the 2200 was a groundbreaking color printer, its B&W output is not very good. (2) The 3880 print head is coated with an ink repellent substance that is supposed to reduce clogging, which is a constant problem with the 2200. (3) The 3880 prints up to 17" wide so it can produce 16 x 20 or even 16 x 24 prints. Despite its ability to print 4" wider, it's only a couple of inches wider than the 2200. Although the 3880 is double the price of the latest 13" wide Epson (the 2880), you get a full set of 80 ml ink tanks, so you get enough ink to make up for the price difference as part of the 3880 package. You just have to use it up before it turns to sludge, but it has a 2 year shelf life.
The 3880 is easy to set up once you get past the 46 pieces of blue tape holding the various parts in place. There's a well-designed quick installation poster and a very good printed manual. The printer driver installed flawlessly from the CD onto a Windows 7 computer. it can be linked to a computer as a local printer via its standard USB port, but I set it up as a network printer using an Ethernet cable from the printer to a router. If you set it up as a network printer, be sure follow the clearly written network installation guide for each of the computers on the network. The guts of the printer appear to be quite solid. There's a lot of plastic on the outside and the large outfeed feels light duty. The previous model 3800 was criticized for its flimsy outfeed tray, but the 3880 has a magnetic catch so you can push the tray back into the front and close it up securely when it's not in use. That will reduce the risk that a casual bump will damage the tray.
Of course excellent output is what we're looking for in a relatively high end printer. Before decommissioning my 2200 I ran a standard test image that includes gradations of white and black in increments of 2, from 2 to 254 on the standard 0-256 RGB scale. Then I printed the same file on the newly installed 3880. The test print also had bars with smooth gradations of RGB colors and a number of "real" pictures - strawberries; a black & white image, a face, etc. For the 3880, I could distinguish a black point at about 4 and a white point at about 254 (on Epson Premium Glossy paper). The 2200's black point was about 12 and the white point was about 244. That means (at least to me) that the 3880 is capable of printing a very wide range of densities in a black & white image, which is exactly what I was looking for. And the color from the 3880 was truer to the image on my calibrated monitor than the print from the 2200, which is what one would expect given that the inks have improved considerably since the 2200 was designed.
Broadly speaking, my experience with the output is that it matches the monitor reasonably well, and if you use the soft proof feature of Photoshop (see below) it's possible to get a very good match. Note that you should calibrate your monitor using a colorimeter (Spyder or similar device). This is a critical first step, as most monitors have default settings that are far too bright. (If you don't calibrate your monitor, at least turn the brightness down to about 20%.)
When you print, you also need to tell the printer's software what paper you're using so it will use the right paper profile. (A profile is a set of directions that helps the printer match its output to the characteristics of the paper). Epson provides a full set of profiles for its own papers as part of the installations software. Manufacturers of other brands of papers (Ilford, Hahnemuele, etc.) are beginning to post profiles on their web sites for the 3880 (as of December 2009).
The 3880 and its predecessor 3800 use a special black ink for paper with a matte finish (whether you're printing color or B&W). The printer's software knows which type of black to use based on the type of paper you select when you set teh image up for printing. The matte black cartridge is installed in the printer alongside the "photo black" cartridge, so they don't have to be swapped back and forth, a tedious process that uses ink on the 2200 and its successors. But the 3880 does have to purge the lines of the photo black before it can print the matte black, and then it purges again when it reverts to photo black. If you print on both glossy/luster/pearl surfaces and on matte, you'll want to batch prints by paper type, because even the automatic switchover uses a couple of dollars of ink.
One other caveat - the 3880 does not come with a roll feed. If you want to print from rolls (as you might in a semi-production environment) you need Epson's 4800, which is about 40 pounds heavier and quite a bit more expensive. However, you can print up to 37 inches long for making panoramas. You just have to cut the paper off a roll by hand to get that length.
Thus far I've been using Epson and Ilford papers. The printer can be fed by stacking standard thickness paper in the feed-in tray, or by feeding single sheets in from a slot in the back, or by feeding thicker sheets in through the front. I haven't tried thicker sheets, but the feeding has been flawless with standard papers from 4 x 6 on up to 13 x 19. (17 x 25 will soon follow). The printer driver is very well thought out. There's an option on the screen that allows you to select "Advanced Black & White" and it yields B&W prints with very good gradations in density. They're slightly better than if you use the standard color portion of the driver for a B&W print. But I hasten to add that the color output is superb - this printer isn't just for black & white prints. It seems to be the perfect device for prints as wide as 17", which is about as large as I can think about for most amateurs and many professionals.
Finally, a word about soft proofing. (This has nothing to do with the 3880 specifically. It applies to any image you plan to print on any photo printer.)
Paper reflects light coming at it from the front. Monitors are lit from behind the screen. So what you see on the monitor is never the same as what you see on the print. Nonetheless the colors and the tone (degree of brightness) should match. You can greatly improve the match by calibrating your monitor as noted above. If you use Photoshop, you can also view a "soft proof" before you print. First, edit the image to your satisfaction. Then duplicate it (Image:Duplicate). Arrange the original and the copy on the monitor so they're side by side, or above and below. Click on the copy, Then click View:Proof Setup:Custom and select the paper you plan to use for the print. Check the "Simulate Paper Color" box below the image. You'll see how the print will come out of the printer. If you're using a glossy paper, there won't be as much of a difference as when you use a more textured finish. You can adjust the exposure and color balance of the copy so that it matches the original, and then when you print the copy, your output will match the original. (I save this "proof copy" if I plan to reprint the image.)
Summary: The 3880 is an excellent printer. It's two generations newer than the Epson 2200, which was the first reasonably priced high quality color inkjet for photos. Epson has moved the bar again, and when you look at the prints, it's hard to know what more one could ask for.
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Edit 8-30-2010: Epson inkjets are known to clog if they're not used regularly. My 2200 would need its print nozzles cleaned if it wasn't used at least once a week, and cleaning uses a lot of ink. In the 8 months I've had the 3880 it has never required nozzle cleaning even though it's been unused for as long as 3 weeks. I run a nozzle test pattern if it's been idle for more than 2 weeks, and the patterns have been perfect. Epson seems to have solved the clogging problem with this printer.
Description of Epson Stylus Pro 3880 Color Inkjet Printer (CA61201-VM)
Epson Stylus Pro 3880Digital Cameras and Photo Categories
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