Epson Stylus Photo R1400 Printer and Premium Ink Compatible Cartridges Produces Impressive Results

At our Louth office we unpacked a new Epson Stylus Photo R1400 yesterday.  Instead of using genuine Epson inks I installed Premium Inks Compatible Ink Cartridges to replace (T0791 Black, T0792 Cyan, T0793 Magenta, T0794 Yellow, T0795 Light Cyan, T0796 Light Magenta).

Set up was very easy for this machine.  I just plugged in the USB cable from my laptop to the R1400 printer after installing software from the provided CD.  It took a while for the CD to install, but after a re-boot we were up and running very quickly.

The supplied Epson software includes an Easy Photo Print Utility.  With this you simply have to browse for the image you are printing, then select the paper size and type.  To begin with I used the automatic factory settings and printed some classic Van Gogh paintings on A4 Jetplay matte inkjet paper 190 g/m2 paper.  The first print was of the Café Terrace at Night, painted in mid-September 1888.  The first thing to catch my attention were the oil brush strokes that seemed almost to add an extra dimension, standing proud of the paper!  Important to also note the dynamic range of colours produced by the Epson R1400 in conjunction with the Premium Inks cartridges.

Today (07/05/12) I experimented with A3 size Sumvision 260 gram glossy photographic paper.  I decided to select a powerful image of a Peacock featuring vivid iridescent blue-green colours.  Again the results were impressive, however I think they would have looked better on a high quality matt paper; and although the resolution of the source picture was high, on closer inspection the clarity and definition of the image are not 100%.

In the afternoon I purchased a Wilkinson 20" x 16" plastic wood effect glazed picture/photo frame incorporating a cream mount.  The opening was almost too wide (on the shortest sides) to comfortably seat the A3 print, however with some careful maneuvering this was achieved.  There was an inch of play on the length meaning we lost a couple of centimetres of the image behind the mount.

A nice gentleman came into the shop today looking to purchase a R1400 printer after seeing the unopened box in the window last week.   I informed him that we only had one unit left and this had been used for demonstration purposes over the last couple of days.  After seeing the prints it had performed, he wanted to purchase it.  So I no longer have an R1400 printer to play with which I am a little sad about.

I have just ordered a cheaper Epson B1100 A3+ printer that I will put to the test later this week.

Compatible cartridges for the Epson Stylus Photo R1400 are available from http://www.printercartridges.net/

We are looking for a cheap reliable supplier of real light wood picture frames to house A4, A3 and A3+ prints.  If any readers can recommend a seller then please reply to this blog.  Thank you.