Epson Stylus R2880 Large Format Photo Printer (C11CA16201)

Designed to deliver your creative vision without compromise, the Epson Stylus Photo R2880 includes an advanced ink set and versatile features for incredible quality and control. Boasting the same technology professional photographers demand, Epson UltraChrome K3^® with Vivid Magenta Ink gives the R2880 a larger color gamut for more saturated reds, blues and purples. This innovative ink set also employs three–level black technology for outstanding tonal range, while Advanced Black–and–White Photo Mode gives users the control they need, ensuring stunning neutral or toned black–and–white images that rival darkroom prints. Taking image quality even further, Radiance^® technology delivers truer, more lifelike color with improved highlight and shadow detail. This powerful machine has the flexibility to create beautiful prints on a full range of professional and fine–art media, including glossy, luster and canvas up to 13 inches wide. Achieve professional results every time with the quality, control and versatility of the Epson Stylus Photo R2880.

R2880 Image

Epson UltraChrome K3 with Vivid Magenta Ink technology

This professional, 8–color ink set with advanced magenta pigments provides more dramatic reds, blues and purples for exhibition quality prints. Its three–level black technology delivers richer blacks, outstanding tonal range and an unprecedented gray balance, all of which ensure stunning black–and–white prints. This pigment ink set offers color stability, which means the prints you view right out of the printer stay consistent over time. And, it boasts print permanence ratings up to 200 years or more*. So, whether you want to display your prints or sell them in a gallery, you can be sure they’ll last for generations to come. With Epson UltraChrome K3 with Vivid Magenta, you get print quality and longevity that satisfies the most demanding professional photographer.

What the press is saying:

	"An eight-cartridge ink system includes special magenta pigments for breathtaking tonal range in color prints. But where the R2880 really excels is in the grayscale reproduction of black-and-white prints. Three levels of black pigments and a special Black-and-White Photo Mode eliminate all of the unfortunate color casting that occurs in black-and-white prints from lesser photo printers The R2880 is the artist's choice. We love it." Staff, Mac/Life (12.2009)
	"With the ability to print 13x19 inches and Epson’s professional UltraChrome K3 ink set, the Stylus Photo R2880 is a pro–level printer with a decidedly enthusiast–friendly price." Staff, Outdoor Photographer (12.1.2008)
	"With the ability to print 13 x 19 inches and Epson’s professional UltraChrome K3 inkset, the Stylus Photo R2880 is a pro–level printer with a decidedly enthusiast–friendly price. The printer features pigment–based inks that produce exhibition–quality images that stand up to the rigors of time." Staff, PC Photo (12.1.2008)
	"The Epson Stylus Photo R2880 makes stunning prints. Colors are rich and accurate and thanks, in large part, to the vivid magenta ink, reds, blues and purples are more vibrant than prints made on the R2400" Theano Nikitas, (7.28.2008)
	"For anyone interested in black and white printing, the R2880 is a stunner. On both matte and glossy media, the R2880’s output is drop–dead neutral, with the widest tonal range of any printer we’ve seen under $1,000. In fact, its black–and–white prints can rival printers more than twice its price." Rick LePage, Printerville (9.14.2008)
	"While the Epson Stylus Photo R2880 is a very capable color printer, its greatest asset is its monochrome capability. The gray inks make for exceptionally smooth tonal transitions" Mark Levesque, Professional Photographer (12.1.2008)
	"The color prints are gorgeous and are only outdone by its incredible black–and–white–printsyou’ll get professional–looking, nice big prints that’ll have you hooked." Scott Kelby, Layers (12.1.2008)

Radiance technology

Epson partnered with world-renowned color scientists at the Rochester Institute of Technology to develop Radiance technology, an advanced mathematical architecture that optimizes the use of each color more efficiently to maximize the total color gamut. Radiance also ensures smoother tonality in shadows and highlights, as well as reduced grain and vivid colors that stay consistent in virtually any light. The result is a truer photographic look outstanding image quality.

Advanced Black–and–White Photo Mode

Part of an advanced workflow, this exclusive technology is your key to intuitive and consistent control, for stunning neutral or toned black–and–white prints. Choose from one of four preset menus — neutral, warm, cool or sepia. Or, fine tune your image further with custom slider bars and the color tone wheel that gives you precise control. Customized settings can be saved and recalled to achieve consistent prints every time.

Multiple Paper Paths

Direct CD/DVD Printing

Print Panoramas up to 13" x 44" long!

Professional media versatility

Explore your creativity with a printer that supports a full range of professional media, including luster paper, fine art paper, Epson Exhibition Fiber Paper and even roll paper. Print brilliant panoramas up to 44 inches long, on canvas or other media types. Or, print borderless prints in popular photo sizes. This versatile performer accommodates 1.3 mm thick art boards. And, you can even print directly onto ink jet printable CDs and DVDs for professional digital portfolios..

Advanced MicroPiezo^® print head with AMC^™

Our Advanced MicroPiezo print head with AMC (Advanced Meniscus Control) is at the core of Epson’s advanced ink jet technology and enables the Epson Stylus Photo R2880 to deliver such incredible detail. This permanent, high–performance print head creates variable sized droplets as small as 3 picoliters and places them with remarkable accuracy and precision. This professional print head also incorporates an ink–repelling coating which decreases maintenance and increases reliability. Working together with Epson PreciseColor^™ technology, the print head delivers consistent print quality every time from every Epson Stylus Photo R2880.

Advanced MicroPiezo^® AMC^™ Print Head

Features/Benefits

Create exhibition quality prints with brilliant reds, blues and purples using Epson UltraChrome K3 with Vivid Magenta Ink
Produce stunning neutral or toned black–and–white prints via Advanced Black–and–White Photo Mode
Print images with outstanding tonal range through three–level black technology
Achieve smoother color transitions and improved highlight and shadow detail with Radiance technology
Explore your creativity — print on a variety of media types including roll paper, fine art media or 1.3 mm thick art board
Ensure consistent output from printer to printer with Epson PreciseColor^™ — no calibration required
Receive specialized support for the R2880 from a dedicated team at Epson
Weight and Dimensions (WxDxH) — Weight: 27.1 lb, Printing: 24.3" x 31.4" x 16.3", Storage: 24.3" x 12.7" x 8.4"

Recommended Supplies

Epson Ink Supplies
96 Photo Black UltraChrome K3 ink cartridge (T096120)
96 Cyan UltraChrome K3 ink cartridge (T096220)
96 Vivid Magenta UltraChrome K3 ink cartridge (T096320)
96 Yellow UltraChrome K3 ink cartridge (T096420)
96 Light Cyan UltraChrome K3 ink cartridge (T096520)
96 Vivid Light Magenta UltraChrome K3 ink cartridge (T096620)
96 Light Black UltraChrome K3 ink cartridge (T096720)
96 Matte Black UltraChrome K3 ink cartridge (T096820)
96 Light Light Black UltraChrome K3 ink cartridge (T096920)
Premium Photo Paper Semi-gloss, 8.5" x 11", 20 sheets (S041331)
Velvet Fine Art Paper, 13" x 19", 20 sheets (S045637)
Premium Canvas Matte, 13" x 20’, 1 roll (S045072)

What’s in the Box

Epson Stylus Photo R2880 Photo Printer
Photo Black UltraChrome K3 ink cartridge (T096120)
Cyan UltraChrome K3 ink cartridge (T096220)
Vivid Magenta UltraChrome K3 ink cartridge (T096320)
Yellow UltraChrome K3 ink cartridge (T096420)
Light Cyan UltraChrome K3 ink cartridge (T096520)
Vivid Light Magenta UltraChrome K3 ink cartridge (T096620)
Light Black UltraChrome K3 ink cartridge (T096720)
Matte Black UltraChrome K3 ink cartridge (T096820)
Light Light Black UltraChrome K3 ink cartridge (T096920)
CD print tray and software
Roll paper holder accessory
USB cable not included
Single sheet guide
Printer documentation
CD-ROM containing printer drivers and software (Windows^® and Macintosh^®)

* Ink lightfastness rating is based on accelerated testing of prints on specialty media, displayed indoors, under UV filter. Actual print stability will vary according to media, printed image, display conditions, light intensity, humidity, temperature and atmospheric conditions. Epson does not guarantee the longevity of prints. For maximum print life, display all prints under glass, UV filter or lamination or properly store them. Visit www.wilhelm-research.com for the latest information.

Owner Reviews, Ratings, Comments and Criticism
I ordered my Epson R2880 about a month ago from Amazon, as a replacement for my trusty old Epson 2000P which was about seven years old. My new printer arrived very promptly a few days later. The Vista software installation went smoothly except for the fact that a couple of the amber "ink-empty" lights did not work properly, one never came on and one was flickering, like on and off. (These little lights are located in the ink well, they all (should) come "on" upon printer startup, then go "off", one by one, as each ink cartridge is inserted into the well.) The first couple of prints I made were not good, but I soon discovered that with this printer use only Epson paper and be sure to select the particular type of paper on the screen before commencing printing. I then printed several color and B/W sample prints, examined them under a loupe, and I must say they were great. I was impressed with the quality. Everything seems to run smoothly for the first week or so, although I noticed that the printer had a tendency to perform prolonged nozzle cleaning sessions. One session lasted between 6 and 7 minutes. That's when I started to look at the ink levels charts. This printer is really using the ink I thought. I then noticed large random dots, about 3mm in diameter on some of my prints, sometimes only an hour after a new start-up nozzle cleaning session. My last printing endeavor on this printer - just following a nozzle cleaning session - were eight 4x4" images where these dots showed up on five prints, some were in the margins and some right on the image itself. Calling Epson was quite an experience. The person told me to simply do a nozzle clean. I told him I had just done nozzle cleans, but he insisted and I did it. The first print out had the famous 3mm dots on the paper and the print. Do the nozzle clean again, he said. At this point I confronted him with the question of how much ink a nozzle clean required because my ink indicators showed a decrease in ink level of about 15% with each cleaning. He had no answer to that, or to any of my other questions, including the amber light question. I was now out of ink and had a lot of unwanted dots on many of the prints I had made. At this point I knew I would never feel comfortable using a set of inks priced at about $125. and only wind up with a handful of usable images. I returned the printer as I was still within the 30 days grace period. One last observation: It appears to me, after reading other reviews, that the ink/nozzle picotechnology is perhaps behind the curve of where it ought to be. In the quest for smaller and smaller picoliter dots, perhaps a different nozzle cleaning technology is required. At least, upscale future printers like this R2880 should have the ability to just clean one (1) color nozzle at a time, as user required, instead of necessarily cleaning all eight colors at a cost I figure to be about $18. to $20. per cleaning session. Tage Blytmann