Gadget Bag Epson 9890
prints not only extraordinary color, but also outstanding black and white images that rival anything I was ever able to get out of classic black and white negatives.
by Jay Miller
I sucked in a pretty serious breath before writing the check covering the cost of my new Epson 9890 printer. Retailing at $4,995 (there is a slightly more expensive designer edition with a couple of software add-ons that lists for $5,495), it’s not for folks who like to squeeze farts out of buffalo nickels. Adding to that sucking sound are the costs of the various Epson UltraChrome K3 ink cartridges. There are three size options: 150 ml; 350 ml; and 700 ml. These will set you back $89.95; $159.95; and $279.95 apiece, respectively (some retailers discount these inks a bit, but not much). No less than nine are required for a complete refill. That’s right, $2,519.55 to replace ‘em all (assuming that’s necessary – which it usually is not; and that’s also assuming you use ink in large enough quantities to merit the 700 ml tanks). Any way you look at it, it ain’t the buying of the horse that’s expensive – it’s paying for all that hay (i.e., ink). The Epson 9890 is the latest addition to Epson’s fleet of large format ink jet printers. It is capable of producing 44-inch wide images that in theory can be an almost unlimited number of inches or feet long. It is also capable of printing 8-inch by 10-inch prints – which is as small as it will go. Anything smaller requires a different, and smaller, printer. Paper comes in rolls up to 44-inches wide and 100 feet long (at a cost of about $320 per). A wide variety of surface finishes are available. The smallest rolls are 10-inches wide (at a cost of about $60 per). The Epson 9890 will also print on sheet paper. I often use the classic A3 series 13-inch by 19-inch when there’s no need for the big stuff. I bought the Epson 9890 primarily because I have a short list of clients who sporadically need large prints. They use ‘em for exhibitions, symposiums, expositions, and other venues that require high profile exposure to potential customers. Additionally, on occasion, there’s an in-house need for large images to hang in executive offices and meeting rooms, and to assist with customer relations. No, the demand probably isn’t sufficient to justify my having a large printer in-house, but that doesn’t mean I can’t find other ways to offset the up-front and on-going support costs of the machine. I have, for instance, spread the gospel around to all of my local fellow photographers. Between ‘em, I get a couple of jobs a week – enough to pay for a few ink cartridges as the need arises and probably allow me to partially amortize a little of my up-front costs. Over time, I propose that these small jobs alone eventually will cover the total price of the printer. Having said all of the above, after working with the Epson 9890 for over a month now, I can report that it is simply mind-bending in terms of performance and image quality. I won’t bore you with all the technical specs here (if you need those, go to the Epson web site at http://www. epson.com), but suffice it to say resolution is 2880 x 1440 dpi and droplet size is 3.5 picoliters. There are 360 nozzles per channel. The Epson 9890
When the printer arrived via large truck, I quickly discovered that moving it was not a one-man option. In fact, after the fork lift slowly maneuvered the very large pallet into my garage (thoughtfully displacing Susan’s Prius rather than my Explorer), I admit to asking myself if I had been sober when I picked up the phone and placed my order. Suffice it to say the printer weighs 292 pounds and is about 5-feet long and 4-feet tall (on dolly). Epson recommends – strongly – that four people be recruited for lifting assignments. Additionally, as I discovered while actually reading the instruction book (and it is, by the way, a “book” – and not a pamphlet), there are purpose-built handles at each corner of the printer to accommodate lifting and moving. The whole assembly sits on a stoutly built four-caster dolly. Unfortunately, the dolly is not designed for long hauls over rough terrain, and I determined quickly that I would have to sweet-talk three friends into giving me a hand moving the printer from the garage to my in-house office. Three victims eventually showed up at the front door after I promised to give each of them a new Nikon D3X and all the beer they could drink during the fifteen minutes they would be in the traces. Eventually we got the job done, but not without considerably more effort than any of us initially anticipated. Moral – if you’re going to buy one of these things, make sure you’ve got the manpower available to move it. The only negative I can point a finger at is the noise. This is not a quiet machine by any vague stretch of the imagination. While it’s printing, it uses a sizable vacuum system to literally suck the paper flat against the platen-like back plate. I doubt any of us have ever seen or heard a “quiet vacuum” and this machine is no exception. Not too surprisingly, a week before the Epson 9890 arrived at my front door, one of my clients called to ask if I had any way of printing no less than 24 20-inch by 30-inch prints. I replied to the affirmative and instantly covered the cost of my first full-set of ink cartridges (the set supplied with the printer is primarily to prime the pumps – literally; after they are installed, up to 80% of the ink they contain is consumed just filling the ink lines!). Over-all, a truly great printer. I’m very happy I made the investment – though I can’t say that Susan is of a similar mind set. Which reminds me to mention that if any ISAP members need large prints at reasonable cost, please keep me in mind! Jay