Lahcen Boufedji
It has always been my personal preference in printing to go with Epson. The Epson line of printers has time and again given me the results I've needed, so there is no doubt that I recommend these to my clients.
Today I'll be reviewing the 2009 Stylus Pro lineup, the printers mostly used by professionals and prosumers, and the ones I'm most familiar with and recommend for corporate use.
We'll be taking a look at the
3800,
4880,
7880,
7900,
9880,
9900, and the
11880. For most products, the jump from medium to high-end may go unnoticed unless you dig a bit deeper into your pockets for the second or third series.
Equipped with the same print engine and ink set as the other Pro models, tabletop friendly, handles media as big as 17X22" and as thick as 1.5mm; the
Pro 3800 spearheads the Stylus Pro line. Also, to keep a small profile, the roll-feed has been removed; and the Matte Black and Photo Black each have an ink slot and share a printhead, saving you time and lost ink in switching cartridges.
Next, we have the
Stylus Pro 4880 – significantly larger than the 3800, and rising above its predecessor Pro 4800 with faster, more durable printheads, and increased printer gamut. The Pro 4880 is also equipped with a roll-paper feed along with the standard paper tray, and switches between easily. Unfortunately, the 4800 only has 8 ink slots, so you have to manually switch between Matte Black and Photo Black, although Epson is still the most efficient at using ink between comparable printers, and the quality of prints you'll be receiving will more than compensate. All things considered, the 4880's speed and color accuracy beats the 3800, hands down.
Weighing in at about 110 lbs, the
Stylus Pro 7880 makes the jump from 17" on the 3800 and 4800 to 24" for crisp, vibrant, large prints. This printer comes with a wider gamut and resolution than the previous installations, along with greater longevity and accuracy; you'll be working alongside industry level equipment. Epson has since revised the 7880 into the new
7900, introducing the new UltraChrome HDR inks which raise color gamut and accuracy (Interestingly enough, Epson has for the first time utilized Green and Orange inks in the reproduction of Skin tone – providing a significant improvement!), independent Photo Black and Matte Black ink wells, and increased the printer speed. As for ease of use and print quality, the Epson 7880 and 7900 are the best printers I've seen in the 24" range.
Working up to 44" rolls is the
Stylus Pro 9880, also taking advantage of Epson's UltraChrome K3 inks to deliver a wider gamut; this printer also boasts cleaner, more efficient heads, and quicker production times on large prints. The revised version of the 9880, the
Pro 9900 comes with all the updates that the 7900 received as well; plus new dithering technology able to produce even smoother tonal transitions in both B&W and color. If you need a reliable workhorse for multiple productions of beautiful prints, check out these two Pros.
Rounding out the Stylus Pro line, the
11880 is the leading authority in commercial printing. With a roll acceptance of up to 64", automatic nozzle checking and printhead alignment, separate Matte Black and Photo Black ink slots, 9 MicoPiezo TFP channel heads that produce a gorgeous, much sharper print than comparable printers, and have since been featured in the 7900 and 9900. I believe that the 11880 more than makes up for its hefty price tag in its utility and speed.
It's been a blast reviewing these printers, and if you have any questions feel free to contact me at
Lahcen@ImagePro.Biz . This has been Lahcen from ImagePro, thanks for reading.
Epson SP 4880 
Epson SP7900 
Epson SP9900 
Epson SP11880 
