Epson SC-P700 printer Q and A - features/use for the A3+/13" pigment ink printer for best results

[@hoggif]

You have some lovely points even in older videos that I've been watching. I've been wondering about getting a 700 or 900. Cost differences in ink and printer are there. On the other hand I'm thinking of how much A2 printing I'll be doing. If not much, those could be made by a commercial printing company that unfortunately adds another dimension. After all, it is always a compromise between different intrests.

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - I think the ink+printer costs between the P700 and P900 equal out at ~180 A3+ prints. I'd pick the 900, but then again I like big prints :-)

[@hoggif]

@@KeithCooper Thanks, that's pretty much what I'm thinking currently. Will think for a while more. Probably the ability for A2 here and there will be the deal maker for me.

[@bonjouras]

Very useful review and very interesting printer. I have noticed that in Europe Epson ink (and paper) is a lot cheaper than Canon ink and in the US it is vice versa. That makes Epson P700 more attractive (1.25 EUR/ml) than Pro-200 (almost 2 EUR/ml) and Pro-300 (1.4 EUR/ml) from print economics point of view (opposite what most American forums and reviews suggest). Plus Epson printers and consumables are more available in Europe. I wish Canon improved their marketing in Europe.

[@KeithCooper]

Yes, this is one reason I rarely note prices - they vary too much. I only ever note UK prices, and even then they vary...

[@haroldchester904]

My P600 developed a fault yesterday. An error message came up - "0x53". No mention of it in the manual. Did a search and a few other people have had the same problem. No reference to it on the Epson website. Reloaded the driver to no effect. Tried to "chat" with Epson online - no one answered. Managed to speak to a curt/rude young man from the UK via customer services. He was bemused because the error wasn't on his list. He said it would need to be sent to Epson for repair costing £200+. Today I dumped it at the local recycling site by dropping it into the huge "small electrical items" container. There was this loud crash when it hit the bottom. I've bought a P700 and have managed to sell my remaining cartridges at half price to a member of my camera club. I hope the P700 will last a bit longer.

[@KeithCooper]

Hope the new one lasts longer! 0x53 typically comes from a mechanical fault/error. It's the sort of thing years ago, where I'd pull a printer apart to see what was wrong, but not these days.

[@FotograafHarrieOudeHampsink]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts about this printer. I bought a P900 a year ago and "If you know what you are doing" it makes amazing prints. I love it. What I don't understand is why about 30 A2 full photo prints ago the printer keeps signalling that some cardridges are low on ink, but it keeps on printing. Perhaps the sensors might not be adjusted correctly.

[@KeithCooper]

The carts do show low for quite a while - some are used quite sparingly. BTW, there are no sensors. All ink levels are estimates based on how much ink the printer thinks it has used. This info is recorded on the cartridge chip, so you can take one out and weigh it to see how low it really is.

[@MelanieMaguire]

Mine did the same. I think it warned me about 6 times - I checked the levels on the printer itself and it seemed to me that I could get more prints out of it (it was just the light grey that was low). I carried on for a while more - it stopped complaining about running out for a while then started again. I waited until the level shown on the printer was a sliver then changed the light grey. I don't know how accurate the levels on the printer are, and I've heard that it's a bad thing to let a cartridge run out completely, so....

[@danielrao3120]

Hello Keith. Another excellent video packed with content and interesting insights into the finer machinations of this printer. Extremely useful. I'm intrigued by an issue that you don't touch upon whicb is the problem of how to overcome issues of paper not loading properly, jamming, and so forth. This problem seems to be worse with matt, rag papers from both Hanemuhle and even Canson papers.My question to you is how I mught go about minimizing this problem. I note that Epson steer clear of such explanations and only recommend their own brsnd with limited choices! You expert opinion/advice would be most welcome and, I'm sure, to many of your viewers having similar problems. Thank you again for all your videos.

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - All the papers I tested with the 700/900 were fine - see the info in the actual [written] reviews www.northlight-images.co.uk/epson-sc-p700-printer-review/ and www.northlight-images.co.uk/epson-sc-p900-printer-review/

[@danielrao3120]

@@KeithCooper I'll have a look at the written reviews as you suggest. Thank you.

[@frutt5k]

If you have a CMY filtering of (say) 40C 30M 60Y you can de-black it with 30 30 30 gray plus 10C 0M 30Y resulting in clearer colours. Especially if the black is in the lowest levels. I guess.

[@KeithCooper]

Possibly, but I never actually work in CMYK. The printer drivers I use are all RGB - I don't use a RIP at all for any of the stuff I test or review. All my commercial photography work is supplied in RGB as well...

[@ReneFritz]

Question about black and white prints: you mentioned that an ICC profile is not needed with the b/w mode. My understanding is that the profile does not only correct the colors for the paper which is used, but also the gradation. Correcting the gradation is still needed for b/w prints, isn't it? So why not using a profile then? Thanks for your nice videos!

[@KeithCooper]

it's because the ABW mode is specifically designed for B&W printing - it takes care of what the profile would do. I have a video tomorrow, specifically covering B&W

[@pasqualetassone3334]

Hello Keith , thanks for all your work to assist the print community. I have a question, as a print newby. If printing predominantly BW what is the ink usage across the colour cartridges like ? I have just purchased the P700 and and wondering whether or not to by a complete set of cartridges as back up replacements pr just the blacks/greys. Thanks.

[@KeithCooper]

Well, it's the greys that go down fastest, The light grey was first to go, followed by grey and then the light cyan/magenta, then the others, depending on the mix of printing. So, that's the first four I'd expect to go. However I print quite a varied range of prints for testing, so I can't be entirely certain. The mk/pk goes down depending on your media mix.

[@pasqualetassone3334]

@@KeithCooper Thanks so much for your response. Will start having a play.

[@bryanspark]

HI Keith, many thanks for the video on the Epson P700. I may have understood but I believe you said the cartridges for the P700 & P900 are the same size the only difference is the quantity of ink in them If that’s the case can you use P900 cartridges in the P700 or is there some software which prevents this. I currently have an Epson R2000 which works perfectly well but now its getting long in the tooth I’m finding a lack of profiles for more modern papers. ( I tried Permajet Heritage Baryta Rag 310 gsm which I like the weight and look of but they don’t have icc profiles for my printer) Thanks again.

[@KeithCooper]

Unfortunately the cartridges are not interchangeable in any way - deliberate choice by Epson. Permajet will make custom profiles I believe, for their papers. This is one of their 'big' papers, so I can't think they'll not have profiles for too long.

[@user-eb4sm5jm9z]

@@KeithCooper what about swapping the chips from the p700 cart to 900carts , like the semi diy aftermarket inks do?

[@KeithCooper]

@@user-eb4sm5jm9z No idea I'm afraid - the place I'd ask is at: www.printerknowledge.com

[@caitlinwilliams536]

Hi Keith thanks for this it's nice to see an in depth review! How many prints roughly do you think you could get out of one set of inks?

[@KeithCooper]

Ah, cant help there - my testing doesn't really give me info to say that at all. If you've not seen them, my main [written] reviews always have the most information (and links to all related videos) www.northlight-images.co.uk/epson-sc-p700-printer-review/ See the RR page for cost estimates www.redrivercatalog.com/rr/cost-of-inkjet-printing.html

[@dahebable]

I have an SC-P700. I am wondering, when should I replace an almost empty ink cartridge? Can I print until I see problems in my prints? Or will I get in trouble if the ink delivery system is filled with air? Thanks.

[@KeithCooper]

When I first had one here (for the written review and video last year) I let a cart 'run out' You get warning for a while about low ink, followed by some saying there may not be enough for the print. Then it will stop - if this happens mid print you lose the print It did a fair size print on the 'not enough' warning and ran out on the next one IIRC See here www.northlight-images.co.uk/epson-sc-p700-printer-review/ The article also shows the first four inks to hit the buffers ... this has been the same on the printer I now have here for my current testing. BTW The printer can't draw in air, since the ink is in a bag in the cart is sealed - the ink system on the 700/900 is quite different to the system on smaller ink cartridge printers - see the dismantled cart in the article for more.

[@siggimac]

Thank you Keith for your excellent videos especially the ones on the P 700. I have got one question: can I use the cartridges of the P900 in the P 700?

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks. Unfortunately not - an unwelcome deliberate choice by Epson IMHO

[@gosman949]

Thank you Keith for videos on these great machines. One odd question I have on my P900. The printer screen is supposed to show me the current data and print picture of the print that is currently printing. However, I'm getting the previous picture and data that I printed on the screen? Do you know why this is happening?

[@KeithCooper]

Sorry I've not come across that. I believe you can clear the job history - that might help?

[@jonkers2007]

As my old R3000 has just died and I am looking for a new printer this was a fantastic overview, thank you Keith! On ink costs, I was wondering about using inks such as Marrutt and Fotospeed and refillable cartridges. Are you able to share your thoughts on the wisdom of such a move please?

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - glad it was of interest. As to third party inks - I would never put them in any printer I'd paid for - a whole host of reasons, but I wouldn't touch them ;-) They have their fans, but not here...

[@jonkers2007]

@@KeithCooper thank you Keith. I think I expected that reply, but glad I asked it :)

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - my personal issues are with the effect on warranty and the need to get new profiles made - that and the 'economic benefits' largely derive from an inadequate (partial) analysis of TCO. I've had numerous discussions with people in the industry over this and they market such inks to a very specific demographic...

[@jonkers2007]

@@KeithCooper thank you - what is TCO?

[@jonkers2007]

@@KeithCooper I googled TCO so no need to answer, thanks.

[@DavidBriard]

Hi Keith, I have a question more related to P900 version. Can you print panoramic images without the expensive roller accessory (i.e. 40x120cm image on 43x130cm paper)? (with a custom sheet dimensions like on Canon printers). And another one, if I almost only print on matt paper, is that a problem if the carts (Photo Black and maybe another?) for glossy paper will almost never be used? Thanks!

[@KeithCooper]

Yes - long sheet printing works just fine. See the example in the P700 review (they are essentially the same printer, just different widths) www.northlight-images.co.uk/epson-sc-p700-printer-review/ The photo black will get used in cleanings, nozzle checks etc. The sealed ink system means there should be no issues with the ink, but a B&W photo black print every six months will keep things in good condition

[@hubbahdabut]

thanks for asking this i had exactly the same question... am about to spend money on a printer and i love making panorama photos

[@andymok7945]

I owned the Epson 3880 and then the P800 and Really enjoyed the large 80ml ink tanks. Now reduced to 50ml, is sad. You change ink more often and will cost you more.

[@KeithCooper]

So it seems, but see here for some numbers... www.redrivercatalog.com/rr/cost-of-inkjet-printing.html The 900 also doesn't have the black ink swap which further complicates usage costs

[@MelanieMaguire]

Thanks for this Keith. For a future video, I'd really like it if you could nail down exactly why the borderless print you did came out wrong. I've done a few borderless prints, but they were the exact aspect ratio of the settings I used. Could this be the problem? Or something else? Thanks very much and happy New Year. :) Addendum: The borderless prints I did were A4 and lost about 3mm on each side (which is what I would expect from "over-the-edge" printing. Could it have been that the paper wasn't centred properly in the rear paper feed? It was curious that the white edges were only on 2 sides of the print, suggesting a centering problem. Thanks again!

[@KeithCooper]

Ok, I will have another look at borderless - it may well be that printing directly from Photoshop gives me more options than EPL

[@MelanieMaguire]

@@KeithCooper Thanks Keith - I've only just picked this up - I don't seem to be getting notifications for replies on my comments. Thanks for any further investigation. :)

[@drwatsonismine]

Do You convert your image to B&W before using the BW print driver ? Or color image and Epson driver does a conversion? I spend a lot of time when making b&w images in PS. Thanks, as always.

[@KeithCooper]

Always (100%) conversion before printing. I have a P700/900 B&W video tomorrow which may be of interest? BTW I have hundreds of my B&W related articles/reviews/video indexed via www.northlight-images.co.uk/digital-black-and-white-photography/

[@drwatsonismine]

Thanks! Will check out website.

[@hubbahdabut]

I'm in the market for a new printer, my old color laser is now having catastrophic toner barfing in the transfer belt. (Been waiting for this for years) -- We still do a number of documents but I'm a photographer and really want to print my own stuff. Would you suggest a separate printer for documents? and a dedicated printer (P700 / P900 or ET8550 are my options for photos) Or would you be fine with the not infrequent archival quality documents for general use? (I believe we use a 500 page ream of paper in about 3-4 months) I'm probably going with a separate dedicated document printer but thought I'd throw this question out here.. i've been absorbing a lot of your videos lately.. awesome reviews and info)

[@KeithCooper]

The et-8550 make for a good small office printer as well as photo (with the right profiles) - but what are 'archival quality documents'? The P700/900 are definitely a step up in photo quality thoough

[@hubbahdabut]

@@KeithCooper "archival quality documents" is just a standard text /webpage printout using the P900 pigment inks -- as they are pigment based rather than dye base.. i tend to make up stuff/words/terms as a bit of a weird sense of humor i have.. oddly the ET8500 (not ET8550) and the P900 are the only one in the market where I'm at, for me photos are more important so I'm springing for the P900 and probably a different normal all-in-one printer for general usage when our laser finally becomes unusable. in any event your videos are amazing for thorough reviews with everything on point. Keep up the awesome work, i have a lot of things to try when I finally get the printer. Don't be surprised if I reach out for those color profiles :) Will be in touch haha :)

[@katebones7176]

Hi Keith, i was wondering about double sided printing for a portfolio. Have you tried this with this printer? Would you recommend a certain thickness/type of paper?

[@KeithCooper]

Thickness has nothing much to do with it - there are relatively few double sided papers. The real key is to leave the first side to dry thoroughly before feeding it back in This is not a quick process at all - I would leave prints overnight

[@stefanlarisch5015]

Thank for your Videos. I have a question shoud the printer swich off after using or leave in standby to save Ink?

[@KeithCooper]

I leave it switched on, unless I don't need it for a week or two. Ink savings are negligible between the two I'm told. However I don't really get printers long enough to test this thoroughly - one reason why there is little more than apocryphal info on this if you look into it.

[@Mr.HotRod]

Hi Keith: I have a fairly important question in regards to specific RED ink cartridge usage. I have used my epson 2200 photo stylus printer for many years and was very happy with it but now in the last year or so the specific color LIGHT MAGENTA is impossible to find any place. So basically my 2200 is dead as it will not print any color or black & white prints unless all cartridges in the printer have some ink in them. When I order the P700 will on most prints use more of the RED cartridge ink in case I want to order one or two additional RED ink cartridges. Thanks in advance. Have you noticed this in the P700? (increased RED ink usage) Hot Rod

[@KeithCooper]

No - for the P700/900 the grey is probably quicker to go down. Some colours go down quite a bit slower. Red is not used in the P700, so buying extras will be tricky, but at least they will never go down... ;-)

[@Mr.HotRod]

@@KeithCooper Thanks Keith O'Cooper :-)) for the quick reply. Will be ordering my p700 soon and I will just order an extra set of the standard cartridges. What is the maintenance box used for? Never heard of that. Do I need one or an extra one of those do hickies?

[@KeithCooper]

@@Mr.HotRod see the main [written] review www.northlight-images.co.uk/epson-sc-p700-printer-review/ The videos are supplements...

[@lubomirkotik8870]

Hello Keith, what are your thoughts about the older Epson R2880?

[@KeithCooper]

My 2880 printer review from 2009: www.northlight-images.co.uk/epson-stylus-photo-r2880-review/ Can't add any more without re-reading it to remind me what I thought 13 years ago ;-)

[@williamreade1208]

Keith I have had my 0700 close To 2 years and love it till now. It is showing messages that the printer is out of paper when it's not.. Now it's stuck showing front feeder is out of paper and I'm not using that function. Any idea how to fix this problem. Epson won't acknowledge my problem.

[@KeithCooper]

Sounds like a fault - I'd simply not accept Epson 'not acknowledging' it...

[@harry2057]

I have a win xp PC loaded with photshop and other graphics software, etc. I was really disappointed that Epson sc-p700 doesn't offer win xp drivers. So, right now, I have to port my file to my win 10 laptop to print without the fancy software. Is there any work around to print directly from my win xp PC? Thank you.

[@KeithCooper]

Sorry, I can't help there - I've used only Macs for over 30 years I'd suggest asking on the printing forum at DPReview.com ?

[@klfalls1]

Hi Keith, are their any suppliers in Europe that you're aware of that still have ink for the Epson Stylus 2200, specifically I need the light magenta and light cyan?

[@KeithCooper]

Sorry - I've no info on that, however I do only deal with UK suppliers.

[@klfalls1]

@@KeithCooper Thank you!

[@redwine1980a]

Keith, where could we find to try yours profiles? Thanks!!

[@KeithCooper]

Read the written review for the ones I've made - then contact me via Northlight Images.

[@redwine1980a]

@@KeithCooper Thanks! And thanks for Yours great work and sharing with us..!

[@benjaminbkyereboah12]

please is the p900 ok for sublimation?

[@KeithCooper]

No ...not unless you wish to try 3rd party ink, possibly wreak the printer and invalidate your warranty

[@andyracksthecams]

Thank you Kieth. Watched a few (most) of your videos as I was originally interested in an ET 8550. I am starting to be swayed toward this or a similar wider gamut machine. I work in broadcast and a lot of what I know has come from using an SLR and then engineering video cameras. Would you say this printer offers the difference between SDR and HDR in photographic image terms and reproduction or at least a bigger dynamic range? Andrew.

[@KeithCooper]

Thanks - printers, even the best, are low DR compared to any image captured or shown on screen. Print on matt art papers and it's even less. For me, the key to great printing is seeing the print as something on its own, not a 'version' of the screen. There's no way to get close to screen images other than backlit transparencies. I've very rarely seen what I would call 'good' HDR in any broadcast system - but that's a limited experience more than any observation of the current state of things ;-) Needless to say, any attempt at printing 'HDR style' photo images generally looks even worse than they can on screen :-)