Epson, having pioneered and conquered the photographic reproduction world with their smaller range of printers are now setting their sights on the print for pay market with their first 64 inch model. This was one of several new product announcements made today by Epson across the world.
Several new productivity enhancing features make the Stylus Pro 11880 one of the fastest and easiest to use photo quality large format printers on the market. These include the new MicroPiezo TFP (Thin Film Piezo) print head with 360 nozzles for each of the nine ink cartridges, active Photo and Matte black inks, high capacity 700 ml ink cartridges, professional media handling capabilities from A4 to 64 inch wide rolls, automatic nozzle check technology, and improved image processing algorithms.
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| Craig Heckenberg, Epson's product manager with the new 64 inch Epson Stylus Pro 11880 |
The Stylus Pro 11880 is the first Epson printer to have the new MicroPiezo TFP (Thin Film Piezo) print head with 360 nozzles per inch for each of the nine active ink cartridges. It has been finely tuned with the new Epson UltraChrome K3 ink with Vivid Magenta to precisely control dot shape, size and placement for the highest image quality possible.
Epsons UltraChrome K3 ink with Vivid Magenta is an outstanding eight colour pigment ink with Vivid Magenta and Vivid Light Magenta that has colour gamut advantages over conventional 12 colour ink sets on gloss, matte and fine art media. And by using only eight colours Epson maintains a simplified colour management process providing easier colour control. Through the use of high density pigments UltraChrome K3 with Vivid Magenta ink produces high quality prints with excellent short and long term colour stability, and virtually no metameric effects.
Epsons new Ink Repelling Coating for the printhead and automatic nozzle check combine to eliminate down time by minimising and detecting nozzle clogging before it becomes serious, and to eliminate paper waste used during the cleaning process. It uses a sensor near the print head that counts the electrical charges on the ink droplets as they are fired. A lower than expected electrical charge means insufficient ink was fired, so the print head cleaning process automatically starts.
Because both Photo and Matte black inks are mounted and active on the Stylus Pro 11880 users save time and money as the printer immediately and automatically switches between the two black ink modes as required. Each of the eight UltraChrome K3 colours (including photo and matte black) has its own individual 360 dpi nozzle set on the printhead so the Stylus Pro 11880 does not need time to switch between photo and matte black. High capacity 700 ml ink cartridges ensure the printer can run unattended to complete long print jobs.
In line with its commitment to increase productivity while improving print quality across a range of applications, the Stylus Pro 11880 has professional media handling capabilities accepting roll or cut-sheet paper from A4 up to 64 inches wide and up to 1.5mm thick poster board. It has a built in automatic media cutting system and an automatic take-up reel system as standard.
The Stylus Pro 11880 can print a barcode and text on partially used paper rolls to record how much paper is left and what type of media it is, allowing users to confidently switch between paper types and rolls for different jobs.
To enhance productivity even further and minimise paper use the Stylus Pro 11880 can also print many Borderfree sizes on media from 8 x 10 inch through to 54 inch.
To complement the enhancements introduced by UltraChrome K3 with Vivid Magenta, the Stylus Pro 11880 uses Epsons new Image Processing Technology, a new image half toning algorithm that improves print speed and produces more stable half tones and an even better print quality in both high and low resolution print modes. Clearer half tones are readily visible in the details of higher color saturation patches.
Epsons new Image Processing Technology further improves Epsons outstanding grey scale stability - the core requirement for accurate colour printing - by reducing colour twist, which brings out greater detail in shadows and supports stable shadow gradation across all tones.
And as would be expected from the leaders in ink technology, Epsons UltraChrome K3 with Vivid Magenta ink retains Epsons renowned superior print permanence capabilities on genuine Epson media.
As a result of Epsons technology innovations in the Stylus Pro 11880 this printer is up to 2.6 times faster than previous printers. For many production environments where time is a valuable commodity, this dramatic reduction delivers substantial time savings and greater revenue opportunities.
The Stylus Pro 11880 comes with USB2.0 and Gigabit Ethernet as standard interfaces.
The Stylus Pro 11880 will be available in October with a recommended price of: $22995 Ex GST.
Epson Australia
www.epson.com.au
