Product Description

Produce exhibition quality prints with unprecedented control with the Epson R2880 photo printer, the choice for professional and fine art photographers. With its innovative ink set, Epson UltraChrome K3TM with Vivid Magenta, this powerful printer offers an astounding color gamut for brilliant blues, purples and reds. Designed to easily deliver large-format photos worthy of gallery display, the 13-inch R2880 includes RadianceTM technology, which ensures smooth color transitions, and improved highlight and shadow detail. Its three-level black technology offers a better gray balance and outstanding tonal range. And, Advanced Black-and-White Photo Mode ensures precision control for neutral or toned black-and-white prints. Take your creativity further with its versatile media handling capabilities. Print on roll paper, fine art paper or 1.3 mm thick art board. The R2880 always delivers professional performance with its one-inch wide, permanent print head. And, for more consistent printing, it includes Automatic Nozzle Check technology, plus Epson PreciseColor¿. Achieve professional results, with the quality, control and versatility of the Epson R2880 photo printer.

Product Details

• Color: Silver
• Brand: Epson
• Model: C11CA16201
• Released on: 2008-06-22
• Platform: Windows
• Format: CD
• Dimensions: 8.40" h x 24.30" w x 12.70" l, 34.50 pounds

Features

• Prints up to 13x19 Photos with Epson UltraChrome K3 with Vivid magenta ink
• Advanced Black and White Photo Mode
• Professional 8-Color, pigment ink set with 3-level Black technology
• Advanced magenta pigments - astounding blues, purples, and reds
• Print Permanence ratings of 200 years or more

From the Manufacturer
From the Manufacturer 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.

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.

	"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–prints...you’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^®)

Customer Reviews

Reviewing the Epson R2880
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

Buyer Beware!
I am an artist who creates giclee prints of my paintings, and used an Epson Stylus Photo 2200 for six years. It was a reliable printer which gave me high quality prints. The Epson Stylus Photo 2200 worked great from day one, and I never had to speak with an Epson tech.

I purchased the Epson Stylus Photo R2880 as a replacement printer. It would not print 13" x 19" paper. I kept getting paper jams and error messages stating I was using the wrong media for the paper tray. I spent hours on the phone with Epson techs, who finally told me the printer had a defective paper sensor.

I returned the first Epson Stylus Photo R2880 and purchased a second printer. The second Epson Stylus Photo R2880 not only had the same problems, but it also gave me communication errors. I spent another hour on the phone with an Epson tech who refused to call me back as my calling card ran out of minutes.

In my opinion Epson has inadequate service techs, poor customer service, and a poor quality product in the Epson Stylus Photo R2880. I believe this printer was never tested in a rush to get it to market. The only reason it even deserves one star is because it prints 8.5" x 11" sheets. Because my need is for a printer that prints 13" x 19" sheets, I cannot recommend this printer.

PS. Does anybody know where I can get a refurbished Epson Stylus Photo 2200?

Thirsty for Ink
I bought this printer mainly because of additional feature of the CD/DVD direct printing, as my Epson R2400 does not have this capability. After completion of installation of the software, ink, etc., the printer went into what seemed like an extended cleaning mode. After printing one 7x5 image, the printed showed the photo black ink approximately one-quarter left. The rest of the ink levels had dropped to almost one-half level. Two days later, I turned on the printer and the printer seemed to kick into another cleaning cycle, and an extended one at that! After the printer was in the cleaning cycle for approximately four minutes, I noticed the printer icon bouncing in the dock at the bottom of the computer screen. When I opened the software, it showed me that the photo black ink was completely consumed and the printer wanted it replaced. I replaced the photo black ink and after approximately two more minutes of printer moving the head left and right, I was able to print. After printing a grand total of eight 7x5 images, the rest of the inks were totally out! At this point, I made arrangements to have the printer replaced. Well, I got the new printer and unfortunately, it has behaved the same as the first one. The only difference being that all of the inks went down almost even as opposed to the photo black ink going down first. After a total of two print sessions, all of the inks were consumed by the printer. For the whole set of inks, I managed to print ONLY TWO 2.5 inch x 1.4 inch size images! Actually, I had to replace the light light black ink along the way. I searched the internet and found no complaints with this device. I have no idea what is going on. All I can say is that this is not the case of user error as I have been using inkjet printers for a while (Canon S800, Epson 1270, Epson 2200, and Epson 2400).