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| 23rd May 2008 – Imaging specialist Epson has today launched an innovative new print plug-in for the Adobe Photoshop family of products that provides users with enhanced functionality and flexibility, making colour-managed printing quicker and easier. Engineered specifically for the popular Adobe Photoshop CS and Elements products, Epson designed the software to meet the needs of the users of its Stylus Pro 3800 and its A3+ printers, including the new Epson Stylus Photo R2880.
Mark Robinson, Senior Product Manager at Epson UK commented: “The new Epson plug-in provides an invaluable tool for the keen photographer, allowing them to increase their efficiency when printing a wide variety of projects. “As an independent resource, the Epson Print Plug-In allows users to switch easily between its interface and Photoshop. This allows them to add images to the multi-image print easily and keep temporary images for reprint even if the plug-in window is closed. For many users, this functionality is highly valuable and could significantly enhance productivity.” The Epson interface splits the printing workflow into three steps; image selection, layout selection/definition and printer settings and previewing, making the printing process simple and efficient. The window of each step is modular and can be minimised to optimise space on-screen. The layout function automates the layout process, allowing users to select from three layout types; template, index and free layout, which can be arranged over multiple pages. Over 170 templates, ranging from credit card sizes to A2 are available as standard and users can even create custom templates and save them for regular use. Once the layout is selected, images are simply dragged and dropped into the template and can even be cropped as needed. Colour management can be automated for both direct colour management using the printer driver, and ICC profile-based colour management. Users can also specify their own ICC profiles for specific print media. The preview function provides a fast and easy way to proof the final print layout before printing begins. |
Stylus pro 3800 info
There is an excellent comparative review of the gamuts of K3 and other ink sets at http://dpnow.com/1867.htmlSP3800 Download links
6 page Epson 3800 Pro Brochure
Ink costs
For those of you looking at a 3800, or even one of the new Canon or HP printers, there is this comparison of ink costs (based on manufacturers suggested prices)
- $1.35 / ml with HP B9180 ink cartridges
- $0.95 / ml with Epson R2400 ink cartridges
- $0.75 / ml with Epson 3800 ink cartridges
- $0.65 / ml with Epson 110 ml ink cartridges used in 4800/7800/9800
- $0.58 / ml with Canon iPF5000 ink cartridges
- $0.51 / ml with Epson 220 ml ink cartridges used in 4800/7800/9800
The 3800 does not support roll media - this would be a problem for me, since one of the advantages of using a decent page layout function in a RIP is to be able to print varying sizes of print and tile them (I do this all the time with 44 inch roll media on my 9600)
At last, a large Epson printer that doesn't use up such large quantities of ink when switching between matt and photo black inks?
That's the story - only a few ml of ink lost.
Supposedly it takes 2 - 3 minutes to make the switch, and wastes about 1.5 - 4.5 ml of ink, compared to about 90 ml of wasted ink and over 30 minutes for the Epson 4800
New info (Epson UK PR)
Epson delivers A2 printer with UltraChrome™ K3 ink and the smallest footprint on the market
The new Stylus Pro 3800 A2, professional desktop printer, features UltraChrome K3 ink and has the features and performance to cater for the needs of the photography, fine art, proofing and graphics markets.
25 September 2006 – The Epson Stylus Pro 3800 is the most compact A2 printer on the market, making it ideal for those with limited studio space. It is an advanced inkjet system featuring UltraChrome K3 ink technology for premium quality output, comes with high-capacity ink cartridges for overnight print runs and offers a range of print sizes from A6 to A2. Designed for ease of use, the Stylus Pro 3800 is ideally suited for fast and flexible printing in the photography, fine art, proofing and graphics markets.
The Stylus Pro 3800 includes Epson’s UltraChrome K3 ink technology, an eight-colour pigment ink system that delivers premium quality prints with neutral gradations in colour and black and white. The full ink set includes cyan, magenta, yellow, light cyan, light magenta, light black, light light black photo black or matte black. Print quality is life-like with excellent greyscale performance and smooth tonal reproduction. UltraChrome K3 inks offers a wide gamut of the colour spectrum, meaning that even colours such as vibrant orange, signal red and ochre can be achieved. The lighter inks also allow smooth gradations for the printing of watercolour, pastels and crayons. The photo black and matte black cartridges provide you with increased ease of use when you need to switch from matte to glossy media by simply choosing the black ink that you need from your printer driver.
The Stylus Pro 3800 is compatible with a wide range of Epson media including glossy paper, matte paper, fine art paper and plain paper, up to 1.5mm in thickness. It is designed to support flexible paper handling for cut sheet printing. You can choose between the high capacity automatic sheet feeder (up to 120 sheets of plain paper) and the manual insertion feeder if you’re working with thicker media. In addition the Stylus Pro 3800 offers fast printing speeds. An A2 print is delivered in 6 minutes 45 seconds at a resolution of 1440 x 720dpi.
Photographers can benefit from border and borderfree printing in a range of photo sizes, from A6 up to A2, helping to extend the services offered to customers. Consistency of output from the Micro Piezo print head and accuracy of colour profiles means that artists, or those producing limited edition prints can rest assured each print will be the same as the first, even if the artwork is printed months apart.
The Epson Stylus Pro 3800 also meets the needs of the proofing market offering colour stability, your customers can sign-off proofs quickly and have peace of mind that what they see, is what they will get in the final print run. Consistency of output between printers also ensures the Stylus Pro 3800 is ideal for remote proofing, whether a proof is printed on the same machine or on a different Stylus Pro 3800, every print is easily calibrated to produce the same, accurate colour output.
For 3D-CAD and GIS applications the printer’s high-speed, sharp lines and crisp characters make it the optimum choice for designers, architects and engineers. For POS displays, posters, exhibition graphics and signage the Stylus Pro 3800 ensures a quick turnaround, vibrant and accurate output and ease of use.
Software available for the Stylus Pro 3800 is the Epson LFP Remote Panel Utility Software and Epson ColourBase 2.0. In addition the Stylus Pro 3800 is compatible with Epson AlbumMaker 2, Epson PageProofer EX, Epson CopyFactory, Epson Stylus RIP Professional.
Martin Johns, Pro Graphics Product Manager at Epson UK says, “The Stylus Pro 3800 has been designed to serve those who wish to print bigger than A3, but will not produce the volume of output that makes the Stylus Pro 4800 a favourite amongst high production professional photographers. It is a perfect match for the cost sensitive professional seeking a large format desktop printer. The excellent quality of output combined with versatility makes it ideal in a number of environments, from photography studios and galleries to print bureaus. UltraChrome K3 ink provides brilliant photographic output and superior detail. While the flexible media support and ability to print a variety of sizes from A6 to A2 makes the Stylus Pro 3800 incredibly unique. Being able to deliver all of these features and still achieve the smallest footprint for an A2 printer demonstrates Epson’s continued commitment to innovation.”
Epson Stylus PRO 3800 key features summary:
- Achieve exceptional digital photographic results, in black and white and colour, with Epson UltraChrome K3 ink
- Enjoy a wide colour spectrum and vivid, true colours resulting in accurate reproduction of saturated colours and industry proofing standards with Epson’s eight-colour pigment inks
- The smallest footprint on the market makes it ideal for small studios
- Large 80ml ink cartridges provide low cost per print
- Select between matte black and photo black ink cartridges easily on your PC
- Print on a wide range of materials including premium quality photo paper and art media
- Improved colour stability shortly after printing
- Achieve true borderless printing
- Print in a variety of sizes, from A6 to A2
- Enjoy high detail and smooth gradation with a resolution of 2880 x 1440 dpi
- High-speed connectivity with USB 2.0 and 10/100 Mb Ethernet I/F
- Stylus Pro 3800 RRP excluding taxes £995 – available November 2006
Some specifications on the Epson Stylus Pro 3800
Epson UltraChrome K3™ Ink Technology
Professional Cut-Sheet Media Handling from 4” x 6” up to 17” x 22” (new)
Main Top-Loading High-Capacity Paper Feeder (new)
Second Top-Loading Manual Feeder – Optimized for Fine Art (new)
Front-Loading Straight-through Manual Feeder up to 1.5mm Thick
BorderFree™ Cut-Sheet Printing from 4” x 6” up to 16” x 20” (new)
Advanced MicroPiezo AMC™ Print Head Technology
Ultra-Modern Image Processing Technology (new)
Maximum Resolution of 2,880 x 1,440 dpi
Nine Individual 80ml High-Capacity Ink Cartridges (new)
Auto-Sharing Photo and Matte Black Ink Technology (new)
Pressurized Ink Cartridge Technology (new)
High-Performance Print Engine Speeds
Epson PreciseColor™ Technology
Automatic Head Alignment and Cleaning Technologies
Standard USB 2.0 and 10/100 BaseT Ethernet (new)
Epson PrintJob™ Information System
One-Year Epson Preferred Protection Plan
The Epson 3800 pro is 27 inches wide, 10 inches high and 15 inches deep (when closed up). The Epson 3800 can accommodate cut sheets from 4"x6" up to 17"x22".The top-loading high-capacity paper tray can hold up to 120 sheets of paper letting you load an entire package of photo paper.
Like the Epson R2400 and R1800 (which share similar design elements) the 3800 Pro has a secondary top loading manual feeder for thicker fine-art media ranging from letter (8.5"x11") to 17"x22".
The front paper feed path allows you to load thick media (up to 1.5mm - 59 mil) with paper sizes from letter up to 16"x20"
All nine inks in the UltraChrome K3 ink set are loaded at the same time (with previous printers you had to swap the matte and photo black manually - resulting in ink waste - see our notes on this) and the printer comes with a full set of cartridges. Each ink tank on the Epson 3800 holds 80ml of ink and the tanks are pressurized by the printer to allow for extremely fast printing.
The maintenance tank on the 3800 is front loading - except to plug in the power and connect the interface (USB or Ethernet) you do everything from the front of the printer. -- Good for limited space environments.
The Epson 3800 has a compact design with a narrow depth. Only 10 inches high and 15 inches deep when the printer is fully closed, making the 3800 one of the first "desktop" Pro printers from Epson
Size comparison of the 4800 and 3800. The 3800 is 30% smaller by dimension than the 4800 and 51% lighter at 43.2 pounds
The Epson 3800 Pro comes standard with USB and 10/100 BaseT wired Ethernet networking. Using USB you can position the printer up to 15 feet away from your computer. Using Ethernet networking you can position the printer up to 600 feet away (by using a hub) and have the printer available to all PCs and Macs on your network
The Epson 3800 uses an advanced print head design called AMC (Active Meniscus Control). AMC gives the print head extremely accurate droplet placement capabilities with droplets as small as 3.5 picoliters. The print head is 1 inch wide with 180 nozzles for each of the 8 colors (1440 total).

Competitive comparison:
| Printer Feature | Epson Stylus Pro 3800 | Epson Stylus Pro 4800 | Canon iPF5000 |
| Maximum Printer Width | 17-Inch | 17-Inch | 17-Inch |
| Maximum Number of Inks | 9-Color | 9-Color | 12-Color |
| Maximum Number of Inks Used for Printing | 8-Color | 8-Color | 11-Color |
| Three-Level Black? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Auto-Switching Matte & Photo Black? | Yes - Auto Sharing | No | Yes - Auto Switching |
| Maximum Ink Cartridge Fill Volume | 80 ml | 220 ml | 130 ml |
| Pigmented Ink Technology | UltraChrome K3 | UltraChrome K3 | Lucia |
| Printing Method | AMC Piezo x 1 | AMC Piezo x 1 | FINE Thermal x 2 |
| Print Head Replacement | Not Required | Not Required | User Replaceable |
| Maximum Resolution / Minimum Droplet Size | 2,880 x 1,440 / 3.5 pl | 2,880 x 1,440 / 3.5 pl | 2,400 x 1,200 / 4 pl |
| Print Speed - True Lab Quality 16" x 20" Print | 5:32 (1,440 x 720 HS) | 6:07 (1,440 x 720 HS) | 6:00 (2,400 x 1,200) |
| Professional Media Support up to 1.5 mm | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cut Sheet / Roll Support | Yes / No | Yes / Yes | Yes / Optional |
| Borderless Printing Technology | Cut Sheet | Roll Only | Roll Only |
| Paper Handling - Automatic Feed | Top Input Tray | Roll & Cassette - Manual | Roll & Cassette - Auto |
| Paper Handling - Manual Feed | Top, Front, & Rear | Top, Front, & Rear | Top, Front, & Rear |
| Connectivity - Standard | USB 2.0 & 10/100 BaseT | USB 2.0 & FireWire | USB 2.0 & 10/100 BaseT |
| Connectivity - Optional | Not Required | 100 BaseT Ethernet | FireWire |
| Estimated Purchase Price | $1,295 | $1,995 | $1,945 |
Background info on the 4800
Stylus pro 4800
Downloadable product brochure (UK) is at http://www.epson.co.uk/products/inkjet_printers/Stylus_PRO_4800.htm
Photo black or Matt Black, Light black, Light light black, Cyan, Magenta, Light cyan, Light magenta, Yellow
Uses K3 Ultrachrome inks and rather ominously says that -only- 4800 cartridges can be used (110 and 220ml)
Note that this is not the same as the inks in the R800 and R1800 where there is red and blue, along with the gloss optimiser
On the B/W side the driver offers neutral, cool, warm and sepia toning options, along with a custom setting for your own choices.
There is also a special black ink change conversion kit/cartridges included with the printer (p300, 386), the manual devotes several pages to the process and points out that quite a bit of ink ($$$) gets used. This sounds suspiciously like the official way I could change inks on my 9600.
From page 306 of the reference manual
"Because ink charging after black ink conversion consumes a large quantity of ink, you may need to replace the ink cartridges soon"
On our info page we have a copy of the technique that does not waste so much ink
Something makes me think that this will not be a popular feature of the new printer :-(
The cartridge details below are from the 4400/4800 reference manual
Epson Stylus Pro 4400 ink cartridges
| Matte Black | 110 ml: T5438 |
| 220 ml: T5448 | |
| Cyan | 110 ml: T5432 |
| 220 ml: T5442 | |
| Magenta | 110 ml: T5433 |
| 220 ml: T5443 | |
| Yellow | 110 ml: T5434 |
| 220 ml: T5444 |
Epson Stylus Pro 4800 ink cartridges
| Photo Black | 110 ml: T5641 |
| 220 ml: T5651 | |
| Matte Black | 110 ml: T5438 |
| 220 ml: T5448 | |
| Cyan | 110 ml: T5642 |
| 220 ml: T5652 | |
| Magenta | 110 ml: T5643 |
| 220 ml: T5653 | |
| Yellow | 110 ml: T5644 |
| 220 ml: T5654 | |
| Light Black | 110 ml: T5647 |
| 220 ml: T5657 | |
| Light Cyan | 110 ml: T5645 |
| 220 ml: T5655 | |
| Light Magenta | 110 ml: T5646 |
| 220 ml: T5656 | |
| Light light black | 110 ml: T5649 |
| 220 ml: T5659 |
Note that the Matte black for the 4800 is the same as the 4400 (ie ordinary Ultrachromes)
There was some question as to whether the printer driver supports sRGB or Adobe98 from its driver.
If you use the 'automatic' setting in the driver then you have the following options:
- EPSON Vivid. Select this setting to produce vivid blue and green tones in printouts.
Note: Bec-use this setting reproduces blue and green tones that cannot be displayed by your monitor, your printouts may differ from the screen images when this function is selected. - Charts and Graphs. Intensifies the colors and lightens the midtones and highlights of an image. Use this setting for presentation graphics, such as charts and graphs.
- EPSON Standard (sRGB)
For EPSON Stylus Pro 4800 only: Increases the contrast in images. Use this setting for color photographs. - Adobe RGB
For EPSON Stylus Pro 4800 only: Matches image color to Adobe RGB.
Of course, for photo printing (unless there has been a -complete- revolution in Epson printer drivers), you would not normally go near any of the colour adjustment options in the driver :-)
The B/W settings

Range of adjustments available for B/W printing
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From Epson US Features & Benefits The Future of Print Head Technology All New 8-Channel Print Head Technology Variable-Sized Droplet with AMC™ Technology Epson PreciseColor™ Technology Automatic Print Head Alignment Technology Automatic Print Head Cleaning Technology Epson UltraChrome K3™ Ink Technology All New 8-Color Pigment-Based Ink System New Three-Level Black Ink Technology New Advanced Black and White Printing Technology Two User-Exchangeable Black Ink Modes The standard Photo Black ink mode can be used for any media type with professional results. However, for certain Epson media types such as Velvet Fine Art, Enhanced Matte, and UltraSmooth Fine Art, using the optional Matte Black ink mode instead, will dramatically increase your black optical density for even better print quality. Unique 17" Wide Print Engine Technology Professional Media Handling True BorderFree Printing High Performance Print Engine Speeds Print Mode Epson Intelligent High-Capacity Ink System Epson PrintJob™ Information System Superior Connectivity World Class Service and Support |
| Specifications
Printing Method Nozzle Configuration Epson Ink Technology Droplet Technology Resolution Print Engine Speed Acoustic Noise Level Printer Language / Drivers Operating Systems Supported Printer Interfaces Physical Dimensions BorderFree Printing Printable Area Media Handling Media Input Media Core Compatibility Thickness, Weight Media Cutter Line Accuracy Epson Intelligent Ink Cartridge Ink Cartridge Size Ink Cartridge Life Lightfastness Ratings Environmental Characteristics Temperature Humidity Safety Approvals Reliability Print Head Life Cutter Life Maintenance Parts Electrical Requirements Rated Frequency Rated Current Power Consumption Notes Visit www.wilhelm-research.com for the latest information |
Older info on the replacement for the 4000
Epson Stylus Pro 4800
Info found on Epson support site We will put latest info on our 9600 replacement page
May 1st - More details from the Shutterbug article
The June 2005 shutterbug issue (pg. 159) describes the new UltraChrome K3 and drivers, and it says they are "in a new class." It goes on to say that they will be used in the R2400, 4800, 7800 and 9800 printers. The new inks are supposed to have a fade resistance up to 200 years for B&W and color and under proper UV display the B&W can last up to 300 years. The new printers will have 8 color pigment ink set including photo or matte black; light black; light, light black; cyan, magenta; yellow; light cyan and light magenta. These inks are supposed to take B&W to a new level and signifcantly reduce metamerism and bronzing. It is supposed to have a new "advanced black and white print mode" which will help ensure no color cast or crossover.
The costs of the printers are as follows:
- 13" R2400 - $849
- 17" Pro 4800 - $1995
- 24" Pro 7800 - $2995
- 44" Pro 9800 - $4995
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Epson Stylus pro 3800 A2 - Large format printer
