As have many artists, I have longed for greater print longevity and have followed Wilhelm's tests as well as articles on various inks. I even tried Quadtoning on my Epson 850, but was not particularly impressed and did not try using artistic papers nor doing it with other Epson printers.

I just purchased the Epson Stylus Photo 870 and have started to put it through my tests. Firstly, I am using only the appropriate Epson inks. My first tests involved printing on the Premium Glossy Photo paper and the Heavy Weight Matte paper from the sample pack that came with the printer. I have been using the Heavy Weight Matte paper with my Photo EX since it came out because I like its matte surface.

My first test involved using my calibration test file that I developed a few years ago. I discuss it in my article entitled Basic Concepts of Color Calibration at: http://www.ephemeralvisions.com/article_index.htm

This test involves RGB and CMY swatches as well as a group of mixed colors taken from the Trumatch sample swatches that I purchased a few years ago. (Keeping them in a light tight container has prevented any noticeable fading.) Also on this test file are 100% K to 0% K swatches in increments of 10%. For the test I set the printer at the appropriate paper, dpi of 1440, an unchecked speed setting, gamma of 1.8 (the default gamma) and Photorealistic. I printed it from Photoshop 5.5 with the printing color space as RGB and the box checked for using printer color management. The results were fabulous on both papers. The black was crisp and sharp, the colors did not vary between papers even though the backgrounds of the papers are a little different in tonal quality. Using the Photo EX, the Heavy Weight matte paper appeared to give to the image a slightly yellowish tint. This was not apparent using the 870. As a note, I had initially developed this calibration file using Photoshop 4 to calibrate my monitor with preprinted swatches. Obviously, light sources will change the colors of the swatches as well as the prints so that this must be borne in mind when viewing prints as compared to monitor images.

Since I was satisfied with the calibration results, I chose one of my favorite pictures and printed it on both papers in the portrait mode. The color characteristics were the same on both and both mirrored the image as seen in Photoshop 5.5. I, then, printed an image in the landscape mode to see if there was any banding. Since I had unchecked the speed setting, the prints did take a while to print. I did not time them, but they seemed to equal the speed that the Photo EX produced in this mode.

I also split a page in half and printed a black and white print in grayscale mode and in RGB mode. As expected, the picture printed in RGB mode appeared to have greater depth. Only in comparison to the grayscale print did it appear to have a very slight bluish caste. When observed by itself it appeared to be neutral. I observe my prints using tungsten light, a combination of tungsten and daylight, and under daylight balanced flourescents. Since lights change how colors appear, one must view prints under the same light as well as be aware of the color shifts that take place when using different light sources.

I examined all the prints with a loop, and couldn't find any discernable dots. Needless to say, I am thrilled with the results and feel that Epson created an excellent and very affordable printer. This model costs $299 and the1270 which allows for larger paper sizes sells for $499.

According to Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc. the Epson Photo 870/875 DC/1270 using the new Epson inks can produce pictures with a much longer life than previously possible. Images using the Epson Matte Paper - Heavy Weight can have a longevity of 24-26 years. Prints from the Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper can have a longevity of 9-10 years. And those produced using Epson Photo Paper can have a longevity of 6-7 years. This, of course, assumes that the pictures are treated with care and not put under direct sunlight which will fade almost everything from furniture to upholstery to photographs. For more information, this article can be found on Epson's website at the following URL: http://www.epson.com/whatsnew/ygtsi/lightfast.html

In the next few weeks, I am going to try printing using some of the specialty art papers. While I cannot test the light fastness of them, I will report on the quality of the images as they appear on different papers. I will add the results to this report.

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