The Epson Stylus Photo R3000 printer
Ben Weeks, February 2011
When did printers get exciting? Seriously, it used to be the case that a printer was just an unsightly lump of plastic that was tucked away in the corner somewhere and used to print out the odd document and, when the technology allowed it, occasional photographs. You’d plug it into your computer and largely ignore it other than to turn it on when required and change the inks as and when they ran out.
Released in 1968, the EP-101 was the world’s first compact, lightweight digital printer and the origin of Epson’s printer business.
These days, though, a printer has a far more prominent place in our homes and offices. Digital photography means that photo-quality printers are everywhere and they’re getting cleverer. They’re also getting better looking to reflect the elevated status they now have in many homes. With wireless technology allowing printers and computer to communicate for separate rooms without the need for lengthy complicated cabling, it’s not unusual to see a printer in a living room, bedroom or kitchen, as well as the usual office locations.
The Epson Stylus Photo R3000
The R3000 is the latest A3+ desktop printer from the Epson printer maestros and reflects just how far things have come in the world of home printing – certainly a long way since their EP-101 was created in the 1960s. Since then Epson has been the first manufacturer to put a colour printer into space (the Stylus 800), become the biggest selling printer brand in the UK, and has also had time to create the world’s first quartz watch, manufacture screens for mobile phones, create robots for the assembly lines of all kinds of hi-tech products, and become the number 1 manufacturer of digital projectors. Frankly, it’s amazing that they’ve had the time to create the R3000, but they have, and I got to try one out at Epson’s HQ near Hemel Hempstead a full month before its official release.
In the blue corner…
Epson UK’s HQ looks like the offices of a high-tech company – there’s lots of glass, metal, brightly coloured soft furnishings, and they have trees growing indoors. But that’s not important – on to the printer!
Epson UK
One of the first things that Epson was keen to point out is that the R3000 is an accompaniment to the existing R2880 printer and not a replacement for it. As the R2880 is already a well established and much respected printer, it seems important to establish what extra the R3000 offers early on.
| R2880 | R3000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Paper Handling |
|
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| Panel Interface |
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| Ink Type |
|
|
| Cartridge Size | 11.4ml | 25.9ml |
| Photo/Matte Black | Manual switching | Auto switching |
| Min. droplet size | 3.0pl | 2.0pl |
| Connectivity |
|
|
Improved Fine Art paper handling
Previous incarnations of Epson’s desktop A3+ printer (including the R2880) have been equipped with a separate paper loading slot at the rear of the printer for Epson range of fine art papers. These loading slots have provided a straighter paper path for the Fine Art media, meaning there is less chance of the thicker or textured papers being damaged as they are spooled through the printer. The downside of this arrangement was always that it meant pulling the printer away from the wall and required a fiddly paper loading process.
The R3000′s Fine Art paper path
The Epson R3000 addresses this by providing a much more convenient front loading Fine Art paper path. The front loading tray is popped down, the paper loaded and spooled into the printer before being returned through the usual printer path. This is a far less complicated way of handling Fine Art papers and it doesn’t require the user to clamber over the back of the printer to try and load thick or textured paper. Epson’s range of Fine Art media is particularly good, so the fact that the R3000 makes it so much easier to use them is a big thumbs-up.
2.5inch colour LCD screen
The Epson R3000 is an easy, straightforward and uncomplicated printer that just about anybody will be able to use to get great photographic prints. But if there are some aspects of printing that you are worried about, be that loading a particular type of paper, printer maintenance such as head cleaning, or choosing which black ink to use on which paper (more about that later), the Epson R3000 takes all the stress away by holding your hand and taking you step-by-step through the operation on its built in LCD screen.
The R3000′s interface panel
This interface panel shows you what to do and how to do it, including what paper trays to use and which buttons to press. Once you’ve done these operations a few times you’ll find yourself skipping through these prompts and not needing to read each one, but it’s still reassuring to know that the help is right there on offer, should you need it.
Paper loading guide
25.9ml cartridges
Epson claim that these larger cartridges will offer better economy and are more environmentally friendly. At just under 2.3x larger than the 11.4ml cartridges found in the R2880, it won’t be the biggest surprise in the world if they turn out to be just under 2.3x more expensive. However, any printer that requires less regular changing of inks is a good thing as far as I’m concerned, even if the financial gain is minimal or even non-existent. What’s more, these larger ink cartridges are now housed off the printer head, making them much easier and quicker to get at. A less frequent and more efficient ink changing process can only be a good thing, surely?
Epson R3000 inks
Photo/Matte black auto switching
Although the Epson R2880 offers both Photo Black and Matte Black ink options to get the best out of both glossy and matte printing surfaces, changing from one to the other means physically removing one, inserting the other and a long wait while the printer flushes its pipes before the actual printing process starts. if you then want to go back to your original ink type choice, then it’s exactly the same process all over again. The Epson R3000 houses both a Photo and a Matte Black ink, one next to the other. A change of selected paper type causes the printer to automatically prompt you and ask if you want to change ink types. If you do, you simply push the ‘ok’ button and the R3000 does it all for you. There’s still a short wait while this happens, but nowhere near as long as the R2880 and the whole process is much more efficient.
Photo Black (PK) and Matte Black (MK) inks
2.0pl droplet size
The picolitre (pl) measurement shows how small the droplets of ink are that the printer puts onto the paper. A picolitre is one millionth of a microlitre, which in turn is one millionth of a litre. So, in other words, a picolitre is small – very, very small. The size of the droplets the R3000 puts onto the paper are 2.0pl, compared to 3.0pl from the R2880. Now, you could be forgiven for wondering if a millionth of a millionth of a litre’s difference in droplet size is really going to make that much of a difference, and the short, slightly disappointing but ultimately honest answer to that is no, not really. You would be hard pushed to tell the difference between a full quality print made from 3.0pl droplets and one from 2.0pl droplets, but if you compare the two side by side, there is a tiny, subtle difference. Blocks of colour appear just a little smoother with the smaller droplet size, but you only see a real difference if you start looking at your prints through a microscope. If this is how you choose to view your images, then the R3000 is definitely head and shoulders above the R2880. For the rest of us though, the difference is there, if somewhat negligible.
3.0pl print and 2.0pl print extreme close up – spot the difference.
Wireless connection
As well as the fast USB 2.0 port found on the R2880 (albeit only a single port on the R3000 compared to dual inputs on the 2880), the R3000 also offers Ethernet connectivity for network use and, more excitingly, wireless connection. Wireless is becoming more and more popular and commonplace in all aspects of photography and home computer systems and the R3000 is by no means the first printer to offer this. However, it is still a useful and exciting feature to find on an A3+ printer of this quality, and upcoming apps for the Apple iPhone and iPad that will allow images from these devices to be printed wirelessly from the R3000 can only help to increase its desirability amongst those who must have the latest ‘must-have’ gadgets.
R3000 wireless for home or studio use
Some quality alone time
Following my formal introduction to the Epson R3000 and a quick run down of its features I was left with it, a full tank of cartridges, a new pack of Epson Fine Art papers, a MacBook with Photoshop, a card reader and a memory card full of photos. I was instructed to try different papers and use both the Photo and Matte Black inks to print out some of my images. I would receive no further help or instruction other than that provided by the R3000 itself via its LCD screen.
I won’t bore you with the specifics of each and every print, but know this; I am by no means a printing expert. Yes, I have used a few printers in the past and, yes, I can appreciate a good quality print when I see one, but I have had very little experience with the Epson R2880 and, up until this moment, no physical interaction whatsoever with the brand new R3000.
Printing with the Epson Stylus Photo R3000
Over the following hour and a bit I printed on glossy paper via the regular paper feed, on watercolour textured paper using the Fine Art paper loading tray, on photo board using the dedicated thick board/CD/DVD feed input, and created a panoramic print on canvas using the clip on roll feed attachment (although the R3000 doesn’t have a built-in cutter it prints a fine grey line as a handy cutting guide). I switched from Photo Black ink to Matte Black, then back to Photo, and then back to Matte again. To start with I followed the screen guide step by step as it walked me through the process, but by the end I was barely glancing at the instructions as I went from print to print, changing the ink and paper settings as required.
The ease of use was impressive, but the quality of the prints was genuinely astounding. The Epson R3000 can produce the subtlest of greys in a monochrome print, followed by the boldest and brightest of tones in a colour print, thanks in no small part to the Epson UltraChrome K3 inks it uses. Sure, some papers suit certain types of print better than others (a good black and white print on a matte surface is wonderful) but there really doesn’t seem to be anything that the R3000 can’t do, and do extremely well at that. And because of the pigment type inks the R3000 uses, in a sealed frame and out of direct light your prints can last for up to 200+ years! Please note – I have not tested this time-scale personally.
Epson Stylus Photo R3000
In short then, the Epson Stylus Photo R3000 looks set to become an incredibly popular printer. For the print connoisseurs it offers superb quality, versatile media handling and fantastic print longevity. For the new or casual printer, the ease of use offered by the R3000 provides a level of convenience that will make you wonder how you coped without it.
Yep, it’s a good’un.
Additional information – 10.03.11
Epson have now published some data regarding printing times, Photo Black/Matte Black exchange times and Photo Black/Matte Black exchange ink usage. Several comments have requested this information so here it is.
Print sizePrinting time*
| Photo print speed | |
|---|---|
| 8″ x 10″ | 1min 33sec approx |
| 13″ x 19″ | 2min 30sec approx |
*Colour photo speed in Superfine Mode on premium Photo Paper Glossy measured from start of paper feed. Actual print time will vary based on system configuration, software application and page complexity.
ExchangeConversion timeInk usage*
| Black ink conversion | ||
|---|---|---|
| Photo to Matte Black | 2min approx | 1ml |
| Matte to Photo Black | 3min 30sec approx | 3ml |
*Ink used in conversion varies based on temperature, humidity and other factors.
Havig used a 1290 for quire a few years now i am looking to change it at some point in the not to distant future. Was thinking of a 2880 but having read this revue think i shall hold until i can have a real close look at the 3000. One of my bonds with the 1290 is the combined ink catridges and think the larger individual ones sound attractive, Ben made no comment on print speeds so assume they much specification
Just wondering, there is no mention as to, on average, how many prints
were acheived with the cartridges supplied.
It kinda looks as though the quality was tested, and not quantity of prints.
As the cartridges are a tad on the steep side, it would be nice to know before an investment.
cheers.
This looks great and also sounds fantastic I am a photographer and I would love to be able to afford this machine as it sounds like just what I want. I do a lot of competition work but alas I will have to wait and see but I think the whole design is fantastic I would also like to congratulate Epson on this one and wish you all the very best on sales.
Pingback: Wex Photographic review the Epson R3000 Printer « Chris Bennett's Photo Blog
I’m sure it’s a wonderful job but with the inks probably costing £1,000 per litre, it really would be nice if reviewers and comparers discussed the likely ink cost per print (eg for a typical A3 landscape). This seems to be the best kept secret of all time unless you’re someone trying to sell Kodak printers and even then we don’t get actual comparisons.
There are 2 ways to find out about the average running cost for Epson printers.
If it’s a Pro Photo model you’re interested in (Stylus Pro 3880 and up) you can visit Epson’s Running Cost Calculator where you simply choose the printer and resolution you’ll be printing at, plus ink and paper information and the calculator will provide you with ink and media costs (based on RRP) plus an anticipated print time.
For the non-Pro models like the R2880 and R3000 it’s a little more complicated. Taking the R2880 as an example (details aren’t yet available for the R3000, but they will be), go to the main product page on the Epson site and click on the “INK & ACCESSORIES” tab on the top-right of the page. This brings up a list of inks and media for the printer, with the available inks being at the top of the page. At the top-left there is an image of an ink cartridge package and below that is a link to the page yield information. Choose your printer from this page and you will be given the approximate page yield for each of the inks along with the information about the settings that were used to calculate these figures. Click here for the Epson R2880 figures.
As mentioned, figures for the R3000 aren’t yet available, but this is where you will find them when they are.
Ben
Sounds wonderful – I am interested to know whether you printed wirelessly? in the photos it looks like the MacBook was wired up to the printer. How well would it work with large file sizes if it was wireless?
Hi Sue,
No, I didn’t print wirelessly as the pre-production model I was using wasn’t set up to do so. However, I did ask Epson about the issues of file sizes and wireless printing. Their opinion was that the R3000 will serve as a useful home/office/studio printer that will allow photography enthusiasts to get the best possible A3+ prints, and offer the casual user a convenient wireless printing option. In other words, if you’re printing full A3+ borderless colour prints, then the chances are that you will do so tethered. However, if you need to print off a pdf file or word doc, or even smaller photo images (up to A4 maybe) then you will have the option and convenience of using the wireless connectivity.
As and when this printer becomes available properly this will no doubt be covered in a little more detail, but my feeling is that the wireless option may not be suitable for large image files.
Ben
First- why is there any doubt whether or not an a3+ printer with wireless capability is able to transmit an A3+ sized file – it’s only wireless capable for “casual” users? What does this mean- it will only send an A4? or a 6×4? Why include a feature if it doesn’t work, and quickly enough to be of use? Or does it work???
Second , as a R2400 user ( my third Epson photo printer) the cost of ink is simply brutal nowadays. If I push the boat out for a R4900 the cost of ink is approximately 40% of that for the R2400, (and I know there is a much higher initial investment and I would need to be printing a certain volume to make the increased initial investment worthwhile,) but what would be useful is a valid cost per print calculator- the link you quote above has prices valid in March 2010, nearly a year out of date, and doesn’t have the R4900. Including the more expensive “prosumer” printers would be a huge help to many “far from casual” printers like me when making a choice for my hard earned cash. Why don’t you get on to the elves at Epson and suggest they get their fingers out and stop disrespecting their current and potential customers with year old data.
Thank you.
Hi Colin,
As I said, unfortunately I was unable to test the wireless printing option at the time, but hopefully we’ll be able to provide addition information when we can.
As far as A3+ wireless printing is concerned, I’m sure it is possible and I’ve no doubt that the R3000 will allow it. The point I was trying to make, and perhaps failed to do so, was that the larger file sizes will take longer to be transmitted to the printer wirelessly than they would if the printer is tethered. While this may not pose too much of an issue for casual home users, anybody regularly wanting to print off batches of A3+ prints may find the delay frustrating, and prefer to do so tethered.
Ben
Thank you Ben, I see what you mean but question the rationale for Epson including a cost raising feature if it is not fully and practically functional. Hopefully it will work in useful manner and I look forward to your update.
Ben, my apologies, but a further question strikes me. I think the convenience of changing matte and glossy black carts is secondary to the amount and ultimately the cost of switching. In the older printers like my r2400 where the two carts shared the same head ink had to be flushed through when changing. Does the new system mean this is now a thing of the past? Is there a cost implication in switching from matte to glossy in the r3000 and if so do you have any idea how much. Thanks.
Hi Colin,
Apologies for the delay in responding. I queried this with Epson who are in the process of seeking the official and accurate response from head office in Europe! As soon as I receive their reply I shall update you.
Thanks for your patience,
Ben
Thank you
The wireless printing time discussion is a little skewed. Ben DIDN’T test it. He’s just guessing. In any case, there are a number of variables: Is the printer and wireless connection “awake” when the print is sent wirelessly or is there a delay while they “handshake”; the speed of the users wireless network (fast router but a slow wireless connection in a laptop will slow the speed of transmission; interference (refrigerator motors, etc) and shared bandwidth (downloading big file while trying to print.
My own wireless printing experience is that the time to send the file is insignificant compared to the time the overall print job takes.
Ben is correct that the fastest way to send the file is via cable.
The wireless discussion here has been very Shakespearian: “Much Ado About Nothing” — especially the comments:
“…why is there any doubt whether or not an a3+ printer with wireless capability is able to transmit an A3+ sized file [[ummm--the printer doesn't transmit the file, the computer does-look to the computer for delays]] – it’s only wireless capable for “casual” users? [[Probably meant that a serious production user would "probably" have a cable setup for dedicated printing, instead of working from a laptop on a kitchen table and printing wirelessly--however that's not precluded]] What does this mean- it will only send an A4? or a 6×4? [[Huh--where did that come from? And remember--it's NOT the printer sending the file]] Why include a feature if it doesn’t work, and quickly enough to be of use? Or does it work???[[Ben said he didn't test it, so why push him about whether it works or how quickly it works]]
Additional information regarding the Black Ink exchange and printing times has been added to the review above.
Hi Ben,
I am a R2400 user and would love to avoid the hassle of changing cartridges.
Am I reading this correctly, does it take 11.5% of a cartridge capacity to change from Matte to Photo black inks and nearly 8% to change back?
Peter Appleby
Ben thank you for the additional information. I could, but won’t waste time expanding my argument re wireless printing. Regarding ink change it does appear to be excessive – 3 ml out of a 25.9 ml cartridge – (over 11%) is £2.78 at wex prices.
i own a 7880, why does it cost so much for ink.is it just the fact that users are getting screwed.or does it cost because of production expense.
Well, I’ve been invited to visit the Epson Ink factory to see exactly what’s so special about their products – watch this space for a blog post!
OUCH that’s 10% of a cartridge to change from matt to gloss ink! What a shame that Epson still haven’t given us separate heads for gloss and matt black (as per my aging HP 9180). Still I’m very excited by this printer as it is a candidate as a replacement for my 9180, come the day it finally decides to stop churning out my A3 and A3+ prints
I have just bought the R3000. I use a mac OS 10.6.
What I can’t find out about is which of the black inks I should opt to use for simple black printing on plain paper (eg a letter), given that I don’t want it to keep changing blacks as that uses so much ink.
(For some annoying reason the printer defaults to “Epson Premium Glossy”, so each time that has to be altered. I would have thought the default was plain paper.) Anyway, so you set it to ‘plain papers’ and it specifies ‘matte black’, although you can change this to ‘photo black’. I cannot find which it should be, and as I say don’t want to keep changing this because of ink wastage (it uses 1ml to change from photo black – matte black, 3ml matte black to photo black). Info about this is very limited, but it seems Epson suggests matte black for plain paper. Setting ‘plain paper’ only allows for greyscale not black/white, even though black/white is preferable… Having set ‘matte black’ in print set-up in the printer dialogue then the the print icon comes up with a dialogue box saying ‘The black ink cartridge differs from the one installed in the printer. Change the black ink cartridge in the printer.’ Does that mean plain paper should use photo black ink?
I hope they improved wireless printing because it failed big time on some others models, especially when sending some larger files to printer. I still think that skipping this model and going to 38xx series is better choice.
For those interested in running costs there is a very informative review here http://www.photoradar.com/reviews/product/printer-review-epson-stylus-photo-r3000?page=0%2C5&t=1294932675 with the full review here http://www.photoradar.com/reviews/product/printer-review-epson-stylus-photo-r3000?t=1294932675
What I would really like to know is how quickly the ink pads fill up as this has just happened to my R2400 and the only way to clear this is to send it back for a full service. Ink pads take the excess ink during head cleaning and they cannot be replaced by the consumer. Once they are full you cannot use the printer until it’s been serviced. This is one running cost that is never mentioned.
I am probably straying slightly off the path, with my question. I have the R2400 which is no longer usable. I need a good printer for medium to large prints. I do not run a professional business, though like to print up to A3+ on a regular basis. I have a fair idea which printer I want next (sshhhh!! a 3880).
If you had £1000- burning a hole in your pocket, what would you buy, an R3000 or the Pro 3880? Quality being the first and foremost concern.
Dene Thomson
Does it come with full ink cartridges or are they only part full? Makes quite a difference to the price if you need to get a full set immediately. It would be nice to put it off for a month or two!
Cheers, ian.
Hi Ian,
To the best of my knowledge most printers, including the R3000, come with a FULL set of inks.
However, the first time the printer uses the ink it also needs to fill the tubing between the cartridges and the print head which in itself uses some ink. As such, although the first set of inks are full size, you will not get as many prints from them as you will with subsequent cartridges which do not need to refill this tubing.
I hope this makes sense.
Ben
Hi Ben, As a technophobe, currently with a Canon Pixma 970- (cannot change paper profiles) is it easy to set these on the R3000? I am an Apple fan (P.C. not edible!) and print off i photo (not Photoshop) I get colours as per the i mac 24″ screen from this, but not when using Apples Aperture. I need A4 and A3 prints for photo’ competitions, but fairly small volumes, with quality needed not quantity.
Many thanks,
David J
Hello Ben,
Just purchased the R3000 from you, thank you very much. I seem to have a similar problem to one of your other customers. I am also a Mac (OSX) user.
I have no problems whatsoever printing matte archival paper from the back paper feed. I can successfully load matte archival paper from the front paper feed into the R3000 following the Menu instructions and receive the message “fine art media loaded” on the Menu screen.
However, when I select Print Settings (from Print menu) all the options for Fine Art Media are greyed-out. So I select Epson Archival Matte, click on Print to proceed and get the message “The paper source selected in the printer driver does not match the paper loaded in the printer. To print on paper, remove the CD/DVD tray or thick paper, and then close the front manual feed tray.” The CD/DVD tray in not in the printer and I have already closed the front manual feed tray.
Thank you and hope you can help with this hiccup.
Best,
John
I’m curious, has anyone else found this printer rather slow when using fine art paper? Even when choosing faster printing, if I’m doing a full color, 8.5×11 can take upwards of 6-8min. I’ve been tinkering with various options, and plan to test using only Epson labeled paper, however their “high quality” papers are… well… Not that high quality.
It’s my first Epson printer. It always gives decent quality of printing documents. Best bang for bucks!
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
I have been using Epson for many years already and I never regret the decision of choosing the brand especially when it comes to photo printing. As technology evolves, I get better printouts and I noticed that I am no longer spending a lot!