Musings from an ImagePrint user:
It's all very exciting to see the new Epson tech announced and no doubt it will be even more exciting when we get to play it. But I go to thinking: what's going to happen to ColorByte and Image Print?
The new Epsons have the option of a Spectro, so no need for the online profile library.
They've sorted out the matte/photo black ink-swap, so no need for the Phatte Black option.
Layout can be handled by cheap software like QImage now.
I know that would choose to spend the extra cash on a Spectro rather than an IP licence.
There go 3 of IP's strongest selling points. And seeing as they are very Epson-centric I wonder what their strategy is for dealing with the new Epsons.
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Harness more than 3 ink hues in the driver is already a task that not all RIP manufacturers can handle. Let us see what ImagePrint will do with that aspect.
Driving the integrated Spectrometer with the RIP is another one and it is not clear yet in what way the Epson spectrometer will be integrated in any driver/RIP not to mention pricing of this additional hardware and the software needed for it. I think it is early yet to raise the question what combination to buy and there are more ways to make inkjet prints these days. Epson may decide to keep their cooperation with RIP manufacturers limited to some or set a high price on cooperation.
That lay-out and profiling feature hasn't been unique to ImagePrint either. Qimage, the OEM driver and any internal or external profile creation source must have been cheaper and as good as buying a new ImagePrint version for every new printer purchased. Even the B&W features are available elsewhere. Remains the phatte black that reduced the B&W quality to get cheaper black switching. For 18 months there are wide format models available that do not compromise on number of heads and inks.
Ernst Dinkla
Try: [a href=\"http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wide_Inkjet_Printers/]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wide_Inkjet_Printers/[/url]
