Looking at the Epson SC-P600

[keith_cooper]

I've had one of Epson's new A3+ printers on loan from Epson UK for a bit, and have just written up some notes on it's operation and performance, if anyone is curious.

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/reviews/printer/epson_sc-p600.html

It managed about this many test prints before the first cart ran out (VLM fyi)



PS All my profiles (~3k patch made with i1Profiler) and QTR correction profiles for ABW linearisation are available if anyone want to experiment or look at the measurement data

[wtlloyd]

Excellent detailed review as usual, Keith.

The stumbling block for me will be the cartridge sizes/ink cost. I'd really like to replace my 4900 (sold,moved, loved) with another sheet cassette printer, then adding a 24" sheet/roll printer. 13" wide would be ok for a smaller printer size coupled with (finally!) the ability to print smaller than 8x10 sheets, something I longed for with the 4000/4800/4900.

I believe Epson is expected to roll out a couple more printers in the next few months, yes?

[Landscapes]

I'm just so surprised that all these Epson printers still waste ink when switching the blacks.  Does Epson really think they aren't losing market share here?  I'm not too familiar with these smaller pro printers so not sure of what the competition is like, but from I see when I scanned your review, there just isn't much of a reason to upgrade.  You would think that when print quality is about equal between the different companies that they would really strive to make user workflow/ease of use and  reliability a top priority.

[keith_cooper]

I'm just so surprised that all these Epson printers still waste ink when switching the blacks.  Does Epson really think they aren't losing market share here?  I'm not too familiar with these smaller pro printers so not sure of what the competition is like, but from I see when I scanned your review, there just isn't much of a reason to upgrade.  You would think that when print quality is about equal between the different companies that they would really strive to make user workflow/ease of use and  reliability a top priority.

Yes, both Canon and Epson have 'issues' like this when I look at them.
For Epson it's the black ink swap, and for Canon it's the maximum paper length and margins on art papers.

If I wanted a printer that size for my personal use, then only one of those would be a deal breaker for me - YMMV

It is too soon to say (with any authority) whether the SC-P600 is more reliable or less prone to clogs than the R3000

[ihv]

I see, black switching at Epson is still a joke.

P.S. very nice review, thanks for that!

[Rawcoll]

As usual there, Keith, an excellent review. Unfortunately I fall into the infrequent use camp, and whilst I agree that regular use should be beneficial to the printer (and therefore to my temperament  , life just isn't like that. My R2880 is very tolerant of non-usage, unlike some of the larger printers, or so I read. The question will be how this printer fares when not used a lot, but that will only become evident with time (which obviously you can't test in your review). So, watch this space...

[Stefan Ohlsson]

I've had the printer for two months now. It's been used in my home office, which is very dry, about 20% humidity. During this time I've had one clog only, and it cleared right away. If it had been a x900 printer, I'm sure that I had seen many clogs, as the printer has been standing still for a week or two during that time. So too early to say for sure that SC-P600 has less of a problem, but so far it's looking good.