Impressions of the new Epson P5370

[dgberg]

The biggest impression it made on me right out of the box is the build quality, now that is how a printer should be made. Compared to the P900 it is a tank. Twice the size of my P800.
For the difference in price, $650 more than the P900 it is worth every penny and then some. New touch screen is a really nice touch with file name you are printing and total print time.
Not having to switch black inks is also nice.
They added a cutter which was really appreciated especially when you are used to having one on your bigger printers. The starter ink carts are only 80ml and after initializing we have about 50% remaining.
On screen it looks like a lot when it shows half full but there is not that much remaining. I ordered a full set of 200ml carts which cost an additional $96 each.  I consider these printers a very economical purchase.
The ink is where they get you. I did not use any of the trays for loading papers. The new click feature for manual loading is simple and jut plain works. I have not used the roll feature yet as I am only printing small test sheets of different papers.
The P900 ink is roughly .90ml - P800 .77ml - P5370 .50ml and my P8000 .30ml. If you use a full set of the 5370 ink a year figure a $1k in your budget. The printer has two maintenance tanks the standard one and it has another one to catch borderless printing ink. Good idea to also have one of these in your supply chest. The only profiles that are available are from Epson and I only use one Epson paper. I spent the last two days making profiles with my I1Pro2. Since we plan on printing quite a few black and white. I have those tests to do with and without the new Carbon Black Mode (Black Enhance Overcoat) I have had several online discussions with
Mark Segal and his tests with the P900 show very minute improvements with the overcoat. Uses more light gray ink and lengthens the print time. Will report back on my findings.
Of the several B&W and color prints I have printed so far they look really good. I have nothing bad to say about this printer it looks that good. Some are complaining that is should have had the orange and green inks.
I have to break out my ColorThink program and compare some profiles when I get some time.
My only issue and it is not really a complaint is that it is one size too small. Why they did not build a desktop 24" machine to match the 7570 is a good question. Of course the answer is they don't want to sell a desktop 24" model for $2950 when they are getting $4250 for the floor model P7570.
Ran a dozen small black and white prints this morning and they look really good. The Pk photo papers Hahnemuhle FAB, Canson Platine Fiber Rag and Ilford Gold Mono Silk Warm are the best of the bunch. The two decent matte prints were on Canson Edition Etching Rag and Hahnemuhle German Etching. The Moab Moenkopi Kozo was also pretty decent.I also printed on Lexjet Metallic, Epson Premium Luster and Canon Platinum. For high gloss comparison I have two prints from my ET-8550 on High Gloss Pictorico White Film. For a high gloss print there is nothing that comes close to these. All of these were printed through Lightroom's Advanced Black and White mode, neutral. The Carbon Black Mode was not used on any of these prints. Those tests to follow.

[Eric Brody]

Dan, Thanks for writing. I'm interested in your impressions. I'm anxious to hear any thoughts about this printer as I've been interested in it since it was announced. Assuming one can afford it and its $96 cartridges (albeit 200ml, 10 cost $960!), it almost seems like a no brainer for those of us frustrated by the P900.

The good news is that my P900 seems to be behaving itself currently and I have a lot of ink for it. The bad news is that I REALLY want to justify the 5370. Not sure how I'd deal with the P900. While it's behaving itself now, I'm not sure I could sell it in good conscience even with full disclosure of past problems, that's over $1,200 down the drain if I choose not to sell it.

I'm still awaiting Keith Cooper's and Mark Segal's formal review.

[dgberg]

Marks review of the P900 is stellar. (The review not necessarily the printer) The amount of work he put into that is really something.  He dissects every aspect of that printer. A really great read for any printer techie.

[soharaus]

Dan:
Thanks for your comments. Look forward to a more detailed review of the 5370. I couldn't find any ICC profiles for the Pictorico White film for any printer on the Mitsubishi website. Do you have any suggestions on how to get the profiles?
Thanks.

[dgberg]

I print mostly B&W on my Pictorico paper using Lightroom's advanced black and white mode, no profile. I have an old Pictorico profile for the 3800 from 10 years ago. I cannot find new ones either.
I need to make several when I get time. I have been using Epson PGPP profile when printing color. It is quite good.

[soharaus]

Dan:
Thanks for your reply.

[Eric Brody]

For those following news about the Epson 5370, Mark Segal, printer reviewer extraordinaire (along with Keith Cooper) has published a superb review of the 5370 at PhotoPXL. It is well worth a read by anyone considering this printer, like me.

He did his usual thorough review with lots of useful information.

Eric