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Saw an Epson Stylus Photo RX500 demonstrated on Friday.
A lot of you have written to ask if I'd recommend a multi-function device like this, so here's my opinion. A few years ago, you may remember, we made the mistake of buying a television with an integrated VCR. In the fullness of time, after enough flat food and wooden toys and jigsaw puzzle pieces had been inserted by the kids, the video stopped working.
But to get the VCR fixed, we'd have had to do without the tv, so we just bought a new VCR.
This is more or less my attitude to the integrated scanner/printer. On the one hand, you have a very posh photocopier. On the other, you've got several devices in one, just waiting for one of them to go wrong.
The RX500 is actually very good, if bulky. It's got an integrated camera memory card reader, so it can be used completely independently of a computer. I saw it produce an index print from a card; then you mark off the prints and size/quality you wanted on the index print, and it scanned the index, and then printed the photos (from the card) on the right paper. In other words, it is in fact a computer, with a very specific set of functions.
It's even got built-in original correction facilities, so scanning a damaged/fading print and producing a new one is idiot proof. All of these things are reasons to buy, especially if you are an idiot.
It really is very good, and the ink cartridges are all separate, so you only replace the colour that runs out.
But in the end, you have to decide whether you're going to use it. I haven't used a scanner in more than a year. I actually photographed the last couple of documents I wanted to "scan" with my digital camera. And if I do any colour correction, I tend to (try to) do it properly, in Photoshop.
Me, I'm holding out for the next generation of Epson photo printers, like the R800, which will include Red and Green inks, matte black, and a glossy varnish, in addition to the standard CMYK. Till now, Epson have included Light Cyan and Light Magenta in their photo printers, as a way of enhancing the range of tones that can be produced. The one colour inkjet printers have traditionally struggled with is green, and the idea of red and green inks seems really radical. I can't wait to see some sample prints.
A lot of you have written to ask if I'd recommend a multi-function device like this, so here's my opinion. A few years ago, you may remember, we made the mistake of buying a television with an integrated VCR. In the fullness of time, after enough flat food and wooden toys and jigsaw puzzle pieces had been inserted by the kids, the video stopped working.
But to get the VCR fixed, we'd have had to do without the tv, so we just bought a new VCR.
This is more or less my attitude to the integrated scanner/printer. On the one hand, you have a very posh photocopier. On the other, you've got several devices in one, just waiting for one of them to go wrong.
The RX500 is actually very good, if bulky. It's got an integrated camera memory card reader, so it can be used completely independently of a computer. I saw it produce an index print from a card; then you mark off the prints and size/quality you wanted on the index print, and it scanned the index, and then printed the photos (from the card) on the right paper. In other words, it is in fact a computer, with a very specific set of functions.
It's even got built-in original correction facilities, so scanning a damaged/fading print and producing a new one is idiot proof. All of these things are reasons to buy, especially if you are an idiot.
It really is very good, and the ink cartridges are all separate, so you only replace the colour that runs out.
But in the end, you have to decide whether you're going to use it. I haven't used a scanner in more than a year. I actually photographed the last couple of documents I wanted to "scan" with my digital camera. And if I do any colour correction, I tend to (try to) do it properly, in Photoshop.
Me, I'm holding out for the next generation of Epson photo printers, like the R800, which will include Red and Green inks, matte black, and a glossy varnish, in addition to the standard CMYK. Till now, Epson have included Light Cyan and Light Magenta in their photo printers, as a way of enhancing the range of tones that can be produced. The one colour inkjet printers have traditionally struggled with is green, and the idea of red and green inks seems really radical. I can't wait to see some sample prints.
posted by Anonymous at
Monday, December 15, 2003
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