Epson Stylus Pro 4800
Affordable lab quality prints at home

In a relatively short amount of time, Epson has gained a reputation among photographic enthusiasts for building high quality printers with an output that rivals the look and feel of prints made from a traditional wet darkroom. With the Epson Stylus Pro 4800 that reputation remains completely untarnished as Epson has once again produced a well designed printer that should make even the harshest critic of print quality happy.

Capable of making high quality prints up to 16 x 20 inches, the 4800 uses the new UltraChrome K3 ink technology. What is so great about it? Three levels of black and eight color pigments create an archival surface that is both high in color fidelity and scratch resistant to boot. My printing tests showed no signs of metamerism or bronzing, and even when printing on high gloss paper, the images did not appear overly shiny as may ink jet printers on the market have a habit of doing.

Speaking of paper, the Epson Stylus Pro 4800 is compatible with virtually every style of ink jet paper available. When it comes to making a good image into a great print, a photographer's choice of surface tone and texture can play a major role. Whether you like a matte surface or glossy, blue tones or brown, textured finish or smooth, the 4800 will work with it all and not limit your creative choices.

Something I particularly admire with the Epson Stylus Pro 4800 is its extensive black and white printing mode. With a lot of high quality ink jet printers out there, the black and white options feel like they are thrown in with the list of options to make a few photographers here and there feel like they are getting something special. I mean let's face it, black and white prints really aren't all that useful in the commercial photography world, and ink jet manufacturers know this. However, Epson decided to do us all a real favor this time around and provided superb toning control in the black and white mode to add warmth or cool down the print. I predict many photographers still holding onto their traditional darkrooms may close shop for a while in favor of this printer.

One little complaint I have with the 4800 is the printing speed. It really doesn't seem to be improved at all from previous models, and printers from Canon and the like outperform greatly in this area. I only say this is a small complaint because I really don't mind waiting an extra five minutes if the added time is going to yield me a high quality print. When compared to the hours I used to spend in a wet darkroom, the 4800 is still lightning fast.