I have both Epson 1270 and R2400 printers, had the Epson 1160 as
well. The 1160 was my dedicated B&W printer until the PiezographyBW
inks finally killed the print head and it wasn't worth fixing (2003).
I then dedicated the 1270 to B&W work with MIS UT-2 inks and
QuadToneRIP, which ran well enough albeit with a number of issues in
clogs and drips that it motivated me to buy the R2400. The R2400 is
the best printer I've had to date; the 1270 is now relegated to light
duty for printing envelopes.
My work has been printed on Epson Heavyweight Matte and Epson
Archival Matte (now Epson Enhanced Matte) since 2000-2001. With the
R2400, I'm also using Epson Velvet Fine Art as well, but sparingly as
it is both more costly and more time consuming to handle. I've tried
several other papers but find little real advantage to most of the
other standard papers (some of the high-end, high-rag-content papers
are wonderful though). I feel it is generally more sensible to learn
a single paper or maybe two, optimizing rendering and printing to do
best on them.
So far, Heavyweight Matte and EEM look very similar. EEM has just a
bit more tonal separation in the Zone II-IV range, a slightly deeper
black with R2400 Matte Black inks. Over four-five years, some of the
EEM prints have aged to a little warmer rendering.
Inks have been more variable. The 1270 color inks shift a bit when
exposed to air and light, over time there's substantial fading. The
PiezographyBW inks have been very stable, as have the MIS UT2. I
expect the R2400's K3 inkset to be more stable yet.
Godfrey
On Apr 21, 2006, at 12:51 PM, Jerome Reyes wrote:
Guys and gals,
I was about to press the trigger on an Adorama order and at the last
minute thought about adding some paper. I have about a 7 or 8 framed
photos around the house (mostly 11" by 14") and all are on Epson
Enhanced
Matte Inkjet Paper (A3 Size), printed on a Epson Stylus Photo 1280.
They
were all printed within the past 12 months, so none have passed the
test
of time yet ... even though I suspect the ink will be the culprit
more so
than the paper if they start to fade.
Anyhow, I'm pretty happy with all of them (and the printer)... but was
struck by curiousity as to what some others may be printing on.
- Jerome
PS. by the way, the max width for the Epson 1280 is 13".
