Epson SC-P700 & SC-P900 Surecolor

£679/$TBA (P700), £1087/$TBA (P900) www.epson.co.uk

Epson has introduced two top-of-therange photo printers, designed to appeal to photographers and artists. The Epson Surecolor SC-P700 is an A3+ printer with a 13-inch head that builds on the specification of the previous SC-P600 printer, one of the best photo printers available. Its bigger brother is the new Epson Surecolor SC-P900, an A2+ printer with a 17-inch head – and the successor to the existing SC-P800 – which, up until now, was one of the best large-format printers.

Improvement to print quality is at the fore of the updated models. The depth of blacks in the prints has been improved, with Epson claiming a Black D-max value of 2.95 – improving on the 2.8 figure delivered by previous models. The printers also have an improved blue colour gamut. The mix of these two improvements promise, what Epson says, are ultra-realistic prints.

Another key improvement to the design is that Matte Black (MK) and

Photo Black (PK) inks are now constantly available, making the switch between art and photo papers much quicker.

The printers also have a larger 4.7-inch touchscreen interface. Epson has listened to feedback on the design of the printers to produce what it says is, “a ‘non-printer’ look and feel that is as pleasing on the eye as the prints produced”.

The printers continue to offer three paper paths, with: a front feed for fine-art paper and a standard feed at the rear; a spindle-less integrated roll unit on the P700 (an optional extra for the P900); and a new auto sheet feeding system (ASF) for the fine-art media feed.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Epson makes the best large-format printers around and the improved print quality of these two new models – as well as the ability to switch between matte and photo blacks – should increase their appeal.