# Epson Introduces New SureColor P-Series Large Format Printers



## Canon Rumors Guy (Sep 15, 2015)

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<strong>CHICAGO, Sept. 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/</strong> – Epson is once again redefining large format commercial ink jet printing with the announcement of the SureColor® P-Series line-up. Incorporating the latest imaging technologies, including Epson’s PrecisionCore® TFP® printhead, the new P-Series printers deliver extraordinary performance for the professional printing industry along with unparalleled color matching capabilities. Leveraging Epson’s UltraChrome® HD eight-color ink set, the 24-inch SureColor P6000and 44-inch SureColor P8000 are designed for graphic designers, commercial printers and photographers. Successors to the award-winning Epson Stylus® Pro 900-Series, the 24-inch SureColor P7000 and 44-inch SureColor P9000 incorporate a reformulated Epson UltraChrome HDX 10-color ink set for both commercial and flexographic printers, as well as graphic designers, photographers, and fine art reproduction houses.</p>
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<p>Poised to set new industry standards for commercial and flexographic proofing applications, the SC-P7000 and SC-P9000 are available in a Commercial Edition featuring an all-new Violet ink for expanded color gamut delivering output matching 99-percent of the PANTONE® FORMULA GUIDE Solid Coated. In addition, the printers are configurable with an optional Epson SpectroProofer® UVS in-line spectrophotometer designed to provide automated color management and verification-related tasks for a range of proofing applications.</p>
<p>“Epson is committed to bringing the most advanced printing and proofing solutions to market for creative, graphic arts and printing professionals,” said Larry Kaufman, product manager, Professional Imaging, Epson America, Inc. “The new SureColor P-Series family brings together the most sophisticated printing technologies available to deliver extraordinary results, whether for graphic design, contract proofing for commercial and flexographic printing, fine art, or photography.”</p>
<p><strong>More about the SureColor P-Series

</strong>The complete SureColor P-Series printer family – the SC-P6000, SC-P7000, SC-P8000, and SC-P9000 – redefine wide-format, aqueous imaging applications with a vast array of workflow solutions and robust media handling. All models seamlessly integrate with industry leading workflow software solutions to meet the needs of the proofing and graphic arts community. Additional features include:</p>
<p><strong>Epson UltraChrome HD and HDX Ink:</strong> The SC-P6000/P8000 leverage the eight-color UltraChrome HD ink and the SC-P7000/P9000 use the 10-color UltraChrome HDX ink. Both professional ink sets deliver outstanding color with improved black density; new Black ink is 1.5 times denser than previous ink formulation, providing significant improvements to overall contract ratio and optical clarity, and improved Resin Encapsulation Technology delivers superior gloss uniformity. All SureColor P-Series printers are designed to work exclusively with Epson UltraChrome HD and HDX ink1.</p>
<p><strong>Epson PrecisionCore TFP Printhead:</strong> The SureColor P-Series delivers consistent, high-performance with variable size ink droplet technology as small as 3.5 picoliters for remarkable print quality. New enhancements include a new wave form, improving dot placement and accuracy. User-scheduled cleaning cycles improve print head health.</p>
<p><strong>The Proofing Standard:</strong> Ideal for all commercial and flexographic proofing, the SC-P7000/P9000 Commercial Edition printers include an all-new Violet ink for expanded color gamut targeting improved spot color matching accuracy.</p>
<p><strong>Robust Media Handling:</strong> Supports virtually any media type in roll or cut-sheet, from photographic paper to 1.5 mm thick fine art media and poster board. New roll media handling offers user-selectable 3 mm top and bottom margins and improved guide rollers for reduced media surface impressions. High-speed rotary cutter included.</p>
<p><strong>Optional Internal Print Server:</strong> Internal 320GB print server boosts workgroup productivity by quickly transferring print jobs to free-up workstations; adds print queue management and print job save and reprint functionality.</p>
<p><strong>Optional SpectroProofer® UVS:</strong> Developed jointly with X-Rite, the in-line spectrophotometer provides automated color management and verification-related tasks for a range of proofing applications. It supports all current illumination standards for UV and UV-Cut measurement and is UV selectable between M0, M1 and M2.</p>
<p>The Epson SureColor P-Series will be on display at Graph Expo, Sept. 13-16, 2015 at McCormick Place in Chicago in Epson’s booth, #841, highlighting graphic design and commercial proofing applications.</p>
<p><strong>Support and Availability

</strong>The Epson SureColor P-Series will be available in October 2015 through authorized Epson Professional Imaging resellers:</p>
<ul>
<li>Epson SureColor P6000 24-inch – Standard Edition $2,995</li>
<li>Epson SureColor P7000 24-inch – Standard Edition (Light Light Black Starter Ink Set) $3,995</li>
<li>Epson SureColor P7000 24-inch – Commercial Edition (Violet Starter Ink Set) $3,995</li>
<li>Epson SureColor P8000 44-inch – Standard Edition $4,995</li>
<li>Epson SureColor P9000 44-inch – Standard Edition (Light Light Black Starter Ink Set) $5,995</li>
<li>Epson SureColor P9000 44-inch – Commercial Edition (Violet Ink Starter Set) $5,995</li>
</ul>
<p>The SureColor P-Series offer a standard Epson PreferredSM Limited Warranty, a one-year program that includes toll-free advanced telephone access Monday through Friday and usually next business-day on-site service in the unlikely event of any hardware failure. For additional information, visit <a href="http://www.proimaging.epson.com" target="_blank">www.proimaging.epson.com</a>.</p>
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## privatebydesign (Sep 15, 2015)

Totally underwhelmed by the announcements.

They have done nothing to address the main issues that x900 owners have had.
[list type=decimal]
[*]Print head not user replaceable
[*]Print head not able to remap blocked nozzles
[*]MK and PK still share the same nozzles
[*]The head is the same design as previously so no reason to expect different clogging 'performance'
[/list]

They do say the auto cleaning cycles have been reworked, so more ink down the $35 maintenance tank, and supposedly ink usage has been lowered, though on a per print figure I have never had a problem with that, use the ink you need to make a print but using gallons of it to keep the printer maintained is not on. HP's use next to no ink for 'maintenance' over years of reliable use.

Actual improvements seem to be limited to a blacker black, that it never lacked anyway (though does anybody know if that is PK or MK?) and yellow longevity to match that of Canon already. Oh and the optional violet ink for non photographers concerned about Pantone range.

I live and die on printer advice from Keith's reviews over on Northlight Images and the ones on LuLa, the main issue I now have with Epson is they can't be trusted and the probable problems that owners will have won't show up in reviews.

Massive, massive, thumbs down.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Sep 15, 2015)

privatebydesign said:


> Totally underwhelmed by the announcements.
> 
> They have done nothing to address the main issues that x900 owners have had.
> [list type=decimal]
> ...



Good points.

Printer head clogging is a big issue for me. I reset and refill my maintenance tanks with paper towels, so they are not a issue for me, but the wasted ink is.

Violet ink might work, that's always been a weak area in matching prints to reality.


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## privatebydesign (Sep 15, 2015)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> privatebydesign said:
> 
> 
> > Totally underwhelmed by the announcements.
> ...



But the violet ink is not recommended for photographs, if you choose to use the new violet you lose the LLK, which I go through a lot of.


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## chromophore (Sep 15, 2015)

privatebydesign said:


> Mt Spokane Photography said:
> 
> 
> > privatebydesign said:
> ...



BTW, am I the only one who thinks "LLK" is the most ridiculous name for an ink color? "Light Light Black?" Makes me think of "Dance Dance Revolution." You know what "Light Black" is called? Gray. "Light Black" makes about as much sense as saying "Dark White."

Epson. Your names for ink colors are about as silly as your non-replaceable printer heads. I bought an Epson printer many moons ago. Mother****er clogged up after less than a month of use, and it became an expensive paperweight. Never again. I have never had a clog with any Canon inkjet. On top of that, I could buy and replace my PRO-100 printer head if I need to, and in doing so, I don't need to replace all the ink tanks. Everything is modular.


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## Aglet (Sep 16, 2015)

The new head design should provide somewhat improved performance. I remember reading about its development and it looked like it would enable some improvements tho not sure we're seeing those yet.

Unlike HP or Canon, Epson's printhead is not as much a 'consumable' so should not need replacement very often. Still, would be nice if it was as easy to replace as on the competition and if they used the Canon style of ink management that has that intermediate buffer volume to allow cartridge swapping on the fly without risking an air bubble in the line causing a dropout.

Inability to remap a bad nozzle is an issue if you don't deal with dropped nozzles but, as above, Epson heads should have much greater longevity. Keeping all the nozzles firing is another issue. 8-\

ya, really irritating that MK & PK have to be swapped. It's be really nice if they had their own nozzle pair, then they could add the violet ink and run a full 12-color head with no matte/gloss change-over issues.

Agreed LK & LLK are goofy. otta be Gy and LGy

As for the "clogging." I have a theory.
my R3000 can sit for MONTHS without dropping a single nozzle.
my 9900 can drop a nozzle anytime it sits for more than about an hour. Tho I've had it parked as long as a month without dropping a nozzle it's quite rare.
Why the difference when the inks are probably about the same?...

Ink cart's in the R3000 are located above the head.
Ink carts in the 9900, and similar, are considerably below the head.

so, if the capping station doesn't seal perfectly (it's not likely to) and the control valve body behind the head is less than perfect in sealing when you shut down, hystrostatic pressure may cause the ink to slowly flow out of the head and back towards the cart's. You don't have head 'clogs' so much as air voids inside the head. This can then allow the nozzle area to dry out and cause a nozzle clog if left dry for a long time. Dry-out is not likely the issue in a short production halt (when the cart's are de-pressurized) but flowback coulid be.

Anyway, having to blow a bunch of ink to get all nozzles working is like washing a dirty car with gasoline... inefficient and costly!

Making sure the head is clean, the capping station gasket is clean, the wiper blade is clean, the wiper blade wiper is clean...
The ambient humidity is at least moderate and dust to an minimum are all things that may help improve the overall clogging performance of the 900 series.
I think it'd be better if they could re-locate the ink cart's to be at the same average level as the head, or slightly higher.

My 9900 has now been sitting since about July. Ask me how it goes when I restart in early October. I no longer bother turning it on to run a test print... it doesn't help.


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