15 Details About the Epson Stylus Pro 4900 Printer That Make It Worth the Money
1. Epson returned to the drawing board with the Stylus Pro 4900 Printer, taking a big step forward from its 4000 series. Among many of the reworked and new features are some found on Epson’s big-boy printers, the 7900 and 9900.
Read real customer reviews of the Epon Stylus Pro 4900 Printer here.
2. The Epson Stylus Pro 4900 accommodates roll or cut-sheet paper as much as 17’ wide.
3. Before you start slobbering, the Pro 4900’s amazing print quality is meant for very serious photographers, mostly pros, who need dazzling fine art prints, framed portrait work and an extreme reproduction of detail for fashion, engineering, architecture, medicine, etc. That’s why they are willing to pay $2,000 to $2,500 for this printer.
4. Epson also made sure no one would confuse the new Pro 4900 with its predecessors, the 4000, 4800, 4880, by giving the 4900 a stylish profile and an interesting color motif: black and putty gray.
5. Epson has built the Pro 4900 to be such a workhorse that it literally needs its own desk at 34"(W) x 16"(H) x 30"(D). This printer may appear to be compact, with the paper cassette tucked into the body of the printer, but it weighs 115 lbs. (52kg), substantially heavier than the 4880’s 89 lbs. (40kg). You can place it relatively close to the back of the desk, giving yourself enough access to the rear manual feed slot.
6. The 4900 is built with a 10+1 cartridge ink system that includes photo and matte black ink. The printer’s technology recognizes your paper selection and matches it to the right black ink cartridge, so you don’t have to do it manually.
7. The inks in the 4900 are Ultrachrome HDR, which have already received many accolades for the prints these inks produce on the Epson 7900 and 9900. These Ultrachrome HDR inks have been upgraded with green and orange. Colors seem to explode and a great deal of depth is created, so it looks as if there is more space between the layered elements in a print.
8. The Ultrachrome HDR inks don’t work alone, however. It’s the combination of the inks, the AccuPhoto HDR screening technology and the most advanced MicroPiezo TFP print head that puts so much incredible magic on the paper.
9. For very intuitive, user-friendly controls, Epson couldn’t have done much better than the new color LCD screen on the Pro 4900. The panel is well lit and many testers and reviewers describe it as providing logical information.
Other handy controls include paper cutter on or off, sheet or roll feed, starting the self-feeding of roll paper, feeding or discharging the paper electronically and the option of manually selecting the photo or matte black ink cartridge.
10. Operationally, the Epson Pro 4900 couldn’t be easier. No manual feeding or setting paper alignment. It’s just a two-step process: insert the paper and press a button. Paper can be loaded into a cassette, roll-paper spindle, front feed for thick stock and a rear manual feed slot.
11. Third-party tests have clearly shown that the ICC paper profiles that Epson provides, in combination with its paper products and the Ultrachrome HDR inks, produce the very best prints, with a truly startling level of quality in color accuracy and image details. One test measured ink droplets as miniscule as 3.5 picoliters, with a maximum resolution of 2880x1440.
12. The Epson ICC paper profiles are also responsible for reproducing quite exquisite black and white prints on the 4900, with precise tonal characteristics. Much of this has to do with the Advanced Black and White Photo Mode (ABW) technology being added to the printer driver.
13. Considering its price point, you’d expect the Epson Pro 4900 printer to operate quietly, which it does. All you can hear is the paper feed mechanism.
14. It’s highly recommended that you download the Epson LFP Remote Panel 2 software and make it your primary control panel to manage the 4900. You’ll like the interface between the Custom Paper Setup feature of the program and the printer’s LCD screen.
15. The number of photographers, graphic artists and other professionals who need the Epson Stylus Pro 4900 Printer and are prepared to pay the price for its performance and spectacular image output is limited. If you are one of them, however, you simply couldn’t make a better choice, especially when you use Epson papers.
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