12 Super Style Points for the Epson Stylus R3000 Printer

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1. The Epson Stylus R3000 Printer is certainly one of the best choices for professional photographers and serious enthusiasts who need a limited number of prints for clients and/or display purposes. It’s not designed for a heavy printing workload in a graphics shop or studio with multiple photographers.

2. From the saving-you-money perspective, November 2011 is the right time to purchase an Epson Stylus R3000 because it comes with an incredible rebate of $300 (good through 11/30/11), reducing the regular price from $849.95 to $549.95.

3. The R3000 is the latest in a long lineage of Epson printers that starts with the 10-year-old Stylus Photo 2100, which set a new standard with its UltraChrome pigment inks. Epson was smart enough to make the R3000 a new member of the team, instead of replacing the R2880, which is a proven favorite among photographers.

4. Neither did Epson dare to put anything but the long-established UltraChrome K3 ink system in the R3000. The 9 inks have been upgraded with a new Vivid Magenta and four blacks, giving the printer a wider gamut than older UltraChrome inks. Another savvy improvement to the R3000 is locking the ink cartridges in one position, instead of sliding back and forth on the print bar. This has allowed for larger cartridges, with 0.87 ounces (25.9ml) of ink.

5. The Stylus R3000 printer reflects the exceptional design and construction integrity of other Epson printers in this range (A2 Pro 3880 and A3 R2880). With a footprint of 24.2’ x 9’ x 14.5" (61.5cm x 22.9cm x 36.8cm), the R3000 is rather compact considering all its capabilities.

6. The R3000 prints individual sheets of paper to 13” x 19” and also accepts roll paper at 13” x 44.” Resolution is an awe-inspiring 5670 x 1440dpi.

7. The people at Epson made the R3000 the first 13” printer with three paper paths. Load the auto sheet feeder with as many as 30 sheets of photographic paper. Then, use the front media insertion point for fine art papers, canvas, thick media (to 0.5 inches [1.3mm]), CD/DVDs and Epson professional quality photographic papers. Use a special tray that is included to load CD and DVD disks and print their labels. The third path is the previously mentioned roll paper to 44 inches.

The paper-feed technology isn’t just about the many kinds of media you can use; it was also developed to make it almost impossible for paper to skew and cause miss-feeds. The various trays also come with covers to keep dust and any wayward objects from harming the paper or internal mechanism of the printer.

8. The Epson Stylus R3000’s control panel is a major draw for photographers because it’s so easy to use. Plus, a highly visible 2.5-inch color LCD puts all the printing and maintenance selections at your fingertips and provides helpful how-to tips, so you can leave the manual in the box.

9. In terms of performance, the R3000 is nothing short of amazing. Colors are very brilliant, especially red, green, yellow and blue. The gradients of colors are reproduced with an excellent blend from one to the other, without banding.

10. Epson added its exclusive Advanced Black-and-White Photo Mode to the R3000 to ensure any photographer can make exhibition-quality prints. This feature has four presets: neutral, warm, cool and sepia, or you can customize any print with even finer controls.

11. The Epson Stylus R3000 printer is compatible with Mac and Windows OS and interfaces with a computer through USB 2.0, or to a network with Ethernet or 802.11n Wi-Fi. The printer also works with PictBridge cameras.

12. If you’re serious about your photography, either in terms of impressing clients or friends and families with large, spectacular prints, then the Epson Style R3000 printer is for you.

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