It won TIPA’s award for best photo printer last year – and it can print up to A3 size – but this is only one aspect of the XP-950, which is also designed to be a generalpurpose office/home printer. Trevern Dawes was keen to see if this unusual combination of capabilities actually works. By Trevern Dawes
Although multifunctional inkjet printers are capable of producing acceptable prints with their four-colour ink systems, they are not regarded as serious printers for photographic work. However, the Epson Expression Photo XP-950 takes A3 printing with multi-functional facilities to a new level using a six-colour inkset. It’s a curious combination so we were keen to see how its photo printing features stacked up.
In many ways the Epson Expression XP-950 is an Epson Artisan 1430 printer cut down from its A3+ format to A3 with the facilities of a letter-sized fl atbed scanner and copier included. On the other hand, it can be regarded as a scanner/copier with the capacity to print photographs up to A3 size.
The package comprises the printer, a CD containing drivers, software and manual for Windows and Mac OS X; a CD/DVD tray, six ink cartridges, an AC power cord and ‘Quick Guide’ booklet. A USB cable isn’t supplied.
The XP-950 has a smart gloss black finish with a textured lid and a frontal silver strip. The cable connections are at the back, while at the front is a tilt-up 88 mm touch-screen control panel and the on/off button. On the left corner is a fl ip-out cover for two memory card slots and a PictBridge connection. The lid is hinged across the centre and folds back to allow books to be scanned. At 8.8 kilograms and dimensions of 479x356x148 mm, the printer is easy to transport and doesn’t occupy too much desk space.
There are three paper feed systems – letter and legal size up to 100 sheets of plain paper fed a paper drawer at the bottom; there’s a tray immediately above which holds up to 20 sheets of photo paper no larger than 180x130 mm and, finally, a manual-feed single sheet inlet at the rear with a slide-out paper support for accommodating up to A3 size paper. All have adjustable paper guides for a snug fit. The two lower trays require the coated side of paper to be placed facing downwards.
The tray for handling printable CD/DVDs is located at the base of the printer. An unusual feature is that the print receiving tray automatically slides out when a print is required.
Printing is carried out via image editing software like Adobe Photoshop, via Epson’s Easy Photo or directly from memory cards; or USB, LAN and WLAN interfaces. Mobile printing support is available through the Cloud, a Wifiaccess point, network, smart phone and other portable devices. The maximum standard paper size for photo printing or for larger spreadsheets is A3, and the maximum custom paper size allowable is 329x1117.6 mm.
SETTING UP
It takes about 40 minutes from first opening the printer carton to “The installation was successful” and “OK” messages. Printing of a test page then confirms all is well. On the way, the six cartridges are inserted, connections are made (Wi-Fi, Ethernet and USB) and the print driver, along with Easy Photo Print, Event Manager, Print CD/DVD and ArcSoft Scan-n-Stitch Deluxe programs are installed. No difficulties are involved here – just follow the prompts. A small amount of ink is allocated to charging the print head.
It’s important to handle the cartridges carefully. The lime plastic cover pads for the ink outlets do contain a small amount of ink which you don’t need on your fingers while the contact points on the chips should not be touched. A gentle shake of each cartridge prior to insertion is recommended.
Epson Connect is part of the software installation process. This allows the printer to talk to other devices via a local network system or via the internet. Cloud based services such as Google Print and Apple AirPrint are also included.
INSTRUCTIONS AND INKS
A ‘User’s Guide’ is part of the installation process. This is accessed by clicking on the Epson Manuals icon on the computer desktop. This 167-page PDF manual is comprehensive and easy to follow. Despite the urge to switch on and start printing immediately, it’s worth the time to become familiar with all the features, build confidence and reduce the possibility of paper and ink wastage.
The six-colour Claria Photo HD dye-based inkset comprises black, magenta, cyan, yellow, light magenta and light cyan. They are essentially the same as those in the Epson Artisan 1430 A3+ printer (designated 81A). The printer is supplied with standard ‘277’ cartridges, but a higher-capacity ‘227XL’ set is available. Epson doesn’t reveal how much ink is contained in its ‘277’ and ‘277XL’ cartridges, but does mention it’s possible to obtain 240 pages from the ‘277’ black cartridge, 360 pages from the ‘277’ colours; and 500 and 740 pages respectively for the ‘277XL’ series. This is related to about five percent coverage for pages of text and so doesn’t tell us much about photo printing.
A ‘277XL’ cartridge weighs 26 grams as new and 14 grams empty. This would suggest about 12-14 millilitres of ink per ‘XL’ cartridge and, based on the text page figures, about seven-to-nine millilitres per standard cartridge. The ink cost per millilitre is about $2 or much the same as per other small format ink jet printers.
The RRP for the standard cartridges is $15.99 and $26.99 for the higher capacity tanks. A value pack for high capacity cartridges sells for $145. These prices (often with free shipping on orders over $50) – along with the $399 RRP for the printer itself – are subject to significant discounting by shopping around. Needless to say, compatible cartridges and continuous ink systems are available, but it’s better to stay with the Epson genuine inks, especially if long life prints and trouble-free operation are envisaged.
Determining the cost per print using one standard set of cartridges and partial use of the ‘XL’ set is not a simple task. The assumed capacity of the cartridges and the approximate ink levels indicated on screen, let alone the type of images printed and their quality and print speed settings can only result in rough figures. However, for the record, my calculations (with most prints produced at ‘Best Photo’ quality and with ‘High Speed’ off) an A3 print would cost about $4 in ink, an A4 print about $2 and a postcard-sized print about 20 cents.
The longevity ratings with Epson papers, according to Wilhelm Research, are 98 years in display conditions under glass and around 200 years in dark storage. These rating are in keeping with (and actually exceed) most values for pigment printers and are actually significant factors in being able to
offer prints for sale.
PRINT MAKING
For those without programs like Photoshop, print making proceeds via Epson’s Easy Photo Print. Images are selected and panels accessed to establish all the settings required for print making. A ‘Help’ facility is available to acquire details.
Some will be content to print by the direct auto approach using the ‘Main’ panel and set either ‘Photo’ or ‘Best Photo’ quality and, in Print Options, use PhotoEnhance. Another alternative is to proceed to the ‘Advanced’ panel and then choose either ‘Photo’ or ‘Best Photo’ quality, turn ‘High Speed’ on or off. Next, in ‘Colour Management’, choose ‘Colour Control’ and then, in ‘Colour Mode’, select either ‘Epson Standard’, ‘Epson Vivid’ or ‘RGB’. All the colour modes have manual overrides and the gamma default of 2.2 can reduced to 1.8. Once an advanced routine is established, it can be saved to an appropriate name, e.g. “My Epson Gloss” and dialled up for regular on-going use via ‘Short Cuts’.
The ‘canned’ profiles for Epson papers are accurate. Dyes are far more forgiving than pigments so the lack of ICC profiles isn’t a barrier when printing with papers other than Epson. Either adopt the closest Epson paper type and, if it isn’t exactly what is required after several test prints, apply manual adjustments for colour, contrast and brightness (even try moving gamma from 2.2 to 1.8) to secure consistent results. Then save those settings to an appropriate name for recall later, along with other regular settings.
Dye-based inks and gloss paper have always been a great combination. The dyes penetrate the paper surface, leaving a smooth finish without any gloss differential or bronzing problems. The colours are brighter and the blacks intense. As a six-colour printer, the Epson XP-950 cannot be expected to produce the colour gamut and subtleties of a 12-colour system, but with good print files and appropriate printer settings, it can actually turn out surprisingly good results.
The results on Epson Premium Glossy and Semigloss Photo papers, using both auto settings and my preference for locking into the Adobe RGB colour space of print files, were most pleasing. The semi-gloss surface has always been popular as it doesn’t have a distracting shiny surface yet has plenty of impact. As short-term colour drift is a characteristic of dyes, assessments should be made after a print has dried down.
SPEED AND QUALITY
The four factors with the Epson Expression Photo XP-950 that influence the quality and print speed relationships are ‘Photo’ or ‘Best Photo’, and ‘High Speed’ either on or off. The following colour print times were achieved at the opposite ends of these variables. All times are measured from the start to the end of print head activity.
In many respects, picking the differences is difficult so it’s a matter of individual choice as to what matters most. My view is always to take the high road for important prints even if it takes up more time and ink and to settle for the low road for any secondary tasks.
PANORAMAS
Very few people would associate panoramas with a multi-functional printer, but Epson’s XP-950 can deliver here. As noted earlier, the maximum custom paper size possible is 297x1117.6 mm. From a 610 mm wide roll of 230 gsm matte paper, a sheet was cut to that size. A panoramic image measuring 306x1300 mm was centre positioned for printing. To allow a smooth paper flow, the rear paper guide was not used.
At ‘Best Photo’ and with ‘High Speed’ switched off, this print took only 6:30 minutes. No problems were encountered with the rear paper feed and an attractive print was ready for a 1.5-metre wide frame. For big prints from this multi-functional printer be sure to run a small test print first and check adequate cartridge levels.
Borderless printing is available at 4x6-inches, 5x7-inches, A4 and A3. Standard borderless postcards (150x100 mm) roll off in about 15 seconds. They won’t be as cheap as your local D&P outlet using photographic paper, but longevity is greater, complete image control is available and all takes place in the convenience of the office or home study. For selective inclusion in an album and ‘real’ hard copy prints for family and friends, the postcard or 5x7-inch facility is ideal.
REAR PAPER FEED
The rear paper feed is intended for paper sizes larger than A4, heavyweight sheets and envelope printing. This requires the printable side of papers to be facing upwards. The paper support guide lifts up and then can be sloped backwards. Paper cannot be inserted prior to the print file being sent. In fact, as soon as the rear tray is selected a message appears which reads, “Send job first and then load paper”. When prompted to insert paper, the adjustable guides are used to ensure a snug fit and then nudged into the printer. A “beep” is heard and a screen message appears to touch the diamond shaped ‘Go’ button. If this diamond icon doesn’t appear, it means the paper isn’t inserted correctly.
This is a change in routine for those accustomed to the usual method of inkjet printing where paper is stacked up first and the print file sent. The procedure may be slow, but it is accurate and thorough.
For display prints I believe the settings for optimum quality should be adopted, even if the ‘Photo’ quality setting gives a similar result at a faster speed. Mini posters and similar tasks can take the faster route. All single-sheet printing, especially for high-end jobs are probably better suited to the rear paper feed where the path is fl at and direct, rather than having paper bending through 180 degrees from the cassettes.
To prepare some greeting cards (set of four on A3 paper), I tried some Epson Cold Press Bright White sheets using the Epson Matte settings. At 340 gsm, this is a thick inkjet paper, but the printer didn’t object. The best results were achieved by having ‘High Speed’ switched off, ‘Best Photo’ quality selected and then ‘Colour Controls>Colour Mode>Adobe RGB’. In order to avoid any head strike ink marks on the end of heavyweight papers, it’s critical that the paper is kept perfectly fl at, especially if cut down from rolls.
Putting an expensive paper like Hahnemühle Rag through an Epson Expression Photo XP-950 might seem high-minded, but with just a little maneuvering some surprisingly good results were achieved. Using Hahnemühle Rag – or, indeed, any of the fineart papers (including Epson’s own Traditional Fibre and Hot Press Bright White) – may not be common practice with this printer, but the results do support the “fine” in fine-art.
BLACK AND WHITE
The XP-950 doesn’t actually have dedicated black and grey inks to create neutral B&W results so the prints made using the full colour inkset tend to have a very slight colour cast.
Individual taste plays an important role in print making. For black and white printing with the XP-950 it’s worth running tests on printing grayscale files as grayscale, converting grayscale files to RGB mode and printing as colour. Alternatively, deliberately go for a cast like sepia by dialing in some yellow and red in RGB converted files.
Colour printing of black and white images in RGB mode were more neutral than grayscale printing. However, I found that applying just a little sepia for warming up produced the most pleasing results.
High printer resolution leads to crisp, sharp text printing on coated inkjet papers. As a copier, don’t expect too much on plain paper, but if a decent copy is required some inkjet paper in the cassette will produce significantly better results.
LOW INK
When a low ink warning appears, printing can be continued. Just how far you can go will depend on the print size and content. The printer will eventually give a series of beeps and a message will appear on the control panel – “You need to replace the following cartridge(s)”. The cartridge(s) for replacement are nominated. The control panel will also acknowledge correct installation.
Another low ink situation warning may appear where the option to continue or to change the cartridge(s) is offered. Continuing with a large print is not advisable.
In moving from the standard ink cartridges to the ‘XL’ series, not one single print was wasted. This was a welcome situation especially when four cartridges were at low level warnings at the same time.
When a cartridge requires replacement, the scanning platform is lifted and the print head moves left to a bay where there is enough finger space to replace
each cartridge.
COPYING AND SCANNING
Copying from the fl atbed is organised from the printer panel. Here the copy mode, number of copies, colour/B&W choice and settings for paper size, type and quality options are displayed. Duplex or two-sided copying is available, but there is no automatic document feeder (ADF) so multiple page documents must be manually feed one at a time. A preview takes ten seconds. The copy time for A4 colour with standard defaults to plain paper was 30 seconds, and 15 seconds for black and white.
The flat scanning facility is excellent. Either touch the scan icon on the printer’s monitor, or click the Epson Scan desktop icon where the default settings (24-bit colour, 300 dpi, JPEG file) can be altered. A preview of the scan takes just ten seconds. At this juncture, all the characteristics of the image can be changed. These include the histogram, tone correction, image adjustments, color palette, unsharp masking amount, scan resolution and location to save the result. The final scan takes 15 seconds. Using ArcSoft Scan-n-Stitch Deluxe (for Windows operating systems only), originals larger than letter size can be accommodated.
PROJECT
With all my printer reviews, I like to run a project. I’d originally created a portfolio style book of photographs that had been published in the Light Work section of this magazine from 2004 to 2014. This comprised a 365x280 mm format book containing 23 photographs, and was printed with pigments on 170 gsm dual-sided matte paper.
Reprinting the book with the Claria dye based inks was a case of pitting six inks against eight pigmented inks, but being dyes the colours were brighter, the blacks deeper and the text sharper (thanks to the 1.5 picolitre ink droplet size). The same 170 gsm, two-sided paper was used. Add the benefit of a 98-year display life and over 200 years for the book as a dark storage item and there is cause to believe the Expression Photo XP-950 is worth its salt for top class bookwork alone.
The triumph of dyes over pigments for photo book work should not come as a great surprise as most commercially produced photo books are produced with dyes.
THE VERDICT
Everything needs to be put into perspective. No claims are made that this is the ant’s pants as a photo printer, but there is no denying the Epson XP-950 could be a rather handy machine for the home study or small office.
Odd jobs like an occasional display print, postcards for family and friends (remember photo albums), D-I-Y books, greeting cards, business cards and some scanning duties are well within its capacity.
All of this comes without taking up much space or costing a small fortune. A mono multi-functional laser would be a faster and cheap option when regular black and white copy work is involved, but this doesn’t take into account the colour capabilities of the Expression Photo XP-950 and its printing versatility.
The smaller format inkjet printers (dedicated and multifunctional) all use low capacity cartridges. They are not cheap to run and the Epson XP-950 is no exception. Essentially what a multi-functional printer provides is utility and convenience and that is precisely how they ought to be considered. Discounted prices on ink cartridges (down to $13 for standard unit and $22 for the larger ‘XL’ tank) are encouraging and tend to place occasional, selective printing in an acceptable cost category.
The Expression Photo XP-950 wasn’t designed for high-volume, high-quality traffic as the small cartridges and six-colour ink system in a basic chassis have limitations. Even so, look after the printer, use recommended inkjet papers for top quality output and this printer will look after you.
Using quality print files the printer can deliver surprisingly good results and, when the longevity of the inks is taken into account and the very fine dot structure (1.5 picolitres beats any pigment printer), there should be no reservations about commercial or artistic print making.
For those who already own an A3+ or A2 pigment printer, the Epson Expression Photo XP-950 could be a handy compliment. It can attend to those multi-functional tasks and provide a dye-based alternative for special roles, especially D-I-Y book making.
Photo enthusiasts who are attracted by the versatility of the XP-950 should, nevertheless, also take a long, hard look at the Artisan 1430 (also the same RRP, but it isn’t discounted as much). The dedicated Artisan 1430 is an A3+ format printer while the XP-950 is an A3 unit. When the scan and copy features of the XP-950 are considered, it may not be an easy choice.
The Expression Photo XP-950 stands alone and could yet be the forerunner for a model that incorporates a film scanner as well. Now that would be taking versatility of the multi-functional printer to the utmost.
VITAL STATISTICS
Printing Method: On-Demand Inkjet (piezoelectric).
Nozzle Configuration: 180 nozzles for each cartridge.
Ink Cartridges: Individual per colour. Colours are black, cyan, magenta, yellow, light magenta and light cyan. Smallest droplet size is 1.5 picolitres.
Resolution: 5760x1440 optimised dpi (with Variable Droplet Technology).
Noise Level: 37 dB.
Interfaces: Hi-speed USB 2.0, 10-Base-T, 100 Base-TX Ethernet, Wifi(802.11b) and PictBridge.
Power Consumption: Approx. 21 watts (two watts in sleep mode).
Dimensions (WxHxD): 479x148x356 mm.
Weight: 8.8 kilograms without cartridges or CD/DVD printing tray.
Price: $399. Standard ‘277’ ink cartridges sell for $15.99 each. Higher capacity ‘277XL’ sell for $26.99 each.