Hoku1 wrote:
Aloha Uglies,
I recently purchased an Epson WF-7710 All-in-one printer that uses (4) cartridges. I just love this machine, I have no issues with the quality this printer puts out...so far. Lately, I am developing an interest to start printing my own pictures. I'm looking at purchasing some high premium photo paper to be used with this Epson printer for photo printing. So, the question is, should I buy a stand alone photo printer? Will a photo printer do a much better job than an "all-in-one" printer?" Will the difference be noticeable? I think I know the answer, just looking for your 2 cents.
I humbly look forward for your feedback. Mahalo....
ps
Pictures to be used in my home and gifts.
Aloha Uglies, br I recently purchased an Epson WF-... (
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YES, buy a stand-alone photo printer for photos, if you want the richest prints.
YES, a 6 to 12 color photo printer CAN do a better job than a four color printer. The more inks used, generally, the wider the color gamut that can be reproduced. Professionals use printers with lots of ink colors, generally eight or more. Those high-end printers produce the finest photographic prints available. But the output is expensive — much more expensive than the inferior prints you get from traditional wet-process silver halide printing systems. The prints last up to five times longer, too.
MAYBE the difference will be noticed. Most women will notice it, as they see perhaps a couple thousand more hues than men do, on average. Men who are not color-blind or color-vision-deficient will notice. But it may be difficult to appreciate the difference if you are not directly comparing prints of the same digital image made properly by each type of printer (say, a 4-color all-in-one vs an 8-color photo printer).
ALL of this depends on several ingredients being there in proper proportion:
> A fully colorimeter-calibrated and custom-profiled monitor made for photography and the graphic arts (The color management system designed to ICC (International Color Consortium) standards is based on, well, standards! Calibration and profiling provides the operating system and software the proper reference that YOU need to adjust color accurately, so what you see on screen matches what you get on a print.)
> Proper configuration of the computer's and software's color management engines: Custom monitor profile enabled, proper printer/paper/ink profiles installed, correct printer/paper/ink profile used as a simulation or proofing profile during final image adjustment...
> Use of MATCHING printer/ink/paper ICC profiles. Each combination of printer, ink, and paper requires its own different profile to be installed in the system and activated at print time.
> NOT double profiling... i.e.; enable the correct profile EITHER in the software that prints, OR in the printer driver, but not both places!
It's not as simple as, "buy a photo printer." The answer depends on your level of understanding and photographic discipline. It's not rocket science, either, but it does take a little study.
https://www.xrite.com/learning-color-educationhttps://lp.datacolor.com/eBook-2018-EN.html