Epson Stylus Photo 2200 Micro Piezo Printer

Author's Rating:

Pros: This printer will do everything I want to do.

Cons: I have no negative comments about this model printer.

The Bottom Line: 
For anyone who wishes to make professional quality photographic prints up to 13 X 44 inches in length, this printer will do the job.

Author's Review
This printer is currently my flagship printer. It has a print resolution of 2880 X 1400 dpi, and can use roll paper 13" wide or sheet paper up to 13 X 19 inches. For those who might want to make a panoramic print, this is the printer that can do the job. Seven individual color ink cartridges make the job so much easier when one is printing. If you get low on a color, you are notified soon enough so that you can purchase a replacement cartridge. Now, most stores do not carry the inks in stock as readily as other Epson models, but inks can be ordered directly from the Epson store and the shipping is free. In ink costs, it is better to use the name brand inks. The black ink is the same cost as the other colors, and you have a choice of either Matte Black or Photo Black. Matte Black works only with matte papers, Photo Black works with any paper. The Ultra Chrome inks which the 2200 uses comes in Photo Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Light Cyan, Light Magenta, and Light Black and has a life span of 80 years. If you are a photographer, the minimum resolution that you would want to use is 300 dpi to achieve professional results. 360 dpi will give you the best photo quality. For 300 dpi resolution, your file size for an 8 X 10 should be 21.6MB, for an 11 X 14, 41.6MB, and for a 13 X 19 inch print, 66.7MB. Always keep in mind that the larger files take longer to process and print and use more disk storage space.

When I purchased my computer system this past Spring, I decided that I wanted the best quality in everything for my purposes. As a professional photographer, I need the best possible image that can be produced using my 35mm and medium format film cameras, plus I am getting ready to purchase an Epson 4870 digital scanner and an 8MP digital camera. I also use an Epson R300 photo printer for my smaller stuff. As the Publisher/Editor of 4 newsletters, I needed the capability of doing duplex printing on each of these 4-page newsletters, which the 2200 does extremely well. I have a choice of printing in full color or in gray-scale [black and white,] and the 2200 meets all of my requirements. To print a full color 4-page newsletter on 11 X 17 paper, the costs are about $0.45, for a gray-scale [black and white] newsletter, about $0.25. I have seen reviews that the 2200 cannot print graphics very well. I have had no problems printing letters, stationery, certificates and envelopes with the 2200. It does a beautiful job and works very well with my Microsoft Office Publisher 2003 software. It also works extremely well with my Adobe Photoshop CS and my Jasc PaintShop Pro 7.4 photographic imaging software.

Although the manufacturer recommends that you use only Epson inks and Epson papers, one can use other brands of papers and there are other options for using inks. If one has a photo printing job where he or she is making an extremely long panoramic print or a series of panoramic prints, one has the option of using a bulk inking system. If this avenue is taken, it is most important that installation of this system is done carefully and wisely. Yes, it is cheaper using bulk inks on a costwise basis, and if the desired results are achieved, that is good. The debate goes on and on about whether or not to use this type of inking and I won't discuss it here.

It is important that the digital camera you use will match up with Epson's PRINT Image Matching (P.I.M.) technology. P.I.M. enables your camera and printer to work together to produce true-to-life full natural color, smoother skin tones and incredible sharpness for the best prints possible. Camera makers that support Epson P.I.M. technology are: Casio, Contax, JVC, Konica, Kyocera, Leica, Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, Ricoh, Sanya, Sony, and Toshiba.

Epson makes SIXTY (60) sizes, styles, and types of papers that will work with the 2200, so, there is not any shortage of choices when it comes to paper. As I stated before, there are other brands, that will work very well with this printer, and one can experiment and if the results are acceptable, then go for it.

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