Epson Artisan 810

[fivetoadsloth]

Hello,

A friend of mine, an avid amature photographer, recently purchased the Artisan 810 printer after seeing great prints in the store, printed from a PC. At home, unpacked and ready to go, the printer produced off color images from her macbook. The images where somewhat grainy and the colors matched poorly. I am assuming that it is some sort of calibration issue, but if someone has any experience or tips, let me know. I'm actually quite computer savvy, I just dont have much background in printers of photography of any sort.


Thanks a lot!

 

[GoCubsGo]

When you decide to take the plunge and print from home you have to look at a number of things.

1) Calibrate your display
2) Calibrate your printer to your display
3) Use the proper paper profile that matches the paper you're using. IE: Do not set it to glossy if it's pearle paper.

However, cheaply and without calibration you can print test strips. What I do is buy 4x6 paper and print on half of the paper and test my print before I go balls to the wall on larger paper. You cannot buy cheap paper, I just always buy 4x6 paper that is the same brand/finish of the larger paper I use. Even with a calibrated display and printer I do test strips. This is just something I always learned when shooting film and processing my own prints.

 

[fivetoadsloth]

When you decide to take the plunge and print from home you have to look at a number of things.

1) Calibrate your display
2) Calibrate your printer to your display
3) Use the proper paper profile that matches the paper you're using. IE: Do not set it to glossy if it's pearle paper.

However, cheaply and without calibration you can print test strips. What I do is buy 4x6 paper and print on half of the paper and test my print before I go balls to the wall on larger paper. You cannot buy cheap paper, I just always buy 4x6 paper that is the same brand/finish of the larger paper I use. Even with a calibrated display and printer I do test strips. This is just something I always learned when shooting film and processing my own prints.

Thanks a lot!

If anyone reading this actually has this printer, could you let me know how the printer is working for you? I am assuming once both the macbook display and printer are calibrated things will be better, but, it would be nice to either have assurance from someone who went through it, or, have someone tell me that it doesn't work and hopefully tell me what will.

Thanks.

 

[Flash SWT]

If anyone reading this actually has this printer, could you let me know how the printer is working for you?

We picked one up about a month ago but so far have only used it for printing on CD/DVDs. For that purpose we have been very impressed. The printing looks great almost straight out of the box.

If we ever get around to messing with prints on paper I'll report back.

.

 

[GoCubsGo]

Thanks a lot!

If anyone reading this actually has this printer, could you let me know how the printer is working for you? I am assuming once both the macbook display and printer are calibrated things will be better, but, it would be nice to either have assurance from someone who went through it, or, have someone tell me that it doesn't work and hopefully tell me what will.

Thanks.

I would head to DPreview forums and ask there. You're likely to find more replies or a thread dedicated to this matter.

 

[fivetoadsloth]

I would head to DPreview forums and ask there. You're likely to find more replies or a thread dedicated to this matter.

Thank you, I'll go take a look.

 

[RHVC59]

I am satisfied with mine. It was a MacLife editor's Choice a while back.
Using the correct paper settings is key. And if you can calibrate your monitor your screen that helps. But in the end you will just have to experiment... Since once you get it dialed in, a change in the the weather, the humidity or any of a number of other factors can have an effect on the final prints...

 

[EMancini]

Epson Artisan 810

If anyone reading this actually has this printer, could you let me know how the printer is working for you? I am assuming once both the macbook display and printer are calibrated things will be better, but, it would be nice to either have assurance from someone who went through it, or, have someone tell me that it doesn't work and hopefully tell me what will.


I purchased the 810 along with my new Powerbook and prefer this printer to the previous Cannon inkjet models I've used in the past. I especially like the additional features and use the copy/scan functions all the time- it helps me cut down on paperwork while saving important documents.
However, the photo quality does not compare to what you're seeing on the screen. I know I will need to have both calibrated, but the photos do appear grainy and much darker (almost 'muddy') than the file should be. The ink goes pretty quickly, but that's the case with all at-home photo printing. I love the iPhoto program, but have become frustrated with printing my own photos in-house, even with this printer.

 

[Flash SWT]

For us printing on CDs and DVDs (the main reason we bought it) has been great. The print quality looks great with no calibration needed.

Now trying to print on photo paper hasn't had the same results. We haven't spent much time messing around with it but our experience has been similar to yours. I've assumed part of the problem is the quality of the paper itself, but it hasn't even come close to replacing our regular lab or even running to Walgreens for a quick 4x6 when needed.

.