how long leve pigment ink prints as the epson 2000p mades?

[Rainer]

has anyone experience about if they really are better than normal inkjet prints or dye-sub prints? i mean they should live 5-10 years under normal conditions... .or so. i just bought a dye sub printer....to realise now that the prints will live unde r light exposure short time only.....and i am not willed to give to clients or t o friends stuff which will show bad images of my pictures in short time.......al though it would be very practical to have some possibility to give demonstration prints on a level that a dyesub printer or a good inkjet printer can produce t hem.....

[Donald Brewster]

Others will chime in, but yes, the 2000P will likely last longer. However, the issue with these prints have been the widely reported mesmerism or color shift.

[Donald Brewster]

P.S. I meant metamerism, not mesmerism. That was a doozy!

[Amadou Diallo]

There are much better options than the 2000P for archival inkjet prints. MediaStreet.com markets 3rd party pigments usable in many of Epson's printers, from the 1280s on down, as well as the 7000 series. No metamarism issues, either. This route does require custom ICC profiles for color matching. For b/w prints, Piezography from Inkjetmall.com is superb.

Amadou Diallo

[Paul Schilliger]

I too dislike the metamerism of the 2000P. Basically, the prints look good under tungsten light, but when you move them to daylight they look very different. I have tried to make a custom pr ofile for the printer, but the problem is with the inks and it did not help. I am selling the 2000P (if I can) and have had a 1290 in operation for some days. Prints might not last as long, but they look better.

[bglick]

Epson pigmented inks are rated for 200 years. Of course, not many beleive this is reality. However, they are probably one of the longest lasting inks on the market. And of course there is a stiff price you pay for longevity - color gamut. Hence the reason 3rd party inks have surfaced and are widely accepted in both desktop and LF printers. Also, keep in mind, inks are only rated with specific papers...certain inks will last 5x longer on specific papers.... all this is at its infancy, and there is a lot of unsubstantiated claims flying around! Beware...

[chris jordan]

Hey Bill-- jeez, you're everywhere these days--we've got to stop meeting like this. Ha! In any event, like you, I'm really looking forward to the solution to all of these untenable printing compromises: a 2880 dpi wide-gamut pigmented ink printer with no metamerism. Looks like it's just around the corner...

cheers,

~cj (Seattle)

[Struan Gray]

Inkcidendally, it is perhaps worth pointing out that the dye sub prints I make with my Kodak, and those I have handled from other printers, also show metamerism. Under fluorescent lights a daylight balanced image can turn objectionably pink.

[Dave Sherman]

Check out the Epson C80. Pigmented inks, 2880 dpi and no metamerism. Epson claims 70 years permanance (under glass or plastic). Sells for around $150.