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[ 83 ]› › REVIEWS“The deeper, richer black
provides increased contrast
and helps to set off the other
colors. The increased color
gamut is due in part to the
addition of orange and green
inks, and in fact, green foliage
has an extraordinary vibrancy
that I haven’t seen before. “
off the other colors. The increased color gamut is due in part to the
addition of orange and green inks, and in fact, green foliage has
an extraordinary vibrancy that I haven’t seen before. One caveat is
that occasionally I spotted some gloss differential on Luster paper.
The new ink formulation boasts a print permanence of 200 years
for color and 400 years for B&W. I used Bill Atkinson’s test target
to compare the P5000 with the 4900. Atkinson’s target is filled
with relevant imagery in both color and B&W. Both printers use
the same color inks but the SureColor P5000’s new formulation
with the denser black wins out. The improvements can be seen in
smoother tonal gradation, impressive shadow and highlight detail,
and more accurate saturated colors, especially greens, reds, and
yellows. Skin tones are beautiful. In general, there’s a better match
between my calibrated display and prints. Printing with Epson’s
Advanced B&W mode shows neutral tones, distinct tonal separa-
tion, smoother gradations, more detail, and richer blacks.
To conserve ink when switching from PK to MK, or visa versa,
there’s now a quick mode that uses less ink. The P5000 has a
maximum resolution of 2880x1440 dpi, a variable ink droplet size
as small as 3.5 picoliters, and uses 360 nozzles per channel.
The SureColor P5000 Standard Edition is another solid printer
from Epson. If you’re a professional photographer, it’s reassuring
to know that the P5000 will deliver prints that match your hard
work in the field. n