Epson's A3 Bargain (Epson Stylus Photo 1290S)

Member Name: richkw

Product:	Epson Stylus Photo 1290S
Date:	29/06/05 (828 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Prints to A3+, Cheap, Superb for photos

Disadvantages: A bit slowish.

Firstly, for the record, the 1290S is nothing more than a 1290 that's had an external makeover. i.e. it's silver as opposed to battleship grey - hence the 'S'. It replaced the 1270 which was getting a bit long in the tooth.

As a serious photographer who exhibits internationally, I need the very best printer that's affordable to me. When my trusty old Epson Stylus Photo 870 finally gave up the ghost last October, I decided to upgrade from A4 to A3 capability. For exhibition work, having the ability to produce large prints of near perfect quality is essential. The 1290S was the obvious choice. I've now lived with this machine for 9 months or so and cannot fault it in any respect.

I bought mine from Amazon for £249.99, which was the cheapest I could find it at the time. It arrived the next day and, rather excited about my new toy, I rushed to get it up and running. The biggest and only problem I encountered was getting the damned thing out of the box - it was that well packed! As with all Epson printers, it does not come with a printer cable, but fortunately I had a 2 metre USB cable spare so no problems there. After loading the superb Epson software, I plugged it in and, bingo, after 5 minutes or so I was up and running. So, as far as installation is concerned, this, like all Epson printers, was an absolute doddle.

The printer came with a copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements and the ability to handle roll paper, neither of which were any use to me. However, to many these features I guess could be useful, particularly the software which is a very capable application.

As to results, I have produced many, many top quality prints from A6 to A3+ on various papers rifgt up to 240gsm rough art paper with absolutely no problems in any respect. The colour rendition is superb on all surfaces, but obviously will vary according to the media being used. My system has been calibrated for each paper I use regularly, and I recommend this course of action if you're a serious photographer producing a lot of prints. Epson's top feed system ensures that paper jams are virtually non-existant. My tip for printing the very best photos is to set the media to 'Photo Glossy Film' which saves ink and the resolution to 1440dpi. Printing at the machines maximum capability of 2880dpi just wastes ink with no discernable difference in quality.

So there we are, the tech spec is not for this review. That can be found easily on the Epson website.

If you need to print photos at up to A3+, BUY IT!

Summary: