Epson Stylus Photo R3000 Inkjet Printer
4.6
5
201
201
Fast, quiet, beautiful prints.
I purchased this printer the day ofter my R220 gave up the ghost after 4 or 5 years of hard service. In between the time that I'd bought my R220 and the day it crapped out on me, I'd graduated from a professional photography school and and one of the things that I came away with from that place was the love of printing all of my own photos. I was resolved to have a printer that could:
A. I could afford
B. Could make decent black and white/sepia prints
C. Could print on Hahnemuhle fine art papers
D. Could handle 13" wide papers.
E. Wasn't running out of ink every other day.
The R2880 met the first four criteria but not the fifth while the R3880 met the last four but not the first. Then along came the R3000. After reading some reviews, I decided that this was the printer to buy when the time came to get a new one. It came rather unexpectedly!
One warning! The box for this printer is huge. and heavy. Make sure you clear your trunk or the back of your car before going to purchase one. Don't even think of going to the photo store without a vehicle, even if its only a few blocks.
The installation is pretty straightforward and easy though it takes approximately 10 minutes for the printer to pump the ink into the ink lines once the cartridges are installed. The cartridges themselves contain 25ml of ink each, twice what my R220 held, and cost exactly twice as much also. One feature is that both the Photo Black and Mat Black are installed at the same time, obviating the need to switch them when switching papers. This is not so useful a feature as it seems. In the first place, I generally never use mat papers. Second, both cartridges use the same ink lines, and switching from one to the other, which is done with the push of a button, flushes about 3 ml of whichever ink was previously being used out of the ink line. This is stupid. How difficult would it have been to put separate lines for each ink?
That being said, the whole set up process and operation of the printer are very intuitive. ICC profiles for my favorite Hahnemuhle and Ilford papers were downloaded and installed and away I went to printing.
I found the printer to be quiet in operation, and probably because of its weight, vibrates a whole lot less than the R220 it replaced. Every print I've made has been perfect. The black and whites are beautiful and the prints made on fine art papers just rock. Printing is quite fast also. I haven't timed it or anything, but making large prints on this printer, even at the maximum quality, seems to take less time than with the 4800's I used to use in photography school.
I feel that overall, this was a good investment and a sensible alternative to buying a 3880 which was really beyond my budget for now.
July 1, 2011
R3000
Compared to the R2400 the R3000 is a downgrade, imo. Working from Mac OS Mountain Lion its necessary to download printer drivers rather than insert a cd. Down load took over 2.5 hrs. - an unacceptably long time.
Paper size selection, for sizes not listed, is not intuitive and not described in the Basics h/b that comes with the machine. Attempting matte paper printing takes for ever - an 11x14 Matte HW paper took over 1.25 hrs of 'printing sending data to printer' - this with an PK to MK switch - I gave up and abandoned the attempt. ICI Profiles for Epson's newer papers are not loaded and need to be downloaded. After printing 4 off 11x14 and 2 off 8x10 glossy prints the PK ink showed as near empty. Not a good performance! Based on this it does seem that the R3000 drinks PK ink.
May 19, 2013
Expected better
I put my first R3000 in service 10/2011. Epson swapped that one out while under warranty during 10/2012. The replacement had similar problems. The print head leaks black ink on my prints and ruins them at unpredictable times. My warranty is over and my R3000 is now a fixture in my storage closet as I have moved on to a competitive printer that has put a smile on my face.
April 22, 2013
Beware limitations on paper types
I purchased this printer to augment my Stylus Pro 7900 -- so I could print smaller sizes, greeting cards etc. I spent hours trying to get the printer to feed the Inkpress 7x10 greeting cards -- sometimes it would load and print, but mostly it just spit out the paper. Now, after 30 min. on the phone with tech support, I have learned that the main top feeder can't take paper stock over 10mil. What?! Most quality photo stock is >10 mil.
If all you want to do is print 8.5 x 11" or larger paper, this printer is great -- when the paper does feed, the print quality is exceptional.
February 27, 2013
Epson Stylus Photo R3000
My friend recommended this printer to me and it clearly surpassed my expectations. His printer is an earlier version of mine. Epson really stepped up the options on this model by adding more ink colors/blacks, larger variety of paper/media to print on including - Canvas, CD/DVD, etc. The colors in photos really pop out. Also this model includes the newer options like a mode for Black and White photos and Roll Paper up to 44 inches!
When I purchased this Printer I was able to get a $150 rebate too! You can't go wrong with this Model!
February 14, 2013
Epson R3000
I've only had the R3000 a couple of days, but I love it. Setup was pretty easy including the wireless capability. Prints are fantastic. Skin tone is exceptional.
February 14, 2013
Mgr of Print Dept.
Makes many marks on the stock. Random or they are in one specific spot. Cleaned and Cleaned and Cleaned it and still get them.
So far that is my only issue.
February 8, 2013
Best Wireless Large Format Printer, Period!
The Epson R3000 hands down is the best wireless large format printer for home use hands down. I've owned this printer since it's release. My Photo Studio is upstairs and my office is located down stairs. Going wireless makes for easy work flow.
The print quality is truly photo gallery ready.
I've never seen better B&W photos with more blacker blacks from any other printer.
Print speed is very good for large prints and excellent for B&W prints.
My only gripe is sitting up print margins for photos larger than 8.5 x 11.5 could be much smoother.
This printer is a must for any Pro Photographer and advance Photographer who cares about their work.
February 7, 2013
Professional prints
This is my first consumer/pro printer. I find the printer very strait forward and easy to use. There is a small learning curve with the color profiles with individual programs and other settings. The printing is absolutely incredible. The colors are rich and detailed. Very impressive.
Great product!
January 31, 2013
Epson R3000 Casual User Review
After nearly eight years of faithful service from my Epson R2400, I decided the time had come for an upgrade. Even though my R2400 still prints great, there were several key features of the R3000 that compelled me to purchase the new printer, including the ability to print CD/DVDs, the straight-path manual feed capability, increased ink capacity, and 802.11n Wi-Fi support.
The out-of-box unpacking experience was extremely straight forward. The included Epson quick-start sheet was easy to follow, and there were no surprises with regard to removing the packing materials and setting up the new ink cartridges. The printer is almost identical in size to the older R2400, but you do need a little more room behind the R3000 to accomodate the straight paper-path when using the manual feed option. It is not recommended to put this printer directly against a wall if you will utilize art board or some of the more rigid fine art papers.
While Wi-Fi setup on the R3000 was simple, you might wish to connect the printer via USB to your computer initially so that you can update the Firmware to the latest version. Epson has released several Firmware updates for the R3000 to address key functions, so an upgrade to the latest is strongly recommended. Firmware may possible via Wi-Fi, but the update application indicates a USB connection is required.
Print quality so far has been exceptional on Epson Premium Glossy 4x6 borderless photo paper, Premium White Inkjet 8.5x11", Avery smooth-edge double sided inket business cards, and Intuit pre-printed check stock. I use the R3000 for general purpose every-day printing, in addition to occasional photo printing.
The build quality appears to be very sturdy and well laid out. I cannot comment about long term reliability of the R3000 at this time, due to my short ownership. But, if the R3000 is anything like my trusty R2400, I look forward to a long and happy relationship with this new printer.
January 29, 2013
