Apple Epson Stylus Photo 2200 InkJet Printer

It took me about 6 months to finally work out how to get good photos off my first printer, the Epson R800, and then I was convinced- it was great. It was also an A4 printer, and I got greedy! I read all the reviews on A3 printers, and decided on what is called the R2400 in Australia (R2200 in US?), because of the pigment inks and reviews about its B&W ability. I bought it for a good price secondhand (Aus$1000), because the previous owner didn't understand how to work it.

My experience: Because I had learnt from the R800, I had it printing really well within about 15 minutes. It got even better when I found some better printer profiles for the papers I was using. It can give beautiful soft colours or eye-popping garish colours - it's up to you.

It often prints more detail in the shadow and highlights than I am aware of on the screen, and the sharpness is great. The printer is so quiet when printing, that I sometimes do not know that it is working! This is a big improvement on the R800.

It is fast enough for me not to worry about it, and the quality is worth waiting for anyway. I have been printing quite a lot of A3 Ilford Smooth Pearl paper, and I am very pleased with the results, and the reasonable cost. The combination of ink and this paper means that it is safe to handle straight out of the printer.

The feel of the front draw is a bit light weight, but I have not had a problem. The ink cartridge lights for when one is empty, is easy to understand and change. The software keeps you warned about when ink is running low in any cartridge - good for when you have to order well ahead (I live well out of the city).

Very good resolution
Wonderful colour range and much more realistic (that is, saturation is closer to reality and screen colour)
Pretty good printer interface
Quiet
Pigment inks and separate cartridges
Long life prints on most papers. Hugely long life on special papers.

Matte black has to be switched with Photo black for matte papers. This is a pain, so it doesn't get done much.
The cartridges are quite small, so I keep seeing all those empties in the bin, and my wallet getting thinner.
Epson's info on setting the profiles and different settings to get high quality images is pretty awful. It takes a lot of hunting on the web to find out how to get the best profiles and settings for good quality B&W on pearl or matte paper.
I do see bronzing or odd reflections with some colours, and I did not get this with the R800 (because it has a gloss optimizer cartridge that prevents the problem).

EpsonStylus Photo R800 A4 printer

Haven't needed it. The Cyan cartridge blocked the other day - the first problem in over a year. And I fixed it by taking the cartridge out, shaking it, and doing a cartridge cleaning cycle.