|
| 
 enlarge
| Brand: Epson
Category: CE
List Price: $399.99
Buy New: $246.00
You Save: $153.99 (38%)
New (42) Used (2) Refurbished (1) from $224.30
Rating:  42 reviews
Color: Silver
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Operating System: Apple MacOS X 10.2.8
Modem: None
Shipping Weight (lbs): 25.4
Dimensions (in): 24.2 x 8.8 x 12.4
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
Warranty: 1 year warranty
MPN: Epson Stylus 1400 Claria Photo Printer
Model: Epson Stylus 1400 Claria Photo Printer
UPC: 010343859937
EAN: 0010343859937
ASIN: B000MLDPM2
Release Date: February 18, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: * Brand new. Low shipping. Sorry we do not ship to P.O. Box, AK/HI/APO/FPO. Trusted seller. See our ratings.
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 42
Very high quality prints November 4, 2008
P. Novak
I have been testing this printer for a week or so, with a Windows XP based system. I am a hobbyist, and don't have access to the advanced Photoshop tools. I mention this to frame my review.
The box contained all of the standard equipment (printer, software, ink cartridges, CD/DVD tray) except a USB cable. The printer has a USB and PictBridge socket. There is no print server built it, which is unfortunate.
Setting up the printer was fast, easy and there was nothing unexpected. If you've installed a printer before, this one won't be a challenge. The software as well installed easily with no surprises.
I printed a number of color photographs adjusting the various settings in the basic (default) menu. There is an advanced menu section for more advanced users. The quality of the prints was stunning, colors were vibrant and the prints were sharp. They are definitely on par with prints you will order from Walmart. Prints were fast, and the machine is quiet.
The only other negative (aside from no USB cable or Print Server) is that the ink cartridges are small, and fairly expensive. On the plus side though, you only need to replace the one that is empty.
In summary this is an excellent printer, probably not a professional grade, but certainly close.
Great Printer, Expensive Ink October 27, 2008
Karen Joan (Texas)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I am no stranger to Epson photo printers having owned a Stylus Photo 1240 and a Stylus Photo R1800. As with its predecessors, the 1400 is itself a work of art. The prints it produces are sharp, vibrant, and lifelike. I tested all of the sizes this printer is capable of producing from 4x6 all the way up to 13x19. All color prints were flawless.
SPECIFICS
Packaging:
This is a big printer. It has to be to handle 13x19 prints. Even so, Epson has made many parts collapsible so that you can tuck it under your bed. Inside the box, the printer is kept in a handy lift bag that allows you to pull the printer straight up and out of the box. Most of what you need is included - a manual, a CD, and a special feeder for printing directly onto CDs.
What's NOT in the box is a USB cable and sample paper. Admittedly, I have scores of USB cables, and I have a lot of printer paper, but Epson has previously included these items.
Setup:
Simple. Pull off all the tape. Open the 2 packages of ink cartridges and remove all their tapes. Plug in the printer and hit the ink button. Load the cartridges. Press the ink button again. Load your paper.
Of note is the noisy (scary) print head alignment when the printer is turned on for the first time. Just let it go. It never does it after the first time.
Next, you'll need to install the drivers. The printer comes with drivers but it is almost always best to ignore those and go online to get the most recent releases. That's what I did. Just go to Epson.com, navigate to the printer drivers and select the 1400. They have drivers for Mac and Windows, XP and Vista32/64. I installed the Vista 32 driver and the Epson EasyPrint software which helps you navigate through the printer options on your computer.
Printing:
As I said, I have experience with photo printing. Unfortunately, that means that I have had to learn about color models, Photoshop, and everything that can make what looks great on the screen look dreadful on the printed page. I brought this knowledge with me when testing the 1400. Since this is a review of the printer, I won't go into those other aspects, but do keep in mind that there are a dozen things that can cause your prints to look "off." But if you've got those under control, then this printer works like a charm.
NOTE: Once you think you're ready to print, do this first - clean the print heads. Buried in the printer dialog box is a tab labeled Maintenance. Under that tab is an option to clean the print heads, another noisy task. You'll have to do this 2 or 3 times in a row. I didn't and my first print looked like a drug-induced hallucination. Yikes! After the cleaning, it was perfect.
Also buried in the printer dialog is the option to print fast or slow. If you just want an idea of what the real photo will look like, then choose fast. The quality is awful, so avoid that for your real photos. There are dozens of options and possible combinations of settings but that's an obvious one that is confined to the printer.
Black and White:
I said earlier that all color prints were flawless. But when I tried printing a black and white photo, I got more of a sepia and white photo. I checked all of the myriad things I could think of that might cause this but in the end, I could not get a true black and white image. It was black and white on the screen and in fact had no color information at all. When printing, I told the 1400 to print in grayscale and everything was using the printer's color model, including the photo itself. So this is a failing of either the printer or this reviewer.
Paper and Ink:
Epson paper is good. For my tests, I used Epson Luster and Konica Glossy. You have to tell the printer what kind of paper you're using. Again, buried in the print dialog, is a pull down menu for that. Unfortunately, Epson chose to use abbreviations such as PLPP for their Premium Luster Photo Paper. When using the Konica paper, I had to guess, since Konica uses a different naming convention. Cost for the paper ranges from $.16 for a 4x6 sheet, to $.60 for an 8.5x11 sheet up to $1.63 for a 13x9 sheet.
The ink that comes with the printer is Epson's Claria "High-Definition" ink. Epson says the ink will not fade for 98 years. That seems plenty long for pictures of me in a Halloween costume to last. Too long. But here's the thing about inks: That's where all printer companies make their money. This printer retails for $300. Each of the 6 ink cartridges retails of $22. Some places sell the ink for less, but then add big shipping charges bringing the total back to $22. Lots of places sell "replacement" inks that will work in this printer, but my experience with such inks for the R1800 have not been good. I've ended up going back to the original Epson inks.
Bottom Line:
It's a great printer but it's a lot more expensive than it seems, because of ink replacement costs. Epson bills it as the little sister to the R1800, but I have both and really can't see a difference.
Good Printer October 25, 2008
Brian M. Edwards (Edinburg, Texas USA)
This is a large printer but capable of printing up to 13" X 19" prints. I have printed several photos from 4" X 6" up to 12" X 18" so far and I like the results I am getting.
The quality of the prints varies considerably depending on the brand of paper used.
It seems to have the most problem with Jetprint, but HP paper was good and Epson (of course) gave the best results. You may need to experiment with the settings (but do it with 4 x 6 paper or you could use up all you ink in the process)
The "hi-yield" cartridges are not that big and the ink levels quickly went down to 60% after producing a few large size prints.
Replacement cartridges cost about $20 each plus tax so expect to pay at least $120 to replace all cartridges. This is a huge chunk of change but the prints are of archival quality and should last for generations. My previous experience with generic ink is that the stunning prints I have hanging on my living room walls have faded badly after a couple of years, on some, the colors have blurred.
This printer also prints very well onto CD's and has a nice program that makes this laughably easy.
Another bonus is the included free copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements. Note this is version 3, an older version (they currently have version 6 on the market) but still a powerful program and a great freebie.
Bottom line, if you are interested in stunning beautiful prints that will last for generations and you can handle the high cost of replacement cartridges (I accept you don't need to replace them all at once, but you still need a spare set on hand) this will be an ideal printer.
 Great for low volume color work October 21, 2008
Comdet
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Overall, this is a very nice printer. It's a very good choice for someone who does mainly (or entirely) low volume color work. It's geared toward the home user/low end hobbyist and hits the mark quite well. It's not targeted to high end hobbyist/semi-pro or professional printers - you'll have to step up a bit in the Epson line for that. But if you're a home user and want to work with larger format paper, give this a hard look.
Set up is (thankfully) a breeze -- good instructions that are easy to follow and, more importantly, easy to install software that works the first time (at least on XP - have not tried it on a Vista machine). Build quality is very solid -- the paper guides feel substantial (not all that common at this price point) as does the overall printer. Ink installation is fool-proof since the cartridges won't fit in the wrong slot.
So far, I've been very pleased with the color output using Photoshop. Epson claims that the printhead is a new design that provides more detail. While I'm not one of those who peers at prints with a magnifying glass, to my eye the output was equal to that produced by my higher-end printers (Both Epson and Canon). The key to working well with any printer is to profile your monitor and printer using something such as the ColorMunki (there are several other options as well).
The down sides to this printer are in its B/W work. I didn't expect a whole lot from it since it does not have the dedicated black cartridges as the 2400 or 3800. True to form, B/W prints from the 1400 have a color cast. You can tweak it to minimize it, but a perfectly neutral B/W print is a challenge to produce with this printer. If you do mainly color work, you'll be happy with this printer. If you do a lot of B/W work, you should look elsewhere.
The ink cartridges are on the small side, but that can be a good thing if you don't run a lot of volume through the printer. Inks do go bad if they sit for a long time unused, so a smaller cartridge ensures you'll empty the ink in a timely manner. Of course, this works against you if you're doing a lot of prints, since larger cart's are less costly per ounce. While you can save money with third party refills, it can be a false economy -- while some are just as good as Epson inks, others will produce sub-par results (at best) and can really foul up the printer with clogs. If you're willing to spend the money for the printer, you should figure in the cost of using Epson inks.
An unexpected treat was the noise, or rather, lack thereof. Very quiet running.
In short, this is a very good choice for low volume color work with the flexibility for larger formats, and delivers prints that look like they came from a much more expensive printer.
Excellent printer for photos and everyday use October 21, 2008
midnight821 (Kentucky)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have owned several Epson printers in the past and this product lives up to my expectations. I have also owned Canon, Lexmark, and HP printers. Plus I work in the computing industry, so I have used various printers. At home, I typically use my printer for general purpose items, but most importantly: photos. If you are looking for a great photo printer, you have found it.
The Stylus 1400 is just a notch below some of their professional lines. In fact, this printer will deliver professional quality prints. I have owned an Epson R1800 Stylus, Photo Printer and was extremely pleased with it. This printer is just about on par with that one with some upgrades.
The installation was a snap and the Epson software is among the better printing software packages out there. It is true that it will ask you to replace cartridges before they are empty, but I just keep running them until they are out. The software doesn't bother you too much and has several features and options to set depending on your paper and the quality you wish to produce. I do recommend using quality photo paper (Epson, Kodak, etc). You will see a difference.
The speed is on par with other models. It's not slow by any means. You will be impressed by the prints, as they have very good saturation. The size of the printer can be daunting for some, but that's the price you pay for the ability to print larger photo sizes. You will not regret this purchase and you will enjoy this printer much more than going to a local print shop or ordering them online. Highly recommended!
|
|
|
|
Information about prices, products, services and merchants is provided by third parties and is for informational purposes only. Electronics-vault.com does not represent or warrant the accuracy or reliability of the information and will not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this information or any losses, injuries or damages arising from its display or use.
|
| |
