Yesterday I was privileged to be part of an Epson trip to the UK along with Daniel Rafferty and Julieanne Houghton from Epson's offices in Dublin. The venue was the Royal Academy Schools in London for the official launch of the new Epson Surecolor P6000, P7000, P8000, and P9000 series printers. Epson has had quite a long history with the Royal Academy going back prior to the launch of the Stylus pro 11880 and during the presentation, we were given a brief history tour of the Academy. Of particular note was the fact that we were in the Life Drawing Room and seated in the same seats as once occupied by the great British painters, John Constable, and William Turner. The various sinewy statues bore testament as to the authenticity of the claim and 18th-century softbox shone intensely on the 21st-century products on display.
The new printers although similar to previous models have two major leaps forward in technology namely HDX Ink and the new Precision Core print head. Epson's latest ink, HDX Ink, extends the range of the colour gamut and the Precision Core print technology further reduces the size of the ink droplet with improved nozzle monitoring and more custom cleaning options. The confusing names, however, take a bit of getting used to with the 9 colour non-violet, orange or green ink models being the even numbers P6000 (24") & P8000 (44") and the odd numbers P7000 (24") and P9000 (44") holding the 11 inks including orange and green inks with the option at the time of purchase to choose either a Violet or Light Light Black option depending on your needs. Prices are as yet to be confirmed but should be in line with the existing current models. Shipping probably around mid-November!