Epson wants to make high-quality photo printing more accessible at home, with the release of the Expression Photo HD XP-15000 Inkjet Printer, a wide-format 13" model that features a six-color Claria Photo HD ink set. This advanced ink configuration uses Red and Gray colors, in addition to the standard CMYK, enabling the reproduction of a wider color gamut and smoother gradations in black-and-white images. It can produce borderless prints at sizes up to 13 x 19" at 5760 x 1440 dpi, which is larger and more detailed than most standard printers can provide. Another bonus of the XP-15000 is the relatively compact size that is 30% smaller than its predecessor.
For working with a wide range of media, the XP-15000 has two main avenues for loading paper. This includes a 50-sheet rear tray that can handle thicker, larger, and more specialized media up to 13 x 44" in size, while a 200-sheet front tray supports many standard document sizes, such as letter and legal, and enables automatic duplex printing. Printing can be quite fast, as well, with speeds up to 9.2 ppm in black, 9 ppm in color, and duplexing speeds of up to 4.7 ppm. Additionally, a 4 x 6" borderless photo can be completed in just 27 seconds when using the draft mode, and users can print directly on disc media.
Using the printer is simplified, especially with an auto open/close output tray that can eliminate another trek to the printer's location while you work. The current print status can be seen via a 2.4" color LCD, and there is a USB port for direct printing from a flash drive. Additionally, the XP-15000 features multiple connectivity options, including USB 2.0 and Ethernet for wired options and built-in Wi-Fi for a wireless setup. When networked, users can print directly from their mobile devices, including support for Apple AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, and more.
6 Comments
Being that it's $350, I'm assuming that it is better quality than say the XP 640, 830 or 960.
In other words, I'm assuming it has better photo-quality, besides the larger page size and higher capacity trays etc. It seems to be hinting to this in the beginning. The question is, is it worth the price, when there are printers available for about a quarter the price? I would be interested to hear more. Also, are the ink-tanks larger?
It depends. The XP-15000's main selling point is that it can print up to 13" wide for 13 x 19" photos. The XP-960 is limited to 11 x 17" and the 830 and 640 are limited to 8.5 x 14" and 8.5 x 11", respectively. If you never see yourself printing anything except 4 x 6" photos and letter-sized documents, you may be better served by a smaller model. But if you want to start printing larger, you will have to upgrade to the XP-15000.
So are you saying that there's basically no difference in print-quality? Because it's interesting; each printer has a different ink configuration. Until now, I always understood that the better desktop printers had six ink-cartridges; which included the two photo colors. However, the 1500 has red and light-grey, and the 830 has photo-black but not the photo-colors. So I was wondering.
If we compare the 960 and 1500 then I would say that the 1500 should be better, but realistically it is probably just a little different in their coverage and it would depend highly on what you print. Now if we are bringing in the 830 then yes, the 1500 will be better, but again unless you are printing professionally for exhibition you may not notice a drastic difference between them and I would say you are best off getting the printer that best serves your needs than going for something with a marginal improvement in color gamut (unless of course that advantage is what you need).
Generally speaking though, the more colors of ink the wider the gamut and the easier it is for the printer to produce fine gradations in your prints. This isn't a perfect answer though, as some newer printers can do more with less and in some cases where the included colors are different it may just be that one does better producing greens while the other is better with blues, and so then it depends on how often you work with certain colors.
So Epson printed out a new printer? Did they print it on a 3-D printer? Heh Heh.!
it's interesting that it doesn't have the same 'photo-colors' as other printers. I guess it is new technology..