New Epson Printers

[Alan & Shari Kafton <shmooze@xxxxxxxxx>]

Last week I was in Japan on a business trip & had a chance to spend an
afternoon looking at all the new electronic and photographic toys.  I
saw two Epson inkjet photo printers introduced in the last 2 weeks that
are of interest.  They are the PM-3000C and PM-770C.

The PM-3000C is an enhanced version of the PM-2000C A3-size printer,
which I believe is the same or similar to the Stylus Photo EX in the
U.S.

The PM-770C is an enhanced version of the PM-750C A4-size printer, which
I believe is the same or similar to the Stylus Photo 700 in the U.S.

The main difference between old and new is the new smaller dot size (6pl
"ultra micro dot" vs 10pl "super micro dot") that give finer tonal
gradation.   The 720 by 1440 dpi print grid has NOT changed.  The new
models actually lay down 3 dot sizes -- 19pl, 10pl or 6pl -- within the
720 by 1440 grid.

Another change is that the new models print to within 3mm of the bottom
of the page, vs 14mm on the old models.  (Old and new all print to
within 3mm of the top and sides.)

I think the new models are faster printing as well......but since I
can't read the Japanese data sheet, I can't be sure.

It will be interesting to see how long it takes for these new models to
make it outside of Japan......

--Alan