Epson SureColor SC-P600 Wide Format Inkjet Printer REVIEW

When I first started taking photos, I never thought I would ever get to the point where people liked my work so much that they would want to hire me to take photos for them. But, lo and behold, that’s happened. That client specifically wanted digital files, but I always felt that it would be great to have a professional photo printer in-house so that I could complete the job from start to finish without enlisting the help of a third party. Over the past few months, I’ve really developed a strong relationship with my Epson all-in-one printer. So, when I began looking into photo printers, I turned to Epson because I believe they make some of the best printers I’ve ever used. As it turns out, I found what I was looking for in the Epson SureColor P600 Inkjet Printer and it’s become this photographer’s best friend.

DETAILS

The Epson SureColor P600 is different from other printers in that it’s specifically designed to print high-quality photos and nothing else. This is a big difference from what most people are used to with all-in-one printers. The SureColor P600 features Epson UltraChrome HD ink created for exhibition-quality prints. The P600 delivers rich black tones thanks to Resin Encapsulation Technology. You can expect to have three-level black ink technology, which delivers smooth tonal transitions for incredible black and white prints. The ink cartridges are high-capacity so that you don’t have to change them as often and the printer is equipped to handle a wide variety of media including roll papers. You have the ability to create borderless 13 x 19” prints and panoramas over 10 feet long. The printer is WiFi ready and it features a 2.7” LCD touchscreen. You have the ability to print directly from your mobile devices and you can also print directly onto inkjet-printable CDs and DVDs.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX

• Epson SureColor P600 Photo Inkjet Printer
• Power Cable
• Nine UltraChrome HD ink cartridge (Photo Black, Cyan, Vivid Magenta, Yellow, Light Cyan, Vivid Light Magenta, Light Black, Matte Black, Light Light Black)
• Roll paper holders
• CD print tray and software
• Accessory box
• USB and Ethernet cables not included
• Printer documentation
• CD-ROM containing printer drivers and software (Windows® and Macintosh®)

SPECS

• Printing Technology: Advanced Micro Piezo® AMC print head with ink-repelling coating technology, 8-channel, drop-on-demand, inkjet printhead
• Minimum Ink Droplet Size: 2 picoliters; Variable Droplet Technology can produce up to 3 different droplet sizes per print line
• Maximum Print Resolution: 5760 x 1440 dpi
• Maximum Printable Area: 13″ x 129″
• Nozzle Configuration: 180 nozzles x 8
• Ink Type: Ink Type: Pigment-based Epson UltraChrome® HD ink technology
• Ink Palette: 9-color Photo or Matte Black, Cyan, Vivid Magenta, Yellow, Light Cyan, Vivid Light Magenta, Light Black, Light Light Black
• Ink Configuration: Auto-Switching Black Ink Technology; Fully automatic switching between Black ink modes — Ink used during conversion; Matte to Photo Black approx. 3 ml (1 ml Save Ink Mode); Photo to Matte Black approx. 1 ml (1 ml Save Ink Mode)
• Replacement Ink: Epson Intelligent Ink Cartridges; Cartridge fill volume: 25.9 ml each color x 9 colors total; Ink cartridge shelf life — 2 years from printed production date or 6 months after opened
• Fade Resistance / Print Longevity: Color — Up to 200 years; Black-and-White — Up to 400 years
• Operating Systems: Apple macOS® 10.13.x-10.12.x, OS X®: 10.11x-10.7x; Microsoft® Windows®: 10, 8.1, 7 (32-bit, 64-bit)

USER EXPERIENCE

Getting the SureColor P600 set-up was very easy. This is one of the reasons that I really love Epson. Getting the printer online and connected to your network is a breeze. One of the beautiful things about Epson printers is that if you are running a Mac (I’m not sure if this is true for Windows or not) and it’s a network printer, you don’t necessarily need to install the drivers for the printer in order to use it. Mac computers will pick up the printer as a printer on the network and you can select it for printing. Now, you may not have all the printing features available, but you will be able to use it without all the fluff from the software package that Epson provides.

When you power up the printer, you will simply follow the on-screen instructions to connect the printer to your network. Once it’s connected, you will again follow the instructions on the printer’s screen for installing the printer cartridges. This is one place where I got a little overwhelmed. There are NINE cartridges to install. The process is a pretty foolproof since each cartridge is labeled and coordinates with a specific slot in the printer. The printer cartridges are expensive to replace. A full set will end up costing around $285 to replenish. This is just another reason that you want to use this printer specifically for photo printing and not anything else.

I was very eager to print using the SureColor P600. So, as soon as it was set up I loaded the printer with some premium photo paper and sent a photo of my daughter to print. This photo has a lot of black in it as she was wearing a black shirt and had a black backdrop behind her. I thought this would be a great test for the printer’s claims of smooth black tones. The photo took some time to print out and then after it printed, I had to let it dry completely. It printed out beautifully. I was shocked at how well the printer did. I honestly don’t think that a print would have turned out any better if I had sent it out to a print shop.

I had similar results with other types of paper and prints. Epson profiles the paper stock so that the user doesn’t have to manually adjust images before printing to account for the type of paper used. I love the versatility that the SureColor P600 provides for photographers. You have all the options — including canvas printing — that you would have with ordering prints from a shop. The only thing this printer can’t do is exceptionally large prints — like poster-sized.

CONCLUSION

When it comes to knowing the photos you take are going to have the correct color and feel to them, you can’t beat the quality Epson puts into the printers they make. This is by far the best way to print photos aside from sending them to a print shop. It’s a brilliant printer for professional photographers as well as enthusiasts. The size of the printer is a little hard to plan for as it takes up a full table top and the consumables are pricey, but if you are printing regularly and selling those prints, the cost is totally justifiable.

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Originally published at macsources.com on November 17, 2018.