I’ve already used the ET8550 for 2 months now and am now happily printing my own pictures and winning at my camera club competition. The judges love the quality of my pictures especially the Mono. Yes, I made loads of mistakes at first but the large ink tanks made the mistakes affordable! Use the right papers and paper profiles and success is more readily assured!
Exactly. I am using Epson and Ilford papers. I did print on other papers also, like some Kodak and HP, which are old papers I found in my drawers, but the images on those paper didn't really turn out as nice as on the Epson and Ilford. I print a lot of large B&W images as well, and with the right paper, I see no colour cast and the tones are really nice and neutral. So I am very happy for now. There is just one thing I noticed yesterday, when I printed my first borderless, small 4x6 image... there is s thin edge on one side, where the printer did not print. I haven't had time to analyse this, but it definitely needs to be fixed. I hope it's not something I have to send the printer in for...
I think you hit the nail on the head, with 'mistakes are affordable', I'm never frighted to hit print on the 8550 and it's led to wonderful experiments with media, icc, and abw setttings when using the epson print layout which although not listed works just fine. All the prints will in all likely-hood outlive me and if someone was wanting an archival version they are more than likely to be willing to pay archival prices and so I'd pay for a pro print on a wide format printer.
Tried the Pigment ink replacement for the ET by chance? I was planning on the 8550 for purely the reason of cost of printing is so much cheaper and I don't have to worry about it.
@@AdaptingCamera I made this mistake once. I used the borderless print without choosing expansion in Epson Print Layout. You need to choose expansion, to get rid of the small white edge.
I went for the 8550 because I need a scanner and do not have room for two machines. It took me a while to get used to the print settings but after a bunch of small test prints I am now getting a pretty good match between screen and paper, thanks to Fotospeed custom profiles. The black and white prints are the best I have ever had and the colours are just great. I have no regrets in buying the printer, although I am still in dispute with Epson who are refusing to honour the double cash-back offer that was in place when I ordered the (out of stock) printer, which has soured my view of them. Looking forward to the Black & White video, if I can get even better results, I will be over the moon. Thanks for sharing.
This video answered all my questions! Thanks so much! I need my printer to print digital art and watercolours scanned artworks, so for me I believe from what you just so kindly shared, is 100%ET-8550... thanks again!
I have an ET-7750 and I had an X-Rite’s i1 Software professionally made profile for both my 24" Ilford Galarie 310gms and Colourbyte 250gms glossy paper. The results are excellent and the B+Ws are neutral. Even using cheaper glossy paper the results are really very good. I use it for A3 plain paper drawings mostly and occasionally 600mm x 297mm panorama prints. I'm very pleased with it. (I do though, regularly dab the print head resting pad with soft tissue paper to prevent smudges.) I also keep it completely covered all the time with a thin clear polythene sheet including the rear paper tray with A3 paper init, this keeps the dust out. I've had it about 5+ years and it's still producing excellent result, I use it a lot, I'm on my second set of ink bottles and third service tank. I can't recommend this printer highly enough. I repeat... It's well worth getting your printer profiled as it really does make so much difference even though it is not a photo printer especially for the B+W prints.
Nice comparison, but there should be mentioned that 8550 is dye and P700 is pigment. Since dyes are soluble inks they dont need as many different colors, they also soak into paper so there is no gloss differential on prints, they are more scratch resistant, more vibrant colors BUT they fade faster, way faster than pigment prints. That alone is why P700 is superior printer if someone wants to make wall prints. Dye BW prints are prone to green cast, it might be quality of black ink, if its cheap when drop of ink is disolved in glass of water it will turn violet. Quality black ink will disolve into grey color.
Excellent point. Although I must say, having a photo from dye ink lasting over 20+ years in a picture frame with lots of light has not faded one bit. It’s the quality of dye ink keeping it from fading before the 50 year mark. Most dye inks from overseas just garbage and don’t have the life span of 50 years.
Excellent review. I'm getting ready to "pull the trigger" on the purchase of a new printer and have been reading and watching lots of video reviews and your review is a great help to me. Thanks for taking the time and sharing your thoughts regarding these two printers.
Love the video - managed to find a 8500 for a great price - the scanner sold it for me and my partner. And it's possible to fill the printer with pigment inks and it works fantasticly 💫
Thanks for the insight. After watching, I feel unless you want to give a print to your great, great, great great grand kids, you are going to get excellent prints from the ET-8550
I am told the p700 comes with starter cartridges so small that once the printer is charged with ink you have to replace them. So you have to add a full set of ink at 250 pounds to the cost to actually use the damn thing and another 250 quid set on top of that to get to what the 8550 comes with. Please explain where my logic has failed me ?
@@FotospeedUK videos like this are brilliant, I bought a Canon Pro 1 12 ink cart. printer based on it being a "great printer" without doing any research not realising the cost of 60 hour cleaning cycles that used more ink than I used for printing. It literally went in a skip fully working 😕
It's a great comparison! I didn't think that dye ink colour prints has so much vibrancy compared to pigment ink prints. Now I feel more comfortable not switching from my Canon Pro-100 to Canon pigment printers. As for the BW neutrality with dyes, it really depends on a paper choice. Also, thanks to your video about the Canon software, it looks like getting the neutrality with dyes is very easy.
Thank you very much for your video. I am researching before purchasing the 8550 because I print onto canvas made for inkjet printers. I print very colorful "cartoony" type designs. Have you ever printed onto canvas and do you think that the 8550 would produce vibrant colors?
That's a question I'd like to know the answer to myself. I've never printed on canvas and thats one of if not the main reason I'm considering the 8550. That as well as the larger format and the savings on ink.
You want this review then: th-cam.com/video/ylXC7K1k1Q0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=R6C2EVOXX4iZF8VgKeith has done a bunch of reviews on both printers, plus he's also made profiles for the ET8550.
Very nice, comparison thanks. What about fading? Old ink printers were terrible when it came to color changes, sometimes even if they were protected from direct sun. If one wanted to display the pictures on walls it was even worse. How are this new ink printers doing it today?
With Dye inks now I very rarely see fading. I have been testing it for the last 6 months here in the office between two A3 prints one printed on Pigment inks and the other on Dye. After 6 months in direct sun light still no change. If anything the Dye still looks really vibrant. Tim
Just a question as I will self confessed numpty on prints and ink ect, is it possible to put pigment inks into the tanks instead of dye or is the head not able to use it?
Thanks for this video. Very informative again. In this video, you said multiple times that the P700 color image would need some more work if it should equal the one coming from the 8550 because of the different inks being used. Can you show in a video what steps exactly one would have to take to match the 8550‘s colors? Is it even possible? And if yes, does it need a lot of effort in say Aperture One?
How does the xp 15000 compare to the these 2? It is much cheaper and has that extra red and gray, so I am wondering it is a better choice for me than the p700. What would you suggest considering I only want to print on matte paper?
Hi there, if you are looking to print on matt papers I would recommend the P700 over the XP-15000. The XP-15000 is a great printer and might possibly edge the ET-8550 on b&W prints, however the P700 with its pigment ink will give a better print on matt papers. Tim
Even the ET-8500 has grey ink, and also two blacks, pigment black and photo black. The XP-15000 has only one black and has a red. The ET-8550 can print a maximum of 13" x 80" while the XP-15000 maximum size is "only" 13" x 44". The XP-15000 was on my list of alternatives, but quickly dismissed it because of the features the ET-8550 has, as well as the ink price, which is only a fraction of what the cartridges for the XP-15000 cost. I calculated with using both printers for exactly the same ink volume (assuming both would use the same volume for the same print), and even though the ET-8550 costs almost twice the XP-15000, factoring the ink costs makes it a lot cheaper. My guess is that if you print the same images on both, and use EPSON paper as well as the EPSON printer software then you won't see any difference in printed image quality in a side by side comparison under the same light. Anyway, I love my new ET-8550, printed a whole bunch of large A3+ size different images (everything between sunset sky at 36 000ft, planes, architecture, landscapes and bugs / flowers macro) and all look beautiful, both the colour and B&W images.
Thank you for the print comparisons....It would be great if you could disclose the following 2 points for the sake of true comparison : 1. What print quality setting did you use on both printers eg : standard/ photo / photo fine/ max quality... and so on ( out of the 5 settings that are usually provided ) 2. What color management method did you use - Printer Driver / Epson print layout / Photoshop ?
Hi Sharad, I used the highest setting on both printers to make it some what fair. I also used a mixture of Custom profiles made using our ISIS2 from Xrite and the advanced black and white mode on both printers. Tim
Thanks so much for your review. I am doing a Christmas Holiday Santa Photo booth at my local shopping mall. I'm trying to determine which printer to use. Which one is faster? is there a noticable difference? Thanks again.
I would say the ET-8550 would be the best choice for that type of work. I have been there and nothing worse than people standing around waiting for prints. Tim
@@FotospeedUK I chose that 2 weeks ago... it has been the PERFECT CHOICE! Thanks so much for your help! one more question, is there a good paper out there that is an off-brand but good quality and low price?
Hi Tim, thanks for your tests! OK we run Canon, Epson and HP printers in our imaging business here in Sydney so a who is the Fotospeed supplier in Oz? Also do you have ‘basic’ downloadable profiles for this printer and your media or do I have to send a calibration print for each type and surface of paper? Thanks, David.
Just asking, but the ET-8500 line has actually a mixed ink set. The black is pigment, and the PB-Photo Black is dye, so when using the matte paper setting it uses both, AFAIK, are you aware of that? I just bought the ET-8500 3 weeks ago, and have been blown away by the results I get from it when comparing with my calibrated wide gamut monitor. For a pro that does this for a living, there's no arguing the P700 is the way to go, for the general public, the ET-8500/8550 are absolutely outstanding, and apart from the fact that photos printed using dye inks don't last as long as pigment based prints, I am sure you could sell them without problem too. The B&W prints I get on the 8500 on archival matte paper from Epson are great. I did not notice any green cast, but it probably depends on the original photo to some extent. Thanks for the review!
Yea, i honestly dont mind if my photos are a little faded in 40 years. Unlike 40 years ago where this may have been important, likely any photo a care about will still exist in digital form, so reprinting will be no issue. For anyone i sell prints to…they really will not care in 40 years.
Have you had any issues with ink clogging or problems with ink delivery (8550) since you’ve been using them? My Canon ink-tank stopped working about 2 years after buying it. Ink stopped flowing to the printheads. I fixed it once, but the problem is persistent.
I know watching this on my phone through work weary eyes isn’t a great idea but I don’t see any difference in the prints both look amazing I’ve not used a photo printer since 2003 so the in edging towards the eco tank just to save coin on ink cheers
Thank you for the video. After a lot of anxiety, reading specs, watching videos AND waiting for delivery, I now have the ET-8550 since about two weeks, and I am printing like crazy... :) Very happy with the results, both for colour and also for B&W images. I think that the key is, apart from a good photo to start with, a tiny bit of extra processing in Photoshop and/or the Nikon raw developer I am using and also the paper. So far I have only used EPSON papers, apart from what I had lying around (old Kodak and HP papers) but my conclusion is that the EPSON paper works best, because it is profiled for the printer. Too bad EPSON does not provide ICC profiles for other paper brand, like ILFORD, which makes using third party a bit of a hit and miss, like you experienced here also, using Fotospeed papers. I don't get the colour cast in B&W images and have no problems with any colour shifting, at least not on the EPSON papers. I don't mind that my pictures only be good for 30 - 50 years, I probably won't be around in 30 years time, and if somebody wants to use my images after I am gone, he/she can print new ones from the original digital files. Anyway, so far I am very happy with the EPSON ET-8550. The only downside is the scanner, which I think is a bit of a low quality, low resolution scanner and I think it would have been better if EPSON would have left it out, or had a printer option without scanner also. I have a separate Canon flatbed / backlit film scanner, and that certainly beats it.
The estimates for the archiveability of the ET 8550 vary from a few years to your estimate of 40-50 yrs. Are you aware of studies that have tested the prints? I am doing a private project, where I give my subjects a mounted final print. I really would like to know wheter I am giving them something that will be badly detereiorated in a few years? I'd appreciate your advice.
I'd like to see how you profile the ET-8550. I have a borrowed Colormunki and I am profiling on my P900 OK. But I have an ET-4760 that I would like to profile.
How to compare? 87 usd for set of six color refills vs $ 660 usd for replacing all the p700. 64ml of ink at 66usd? That's just crazy. The 8550 is the peoples pro printer vs p700 is the elites photo printer, lol. Wonder if epson will release a 17 x 22 ecofill? I'd grab that instead.
It is a general knowledge that dye inks are more prone to fading in a well lit environment (mostly because of the UV light part (or near that) of the spectrum than pigment inks. What does it mean in practice? How much fading should we expect indoors? Would you recommend using dye inks for art printing to be used as wall mounted photos in a normal room?
I have a Canon "Mega Tank", the same concept as the 8550. What's great about the concept is that it's cheap enough, especially at A4 and 6x4, to perform lots of test prints. It costs pennies to produce an A4.. and keep producing them until they are right. No joke, on older printers I've used up $75 of cartridges just to get a print I liked.
@@FotospeedUK Yes, that seems to be the case in Sweden also. I wish they were sold in white as well, or ONLY white. I think that would look so much better than the black.
The big "con" for the P700 - and it is a proper con - is that after the setup you are left with virtually empty cartridges - almost all their ink has been pumped into the tubes. After printing my very first image after the setup - I got a "Ink is running low" warning! To all intents and purposes, it won't be long until you have to fork out £272 for a full set of new cartridges. Thus the printer cost is really around £900. That is what I call a con.
yeah the big plus for the ET8550 is I am not afraid to experiment with multiple prints. the affordability is a huge game changer for me. I can afford to make minor adjustments between prints to get the one that I like the most.
The B&W from the P700 are only slightly better than the ones from the 8550, perhaps you are the only one who can see the difference. On the P700 if you do 4 head cleaning you are out of ink and have spent a small fortune in ink. The 8550 is the clear winner for convenience and economy.
thanks so much for this video! ive been looking at an 8550 for printing both art prints and transparencies for screenprinting, and was wondering how it compared to epson's flagship p series. i'll be committing to the 8550 probably, but i ever expand im totally getting a p700 or something in the series for that professional, archival glicée :)
Wouldn't it be possible to just ignore the dye based ink for the ET-8550 and just add your own ink into the tanks. There are some companies that sell pigment inks for use in the ET-8550, you should get those inks and test them to see how they perform or if there is issues.
Maybe, but there are quite a few companies who make pigment ink specifically for the ET-8550 like Farbenwerk. They don't mention any need for converting the print head.@@FotospeedUK
ET-8550 uses a specific print head design for dye inks. To add pigment inks to a Et-8550 will result in damaging the print head. Same for any dye ink printers.
There are multiple companies that claim to make a special pigment ink for the ET-8550. However, I have not seen anyone do a review on them yet, to see if they are even good quality, or even work reliably. Farbenwerk Pigmera ETX is one example.@@LouRao
Did you calibrate both printers for each of the papers? My experience says that calibration makes huge difference in case of ink printers. I'm not sure what you're talking about: your own feelings or the fidelity of colors? Oversaturated picture can be more attractive to us, but it can also mean that colors don't reflect those on the calibrated graphics monitor. The colorimeter will tell the truth. I would also focus on dark areas of printout: how details are reproduced there. Especially in R, G and B areas separately. Usually this comparison can be game changer between economic (6 inks) and pro printers. For example: purple vegetable on printout. You focused on deep color on ET8550 - but details are much more visible for P700. I've not seen source bitmap of course. I don't know which version is more related to the original. But I can guess that dark areas for ET8550 colors will turn dull, will be awful. Am I right? :)
Hello! You ever thought to buy Epson SureColor F570 Professional Edition instead? I bought Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 before couple of days (I have 30 days returning policy), still unboxed. Thinking to return it, and buy F570. I know it's more money :) BUT... 😔 AND, I like P900! But the ink is crazy expensive for P900... What is your opinion on that? Thank you! 🙂
The F570 is a dye-sublimation printer and as i under it not really for the Art pirnt/ photography print market. It is more for signs and fabrics. Forgive me it is not my area with these printers. Tim
Epson SureColor F570 Professional Edition is a sublimation printer. F570 is totally different from a standard dye or pigment ink printers that print on photo paper. Sublimation prints are used to transfer prints to t-shirts, or any type of 100% Polyester fabrics using a heat press. Can’t print on regular or photo paper with a sublimation printers.
wow that p700 looks dull in color for 800+ dollars you would think epson would of done a better job but nope all about the $$$ one of the many reasons why i would never go with ink cartridges again
Nothing to do with ink cartridges, it’s pigment ink. All pigment ink printers from $100 to $5000 can’t produced vibrant colors like dye inks does. So, I can get the same results from dye ink cartridges as ecotank dye inks. Makes no difference. As much as I love ecotank printers (Own Epson ET-8550) they require more maintenance preventing tubes from clogging. Dye or pigment ink’s cartridges less maintenance but cost more.
I am starting to really hate youtube subscribe bs, I've never seen your videos before and 50 sec in your asking me to subscribe...why would anyone do that
epson p700 es una muy mala inversion son 10 cartuchos de tintas por un costo de $400 dolares muy costosa y cuando por primera vez prendes tu impresora e instalas las tintas que vienen en la caja solo sirve para llenar el sistema y automaticamente te pide el cambio de los 10 cartuchos de tinta la impresora tiene un costo de $850 dolares y preparate para invertir otros 400 dolares en los primeros dias de impresion
I used to use an Epson ET-2550 th-cam.com/users/postUgkxciSwynMJ7PnUvvx11rewiu-yFBkZTl53 , an early model of the ink tank style. It worked well, but had one nuisance that drove me up the wall; if you didn't put it in high quality print mode you'd get a streak across the page. I'm happy to say I have yet to see this with this printer. The print quality has been fantastic so far, the set up was super easy. All in all I'm very happy with this printer.
I’ve already used the ET8550 for 2 months now and am now happily printing my own pictures and winning at my camera club competition. The judges love the quality of my pictures especially the Mono. Yes, I made loads of mistakes at first but the large ink tanks made the mistakes affordable! Use the right papers and paper profiles and success is more readily assured!
Exactly. I am using Epson and Ilford papers. I did print on other papers also, like some Kodak and HP, which are old papers I found in my drawers, but the images on those paper didn't really turn out as nice as on the Epson and Ilford. I print a lot of large B&W images as well, and with the right paper, I see no colour cast and the tones are really nice and neutral. So I am very happy for now. There is just one thing I noticed yesterday, when I printed my first borderless, small 4x6 image... there is s thin edge on one side, where the printer did not print. I haven't had time to analyse this, but it definitely needs to be fixed. I hope it's not something I have to send the printer in for...
I think you hit the nail on the head, with 'mistakes are affordable', I'm never frighted to hit print on the 8550 and it's led to wonderful experiments with media, icc, and abw setttings when using the epson print layout which although not listed works just fine. All the prints will in all likely-hood outlive me and if someone was wanting an archival version they are more than likely to be willing to pay archival prices and so I'd pay for a pro print on a wide format printer.
Tried the Pigment ink replacement for the ET by chance? I was planning on the 8550 for purely the reason of cost of printing is so much cheaper and I don't have to worry about it.
@@AdaptingCamera I made this mistake once. I used the borderless print without choosing expansion in Epson Print Layout. You need to choose expansion, to get rid of the small white edge.
I went for the 8550 because I need a scanner and do not have room for two machines. It took me a while to get used to the print settings but after a bunch of small test prints I am now getting a pretty good match between screen and paper, thanks to Fotospeed custom profiles. The black and white prints are the best I have ever had and the colours are just great. I have no regrets in buying the printer, although I am still in dispute with Epson who are refusing to honour the double cash-back offer that was in place when I ordered the (out of stock) printer, which has soured my view of them. Looking forward to the Black & White video, if I can get even better results, I will be over the moon. Thanks for sharing.
This video answered all my questions! Thanks so much! I need my printer to print digital art and watercolours scanned artworks, so for me I believe from what you just so kindly shared, is 100%ET-8550... thanks again!
Glad we could help!!
I have an ET-7750 and I had an X-Rite’s i1 Software professionally made profile for both my 24" Ilford Galarie 310gms and Colourbyte 250gms glossy paper. The results are excellent and the B+Ws are neutral. Even using cheaper glossy paper the results are really very good. I use it for A3 plain paper drawings mostly and occasionally 600mm x 297mm panorama prints. I'm very pleased with it. (I do though, regularly dab the print head resting pad with soft tissue paper to prevent smudges.) I also keep it completely covered all the time with a thin clear polythene sheet including the rear paper tray with A3 paper init, this keeps the dust out. I've had it about 5+ years and it's still producing excellent result, I use it a lot, I'm on my second set of ink bottles and third service tank. I can't recommend this printer highly enough. I repeat... It's well worth getting your printer profiled as it really does make so much difference even though it is not a photo printer especially for the B+W prints.
Thanks for this one! Will buy the 8550.
It is a great printer!! Tim
Nice comparison, but there should be mentioned that 8550 is dye and P700 is pigment. Since dyes are soluble inks they dont need as many different colors, they also soak into paper so there is no gloss differential on prints, they are more scratch resistant, more vibrant colors BUT they fade faster, way faster than pigment prints. That alone is why P700 is superior printer if someone wants to make wall prints. Dye BW prints are prone to green cast, it might be quality of black ink, if its cheap when drop of ink is disolved in glass of water it will turn violet. Quality black ink will disolve into grey color.
Hi thank you for you comments.
Excellent point. Although I must say, having a photo from dye ink lasting over 20+ years in a picture frame with lots of light has not faded one bit. It’s the quality of dye ink keeping it from fading before the 50 year mark. Most dye inks from overseas just garbage and don’t have the life span of 50 years.
Excellent review. I'm getting ready to "pull the trigger" on the purchase of a new printer and have been reading and watching lots of video reviews and your review is a great help to me. Thanks for taking the time and sharing your thoughts regarding these two printers.
Love the video - managed to find a 8500 for a great price - the scanner sold it for me and my partner. And it's possible to fill the printer with pigment inks and it works fantasticly 💫
That is great to hear. I haven't heard of pigments ink being used. Not sure if Epson would let me try it out!! Tim
Sweet!
do you mind sharing what pigment inks youre using with it?
I understand Precision Color inks.@@zacharysearcy
Thanks for the insight. After watching, I feel unless you want to give a print to your great, great, great great grand kids, you are going to get excellent prints from the ET-8550
Absolutely!
I am told the p700 comes with starter cartridges so small that once the printer is charged with ink you have to replace them. So you have to add a full set of ink at 250 pounds to the cost to actually use the damn thing and another 250 quid set on top of that to get to what the 8550 comes with. Please explain where my logic has failed me ?
It would take an awful lot of persuasion for me to change from my P-700 which is an excellent printer which does great B&W.
I have to agree. The P700 is amazing at B&Ws. Tim
In Isolation you would be very happy, I have an ET7550, I have had profiles made and I think the black and white is excellent - very neutral.
Glad you were pleased.
@@FotospeedUK videos like this are brilliant, I bought a Canon Pro 1 12 ink cart. printer based on it being a "great printer" without doing any research not realising the cost of 60 hour cleaning cycles that used more ink than I used for printing. It literally went in a skip fully working 😕
Thank you so much for the comparison! This was so helpful
Glad you like the video, Tim
It would be great if you could show what the 8550 could do with a landscape panorama, it would be great to see!
It's a great comparison! I didn't think that dye ink colour prints has so much vibrancy compared to pigment ink prints. Now I feel more comfortable not switching from my Canon Pro-100 to Canon pigment printers. As for the BW neutrality with dyes, it really depends on a paper choice. Also, thanks to your video about the Canon software, it looks like getting the neutrality with dyes is very easy.
Thank you very much for your video. I am researching before purchasing the 8550 because I print onto canvas made for inkjet printers. I print very colorful "cartoony" type designs. Have you ever printed onto canvas and do you think that the 8550 would produce vibrant colors?
That's a question I'd like to know the answer to myself. I've never printed on canvas and thats one of if not the main reason I'm considering the 8550. That as well as the larger format and the savings on ink.
You want this review then: th-cam.com/video/ylXC7K1k1Q0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=R6C2EVOXX4iZF8VgKeith has done a bunch of reviews on both printers, plus he's also made profiles for the ET8550.
Have you used EPSON paper to print the black and whites? Maybe the paper is the difference? Other reviews say that the B/W are great on EPSON papers.
This is THE video I am looking for!! Huge thanks ;D
Thanks, mate. Lovely!
Very nice, comparison thanks. What about fading? Old ink printers were terrible when it came to color changes, sometimes even if they were protected from direct sun. If one wanted to display the pictures on walls it was even worse. How are this new ink printers doing it today?
With Dye inks now I very rarely see fading. I have been testing it for the last 6 months here in the office between two A3 prints one printed on Pigment inks and the other on Dye. After 6 months in direct sun light still no change. If anything the Dye still looks really vibrant. Tim
Which software did you use to print for the et-8550? And where did you get the ICC profiles?
Just a question as I will self confessed numpty on prints and ink ect, is it possible to put pigment inks into the tanks instead of dye or is the head not able to use it?
NO.
Thanks for this video. Very informative again. In this video, you said multiple times that the P700 color image would need some more work if it should equal the one coming from the 8550 because of the different inks being used. Can you show in a video what steps exactly one would have to take to match the 8550‘s colors? Is it even possible? And if yes, does it need a lot of effort in say Aperture One?
thanks for the detailed review! I print less than 5% black and white so good to know that the ET 8550 is so good even compared with p700.
Glad it was helpful :)
Does it make a lott of sense getting seriously into printing in A3+? ET-8550 for all it is anough for and P900 / P800 for serious work, maybe in A2?
How does the xp 15000 compare to the these 2? It is much cheaper and has that extra red and gray, so I am wondering it is a better choice for me than the p700. What would you suggest considering I only want to print on matte paper?
Hi there, if you are looking to print on matt papers I would recommend the P700 over the XP-15000. The XP-15000 is a great printer and might possibly edge the ET-8550 on b&W prints, however the P700 with its pigment ink will give a better print on matt papers. Tim
@@FotospeedUK Thanks!
Even the ET-8500 has grey ink, and also two blacks, pigment black and photo black. The XP-15000 has only one black and has a red. The ET-8550 can print a maximum of 13" x 80" while the XP-15000 maximum size is "only" 13" x 44". The XP-15000 was on my list of alternatives, but quickly dismissed it because of the features the ET-8550 has, as well as the ink price, which is only a fraction of what the cartridges for the XP-15000 cost. I calculated with using both printers for exactly the same ink volume (assuming both would use the same volume for the same print), and even though the ET-8550 costs almost twice the XP-15000, factoring the ink costs makes it a lot cheaper. My guess is that if you print the same images on both, and use EPSON paper as well as the EPSON printer software then you won't see any difference in printed image quality in a side by side comparison under the same light. Anyway, I love my new ET-8550, printed a whole bunch of large A3+ size different images (everything between sunset sky at 36 000ft, planes, architecture, landscapes and bugs / flowers macro) and all look beautiful, both the colour and B&W images.
Thank you for the print comparisons....It would be great if you could disclose the following 2 points for the sake of true comparison :
1. What print quality setting did you use on both printers eg : standard/ photo / photo fine/ max quality... and so on ( out of the 5 settings that are usually provided )
2. What color management method did you use - Printer Driver / Epson print layout / Photoshop ?
Hi Sharad, I used the highest setting on both printers to make it some what fair. I also used a mixture of Custom profiles made using our ISIS2 from Xrite and the advanced black and white mode on both printers. Tim
Thanks so much for your review. I am doing a Christmas Holiday Santa Photo booth at my local shopping mall. I'm trying to determine which printer to use. Which one is faster? is there a noticable difference? Thanks again.
I would say the ET-8550 would be the best choice for that type of work. I have been there and nothing worse than people standing around waiting for prints. Tim
@@FotospeedUK I chose that 2 weeks ago... it has been the PERFECT CHOICE! Thanks so much for your help!
one more question, is there a good paper out there that is an off-brand but good quality and low price?
Hi Tim, thanks for your tests! OK we run Canon, Epson and HP printers in our imaging business here in Sydney so a who is the Fotospeed supplier in Oz? Also do you have ‘basic’ downloadable profiles for this printer and your media or do I have to send a calibration print for each type and surface of paper? Thanks, David.
Just asking, but the ET-8500 line has actually a mixed ink set. The black is pigment, and the PB-Photo Black is dye, so when using the matte paper setting it uses both, AFAIK, are you aware of that? I just bought the ET-8500 3 weeks ago, and have been blown away by the results I get from it when comparing with my calibrated wide gamut monitor. For a pro that does this for a living, there's no arguing the P700 is the way to go, for the general public, the ET-8500/8550 are absolutely outstanding, and apart from the fact that photos printed using dye inks don't last as long as pigment based prints, I am sure you could sell them without problem too. The B&W prints I get on the 8500 on archival matte paper from Epson are great. I did not notice any green cast, but it probably depends on the original photo to some extent. Thanks for the review!
Yea, i honestly dont mind if my photos are a little faded in 40 years. Unlike 40 years ago where this may have been important, likely any photo a care about will still exist in digital form, so reprinting will be no issue. For anyone i sell prints to…they really will not care in 40 years.
Have you had any issues with ink clogging or problems with ink delivery (8550) since you’ve been using them? My Canon ink-tank stopped working about 2 years after buying it. Ink stopped flowing to the printheads. I fixed it once, but the problem is persistent.
I know watching this on my phone through work weary eyes isn’t a great idea but I don’t see any difference in the prints both look amazing I’ve not used a photo printer since 2003 so the in edging towards the eco tank just to save coin on ink cheers
Hi Paul, there is only a slight difference in the prints. The Eco-tank is a great printer. Tim
@@FotospeedUK cheers mate 📷❤️
Thank you for the video. After a lot of anxiety, reading specs, watching videos AND waiting for delivery, I now have the ET-8550 since about two weeks, and I am printing like crazy... :) Very happy with the results, both for colour and also for B&W images. I think that the key is, apart from a good photo to start with, a tiny bit of extra processing in Photoshop and/or the Nikon raw developer I am using and also the paper. So far I have only used EPSON papers, apart from what I had lying around (old Kodak and HP papers) but my conclusion is that the EPSON paper works best, because it is profiled for the printer. Too bad EPSON does not provide ICC profiles for other paper brand, like ILFORD, which makes using third party a bit of a hit and miss, like you experienced here also, using Fotospeed papers. I don't get the colour cast in B&W images and have no problems with any colour shifting, at least not on the EPSON papers. I don't mind that my pictures only be good for 30 - 50 years, I probably won't be around in 30 years time, and if somebody wants to use my images after I am gone, he/she can print new ones from the original digital files. Anyway, so far I am very happy with the EPSON ET-8550. The only downside is the scanner, which I think is a bit of a low quality, low resolution scanner and I think it would have been better if EPSON would have left it out, or had a printer option without scanner also. I have a separate Canon flatbed / backlit film scanner, and that certainly beats it.
The estimates for the archiveability of the ET 8550 vary from a few years to your estimate of 40-50 yrs. Are you aware of studies that have tested the prints? I am doing a private project, where I give my subjects a mounted final print. I really would like to know wheter I am giving them something that will be badly detereiorated in a few years? I'd appreciate your advice.
Thank you, this was really helpful.
Glad it was useful
I'd like to see how you profile the ET-8550. I have a borrowed Colormunki and I am profiling on my P900 OK. But I have an ET-4760 that I would like to profile.
Hi Jay, we profile using the X-rite ISIS2. Tim
How to compare? 87 usd for set of six color refills vs $ 660 usd for replacing all the p700. 64ml of ink at 66usd? That's just crazy. The 8550 is the peoples pro printer vs p700 is the elites photo printer, lol. Wonder if epson will release a 17 x 22 ecofill? I'd grab that instead.
We'd like to think they will, perhaps on the next generation of printers!
@@FotospeedUK I just learned that they make a tank ink printer in the 24" wide format, but 2500 usd. Tempting.
It is a general knowledge that dye inks are more prone to fading in a well lit environment (mostly because of the UV light part (or near that) of the spectrum than pigment inks. What does it mean in practice? How much fading should we expect indoors? Would you recommend using dye inks for art printing to be used as wall mounted photos in a normal room?
All manufacturers are claiming 100 years. Even if you cut it in half, i would consider that worthy of just not caring anymore
I have a Canon "Mega Tank", the same concept as the 8550. What's great about the concept is that it's cheap enough, especially at A4 and 6x4, to perform lots of test prints.
It costs pennies to produce an A4.. and keep producing them until they are right.
No joke, on older printers I've used up $75 of cartridges just to get a print I liked.
We can definitely understand that with older printers!
Were the printers color profiled for the specific papers?
Yes they were.
Thank You
what is the price of indian money of this Printer et-8550
Where did find the black et-8550
They seem to be all black in the Uk?
@@FotospeedUK Yes, that seems to be the case in Sweden also. I wish they were sold in white as well, or ONLY white. I think that would look so much better than the black.
Does it make any sense for you to have to spend a small fortune on ten ink cartridges just to get the perfect black and white print?
The big "con" for the P700 - and it is a proper con - is that after the setup you are left with virtually empty cartridges - almost all their ink has been pumped into the tubes. After printing my very first image after the setup - I got a "Ink is running low" warning! To all intents and purposes, it won't be long until you have to fork out £272 for a full set of new cartridges. Thus the printer cost is really around £900. That is what I call a con.
No Harold
We will pass your feedback onto Epson.
yeah the big plus for the ET8550 is I am not afraid to experiment with multiple prints. the affordability is a huge game changer for me. I can afford to make minor adjustments between prints to get the one that I like the most.
First time using a printer? Not a con. More like a complaint.
Did you say 40 to 50 years for dye colors?
He did. And good quality pigment inks up to 200 years.
@@LouRao Ok.
I am asking why just a manufacturers doesn´t make pigment ink printers with 8 collors and tank system?
How about speed of prints ?
Produces a A4 print in about 2-3mins depending on the paper being used. Tim
The B&W from the P700 are only slightly better than the ones from the 8550, perhaps you are the only one who can see the difference. On the P700 if you do 4 head cleaning you are out of ink and have spent a small fortune in ink. The 8550 is the clear winner for convenience and economy.
Epson ET 8550 in USA utilizes Pigment Solvent Ink...
thanks so much for this video! ive been looking at an 8550 for printing both art prints and transparencies for screenprinting, and was wondering how it compared to epson's flagship p series. i'll be committing to the 8550 probably, but i ever expand im totally getting a p700 or something in the series for that professional, archival glicée :)
Hi Rene, thank you so much glad I could help! Tim
Wouldn't it be possible to just ignore the dye based ink for the ET-8550 and just add your own ink into the tanks. There are some companies that sell pigment inks for use in the ET-8550, you should get those inks and test them to see how they perform or if there is issues.
I think this would risk damaging the print head.
Maybe, but there are quite a few companies who make pigment ink specifically for the ET-8550 like Farbenwerk. They don't mention any need for converting the print head.@@FotospeedUK
ET-8550 uses a specific print head design for dye inks. To add pigment inks to a Et-8550 will result in damaging the print head. Same for any dye ink printers.
There are multiple companies that claim to make a special pigment ink for the ET-8550. However, I have not seen anyone do a review on them yet, to see if they are even good quality, or even work reliably. Farbenwerk Pigmera ETX is one example.@@LouRao
@@LouRaobut one black is pigment ink
Did you calibrate both printers for each of the papers? My experience says that calibration makes huge difference in case of ink printers.
I'm not sure what you're talking about: your own feelings or the fidelity of colors? Oversaturated picture can be more attractive to us, but it can also mean that colors don't reflect those on the calibrated graphics monitor. The colorimeter will tell the truth.
I would also focus on dark areas of printout: how details are reproduced there. Especially in R, G and B areas separately. Usually this comparison can be game changer between economic (6 inks) and pro printers. For example: purple vegetable on printout. You focused on deep color on ET8550 - but details are much more visible for P700. I've not seen source bitmap of course. I don't know which version is more related to the original. But I can guess that dark areas for ET8550 colors will turn dull, will be awful. Am I right? :)
Hello! You ever thought to buy Epson SureColor F570 Professional Edition instead? I bought Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 before couple of days (I have 30 days returning policy), still unboxed. Thinking to return it, and buy F570. I know it's more money :) BUT... 😔 AND, I like P900! But the ink is crazy expensive for P900... What is your opinion on that? Thank you! 🙂
The F570 is a dye-sublimation printer and as i under it not really for the Art pirnt/ photography print market. It is more for signs and fabrics. Forgive me it is not my area with these printers. Tim
Epson SureColor F570 Professional Edition is a sublimation printer. F570 is totally different from a standard dye or pigment ink printers that print on photo paper. Sublimation prints are used to transfer prints to t-shirts, or any type of 100% Polyester fabrics using a heat press. Can’t print on regular or photo paper with a sublimation printers.
Great discussion. Would be much better to have some human subjects for color test prints. Skin tones, very critical.
P700 is around nearly $1K here, if it's cheaper than ET8550 as there, P700 is a brainer.
It wold be stupid of me to subscribe before I have seen any of your videos, before I have assessed the quality and usefulness of your information.
good
Thanks
wow that p700 looks dull in color for 800+ dollars you would think epson would of done a better job but nope all about the $$$ one of the many reasons why i would never go with ink cartridges again
Nothing to do with ink cartridges, it’s pigment ink. All pigment ink printers from $100 to $5000 can’t produced vibrant colors like dye inks does. So, I can get the same results from dye ink cartridges as ecotank dye inks. Makes no difference. As much as I love ecotank printers (Own Epson ET-8550) they require more maintenance preventing tubes from clogging. Dye or pigment ink’s cartridges less maintenance but cost more.
I am starting to really hate youtube subscribe bs, I've never seen your videos before and 50 sec in your asking me to subscribe...why would anyone do that
you can see it in her face. The epson surecolor p700 is nicer
epson p700 es una muy mala inversion son 10 cartuchos de tintas por un costo de $400 dolares muy costosa y cuando por primera vez prendes tu impresora e instalas las tintas que vienen en la caja solo sirve para llenar el sistema y automaticamente te pide el cambio de los 10 cartuchos de tinta la impresora tiene un costo de $850 dolares y preparate para invertir otros 400 dolares en los primeros dias de impresion
ur in loft
I used to use an Epson ET-2550 th-cam.com/users/postUgkxciSwynMJ7PnUvvx11rewiu-yFBkZTl53 , an early model of the ink tank style. It worked well, but had one nuisance that drove me up the wall; if you didn't put it in high quality print mode you'd get a streak across the page. I'm happy to say I have yet to see this with this printer. The print quality has been fantastic so far, the set up was super easy. All in all I'm very happy with this printer.
Glad you are enjoying the printer. Tim