Epson Stylus Pro 3880: Review

Epson Stylus Pro 3880

We explore the flexibility and efficiency of this high-specification printer, and what it means for professional photographers and aspiring designers alike

Elegance and class: For an A2 machine, the Stylus Pro 3880 presents a streamline and professional persona, with silver and black gloss casing and rounded edges. Its button functionality is extremely simple yet dynamic, and all this asserts it as a highly capable, easy-to-use, intuitive printer

For those of you working in a creative studio, especially one that largely produces print design, or as a freelance artist, then the word economy means everything. Not only will you be looking for a large, multiformat printer that is efficient and highly capable at delivering top-quality printouts, but also one that doesn’t chew a hole through your wallet when investing in ink supplies. Well, the Epson Stylus Pro 3880 is that print solution.

For an A2-sized printer, the Stylus Pro 3880 sports a surprisingly small footprint. This means that it’s economic on studio space – a real bonus. However, it’s the economy provided by its individual ink cartridge system that makes the machine a good choice. Colour quality is assured with its advanced, fourth-generation, eight-colour UltraChrome K3 inks, including Matte Black, Light Black, Light Light Black, Light Cyan, Cyan, Yellow and Vivid Magentas.

Each can be replaced individually when running low so you can maintain a constant optimum colour flow at a controlled cost. Cartridges
have an asking price of £47.25/$59.95 direct from Epson (though hunt around for cheaper options).

Although ergonomically sound, the Stylus Pro 3880 still carries a little extra weight. This means that housing this machine in your working environment is fundamental, with constant manoeuvring becoming time-consuming, never mind a little tiring. However, there is a good reason for carrying this weight. It’s more technological muscle than design fat. The Stylus Pro 3880 includes a range of innovative print sciences. No expense has been spared when putting this high-tech machine together, and it shares all the latest industry print sciences also present in its sibling models, notably, the Epson-patented Micro Piezo print heads. Combine these with the inclusive pigment ink – with advanced Vivid Magenta promoting accomplished blues, red and purples, and UltraChrome K3 presenting first-class monochromatic reproductions – and your art prints show an incredible colour stability, light fastness and colour gradation.

Print perfect: Advanced Micro Piezo AMC print head technology gives the best colour lay standard available, aided by eight-channel, drop-on-demand, inkjet print head, Auto Head Alignment and Cleaning technology, autosharing Black Ink Mode Switching and professional-level pigment-based ink technology

Printing from this machine is discreet, with production times quite quick for such a large-format machine, and noise reduction means that it won’t give you a headache when working in close quarters. Also, after the initial nozzle check, print production happens almost instantly without witnessing any visible colour shifts. This makes it not only a great production machine, but also extremely capable as a proofing unit. It also supports artists looking to produce limited edition prints, as the high standards met in initial samples can be experienced over and over again, even after long periods of time between reproductions. This is again thanks to the Micro Piezo technology.

This latest Epson model also has a few new tricks up its sleeve to ensure even more optimal ink application, remarkably evolving the quality of print production further. Teaming up with the Rochester Institute of Technology’s Munsell Color Science Laboratory, the Epson Stylus Pro 3880 offers the latest AccuPhoto HD2 technology. But what does this mean? In a nutshell, this science ensures precision placement of each individual ink droplet, resulting in smooth, grain-free images. After a ground test it really does produce truly great photographic prints, under either high-speed or lower-resolution print modes.

Include the Epson LFP Remote Panel (which helps you to specify and optimise your printer settings, allowing quality control over alignment and material types along with the ability to create bespoke black tones and clear whites, offering a great level of precision and artistic control) and you have yourself a very professional, print-conscientious machine. Throw in the autoswitching black inks, wide-format prints up to 17 x 22 inches, cut-sheet media handling and high speed connectivity with USB 2.0 and Ethernet, and print designers the world over are being thoroughly spoilt with the latest Epson Stylus Pro 3880.