Stylus Pro 9900 Photo Printer (44")

by Epson

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 79 x 31 x 37 inches ; 420 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 420 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B001MYAHQ0
• Item model number: SP9900HDR
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #99 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > Printers > Inkjet Printers
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 17, 2003

Product Description

The Epson Stylus Pro 9900 incorporates the latest achievements in photographic inkjet technology. It combines the precision of MicroPiezo TFP print head with the extraordinary performance of Epson UltraChrome HDR inks. In order to ensure consistent printing between multiple Stylus Pro printers of the same model, Epson has refined the manufacturing process to include colorimetric calibration. Eliminating the need for internal calibration devices, this system evaluates and adjusts each printer's performance at the manufacturing stage, ensuring consistent color output from printer to printer and print to print. With both Photo and Matte Black ink cartridges installed simultaneously, the Epson Stylus Pro 900 series printers automatically utilize the optimal black ink mode, delivering maximum black density for the chosen media. Taking advantage of the Epson MicroPiezo TFP auto-sharing black ink channel ensures a fast and efficient switch. And to further reduce switching errors, the user confirms the switching process from the front control panel. The standard Photo Black ink mode can be used for any media type with professional results. However, for certain Epson media types such as Velvet Fine Art, Enhanced Matte and UltraSmooth Fine Art, using the optional Matte Black ink mode instead, will dramatically increase your black optical density for even better print quality. FEATURES: Thin Film Piezo (TFP) print head design capable of handling ten separate ink channels One-inch wide high-performance print head with 360 nozzles per channel Auto-sharing black ink channel technology Low vibration meniscus control for highly accurate dot shape and placement Ink repelling coating to dramatically reduce nozzle clogging Produces variable-sized droplets as small as 3.5 picoliter to great

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Epson 9900 review - fast and efficient for the most part, November 19, 2011

By 

Scott Moore (Bellevue, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stylus Pro 9900 Photo Printer (44") (Electronics)

There are things I like and don't like about the Epson 9900. I have two of them now and have had some of their previous models (9880, 9800, 9600). I'll start with the positive.

First, the Epson 9900 is fast. It's twice as fast as the 9800, and the speed has increased the efficiency of our work flow. It's also quiet, and like many people we work in close proximity to our printers, so the quiet operation is appreciated. The color is also fantastic, and while there are times we wonder if the green and orange inks make a difference, there are also times that we clearly see the extra color gamut. We reproduce paintings using the 9900, and it makes for a fine giclee solution with a brilliant color gamut and archival inks. The cutter is also a huge improvement over previous models - it cuts better, handles canvas well, and stays sharp due to the rotary design. Not only that, but it's no longer attached to the print head, meaning it causes fewer problems and doesn't drop dust across the head path.

Lastly, we burn through a ton of ink, and the 700ml cartridge option is quite nice and saves us money, as well as reducing the number of cartridge changes we require.

Now for the things we don't like: First, we change paper a lot, and we miss the manual lever to remove the paper roll. The electronic paper feed is a super pain in the rear, and we hate it. We're also not at all a fan of the ink changing. We would prefer the printer to have both a Matte black and photo black channel in the head. Changing ink takes time, and we ALWAYS have to do a cleaning afterwords. Our experience is that switching ink results in clogged heads. Always.

Another problem the Epson 9900 has is that it can't really tell how much ink it has left. It's very confused there. On one occasion it had been telling us the yellow ink was at 1% for two weeks. So we finally just changed it, then opened up the cartridge and poured out the ink. We had over 110ml left still. In general the machine is confused about how much ink is left. It's starts blinking low ink at something like 5%, then it just isn't sure. We've since learned the formula for weighing the cartridge to find out exactly how much is left if we're unsure.

As for reliability, our experience has been hit and miss. I wouldn't want to own one of these things without a current warranty. We keep ours under warranty for three years, and that has always paid for itself.

Lastly, what's with the paper catching basket? The thing is always falling down. Whoever designed that should have their head examined. We have to use bailing wire to hold it up.

Problems and imperfections aside, this is a great large format aqueous, archival ink printer. It's faster than previous models, quieter, and cheaper to operate if you buy big ink cartridges.