Multi-colour print systems
4 colour printing
These specially formulated inks penetrate the paper surface and dry almost instantaneously. As a result, the ink drops stay sharp, separate and in perfect shape, ensuring vibrant colours and crisp, laser-quality black text without bleeding.
The standard 4-colour palette uses cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks. But unlike some competitive 4-colour ink systems, Epson's 4-colour ink uses true black ink, instead of composite black (made up by a mixture of cyan, magenta and yellow) The use of true black ink makes for sharper text, more true-to-life colour, and greater contrast in photos
6 colour printing
With an expanded ink set – featuring additional light cyan and light magenta – to increase the colour spectrum, the 6- colour Epson Stylus Photo printers give consistently brilliant photo reproduction. Ideal for document printing as well, 6 colour printing gives you true to life photo prints with enhanced tonality and amazing vividness.
This 6-colour dye based ink system uses the standard cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks as Epson's 4 colour dye system, but adds two light density inks – light cyan and light magenta.
The use of six inks reproduces more accurate and subtle transitions in colour (also referred to as colour gradations) for photos with more realistic skin tones, the widest colour gamut, plus perfect highlights and shadows.
The light density inks are much less visible to the human eye, so photo prints are virtually continuous tone, dot-free, just like photo lab prints. Epson Photo ink offers a light fastness rating of up to 25 years†
8 colour printing
Rather than light cyan and light magenta, Epson's 8 colour printers use red and blue in addition to the standard pallet.
Expressing subtle colour differences with the three primary colours (cyan, magenta and yellow) makes for some very complex mixing and layering of colours. The colorants may be microscopic particles, but when layered on top of one another they can form very fine bumps on the print surface. The bumps can cause scattered reflections and inhibit glossiness. When the frequently used colours of red and blue are used in addition to the three primary colours, fewer colours need be expressed by layering inks, so the print surface is less apt to become bumpy.
The Epson 8 colour system also incorporates not one, but two blacks. A photo black for when you are using glossy paper and a matte black for when you are using matte paper.
The final ink cartridge that makes up part of the UltraChromeTM ink set is the unique Gloss Optimizer. Photo quality glossiness is largely determined by printing surface flatness. The flatter the surface, the more glossy the output. Pigment inks do not penetrate the surface of the paper. Instead, the colorant particles remain on the paper surface, forming a microscopically fine terrain of hills and valleys that sap prints of their luster and brightness.
Gloss Optimizer is produced from particles of resin that are microscopic and have no colour themselves. They fill in tiny gaps between inks. They also cover white areas on a print, as well as areas that ordinary ink rarely covers. The Gloss Optimizer thus has the effect of virtually eliminating print surface roughness, thereby minimizing complex reflections of light and creating a rich gorgeous gloss. Gloss Optimizer also serves to bond colorants to the page for sharp, bold prints on both plain and glossy paper.
† light fastness conditions
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