George Schaub

Claims about inkjet print permanence have been bandied about for years and while there have not been (and certainly cannot be) “real world” tests without the use of a time machine, it’s generally accepted that “accelerated” aging tests are a good indication of when a paper/ink combination will start to lose color fidelity/density, or even when the paper base and coating itself will cause problems. Indeed, this discussion can be as contentious as it is competitive, such as what happened six years ago when Epson properly threw down the gauntlet to Kodak, whose in-house test methodology and claims for their papers were subject to dispute.

Epson announced two new scanners last year for those who want to archive their film files and/or create wall-worthy prints from their negatives and slides. The Epson Perfection V800 Photo and V850 Pro allow for scanning all sizes up to 4x5 inches using the supplied frames, and up to 8x10 inches without them, including creating contact sheets. While the V850 Pro is the subject of this review, I’ll outline features and differences between the two as we go.

I took on this review assignment because I’ve had considerable history with printing, both silver and digital, and printing with Epson printers. Over the past few years this interest has led me on an odyssey through various printers, profiling, and a considerable amount of (early) frustration. My emphasis has been on monochrome printing and those who share in this interest and who have attempted black-and-white printing in the past understand the numerous obstacles it can present. Those include, but are not limited to, unwanted color casts, gloss differential in deep black areas and some tonal borders, poor deep black reproduction (accompanied by equally poor highlight repro), a lot of poor paper surfaces, and the hassle and waste of switching from matte black to photo glossy inks. Color printers face these as well, plus the challenges of color balance, casts, skin tone reproduction, highlight bias, green shadows, and more. Of late I have printed with the Epson Stylus Pro 3800, 3880, and 4800 models, the 3800 being my studio workhorse for years and the 3880 the model that many photo schools and workshops at which I’ve taught use as a mainstay student and production printer.

I enjoy it when a new product arrives that holds a surprise right out of the box. The surprise with Epson's new PowerLite 1715c projector is when you first lift it out of its shoulder bag carrying case--it's the lightest projector you will probably have lifted, slide or digital. Weighing in at under 4 lbs (3.7 to be exact) and 3.1x10.7x7.6" in overall size...