CNET editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Excellent
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 02/06/2007
- Released on: 11/01/2006
Speaking of ink, most of the 13-inch Stylus Photo line uses pigment-based inks, which typically last longer than dye-based inks. However, Epson says that the dye-based Claria Hi-Definition inks used by the 1400 are rated to last as long as 98 years behind glass and even longer in dark storage. According to Wilhem Imaging Research, the 1280 can only claim a print permanence of as long as 26 years when displayed behind glass. Not only that, if you've used the 1280 in the past, you should notice that the Stylus Photo 1400 prints faster, thanks to its newer DX5 MicroPiezo print head.
Scrapbookers, who often use 12x12-inch paper, will probably welcome the Stylus Photo 1400, since it lists for $150 less than the Stylus Photo R1800, which is the next step up in Epson's 13-inch line. However, photographers looking for more neutral black-and-white prints should take a look at Epson's Stylus Photo R2400, which earned high scores for its mastery of monochromatic printing.When I was in grade school, printers were massive, ugly, heavy behemoths clad in industrial-looking tan plastic. Color wasn't an option, and the dot-matrix print engine sounded as if it was etching your words into a wood plaque instead of churning out a book report. Thankfully, that has changed. Sleek silver-and-black styling keeps the Stylus Photo 1400 from becoming an eyesore in your home office. Despite that, it's still a bit large, measuring 24.2x12.4x8.8 inches when it's all closed up. Once you open it fully to print, the machine grows to 24.2x31.6x16.3 inches.
Fans of PictBridge printing, which lets you print directly from your camera by connecting it to the printer via USB, will appreciate the convenience of the 1400's front-panel USB jack. But, unlike some of its competitors, this Epson doesn't include a card reader, so you can't print directly from a memory card. Epson probably thinks that the market for this printer is too advanced for that feature, but it does come in handy from time to time. Epson does include the ability to print onto CDs and DVDs, both full size and their smaller 8cm cousins used in camcorders. Just be sure you get the ones with the special white surface on top.
As usual with the Stylus Photo line, the inks load from the top. In this case, that means six ink cartridges: cyan, magenta, yellow, black, light cyan, and light magenta. Like most home printers, paper loads from the top of the back and emerges, after printing, onto the tray that extends from the front of the unit. The input tray can hold as many as 120 sheets of plain paper or up to 20 sheets of Epson photo paper, depending on paper size and type. Epson says the printer can accept media up to 0.11mm thick in sizes ranging from 4x6 to 13x44 inches. There's no roll feed option though, so you'll have to find fulfillment with cut-sheet media.
The driver is the same one Epson includes on its other Stylus Photo printers, though it doesn't include the fancy black-and-white driver that comes with the R2400. Our only beef with the driver is that it's slightly counterintuitive to disable the printer's color management, which should be done if you want to let Photoshop, or another color-managed program, handle color conversion. First you have to proceed past the default view to the advanced view, then you have to click the ICM radio button before you even see the option of turning the printer's color management off. To its credit, the printer generally does a nice job of color conversion, but if you plan on using third-party paper with custom ICC profiles, the process isn't as easy as it could be. At least Epson makes it easy to set the advanced view as your own default if you prefer.Up from its predecessor's print resolution of 5,760x720dpi, the Epson Stylus Photo 1400 offers 5,760x1,440dpi, with a minimum ink droplet size of 1.5 picoliters. As usual, Epson offers a wide array of photo papers for use with the 1400, and even has some strange options, such as its Iron-on Cool Peel Transfer paper and Photo Quality Self Adhesive Sheets.
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