(07/01/2002)
It's been a long time since I've updated this site. The demands of work, familly issues and health
problems have interfered with mey ability to continue the orange shift testing process. I stand by the
accuracy of everything here, but do feel it necessary to point out that there have been many changes
in the industry since I last published a test. Unfortunately, many things haven't changed.
Epson's dye based inks, as used in all the current (as of 7/1/02) photo printers, appear to exhibit the same behavior as they did when the 870 and 1270 were first introduced. That is, the suffer serious orange shift (or cyan fade, if you prefer) on many papers. Canon's 6 color dye inks act almost exactly the same way. Epson's ColorLife paper, however, seems to nearly eliminate the problem, as does Ilford's Gallerie Series. (I suspect these papers use the same coating technology). Of course, there's no such thing as a free lunch (TANSTAAFL). None of these papers are waterproof.
Several 3rd party vendors have continued to update their own inksets. I haven't been able to test any of them, so I'm not prepared to say anything about image quality or resistance to gas or light fading. But they might be worth investigating. Some of the 3rd party dye inksets (MIS Associates, for example) resisted orange shift better than Epson inks a full year ago. They might be even better now.
Pigment ink vendors have continued to update and improve their products, too. None of the pigment inks I've tested showed any problems with orange shift, and they are also much less prone to light induced fade. Unfortunately, in my tests they showed significant problems with lack of gamut, difficulties with color balance (plan to have custom profiles made), and difficulty printing on glossy papers. Perhaps the new inks are better.
Epson seems to have decided that pigment inks are the best solution to long lasting prints. The 2000P printer has been available for a couple of years now. While capable of high quality output, it may be more famous for it's problems with metamerism and it's slow speed. And it's high price has kept it out of the hands of most hobbyists. Last year Epson introduced the model C80 printer which, while not a photo printer, introduced pigment inks to the mid priced injet market. I'd say it's output is at as good as any other 4 color pigment inkset. And later this month, Epson will release the 2200 photo printer, which uses a 7 color pigment inkset. Early reports indicate speed and image quality are significantly better than the 2000P, and metamerism significantly reduced, if not eliminated. It's also priced $200 cheaper than the old 2000P. IF this printer works as well as early reports indicate, it may be the current best solution for someone who needs a moderately priced photo printer capable of high quality and long life ourput. For an early review, check out the U.K.'s Photo-I site, and click on the "Reviews" link.
If you've come to this site, you're probably well aware that Epson's advertising claims for the longevity of Epson 870/1270 prints were, umm, suspect. While many people have gotten excellent results, many others have reported problems with their prints turning orange, sometimes within 24 hours of being printed. The images above show an example of what the orange shift looks like. Read through this site, and you'll see many more samples.
Note that the 780, 785, 890 and 1280/1290 printers use the exact same ink cartridges as the x70 printers. In fact, I believe all current Epson 6 ink printers use the same inks, so everything discussed on this site applies equally as well to Epson's newest photo printers. But at least Epson's current ads don't make quite the same claims that the early ads 870 / 1270 printers did.
In spite of claims to the contrary, numerous independent tests by me and by others make it clear that orange shift is caused by the fading of the Epson inks, and not by any specific paper. Specifically, the cyan inks fade, and the black ink turns brown, in response to certain atmospheric conditions. Microphotographs of shifted and unshifted prints show this clearly.
Let me make one thing clear. Not everyone with one of these printers suffers the orange shift problem. Perhaps a majority of users do not suffer from the problem. Or at least not to a degree that is readily noticeable. But even those users need to be concerned. Can they safely send prints to friends and relatives in other places? Can they submit prints to photo contests or offer them for sale? Can they be sure that the orange shift isn't just occurring very slowly? Anyone who makes prints with these printer may be at risk.
In any case, the problem is big enough that Epson redesigned (for the 2nd time) its Premium Glossy Photo Paper, and has instituted a quiet "buy back" policy for users who complain about orange shift problems. I believe that this buyback policy applies only to the 870, 875 and 1270 printers, and not to any newer ones.
You can view a brief history of the problem, from it's first report on internet mailing lists and news groups to the present (or at least as close to the present as I've had time to update). I also have a page devoted to Epson's many, and varied, official responses to the situation.
This issue has gotten a fair bit of coverage in the mainstream press, as well. You might find a selection of these articles (and my responses to some of them) to be informative.
Epson claims, to this day, that the orange shift is a problem only with the Premium Glossy Photo Paper introduced at the same time as the 870/875/1270 printers. Is this argument supportable? If you read this web site, I think you'll know the answer.
(8/05/2001)
There are some new developments in the orange shift issue. Very recently, both Epson and Ilford have
introduced new papers aimed at solving the orange shift problem. Epson's new paper is called
ColorLife paper, and Ilford's is called Gallerie. Both are currently available in surfaces
very close to Epson's Premium Luster Paper. Both seem to offer significantly better resistance
to orange shift (in preliminary testing) than most other papers. And both offer have some
problems. It's all a matter of tradeoffs, and deciding what characteristics are important
for the uses a print will be put to.
Another interesting occurance is that Epson has recently introduce a new inkformulation. While Epson claims this wasn't done in response to the orange shift problem, there is anecdotal evidence that the new inks (identified with lot numbers beginning with "A") does not suffer from orange shift to nearly the same degree as the original Epson inks. I've got a few samples which will be going into the ozone chamber very soon. If these new inks really are more resistant to orange shift, and the paper vendors continue to address the problem, we may yet have the printing system we're hoping for.
Finally, the dreaded chipped cartridge has been defeated! There are now a number of different ways to reset the chip, a number of different vendors selling refill kits, and a host of vendors selling pre-filled compatible cartridges. Click on 3rd Party Inks in the menu.
Initially believing Epson's claim that this was a paper problem, I started testing other papers to see what happened. My initial goal was simply to find a paper that produced results as good as PGPP, without the orange shift. I've now tested more than 50 different papers, and several different inks (on both the 1270 and other printers). This web site reports on my test scenarios, the results of those tests, and my conclusions.
Plain and simple, Epson's claim that the problem occurs only on one paper is patently and provably false, and Epson knows better. Orange shift has occurred on almost every paper I've tested, including almost every Epson paper. I've sent samples of orange shift on numerous Epson brand papers (and a few 3rd party papers) to Epson America. Epson America has to know that its official position is false, yet it continues to repeat it. Follow the links to my test results, and you can see for yourself.
I have found a very few papers that both resist orange shift, and are capable of producing high quality images.
Of the papers that strongly resist orange shift, my favorite is perhaps the Ilford Heavyweight Semi Matte. It has a very smooth surface with a gloss somewhere between glossy papers and matte. Unlike most of the so-called "semi-gloss" papers, it has no surface texture. It's not all roses, however. It does require some tweaking of settings in your imaging software and the print driver for optimum results, and even so it can be difficult to print images with heavy, dark blacks. Some people report finding no settings that will give them good prints But the following settings give me results almost identical to Epson PGPP (but not as shiny, of course) on many images:
So far it's been subjected to my ozone torture chamber for more than 6 months, and shows no sign of orange shift. I think that's as close to immune as anyone could hope for. However, you should be aware that not everyone is as happy with the image quality as I am. Look at my detailed test for more information.
Red River Premium Gloss also works very well. It has a surface that's closer to Epson's older Photo Paper than it is to the PGPP, but it prints very well and seems to resist orange shift almost as well as the Ilford papers. Prints on this paper don't match the PGPP, but they are very good nonetheless.
The Ilford Heavy Weight Glossy paper is also very resistant to the orange shift. It will also need tweaking of PhotoShop and print driver settings to get good results, and I haven't yet run enough tests to determine the optimum settings. The printing difficulties some people have with the Ilford semi-matte are even more prevalent with the glossy paper.
There are some other papers that show promise, too. Keep checking back here, too. I'm still testing new papers, and may find something else that works as well as or better than these three. And I'll continue to update the ongoing tests of these papers.
The current crop of Epson Photo printers (780/785/870/875/890/1270/1280/1290), with any of several papers, make stunningly beautiful prints. Framed under glass, the prints on PGPP will probably last as long as Epson claims. Pictorico High Gloss Film and Canon Glossy Pro produce even BETTER results (if you're looking for high gloss, high saturation images). Unfortunately, they shift even worse than PGPP. And framed under glass, you probably couldn't tell the difference between papers anyway.
As I've stated, the orange shift is, at its heart, an ink problem (but paper characteristics greatly affect the problem, as well). Epson has stated that it has no intention of changing the inks to solve the orange shift problem. (But they have reformulated the inks, and there is anecdotal evidence that the new inks do resist the orange shift better than the old inks (check back for test results). The reformulated PGPP does delay orange shift by a factor of 4 to 6, but does not eliminate it. That's not a viable solution for people who are seeing orange shift in less than a month.
So far, the Ilford and Red River Premium Gloss papers are the best I've tested from an orange shift perspective. But how long will they last in general? I'm not aware of any test results that indicate a long life, and the fact that the cyan and black dyes don't fade within days doesn't prove that the prints will last for 8 or 10 years. Ilford papers do have a reputation for enhancing the life of many inks, though. Be aware, however, that some people report a great deal of difficulty with the Ilford papers in dark areas of images, seeing blotchy results and having problems with reticulation. Let me reiterate that before you spend a lot of money on any paper, you test a small sample yourself.
The new Epson ColorLife and Ilford Gallerie papers show great promise, and are probably only the first of a new generation of papers designed to resist orange shift. And maybe Epson's new inks will help.Probably the most common questions I've received since building this site are: "Should I buy another printer instead of a 6 color Epson?"; and "I've already got an 870/1270/other Epson photo printer, what should I do?" Those are hard questions to answer, and the answers are going to be different for different individuals. I've taken a stab at explaining my thoughts, but you really need to decide for yourself.
Thanks for reading! I hope you've found my efforts useful. Let me know if you have any constructive comments about my tests, or my web site.
Bob Meyer