Small Printer: The Epson PM-400

[agentlossing]

Consider this a small testimonial for this printer. It uses Epson's MicroPiezo inkjet head and a single cartridge which is rated for "up to" 100 4x6" prints (I think you only get that many prints by using the lower print quality settings, and, of course, it's subject to the colors being balanced out roughly evenly). Prints 4x6" and 5x7". I basically had to get rid of the massive Canon Pro-100 when we downsized to move into a smaller apartment, as it takes up about the same footprint as two PCs. I already had this little fellow, but it was packed away. It came out of cold storage as a good solution for a small apartment - I'd like the capability to print larger than 5x7" some of the time, but actually feel that 5x7" is a nice compromise between display size (especially matted in a larger frame) and cost of materials. The clincher is the print quality. It's really quite impressive! I've printed some shots from hikes we have done and brought them into the office, and my coworkers always comment on how good they look, and a good bit of the reason for that is how rich and detailed the prints are. Plus, they don't quickly fade, like the third-party inks I used in the Pro-100 since I couldn't afford to keep up with that printer's ink consumption when paying Canon's prices.

I haven't had any print head issues. When I pulled the printer out of storage, I had to replace the ink, but didn't have any clogging or other problems. The printer costs a fairly affordable $250 on B&H, which seems like a lot for something which only prints up to 5x7", except that the print quality is so much better than expected. Ink cartridges are about $35, or $40 for a set that includes both the cartridge and 100 sheets of 4x6" Epson glossy photo paper.

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[Iron]

Consider this a small testimonial for this printer. It uses Epson's MicroPiezo inkjet head and a single cartridge which is rated for "up to" 100 4x6" prints (I think you only get that many prints by using the lower print quality settings, and, of course, it's subject to the colors being balanced out roughly evenly). Prints 4x6" and 5x7". I basically had to get rid of the massive Canon Pro-100 when we downsized to move into a smaller apartment, as it takes up about the same footprint as two PCs. I already had this little fellow, but it was packed away. It came out of cold storage as a good solution for a small apartment - I'd like the capability to print larger than 5x7" some of the time, but actually feel that 5x7" is a nice compromise between display size (especially matted in a larger frame) and cost of materials. The clincher is the print quality. It's really quite impressive! I've printed some shots from hikes we have done and brought them into the office, and my coworkers always comment on how good they look, and a good bit of the reason for that is how rich and detailed the prints are. Plus, they don't quickly fade, like the third-party inks I used in the Pro-100 since I couldn't afford to keep up with that printer's ink consumption when paying Canon's prices.

I haven't had any print head issues. When I pulled the printer out of storage, I had to replace the ink, but didn't have any clogging or other problems. The printer costs a fairly affordable $250 on B&H, which seems like a lot for something which only prints up to 5x7", except that the print quality is so much better than expected. Ink cartridges are about $35, or $40 for a set that includes both the cartridge and 100 sheets of 4x6" Epson glossy photo paper.

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Thanks for the review. We definitely don't have that model here. A small 4x6" printer is very handy though.

I am assuming that the paper is also Epson? The edges look like Epson to me.

We've switched back to Epson after 30 years, and to my surprise, the head calibration now is very similar to what they implemented 30 years ago. I have been printing for quite a while now and was properly gobsmacked by the quality of the prints I am getting from the Epson. Not only that, I have good experiences with Brother, Canon and HP papers, but for me, the Epson Epson glossy papers are at another level, no matter which printer is used.

If you plan on printing up to US Legal, Ecotanks are good and rather compact. There are options from HP and Canon but Epson has been doing ink tanks for decades now. The models that developing countries have been getting have ink tanks/CISS and with pigment ink!

 

[agentlossing]

Thanks for the review. We definitely don't have that model here. A small 4x6" printer is very handy though.

I am assuming that the paper is also Epson? The edges look like Epson to me.

We've switched back to Epson after 30 years, and to my surprise, the head calibration now is very similar to what they implemented 30 years ago. I have been printing for quite a while now and was properly gobsmacked by the quality of the prints I am getting from the Epson. Not only that, I have good experiences with Brother, Canon and HP papers, but for me, the Epson Epson glossy papers are at another level, no matter which printer is used.

If you plan on printing up to US Legal, Ecotanks are good and rather compact. There are options from HP and Canon but Epson has been doing ink tanks for decades now. The models that developing countries have been getting have ink tanks/CISS and with pigment ink!

It is handy to have a 4X6" printer, but I also like that this one does 5X7", which for me is the minimum size I want to hang on a wall.

The paper is Epson, but I have some Red River art paper that I also want to try. That'll be the next test for this printer, whether it can do a good job with nonstandard photo paper.

 

[John King]

My R3880 does down to 6x4 (or smaller, I can't recall).

So does my Epson XP-970.

I've found that the quality of the paper used has more effect on fading than does the ink used in the XP-970. I generally use Ilford papers, and have never had any print fade, whether printed on the pigment ink printer (Epson R3880) or the dye printer (XP-970).

Using no-name paper, I've had prints discolour badly in only a couple of months!