Marking a new era in digital imaging, Epson – the preferred choice of professional photographers, self-publishing artists and companies in the proofing market – has announced the availability of UltraChromeTM K3, a new standard in ink technology for the photographic, fine art and proofing markets.
Unlike other inks, the Epson UltraChrome K3 8-colour ink set has three black inks, as well as a full set of colour inks, offering the ultimate in black & white and colour printing. The three black inks offer more neutral gradations in colour and black & white prints, resulting in life-like replication of skin tones required by commercial and professional photographers. The third black ink – light light black – gives excellent greyscale performance and smoother tonal reproduction for the ultimate in high quality black & white and colour printing.
The new ink boasts many features to make it ideal for professionals who cannot afford to compromise on quality. Featuring 8 ink cartridges, the UltraChrome K3 ink set produces a wide colour gamut for accurate reproduction of saturated colours and accurate simulation of industry proofing standards. Furthermore, it delivers prints that look good in any lighting condition, and have a professional finish even when printed on glossy media.
The UltraChrome K3 ink technology addresses many of the issues faced by professionals in the photographic, fine art and proofing industries. For instance, UltraChrome K3 technology removes the “rainbow effect” occasionally seen in black & white inkjet prints. The ink technology also gives a great glossy finish with an even higher Dmax to give dense black shadows.
Similarly the ink takes proofing to another level. The UltraChrome K3 ink set technology delivers more consistent results, resulting in accurate proofing, even when working remotely or from two different printers. UltraChrome K3 produces colours that stabilise within half an hour, allowing proofing professionals to make accurate colour matches quickly.
With a unique, advanced black & white mode in the printer driver, photographers and artists can have absolute control over the tone and hue of black & white prints, whilst interchangeable photo or matte black inks enable printing on high quality photo and art media.
UltraChrome K3 ink offers outstanding durability, so prints are more likely to look good for longer on a wide range of paper types. The ink is highly light, gas and water resistant, resulting in a lifespan of up to 75 years in colour and over 100 years in black & white.
To coincide with the launch of the new UltraChrome K3 ink, Epson announced a new range of printers - the Epson Stylus Photo R2400 and the Stylus Pro 4800, 7800, and 9800. These new printers allow users to print any size with maximum formats ranging from A3+ to B0+, in addition to the ability to print on a wide range of materials including high quality photo and art media.
The printers feature Epson’s core technologies to deliver outstanding results for high definition images. These include Epson’s Micro Piezo™ print head technology, which delivers ink from microscopic nozzles that measure a fraction of the diameter of a human hair, thereby allowing greater precision for finely detailed images. Meanwhile, Epson's Variable-sized Droplet Technology ensures that even the finest detail and colour tones are reproduced accurately.
Khalil El Dalu, General Manager, Epson Middle East, said, “The professional photography industry has been looking for an effective black & white, and colour printing solution for a long time. The absence of such a product in the market was often a hindrance for professionals adopting the digital format for high-end colour and black & white photography. Epson’s UltraChrome K3 ink technology not only provides that ultimate solution but also gives greater control and consistency for proofing.”
Epson is a global leader in imaging products including printers, projectors and LCDs. With an innovative and creative culture, Epson is dedicated to exceeding the vision and expectations of customers worldwide with products known for their superior quality, functionality, compactness and energy efficiency.
Epson is a network of 85,647 employees in 115 companies around the world, and is proud of its ongoing contributions to the global environment and to the communities in which it is located. Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corp., the Group had consolidated sales of 1479.7 billion yen in fiscal 2004.
