Epson Stylus Photo R1900 review

Epson's Stylus Photo R1900 uses seven pigment-based high gloss inks, along with a clear gloss optimiser cartridge.

These extra inks add red, orange and matt black to the standard CMYK palette. We've had difficulty with the default colour profiles of certain Epson printers, so we were pleased to find updated ICC profiles available for download from Epson's US website. We carried out our main tests using these.

The printer has two USB Hi-Speed ports and a PictBridge port. It also comes with a roll paper holder. There was insufficient page yield information to calculate accurate photo print costs. An A3 art print at 100 per cent page coverage uses around 38p of ink, although it uses matt black rather than the similarly priced combination of photo black and gloss optimizer used in photo printing. A single sheet of A3 photo paper costs around £1.30, so an A3 photo should cost £1.68 or thereabouts.

The R1900 printed some of the best-looking photos we've seen. We loved its accurate colours, glossy finish and fine detail. White areas were bright and clean, and blacks were deep and rich. As you'd expect from a printer at this price, it was impossible to make out even a trace of grain. Delicate shading was perfect, with smooth gradations from one hue to another and none of the banding common to most home printers. Colours were less intense than those of many other printers, but also less artificial. Skin tones were particularly accurate. HP's Photosmart Pro B8850 is better at black and white, but the R1900 can produce beautiful composite greyscale prints with lush shading and incredible detail. We could make out every fibre in our test subject's shirt.

Prints were slightly less detailed than those of the Photosmart Pro, but we preferred the slightly more natural tones of the Stylus Photo R1900's colour. The A3 print speeds were remarkably quick, with a colour A3 photo printing in just three minutes and 33 seconds at maximum quality. The Stylus Photo R1900's prints are absolutely stunning, with a perfect balance of colour, gloss and fine detail. It's our Best Buy A3 photo printer.