Epson Stylus C62 - Poor print quality. Epson Refusing Upgrade.

[eric]

Hello,

I (stupidly) got an Epson Stylus C62. I know this was a low cost
option but I expected the photo print quality to be much better. It
turns out to be blocky and quite unsuitable at times - i.e. I would
not consider putting any of the photos produced by it in an album.
This was using a high quality camera and Adobe Photoshop (as well as
other software). A much older Epson Stylus 640 amazingly produces much
better photo prints on the "High" quality setting!

I contacted Epson to ask for an upgrade (at my own expense obviously)
but they were of the attitude "contact the vendor as there is nothing
wrong with the printer". The vendor (Ebuyer) does not want to know as
I have opened the printer and installed the ink cartridges. I told
Epson that I was not happy with the overall quality of their product
for the money and specification but they will not budge so far.

Please understand, I am not wanting something for nothing here - I am
just not happy with Epsons claims of "Amazing Print Quality" etc. and
would have no objection to paying more for a printer upgrade.

Any ideas?

Many thanks.

Eric.

 

[shel]

Hello,

I (stupidly) got an Epson Stylus C62. I know this was a low cost
option but I expected the photo print quality to be much better. It
turns out to be blocky and quite unsuitable at times - i.e. I would
not consider putting any of the photos produced by it in an album.
This was using a high quality camera and Adobe Photoshop (as well as
other software). A much older Epson Stylus 640 amazingly produces much
better photo prints on the "High" quality setting!

I contacted Epson to ask for an upgrade (at my own expense obviously)
but they were of the attitude "contact the vendor as there is nothing
wrong with the printer". The vendor (Ebuyer) does not want to know as
I have opened the printer and installed the ink cartridges. I told
Epson that I was not happy with the overall quality of their product
for the money and specification but they will not budge so far.

Please understand, I am not wanting something for nothing here - I am
just not happy with Epsons claims of "Amazing Print Quality" etc. and
would have no objection to paying more for a printer upgrade.

Any ideas?

Many thanks.

Eric.

Although I have no use for Epsons, having owned one previously, I'd
guess there's nothing wrong with your printer. Probably a question of
what settings you're using. make sure you're using photo quality
paper-Epson makes a good one- and adjust the printer's settings for
highest quality. Also make sure the pictures have adequate
resolution-not 640x480 pixels.

SLK

 

[Ed Ruf]

On 25 Jul 2003 04:09:13 -0700, in comp.periphs.printers

Hello,

I (stupidly) got an Epson Stylus C62. I know this was a low cost
option but I expected the photo print quality to be much better. It
turns out to be blocky and quite unsuitable at times - i.e. I would
not consider putting any of the photos produced by it in an album.
This was using a high quality camera and Adobe Photoshop (as well as
other software). A much older Epson Stylus 640 amazingly produces much
better photo prints on the "High" quality setting!

What type of paper and what options in the driver? Be warned that even
when you chose the highest quality photo paper, then driver may not
defaults to the best settings Be sure to verify what those are in a
options or advanced setup dialog.

For example my 1270 will print at a max 1440 dpi, but even choosing
Premium Glossy Photo Paper in the driver only sets it to 720 dpi by
default.

 

[J. M. S.]

We have one here and the print quality is great.
Try better media and change your settings.

J.

 

[Yianni]

I had a Epson 640 and also a C60 (same model as C62). The printing quality
of C60 is much MUCH better than of 640. The printing quality is excelent.
So, I suspect some problem with your printer, maybe clogged nozzles. Have
you ever done a nozzle check? Do all nozzles print correctly?

 

[eric]

Hello - and many thanks for all your replies.

Re: the printer settings etc.:

I am taking images at 1 Megapixel, 2 Megapixel, 2.4 Megapixel, 3
Megapixel and 3.2 Megapixel reolutions from a Fuji digital camera.

I am viewing these in Adobe Photoshop and Paintshop Pro, as well as
printing from Windows own picture viewer.

I have the latest Drivers that Epson have shipped with the printer
i.e. the CD in the box - this IS compliant with Windows XP (the
Operating System I am using).

I have adjusted the settings to Premium Quality Glossy Photo Paper
(which I have tried using) and have set the quality to both "Photo"
and "Photo Best". I have tried looking at the "Advanced" settings but
these only allow basic colour/tone manipulation - which is not the
source of the printing problems.

I am getting pictures that look ok from a distance but appear blocky
when standing close.




Re: the print quality compared to an Epson Stylus 640:

I have printed numerous samples from each printer and, when optimising
the output on the 640 (using "Best" driver settings) and selecting
photo paper - the quality of the printout looks significantly better
than the C62. I have also tried this with an even older Epson Stylus
600 and found the same.

I have tried all of the cleaning and checking procedure normally
advised.



Re: the stance Epson is taking:

I originally received a faulty C62 from the vendor (Ebuyer). I
contacted Epson and they swiftly arranged a replacement for me.

Since receivng the replacement, I have sent numerous emails to a
member of their team explaining the situation and that their claims of
"Superb Photo results" etc. are, in my estimation, invalid. They have
told me outright that I am not entitled to an upgrade and any trade
in/upgrade would be at the original vendor's discretion.

I argued however, that seeing as I had received the (second) printer
direct from Epson and the fact that I was not disputing the operation
of the printer (i.e. I agreed it worked), I was disputing the actual
print quality with that stated on Epson's own website - I had an issue
with Epson . . . i.e. the manufacturer not the Vendor.

My point being that, had I known the actual quality of photographs
produced by the printer in relation to the claims on their website, I
would have opted for a higher specification printer (probably an
Epson).

To cut a long story a little shorter - Epson have told me that I am
not getting an upgrade but they will offer me printing advice if I
send a photo to them on a CD and a copy of the prints I am getting. I
told them I did not see the point of this exercise as I am familiar
with Epson printing utilities, have followed the correct printing
procedures, and I am not entitled to an upgrade anyway (I also have a
little background in Photo Editing and Printing).

I am very dissapointed with Epson in this case.

I suppose thats all I can expect for buying a £60 printer

Thanks again.

E.

 

[Ed Ruf]

On 29 Jul 2003 09:31:30 -0700, in comp.periphs.printers

I am getting pictures that look ok from a distance but appear blocky
when standing close.

Sound possibly like a resampling problem on the image sent to the printer.
My guess is you are incorrectly sending 72 dpi images to the printer. 3 mp
should produced great 5x7 and good 8x10's. Please let us know the versions
of PS/PSP and the exact settings you are using to set up your print job.

FWIW, many here in the group use specialized programs specifically to
print. I myself use Qimage and just love it. If you care to try it a demo
version may be found at http://www.ddisoftware.com It can authoritatively
deal with interpolating your image for prints as well as allowing you to
print multiple images per page or tile images across pages if needed.

 

[Safetymom123]

What resolution are you printing the photo at? If you want to change
resolutions on the main page click custom, then advanced and you should be
able to set the resolution higher. Also you don't say what size you are
trying to print the image at. A 1 megapixel file printed at 5x7 will look
terrible.