New Surelab D860 retail/studio printer from Epson
Epson is showing the new SureLab D860 inkjet ‘drylab’, successor to the Surelab D700, at the Printex exhibition in Sydney prior to its Australian launch later in the month at an ex-GST recommended price of $6495.
Epson sees the Surelab D860 as suitable for photo retail and event photo applications where it offers a compact footprint, a fast start-up time, flexible output, and high print quality.
‘It suits photographers, photo shops, minilabs and copy shops, retail (its compact size makes it perfect for kiosk applications), as well as corporate and government customers that need to print material in batches or on demand,’ the release stated. ‘Essentially the SureLab SL-D860 is designed for any business that prints photos on a regular basis, either for internal use or as a print for pay service.’
It can output 4 x6-iunch and 8×10-inch prints along with small ‘instant photo’ format 2 x 3.5-inch up to A4 size, with or without borders. It uses a new 6-colour Ultrachrome D6r-S dye-based inkset.
The D860 also supports passport and ID photos as well as product flyers and business cards.
Epson also sees weddings, schools and portrait studio applications as it prints precise and repeatable colour. There’s a choice of gloss, lustre and matte media, with output sizes that can be adjusted on-the-fly. Prints are dry straight out of the printer, and Epson claims they are resistant to damage through scratching and moisture exposure.
It will also output panoramic lengths which make it perfect for specialty prints, invitation and greeting cards, calendars and awards.
It uses Epson roll-based media that comes in 65 metre lengths, and widths from 89mm to 210mm. It handles print lengths from 50mm to 1 metre with ‘on-the-fly’ adjustment. Output speed (720dpi) is 360 4×6-inch prints per hour, or 120 8×10 inch prints per hour. Epson states that photos from the D860 have colour gamut, Dmax, and gloss levels ‘that exceed alternative technologies such as silver halide or dye sub.’
Duty cycle is 200,000 prints – double that of the D700. The printer is also covered with a comprehensive on-site warranty for Australian and New Zealand customers, with service cover extendable up to 5 years via optional CoverPlus.
Other features:
– Auto media loading and ejection;
– Front-loaded ink cartridges, plus a front-mounted waste paper bin that is emptied when paper rolls are swapped;
– Ships with Mac and Windows software that integrates with standard photo and graphic imaging software;
– Optional Order Controller software provides a full production environment complete with basic image editing and advanced job control;
– Optional output tray supporting prints from 5cm to 30cm.
The $6495 RRP (ex tax) price includes 5 years CoverPlus and a limited launch bonus package containing Order Controller Lite software and five rolls of media.
The Epson Surelab D860 is distributed inn Australia by iPhoto.