Epson Stylus Office R3000 Desktop Inkjet Printer, Color

I've never had a photo printer before, but I did spend a lot of time researching before making this purchase. As a very enthusiastic amateur, it's a great fit and I think it would be ideal for many professionals as well. The only reason a pro might want a different printer is if they require larger prints. They won't be getting better quality, so it would need to be a print size decision. Prior to owning this printer, I had taken my photo files to various local labs for enlargements, and typically got a them done on a semi-gloss paper. The difference between that and what this printer will produce is night and day. A lab understandably can't spend the time to produce exactly what you envision, so I'm not faulting them. However, here, you can run a smaller test print to fine tune things before printing full size. The results are absolutely stunning. I've fallen back in love with prints and now I can do them at my convenience instead of just thinking about it and not doing it. There is wonderful detail in the shadows that I would never see in a lab print, plus I love the matte papers that are available. They truly produce images of fine art quality. I rarely print glossy or semi-gloss as I feel the matte finish is much more luxurious and attractive. Black & white photos are beautiful. The learning curve to use this printer is also pretty short. While a very large printer might have bigger cartridges, these are pretty good in size and they last a long time. The display readout may eventually look like ink levels are getting low but actually there are still many more prints left before a cartridge runs out. I've seen a lot of printers that have really small cartridges and you would constantly be changing them. These last a long time. I try to print once a week to keep the heads clean but I've left them unused 3 weeks without any problem at all. Highly recommended.

Just getting my Epson R3000 up and running. Brand new user to a photography printer and its set-up. Very simple to use so far. I have watched a few youtube videos on the use of the unit and it all looks fairly easy to use.