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HP B8850 Vs Epson R1900 Specifications |
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HP B8850 |
Epson R1900 |
| Price |
$530 |
$480 |
| Type |
Inkjet |
Inkjet |
Color resolution
|
4800 x 1200 |
5760 x 1440 |
Black resolution
|
4800 x 1200 |
5760 x 1440 |
4 x 6 prints
|
Yes |
Yes |
| 5 x 7 prints |
Yes |
Yes |
| 8 x 10 prints |
Yes |
Yes |
| 11 x 7 prints |
Yes |
Yes |
| 13 x 19 prints |
Yes |
Yes |
| Banner prints |
No |
Yes |
| DVD printing |
No |
Yes |
| Letter printing |
Yes |
Yes |
Legal printing
|
Yes |
Yes |
Tabloid printing
|
Yes |
Yes |
| Flat paper path |
No |
Yes |
Fine art paper support
|
Yes |
Yes |
Number of cartridges
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8 |
8 |
| Ink Cartridge type |
HP 38 |
Epson UltraChrome Hi-Gloss® 2 Pigment Ink |
| Ink Cartridges |
Matte Black, Photo Black, Light Gray, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Light Cyan, Light Magenta |
Photo black, Matte Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Red, Orange, Gloss Optimizer |
Borderless printing
|
Yes |
Yes, up to 13 by 19 inches |
| Paper paths |
1 |
2 |
| Main paper tray capacity |
200 |
120 |
| Network |
None |
None |
| Media slots |
None |
None |
| PictBridge USB |
Yes |
Yes |
Performance
The performance of these two printers is extremely close; they both had very similar color accuracy, although the pattern was slightly different. The HP was less accurate on some colors (such as the blues), but was more accurate on others (such as the reds and greens, which were both very close to spot on). The two printers also had very similar black densities. However, the Epson had a slight edge in providing a slightly wider color gamut than the HP.
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HP B8850 Vs Epson R1900: Color Accuracy Comparison |
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HP B8850,
Default profile, HP Advanced Photo Paper |
HP B8850,
Custom profile, HP Advanced Photo Paper |
HP B8850,
Custom profile, Ilford Galerie Paper |
Epson R1900 |
| Mean Color Error |
7.1
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4.8
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4.5
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4.78 |
HP B8850 Vs Epson R1900:
dMax Comparison |
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Inks & Media
Both printers use 8 ink cartridges, but that's where the similarity ends: HP uses a couple of light inks, while Epson goes for an Orange cartridge and a gloss enhancer which gives prints a smoother, cleaner look. The Epson cartridges are cheaper, but they don't seem to last as long; we got through tow sets of cartridges on the R1900, but the HP was still going strong on the first set when our review was complete.
In Use
The Epson R1900 is the faster of the two printers, on both photos and documents. But neither is a speed demon; both take a significant amount of time to produce the larger sizes of prints, and are very slow at printing out documents on plain paper. If you need documents printed quickly, neither printer is a good pick.
HP B8850 Vs Epson R1900:
Photo Speed Comparison |
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HP B8850
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Epson R1900
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HP B8850 Vs Epson R1900:
Document Speed Comparison |
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HP B8850
1.78
Pages Per Minute
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Epson R1900
2.06
Pages Per Minute
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