The Epson XP-6000 printed two of our standard blanks: “Text” (the phrase “Center for Alternative Consumables” typed in different Times New Roman font sizes) and “Photo” (Pixl Test image 2002). Plain office paper (80 g/m 2 ) and Epson Premium Glossy photographic paper (255 g/m 2 ). Prints scanned on Epson Perfection V500 Photo.
Quality Setting
There are three quality modes in the driver settings: “Draft”, “Standard” and “High”. Both blanks are printed in each of them.
The utility of complementary colors, whether gray, blue, or “light” cyan and magenta, is not a marketer’s invention. In matters of photo printing, our hero is predictably inferior to both the representatives of the Expression Photo series and the older PIXMA: the color gamut is not so wide – accordingly, complex (and especially light) shades are rendered more roughly.
But only those who are seriously interested in photo printing will notice this. And by home standards (we are talking about finishing modes), the quality is no doubt high: there are no serious complaints about either color reproduction (including skin tones), or detail, our hero even succeeds in black and white shots.
And it is all the more pleasant that the difference in quality between the “Standard” and “High” modes is almost imperceptible, because in terms of speed, the opposite is true: 20 or 55 seconds on a 10 × 15 cm photo and 1 minute 10 seconds or exactly 3 minutes on A4. With the Draft settings, the device runs even faster – 10 or 36 seconds for a 10×15 cm or A4 image, respectively – but noticeable ripples appear on the prints (apparently from a lack of resolution).
The inkjet nature of our hero is given out by the jagged edges of characters in document printing: even the slow – only 1.3 pages per minute – High mode does not save from this duty feature. The choice of “Standard” accelerates the subject up to 15 prints per minute (that is, almost to the declared speed, and this is a huge rarity), does not affect saturation, but, alas, leads to the appearance of another, much more serious defect.
On some lines, a shift of the upper part of the characters in relation to the lower one is noticeable. With the Draft settings, the quality is low, and the speed is still 15 pages per minute. In duplex mode, the speed is expectedly lower, but only with the Draft and Standard settings – 8 sides per minute. Selecting the “High” profile will turn back the same 1.3 sides per minute.
