It's all in the name. If you're looking for a printer to do bulk document copying at speed, then you're seriously out of luck. On the other hand, if you have a serious interest in photography and are keen to get high quality reproductions of your finest shots up to A3+ size, then you're definitely in the right territory.

Epson intends the Stylus Photo 1400 to be a straight replacement for the 1290S, which had a justifiably popular following amongst the snapper community. The main areas of improvement are in ink quality and durability, printer speed and print quality.

The key to the success of the colour reproduction is the use of Epson's Claria Photographic Ink, whose name reflects the company's belief in the clarity of the finished output. Used with Epson's own glossy photo paper, the colouring agents' molecules are claimed to have a stronger and more stable structure that makes them more resistant to the fading effects of light and unstable gasses in the atmosphere.

As a result, with resolutions up to 5,760 x 1,440dpi, the colours almost leap from the page and having six cartridges (cyan, magenta, yellow, black, light cyan and light magenta) means you have smoother shading transitions, impressive authenticity and you'll only to have to replace the relevant empty cartridge rather than the whole lot, thus keeping costs down.

In addition, Epson's Micro Piezo print head technology also incorporates its improved droplet size technology, where each of the five nozzles automatically adjusts ink droplet sizes and provides better droplet placement. Again this enables more accurate detail where softer tones are required, plus the Stylus Photo 1400's driver supports Adobe RGB for a wide colour range.

Epson claims the durability of your prints will ensure a life of around 200 years (we'll have to take its word for that) but they certainly dry quickly and are resistant to everyday attacks from smudging, scratches and water. In terms of speed, you're looking at around two minutes for the smallest 6 x 4-inch (15 x 10cm) prints and around four and a half minutes for the maximum A3+. This is above average without being spectacular, but the results are so high grade that you won't mind waiting.

The only surprise - bearing in mind this is a printer primarily targeted at photographers - is the lack of any memory card slots. Then again, most photographers are likely to want to at least view their photos on a computer before printing, so it's not too significant an omission. The printer is PictBridge enabled, so you can still print directly from your digital camera and a handy extra is the supplementary tray that allows you to print labels on CDs and DVDs in conjunction with the supplied Epson Print CD software.

Verdict
A impressive upgrade from the 1290S with improved quality ink and ink delivery system that will ensure both the serious amateur and the experienced professional can produce high quality, detailed and accurate prints up to A3+.

Company: Epson

Contact: 08702 416900

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