The announcement of the 7900 and 9900 printers was made public by Integrated Products & Supplies on October 15, 2008 through disclosure agreement with Epson America. With the release of the new Epson 900 series professional printers, many people are wondering if the Epson 7880 and 9880 printers are being replaced. If not, why did Epson introduce new 24 inch and 44 inch professional printers and how do the Epson 7900 and 9900 compare to the 7880 and 9880?

The Epson Stylus Pro 7900 and 9900 are not replacing the 7880 and 9880. The Epson 7900 and 9900 will be  additions to the Epson professional printer line. The Epson 7880 and 9880 will remain a part of the Epson line for the foreseeable future.

The Epson 7880 and 9880 have proven to be stalwart production printers for photographers, fine artists, prepress and commercial users. The print quality, color gamut, flexibility, performance and price point of these printers will continue to make them a very viable choice for someone looking for a professional inkjet printer. If you decide to buy an Epson 7880 or 9880 your are making little or no compromise.

So what makes the Epson Stylus Pro 7900 and 9900 special? As good as the 7880 and 9880 are; Epson has made significant improvements with the new printers in terms of print quality, color gamut, ease of use and performance.

With the release of the 7900 and 9900, Epson introduces the HDR, High Dynamic Range ink set, with green and orange inks. Additionally the HDR ink set includes the long awaited auto-switching matte black and photo-black inks. Also, users can select from three cartridge sizes including 150 ml, 300 ml, and 700 ml. The 700 ml cartridges offer the lowest pigment ink costs in Epson history. The 700 ml cartridge compares to a maximum ink cartridge size of 220 ml for the Epson 7880 and 9880.

The following is a short list of comparisons between the Epson 900 series and the 880 series. You can go to the information below for a complete comparison chart and information:

Ink: the 900 series has 11 HDR, High Dynamic Range inks, including both matte black and photo black as well as the new additions, orange and green. That is a total of 11 inks in comparison to the 8 inks of the 880 series. (Note- Matte Black and Photo Black, a long awaited feature.)

Print Head: The 900 series uses a TFP, Thin Film Piezo, technology while the 880 series uses the older MicroPiezo AMC technology. Both have an ink repelling coating but the 900 series print head is more than twice as large with 360 nozzles X 10 inks as compared to the 880 series at 180 nozzles at 8 inks. In addition the Stylus Pro 900 series print head has nozzle verification and cleaning that is not available in the 880 series.

Speed: The larger print head makes the 900 series nearly twice as fast as the 880s. A print of 20 by 30 inches printed at 1440 by 720 dpi, High Speed, takes 12 minutes on the 880s and 6 minutes 39 seconds on the 900s.

Ease of Use Features: The 900 series have several improvements that are not implemented in the 880s, these include: spindle-free roll media loading (no more spindles); Rotary Cutter instead of blade cutter which permits the cutting of even thick media like canvas and water color paper; and ePlaten technology for easy and accurate loading of paper and other media.

The 880 series will remain real contenders in the professional inkjet printer market but the Epson Stylus Pro 7900 and 9900 printers offer significant advancements that many uncompromising professionals will find compelling.