Our office uses this printer almost every day for printing proofs of catalogs, product artwork, packaging artwork, mockups to show to product distributors, sales brochures, and other design-related purposes. During crunch times we may run as many as 50-100 large-format prints through this printer in a single day as we update designs and put together proofing documents to send to our printers.

I’ve worked with a lot of large-format printers over the years both as a design student and a professional, and I’m not impressed easily, but this printer has won my admiration. It has reliably withstood heavy abuse and continued to work properly despite countless network configuration changes, thousands of prints, and a healthy dose of user error.

If you’re having trouble getting prints that look like what you see on your screen, make sure that your document is set to a “CMYK” color format and the color rendering for the printer is set to “perceptual.” When my office first got our Epson 1400 we were having some trouble getting accurate color rendering until we discovered this, and it makes a huge difference in what prints look like.

For the very best results make sure you use Epson brand paper.

We experimented with some off-brand papers at first and weren’t happy with the results. After a lot of trial and error we’ve found that that the Epson Presentation Paper Matte provides good results for proofing documents, and we occasionally use the stiffer Epson Premium Presentation Paper Matte when we want to cut out packaging designs so we can fold them together to make sure the sizing is accurate.

Like all inkjet printers it uses ink fairly and not all office supply stores carry the ink this printer uses, so it’s important to keep backup ink cartridges at all times. Since this printer uses a total of 6 cartridges (Cyan, Light Cyan, Magenta, Light Magenta, Yellow, Black) this can be a fairly pricey investment, but if you ever find yourself printing with a deadline it’s worth it in the long run.

Because of its size and associated costs this isn’t an “everyday” kind of printer that should be used for printing e-mails and MapQuest directions, but for design students and professionals who want accurate color rendering from a reasonably-priced printer that is reliable, easy to use, and has great customer support, the Epson 1400 is an excellent choice.

PROS:

Good value for design students & professionals

Accurate color reproduction when using correct settings

Good print quality

Easy to use & troubleshoot

Extremely reliable even under heavy use

Excellent support from Epson (new drivers & other updates)

A good choice for design students & professionals

CONS:

13″ x 19″ paper can be hard to find in stores

Large prints sometimes use ink quickly