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Epson's 17 inch professional photo and proofing printer
If you're looking for a higher volume machine than the Epson P906, this is the next step up. Cheaper to run because of the option of 200ml ink cartridges, and built on a more robust platform made for day in, day out work, this model subtly improves on the older 4900 in every way. In particular we're told it's much better sealed against dust for more reliable use in busy production environments, and that the paper feed for both rolls and sheets is better than ever.
Epson says:
The SC-P5070 is a 17" Large Format Printer that is designed for premium photo, fine art, proofing & packaging design. It supports a wide range of standard and specialist media in roll and sheet formats. It features a PrecisionCore® Thin Film (TFP) head with Variable Sized Droplet Technology™ that enables the output of images in high resolution with superior fidelity and tonal gradation. It uses Epson’s latest UltraChrome® HDX all-pigment aqueous ink for accurate colour with an enhanced gamut, Dmax and image durability. The printer uses a 10 colour ink configuration with two levels of black, a choice of a third black or alternative Violet ink for outstanding colour and B&W prints with up to 99% PANTONE® coverage. An optional SpectroProofer (ILS30) is available for precision colour management and ISO standard proofing work.
Inkset Type, # Inks
Pigment, 11 inks
Carriage Width
A2 (17", 432mm)
High Quality Black & White?
Roll Printing Support?
Please note: Specifications are provided as a guide only.
We try very hard to keep these up to date and correct, but if a particular specification is really critical to you, then please double check the specification directly with the manufacturer. Some features may of course have caveats not fully described here.
To get more information about a particular specification, use the arrow to get a 'Specxplanation'.
The Carriage Width is the maximum width of paper (on the short side) that can be used in the printer.
Colloquially printers are more commonly referred to as 'A4, 'A3+' or 'A2' printers in Australia but of course not every country in the world uses the A paper system.
Typically, A4 printers have a 9" carriage, A3+ printers are 13" carriage, and A2 printers a 17" carriage.
Does the printer have a dedicated, high quality black and white mode for photographic printing?
Almost all ink printers have a 'black only' type mode, but that is quite different to what we're talking about here.
In this mode, called by Epson 'Advanced Black and White' mode or simply ABW, the printer uses multiple grey inks (AKA light black, light light black inks) to produce smooth black and white tones with little to no colour interference.
This is the maximum dot resolution of the print head. The higher the number, the smaller the dots of ink the printer can place.
Note that this has nothing to do with image resolution of course. The printer uses several ink dots to form the colour of one pixel. However the dots are so fine and closely mixed together you can only really see this screening pattern with a magnifying glass.
What physical connections are possible? Wireless support is listed separately below.
Options include USB, Firewire, Thunderbolt, and Ethernet.
Does the printer support wireless, and if so what speeds and standards.
Most modern routers will offer at least G, which is fast enough to run a printer. N and AC are quicker and good to have but they won't make your printer faster unfortunately!
If you use Apple devices like the iPad or iPhone, you'll want Apple Print support, allowing you to print directly from your device to the printer.
For Android devices, Google Cloud Print is the equivalent system.
Epson Connect offers a further option but generally you'll use one of the two main options above with modern devices.
Does the printer support printing to printable CDs and DVDs?
The sheet sizes supported by the printer out of the box. You can also generally define your own custom sheet sizes in the driver if you want to use unusually sized materials.
(Note, though, that you can't typically print borderless to custom sheet sizes - the standard workaround is to use sheets slightly larger than you need, and then simply guillotine to the printed edge after printing).
Does the printer support roll media, and do you need an accessory device for this?
Even if the printer doesn't support roll media, you can still buy rolls, cut sheets from the roll, and use those. Just leave them to flatten for a few days as paper curl can be a painful issue with printers.
Can the printer print right to the edge when using roll media?
Please Note:
We keep these details up to date to the best of our knowledge.
However if a particular item is of special importance to you please also check the manufacturer's listing for the product.
You will get:
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Note this form is for pre-purchase enquiries, or support enquiries if you have bought this product from us. If you have bought this product from another supplier then please contact that supplier for support.
At Image Science we support what we sell & we really mean that.
You're welcome to call on us for help - how to, technical support, troubleshooting, general tips - for the entire lifetime of the product.
With an unmatched track record for support, for more than 15 years in this industry, you can be sure we're not just a box moving store.
Epson Australia products are backed by a 12 month warranty covering any defect in materials or workmanship.