Pantone ColorVantage Inks Expand Support forEpson K3 Printers

Pantone Inc., the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industries for over 40 years, today announced the availability of PANTONE ColorVANTAGE pigment-based inks for EPSON K3 printers, including the EPSON Stylus® Photo 2400, the EPSON Stylus Pro 4800, the EPSON Stylus Pro 7800 and the EPSON Stylus Pro 9800. The new ColorVANTAGE inks for EPSON K3 printers deliver superior color quality without performance loss and are priced approximately 20 percent less than Epson inks.

In addition to the black and light black inks found in ColorVANTAGE inks for Ultrachrome printers, the new ColorVANTAGE inks for EPSON K3 printers also include light, light black ink, for a total of three black inks. The added shade of black ink significantly improves gray balance while eliminating color casts and delivers higher quality output for glossy and matte papers.

"PANTONE ColorVANTAGE inkjet inks are specially formulated for high-performance results on the industry's most popular new wide-format inkjet printers," said Andy Hatkoff, vice president, Electronic Color Systems, Pantone, Inc. "ColorVANTAGE inks for EPSON K3 printers offer an excellent alternative to OEM inks with a high price/performance ratio. With this release, Pantone continues its tradition of offering cutting-edge inkjet ink solutions." "The PANTONE ColorVANTAGE inks give me a consistency and quality I haven't found with any other ink. All of my exhibition prints are done with ColorVANTAGE," said photographer and Pantone Innovator Jon Canfield. "I am confident the PANTONE ColorVANTAGE inks for the new EPSON K3 printers will deliver excellent saturation and the improved blacks will add depth to my digital prints. Pantone continues to serve the photography industry by offering a high quality product and adding support for the newest printer models."

PANTONE ColorVANTAGE is a family of premium pigmented inkjet inks and specially developed printer profiles to ensure optimal color performance. The inks are designed for applications that require the most accurate color reproduction and the widest possible range of color such as color photography, fine art reproduction and prepress proofing. A wide variety of profiles for fine art, proofing and photographic papers including Arches™ Infinity™, Seiko Epson Corporation, Hawk Mountain Papers, Kodak, Mitsubishi, Moab Paper Company™, Premier Art™ and Red River Paper are available free-of-charge for registered users at www.pantone.com. New media and profiles are added regularly. While profiles are not required with ColorVANTAGE Inks, using them will result in better color output.

he new formulation and composition of ColorVANTAGE inks are made to Pantone's exacting specifications to deliver superior imaging properties. The inks are engineered with an extremely small pigment particle size and compatibility with OEM inks, ensuring that they do not clog print head nozzles. The new ColorVANTAGE inks for EPSON K3 printers expand the list of EPSON printers compatible with PANTONE ColorVANTAGE inks, which already includes the EPSON Stylus Photo 1270/1280 and the 2200 and the EPSON Stylus Pro and Ultrachrome line including the 4000, 5000, 5500, 7000, 7500, 7600, 9000, 9500 and 9600.

PANTONE ColorVANTAGE

The PANTONE ColorVANTAGE ink formulations result in inks that have richer, deeper colors than other inks. PANTONE ColorVANTAGE inks have been designed to produce a large gamut of colors that offer vibrant, true-to-life reproduction while eliminating color casts and improving color reproduction in the midtones and three-quarter tones. In addition, the inks provide excellent color quality, dry quickly and are lightfast and less prone to color shifts over time.

Availability

PANTONE ColorVANTAGE pigment-based inks are available as single cartridges and as Starter Kits, which include a complete set of inks required for a specific supported printer. The ColorVANTAGE products are available from online and mail order catalogs such as B & H Photo, ColorMall, and PC, Digital Graphics Resources and Mac Mall. PANTONE ColorVANTAGE inks for the EPSON Pro line of printers are available in 110 ml. and 220 ml. cartridges. For more information, visit www.pantone.com.

About Pantone Inc.

Pantone, Inc., developer of the globally accepted PANTONE Color Systems, is the leading source of traditional and electronic products for the selection and accurate communication of color. With over 40 years of experience, Pantone is recognized as the worldwide market leader in color communication and color technology for the graphic design, printing, publishing, textile and plastics industries. More information is available at www.pantone.com.