I was wondering if anyone on this list has used this printer, and in particular, what they think of the Epson driver that would come with it.
I have this printer and use it on the ethernet card as you describe.
According the Epson documentation, the ethernet card supposedly provides the fastest print speeds since it includes the largest buffer of any of the interfaces. Printing from OS-X, I know mine is rarely waiting on data from the computer. It's usually running at the maximum speed for whatever resolution is selected.
I'd try the Epson driver before investing in a RIP. From an image quality standpoint the 9600 driver and the printers use of the light black ink is a significant jump in quality over what you may have seen with earlier Epsons; and its far easier to profile. Printing just photos, I'm quite happy with the standard driver. If you're printing more complex documents (page layouts) or need productivity enhancements to support quantity output, then you might want to look into a RIP.
When I bought this printer, I was torn between a 7600 and an ImagePrint RIP or the 9600 using the standard driver. Both would be about the same price. After trying the standard driver I decided to go that route. My main concern was how well it could be profiled, especially for decent grayscale rendering. This series of printers if vastly improved in this area over previous models. I use an EyeOne Photo for profiling.
Bob Smith
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