LONG BEACH, Calif.--May 1, 2002-- They're the most advanced wide-format photographic ink jet printers ever manufactured by Epson, delivering a level of image quality to meet the needs of today's most demanding digital imaging professionals. Epson America Inc. is once again raising the bar on the professional-level imaging market with the introduction of the EPSON Stylus Pro 7600 and EPSON Stylus Pro 9600. Both new ink jet printers introduce several advanced new features and technologies including EPSON UltraChrome ink -- a new archival system that uses seven individual colors to create exhibit-quality output on a wide selection of media in color and black and white. The EPSON Stylus Pro 7600 replaces the EPSON Stylus Pro 7000 and 7500 for printing images as wide as 24 inches, while the EPSON Stylus Pro 9600 replaces the EPSON Stylus Pro 9000 and 9500 for printing as wide as 44 inches. "Designed in collaboration with some of the world's best photographers and printmakers, these new print engine technologies will produce some of the world's most exciting photographic prints," said Mark Radogna, senior product manager, professional graphics, Epson. "With the introduction of these new print engines, Epson has delivered an incredible tool allowing creative professionals to produce their vision without compromise." EPSON UltraChrome Ink Building on the technology of EPSON Archival Ink and EPSON DuraBright Ink, EPSON UltraChrome Ink retains the advantages of high resistance to water and light, plus the largest color range ever for pigmented inks. These printers can also print stunning black and white photographs with the addition of a new lower density black ink -- Light Black -- which helps produce more neutral grays with no color casting and crossover. The EPSON Stylus Pro 7600 and Stylus Pro 9600 are the first Stylus Pro models to use UltraChrome inks and create a level of color that is now extremely close to that of Epson's popular six-color, photo dye-based inks. The end-result is more vibrant and saturated reds, oranges and yellows. Furthermore, the EPSON Stylus Pro 7600 and Stylus Pro 9600 offer lightfastness ratings for color images up to 100 years under glass, and greater than 100 years for black and white prints under glass, on specific Epson papers.(a) User-Interchangeable Black Inks In order to produce the highest level of image quality possible on different media types, the EPSON Stylus Pro 7600 and Stylus Pro 9600 offer three black ink modes that can be easily changed by the user. Epson designed both printers to feature a new interchangeable black ink system that allows users to choose between the standard Photo Black ink cartridge and an optional Matte Black ink cartridge. The Photo Black ink has been optimized for glossy, semi gloss, luster, etc. and also supports virtually any type of paper, while the Matte Black ink has been optimized to support a wide range of matte papers, such as fine art papers. The Matte Black ink mode also yields higher density and contrast on matte papers and is ideal for fine art photography printed on matte media types.