The Epson Stylus NX430 is a small printer so it comes in a small box as you might expect.

Inside you’ll find the printer packaged very well in styrofoam and plastic.

Inside you’ll find the power cord, user manuals, ink cartridges and driver/software disc.

So here’s the printer, it’s black and small.

The return paper tray is on the front below the display screen:

The input paper tray is on the back and it is of course adjustable to fit different paper sizes.

Here’s what it looks like with both trays open.

The LCD screen is there and the control panel is touch enabled of course and it can move up and down at an angle for you.

Off to the right of the panel you’ll find a simple card reader.

Under the top cover you’ll find the flat bed scanner.

You can lift the scanner up to access the print cartridges.

Moving around to the back you’ll see the power connection and USB port.

Specifications:

Epson Stylus NX430 Small-in-One All-in-One Printer

The Epson Stylus NX430 packs quality and performance into one space-saving printer. Part of the new line of Epson Small-in-One printers, it fits perfectly in virtually any setting. And, it features Epson Connect, so you can enjoy instant wireless printing from popular mobile devices. It’s easy to share your Small-in-One with Easy Epson Wireless setup and the latest in wireless technology. Use the 2.5" LCD, smart touch panel and built-in card slots to print brilliant photos — PC-free. Whatever you’re printing, you can focus on what’s important thanks to whisper quiet operation. You even can scan and archive important documents, quickly produce color copies, and use the image enhancement tools to get perfect photos.

Features:
-Small-in-One — space-saving design; great performance
-Print and share from anywhere — get instant wireless printing from iPads, tablets, smartphones and more; supports Email Print and Epson -iPrint app, plus Apple AirPrint and Google Cloud Print
-Easy Epson Wireless — connect to your wireless network in seconds
-Quiet operation — focus on what’s important
-Truly touchable photos and documents — instant-dry ink for smudge, fade and water resistant prints; even highlighter friendly
-Easy setup and control — smart touch panel gives you everything you need, right at your fingertips
-Wireless printing and scanning — share one Small-in-One at home, now with Wi-Fi CERTIFIED n
-Print photos, PC-free — built-in card slots; smart touch panel and large, 2.5" color LCD
-Replace only the color you need — individual ink cartridges, available in different sizes to suit your needs
-Better images automatically — red-eye removal, photo restoration and correction of over / underexposed photos
-Quick, high-quality scanning up to 2400 dpi — scan important papers, recipes, bills, photos and more
-Manual two-sided printing — a great way to save paper
-Product protection you can count on — one-year limited warranty and quick product exchange

Maximum Print Resolution: 5760 x 1440 optimized dpi

ISO Print Speed:
-Black: 6.2 ISO ppm
-Color: 3.2 ISO ppm

Maximum Copy Size: 8.5" x 11"

Scan
-Scanner Type: Color flatbed
-Photoelectric Device: Color CIS line sensor
-Optical Resolution: 1200 dpi
-Hardware Resolution: 2400 dpi
-Maximum Resolution: 9600 x 9600 dpi interpolated
-Scanner Bit Depth: 48-bit color / 24-bit output

Connectivity
Interface:
-Hi-Speed USB 2.0
-Wireless Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n )
-Epson Connect Email Print, iPrint
-Apple AirPrint
-Google Cloud Print

Price: $99.99

Installation is fairly easy, I used the wireless connection. Just follow the prompts and you’ll be done in a few minutes.

Like most printers these days the Stylus NX430 does have a 2.5” LCD display panel on it, and yes it’s in full color. On the main menu you’ll find options for Copy, Print Photos, Scan, Copy/Restore Photos, Photo Layout Sheet, Slide Show, Setup and Problem Solver.

There is a mode to allow you to copy and/or restore photos automatically. The printer can just do it for you making your life a little easier.

Under Setup you can find regular maintenance options along with other setup choices.

So for testing I printed stuff, large and small pictures along with text and graphics.

The first thing I have to say about printing pictures is that it takes a long time to print them. One would expect that from large size like 8×10, but even 4×6 prints too a very long time. All of them took not seconds but minutes to get done.

The second thing I have to say is about the quality, it’s not that good honestly. Don’t get me wrong though, it is decent, but when compared to other printers, especially other Epson ones, I expected better quality than I got from the NX430.

One of the other things I printed was using the Text/Graphic quality setting, I printed the last Epson review I did. As you can see from the picture below the printed picture quality isn’t that great, it’s rather fuzzy. The text is decent, nice and clear and readable.

Here’s the text that was above the picture. You’ll also notice something else, on the left edge of the paper is some ink, not sure why or how that got there. I should note that the ink on the edges wasn’t on every piece of paper I printed so it’s not a common problem.

I zoomed in on the text a bit more and the text looks a bit fuzzy to me.

For the most part the ink looks good, just very slight bleeding.

The printer runs fairly quiet and regular black and white printing is fast. Any other printing though is rather slow to tell you the truth. I’ve already mentioned that picture printing is slow and it is.

Connectivity is easy especially over wi-fi, or you could use a USB connection but sadly no cable is included, but not many printers come with a USB cable so that’s no surprise there’s not one included. There is no Ethernet port so if you don’t have wi-fi you’re only going to be able to use USB. I think most people have wi-fi so that shouldn’t be an issue though.

Conclusion:
The Epson Stylus NX430 is a small printer that should be fine for home use, I’m not sure about office use though as it’s rather slow honestly. It’s fine for printing basic black and white things, but pictures, even small one take a long time to print and the quality isn’t the best. Like its name says, the NX430 is a small printer that would be great for those that are short on space and best of all it’s rather inexpensive coming in at under $100.

The NX430 is a basic printer but honestly it’s not one that I can recommend for those wanting to print pictures as it just takes a long time.

Pros:
+Small size
+Simple to use
+Simple to use
+Simple to use
+Multiple connection options

Cons:
-Very slow printing pictures
-Picture quality could be better

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

To learn more about our review policy please visit this page HERE.

Review of Epson Stylus NX430 Small-in-One All-in-One Printer is a post from: Testfreaks | The Blog

The printer is packed well as you might expect.

Once you unpack everything you’ll find the ink cartridges, power cord, user manuals, driver/software CD and a sample printable CD as well.

The printer is small in height, it actually looks sleek and honestly I think it looks good.  One small complaint I have though is that it’s mostly glossy and it picks up dust and fingerprints quickly and easily.

The Artisan 730 comes equipped with a flatbed scanner than can scan up to 2400dpi and 9600 interpolated.

Under the scanner you’ll find access to help you remove any paper jams and where the ink cartridges go. The 730 uses six cartridges so you only need to replace what you use.

The control panel can flip up to horizontal, or will stay at any other angle you set it to. Whatever is comfortable for you basically.

On the front of the 730 is a door beneath the control panel that flips down to reveal the paper tray and memory card reader and a USB port that you can use for charging things like you phone if you need to.

The paper tray comes out in sections like most printers and has a stop at the end.

Beneath the paper return tray is the actual paper tray. The paper tray is actually two in one, you can put regular paper in the bottom and then photo paper in the top and the Artisan 730 knows which to use.

Moving around the back of the printer you’ll notice a large roundish section sticking out, this would be the automatic paper flipper, for lack of a more technical term. The 730 can print on both sides automatically for you, so no more manually flipping pages over to print on the back side. This back piece makes the printer very deep, or really big in depth. You’ll need plenty of space for the Artisan 730.

You can easily remove the back section if there happens to be a paper jam.

On the left side you’ll find the Ethernet port and USB port and then the power connection on the right side.

Specifications:

Epson Artisan 730 All-in-One Printer

Rated #1 in photo quality1, Artisan inkjet printers also deliver incredible performance, with the Artisan 730 achieving the World’s Fastest 4" x 6" photo print speeds1. Get 4" x 6" photos in as fast as 10 seconds. Speed through everyday projects. The Artisan 730 gives you all the tools you need with a smart touch panel and 2.5" LCD. Print, scan, and access memory card slots from any room in the house with Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ n wireless networking and built-in Ethernet networking. Or, use Epson Connect to print directly from your smartphone, iPad, tablet and more.

Model: C11CB18201

Features:
ISO Print Speeds
ISO print speeds of 9.6 ISO ppm (black) and 9.1 ISO ppm (color)

Automatic Two-Sided Printing
Save up to 50% on paper with the option of automatic two-sided printing.

Fast, High-Quality Printing and Copying
Quickly print or copy documents and photos — get sharp text and vivid, true-to-life color.

Professional Looking CDs and DVDs
Print directly onto inkjet printable CDs or DVDs, and eliminate the need for labels.

Wireless and Ethernet Network Ready
Share one printer with multiple computers in your home or office, using a wireless or wired network.

Mobile Printing
Wirelessly print documents, photos, calendars, contacts and more; charge your cell phone or MP3 Player using the USB port.

Eco Features:
Estimated power consumption for one year is less than two dollars
Save up to 50% on paper with automatic, two-sided printing
Save even more by printing multiple pages on a single sheet
Supports printing on recycled paper
Designed to be recycled1
ENERGY STAR qualified
RoHS compliant
Epson America, Inc. is a SmartWay Transport Partner

Price:$199.99 (from Epson)

Price: $137.99 (from Amazon at time of review)

You can install the Artisan 730 over Ethernet, USB or Wi-Fi. I choose the Wi-Fi version so I could use all of the features and I like the idea of no cables. Just follow the on-screen steps and instructions and let it install.

For wi-fi there are a few more steps. I got it connected to my network with no hassles, first try and I was up and printing.

The control panel is what Epson calls the Emerald Green Touch Panel, and it’s green as the name implies, or at least the buttons are green.

From the touch panel you can make copies, scan, print photos, print ruled papers and even print coloring books from photos. You can also access the Setup menu, problem solver and back up data from the menu. The touch screen is bright and vivid and it’s very sensitive. You can pop a memory card in and print your photos right from the printer and view them on the LCD. I really like the green on black a lot, it’s visually striking and certainly unique.

One of the great things about this printer is that it can print on printable CDs. You’ll notice a button in the above pictures for the CD Tray, you press it and the tray slides out and you put a CD or DVD in it to be printed. You will need to move the control panel all the way to the horizontal position to access the tray though.

When you’re installing the software it will also install the CD printing program aptly named Epson print CD. I found it very easy to use really and it comes with backgrounds and templates ready for you or you can add you own photos.

Besides printing CDs I printed text, text and graphic and of course pictures.  It occurs to me I didn’t get a separate picture of the CD, but there it is in the photo below along with everything else. The CD came out very nice.

The photos printed very fast and they’re just gorgeous, you can’t see any lines in them like with some other printers out. They really look professionally done. The ink dries super fast, they come out and you can touch them without smearing of getting ink on your fingers. The same went with text as well, it dried virtually instantly. The blacks are very dark, and just overall the pictures look great.

Printing text or text and graphic is very fast, a whole page in seconds.

Taking a closer look at the text we can see it is crisp and clear, and I see no runs or overspray at all.

Here’s a couple zoomed in very close to show you better:

One of the great things about this printer is the ability to print right from your phone or tablet. I downloaded the Epson iPrint from the Android market to my tablet and I could easily print photos, documents and more right from it. You can install it on your phone of course and do the same thing. This also works with iDevices too. To use the program you have to have the printer connected over Wi-Fi though.

One thing I noticed is that the printer seems to use a lot of ink. If you look up at that second photo there with the ink levels you’ll see I’ve used a lot of black, but I don’t think I really did. I printed a few full pages of text and several text and graphic pages along with a few mailing labels. It just feels like I used a lot more ink that I should have.

Under properties you’ll find printing presets and pretty much everything else you’ve come to expect to find in here.

I think that’s about it, I think I’ve covered it all. It’s a great printer really.

Conclusion:
The Epson Artisan 730 is a printer that can give you studio quality photos quickly and easily. It allows you to print directly from a memory card or even a mobile device like your phone or tablet. The Artisan 730 is something for those that want high quality results from their printer and the 730 can offer you that and much more. It’s a printer that can help you fully realize that creative side in all of us, be it a business presentation or just something for your kids school project, the Artisan 730 can do it and make it look professionally done. 

The printer does seem to use a lot of ink quickly. It’s a bit on the large side so you’ll need to find the appropriate space for it.

Pros:
+Simple and easy to use
+Print directly from mobile devices
+Print directly from memory cards
+Prints gorgeous photos
+Fast printing
+Prints on CDs and DVDs
+Can auto correct photos

Cons:
-Seems to use ink rather fast
-A bit on the large side

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

To learn more about our review policy please visit this page HERE.

Review of Epson Artisan 730 All-in-One Printer is a post from: Testfreaks | The Blog

So here we are again with another printer from Canon for review. Last week I had the MG6120 All-in-one, today I have the MG8120 All-in-one photo printer.  There’s some slight differences between them like the 8120 is physically taller, it has a larger LCD display and it has the ability to scan negatives and print pictures from them. There’s also a price difference of about $100 between them, but other than that there’s not much more different, both printers offer a very good choice, both are easy to use and both produce excellent results.

The Pixma MG8120 comes packaged well.

Included in the box are the ink cartridges, power cable, software CD, sample photo paper and quite a bit of documentation.

The printer itself is packaged very well of course and it’s covered with protective plastic.

Packed inside of the printer is the printhead.

Once uncovered you’ll find a very glossy black printer.

The front of the printer opens to reveal the paper output tray, under that is a paper input tray and in the back is another paper input tray.

On the top you’ll find the display, but there’s a lot of buttons there that will appear as needed. Everything is touch sensitive.

To the right of the paper output tray is a small door, behind which is the card reader and below that is the USB port.

Opening up the lid revels the scanner which has slots for the film holder and a sliding lock to unlock the scanner.

The film scanner is hidden beneath the cover in the lid. For scanning it just sits on the glass basically in the slots.

On the back of the printer you’ll find ethernet and USB ports along with the power connection.

Specifications:

PIXMA MG8120

Photo All-in-One Inkjet Printer

The PIXMA MG8120 possesses superior quality, functionality and versatility combined with beautiful design. The amazing feature set begins with an all-new interface that turns the top of your printer into a sleek, ultra-responsive touch panel. The Intelligent Touch System provides light-guided direction with gorgeous touch sensitive controls so only the buttons you need light up. Your fingers will realize fluid, effortless operation where once you choose your function you’re one step away from imaging brilliance.

Speed & Quality
Extraordinary Resolution: Realize the power of 9600 x 2400 maximum color dpi firing with 1pl. Benefit? Incredible quality and detail in both your business documents and photos.

High Performance Six Individual Ink Tank System: This 6-color ink system consists of five dye-based inks including a dedicated gray ink tank for professional-looking black & white and color photos. A pigment-based black ink produces exceptionally crisp, laser-quality text. Plus, only replace the color ink tank that runs out.

Print Beautiful, Borderless Photos Fast: Print a borderless, 4″ x 6″ photo in approximately 20 seconds.

Built-In Wireless: Print or scan wirelessly from any Wi-Fi enabled computer around the house.

Smartphone Printing: Take full advantage of Canon’s fantastic Wi-Fi printing technology to unlock, print and share your stored images right on the spot. Print your photos wirelessly from compatible iPhone, iPod touch and Android devices.

Built-In Ethernet: This wired LAN interface lets you connect to a home or office network, with connected computers sharing the power of this versatile machine, each being able to display the printer’s status at any moment. <

Memory Cards / USB / PictBridge & Optional Bluetooth: Don’t feel like using a computer? No problem. Just insert a compatible memory card into the built in card slot, select images on the LCD display, and print! Thanks to a PictBridge connection you can also print photos directly from your digital camera, DV camcorder or camera phone. Plus, you can print from the optional BU-30 wireless Bluetooth unit.

Hi-Speed USB: Plug the cable into your PC for a super-fast connection for your data transfers.

Specs:
Print Speed (up to)    4″ x 6″ Borderless Photo: Approx. 20 seconds Black: Approx. 12.5 ipm Color: Approx. 9.3 ipm
Number of Nozzles    Color: 5,632 / Black: 512 / Total: 6,144
Picoliter Size (color): 1,2 and 5
Print Resolution (Up to): Color: Up to 9600 x 2400 dpi Black:Up to 600 x 600 dpi
Paper Sizes: 4″ x 6″, 5″ x 7″, 8″ x 10,” Letter, Legal, U.S. #10 Envelopes
Dimension (W x D x H): 15.5″ W x 18.5″D x 7.9″ H
Weight: 23.6 lbs

Standard Interface:
-Wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11b/g/n)
-Ethernet
-USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
-Card Slots (See Memory Card Support)
-PictBridge (Cable not included)
-Bluetooth v2.0 (Optional)
-IrDA

Estimated Retail Price: $299.99

So before we get into this here I’ve got a picture for you of the two new Canon printers together. The MG8210 is on the right and the MG6120 is on the left. The printers look virtually identical really, just the MG8120 is a bit taller.

To get started you’ll need to install the print head and then the ink cartridges. When you get the cartridges in place correctly an LED lights up to let you know.

Once the cartridges are installed the printer will do it’s thing for a few minutes, then if you’re using wireless like I am, you’ll need to input the information and then install the software. The software says it will take about 18 minutes to install but it didn’t even take five.

Once that’s done the main interface will open for you with several options:

Like the MG6120, this one install a set of widgets on the right side of your desktop right above the task bar.

Another difference is the display, it’s bigger on this printer, but other than that it’s the same.

The main display has there pages with three options each.

When printing, copying or scanning buttons will appear as needed and only those that you need to do the function you select.

Since I pretty much covered everything already in the previous review, I’m not going into as much detail this time. Sort of a refresher basically.

Under Fun Photo Print you’ll find seven pages of choices.

Under Settings you’ll find four options for Maintenance, Wireless Lan Setup, Device Settings and Display remaining ink level.

This time I found some negatives to test this printer with.

To print the scanned negatives you’ve got four choices, Select and Print, Print all and Sticker Print.

I did print them out but I found that you have to have good negatives to get good copies of the pictures. These negatives I found were actually from my five year old son and the pictures he took, so he didn’t take good care of them. They were taken by a five year old so they were pretty bad, but they looked like the real pictures as they were original developed, except for the markings that were on the negatives themselves.

Scanning can be done wirelessly through the widget interface, and it surprisingly fast, in a matter of about 30 seconds I had my scan on my computer.

I grabbed an Xbox360 game of the shelf to scan and it came out very well.

Like the MG6120, the MG8120 can also print from your phone wirelessly. You can check my MG6120 review HERE for more info on that. I used my Android phone, you just install the app and then print, only take a few minutes to get up and printing. It’s a very nice features really.

Printing pictures is fast and the quality is just excellent, true studio or photo lab quality here.

The printer is quiet as well and the fact that it prints double sided is just a great bonus.

I printed a couple pages of text and graphics to test things in both standard and high quality, and honestly I couldn’t tell the difference.

Here’s the standard ones:

Then here’s the high quality ones, again I don’t see much of a difference at all, especially when looking close up.

Still though looking from a normal reading distance the print is excellent, it’s only when I get out the high power macro lens.

Conclusion:

So that’s the new Canon Pixma MG8120 and there’s really not much difference between it and the MG6120 overall, both printers have superb print quality, which is really what counts right?

The larger screen really isn’t that much bigger, 1/2 inch basically, not a deal breaker or worth the extra cash in my opinion.

The ability to scan and print from negatives is something that you’ll actually use to make this printer worth the extra cost over the MG6120. The MG8120 has all the same features of the MG6120 where it counts, so if you don’t need to work with negatives then you’ll be fine with the lower priced MG6120 honestly.

Both printers though are very good, both are quick and easy to setup and both print fast and quietly.

Pros:
+Nice large LCD screen
+Nice looking printer overall
+Fast and quiet
+Can scan negatives
+Excellent photo and print quality
+Print from your phone wirelessly
+Lots of options
+Easy setup and use

Cons:
-Glossy black finish picks up dust and fingerprints
-No fax
-Installs a lot of software

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

To learn more about our review policy please visit this page HERE.

Review of Canon PIXMA MG8120 Photo All-in-One Inkjet Printer is a post from: Testfreaks | The Blog

Last Tuesday Canon introduced two new All-In-One printers, the MG6120 and the MG8120, and they were kind enough to send me both over for review. Today I’ll be taking a look at the less expensive of the two or the MG6120 that is priced at $199. This Pixma printer features a 3” LCD display that tilts for optimum viewing angle, while the touch-sensitive controls are on the surface of the printer and appear as needed. The printer has many other features as well like Android support with the ability to print pictures directly from your phone. I believe this is the first review of this printer, so read on..…

Like all Canon printers this one is packaged very well, and it’s covered in plastic and tape for protection.

Included with the printer is quite a bit of documentation, some sample photo paper, a power cord, driver/software disc and six ink cartridges.

The ink cartridges are magenta, yellow, cyan, gray, black and a double black.

The MG6120 looks gorgeous, it’s all glossy black with a nice design overall.

The front opens to the paper output tray, beneath that is the paper input tray.

When I opened the output tray I found the print head.

Next to the output tray you’ll find a small door with the card reader inside and then below that is a USB port. The USB port just seems to be in an odd place.

There is another paper input tray on that back of the printer that just pulls out.

The top of the printer is the scanner cover, but it’s also the user interface with a 3” LCD panel that collapses flush with the lid.

The scanner is of course under the lid, then that can be lifted up to access the ink cartridges and print head area.

Specifications:

PIXMA MG6120

Wireless Photo All-In-One
Item Code: 4503B002

The PIXMA MG6120 delivers high performance, quality and true ease of use in one, sleek machine. It begins with a revolutionary interface that Canon has created where the top of your printer turns into a sleek, ultra-responsive touch panel. The Intelligent Touch System provides light-guided direction with gorgeous touch sensitive controls so only the buttons you need light up. Your fingers will realize fluid, effortless operation where once you choose your function you’re one step away from imaging brilliance.

For the first time in home photo printing your HD Movie moments can now become beautiful photos with your new PIXMA printer. Full HD Movie Print1 turns your favorite HD movie clips captured with compatible Canon EOS Digital SLR or PowerShot cameras into beautiful photo prints. Built-in Wi-Fi lets you easily print and scan wirelessly with the added ability to print your photos from compatible iPhone, iPod touch and Android devices. Produce true photo lab quality prints at home with a maximum print resolution of 9600 x 2400 dpi4 and six individual ink tanks including a gray ink for professional color and black & white photos. Plus, Auto Document Fix delivers beautiful, easy-to-view scans by advanced image analysis and area-by-area data correction, automatically.

Join the Generation Green initiative with Built-in Auto Duplex Printing, which allows you to automatically print on both sides of the paper and can help reduce your paper usage by up to 50%. Don’t feel like using a computer? No problem. Just insert a compatible memory card5 into the built in card slot, select images on the LCD display, and print! Thanks to a PictBridge6 connection you can also print photos directly from your compatible digital camera, DV camcorder or camera phone, and even with the optional BU-30 wireless Bluetooth unit.  Enjoy previewing and editing images on a 3.0″ Color LCD and print a beautiful, borderless 4″ x 6″ image in approx. 20 seconds.

Specs:

Print Speed (up to):   4″ x 6″ Borderless Photo: Approx. 20 seconds Black: Approx. 12.5 ipm Color: Approx. 9.3 ipm
Print Resolution (Up to): Color:Up to 9600 x 2400 dpi4Black:Up to 600 x 600 dpi
Paper Sizes: 4″ x 6″, 5″ x 7″, 8″ x 10,” Letter, Legal, U.S. #10 Envelopes
Dimension: (W x D x H) 14.5″ W x 18.5″D x 6.9″ H
Weight: 19.3 lbs

Estimated Retail Price: $199.99

Price from Amazon: $199.00

Let’s start with the installation, first thing install the print head and ink cartridges. There are red LEDs that let you know the cartridges are installed correctly.

Once the cleaning/priming cycle is complete the printer is read to go, you’ll have to enter the language and then you can set the wireless settings right on the printer.

Then you’ll need to install the software on your computer, it estimates like 18 minutes to install but it took about five actually.

Once you get the software installed you’ll find something interesting in the right corner of your desktop above the time. There’s options for Auto Scan, Layout Print, Photo Print, Show Main Screen and Hide.

Speaking of the main screen here it is and al of the options:

When powered on and ready to go the touch pad will light up white and there are three buttons beneath the display corresponding to options found there.

When you’re doing something like making a copy more buttons will be active, and the Home and Back will always be there to access. Essentially the printer lights up which buttons you’ll need to use for what you’re doing. The buttons are extremely sensitive, actually I might say they’re overly sensitive honestly. I found by playing with it that you don’t even have to touch them, you can just put you finger very close and it will activate. The white circle isn’t for decoration actually, you can run your finger around it to navigate.

On the main menu there are three pages of options.

Most of the options above are self-explanatory right?

Here’s the Fun Print options, which aren’t really what I would call Fun… For all of these you can just use a memory card, USB drive or your camera with pictures on it.

I did the Calendar print for fun and found something odd, instead of the month it prints out the number of the month..  I looked and I didn’t see anything to change to make it say the actual month.

There’s plenty or options for the calendar like different sizes of paper and a few different layouts along with different lengths for the calendar.

Let’s take a look at the settings. There’s four main options, Maintenance, Wireless Lan Setup, Device Settings and Display Remaining Ink Level.

Here’s the settings expanded:

If you want to scan something you can scan to email, memory card, PC or USB drive.

I scanned a Wii cover to test the scanner. I scanned it at the default 300dpi but used Photo as the setting for the scan.

The scan looks kind of washed out really doesn’t it? You can change the settings some more to improve the quality of course.

Under Special Print you’ll find options for template lie lined paper, graphs and even planners. There’s an option for Print from Mobile Phone, but I’m not sure what it’s for as you can print without using that option.

You can put in a USB drive or memory card and view a Slideshow with three different transition effects. The slideshow is neat I guess, but not something I would use often.

I used the PC interface to print some pictures. In the interface you’ll find many options for printing paper styles and photo layouts.

I used the 4×6 glossy photo paper that came with it actually, three sheets so three pictures. I printed them on photo or high quality settings and they printed fairly fast actually. The print quality is just excellent. The pictures are actually my son on his first day of Kindergarten, so I gave a couple of them away and to Grandma and Mom and they were both impressed. Up until very recently my wife was still using a film camera and I can tell you that these prints looks just like those we got back from the photo lab. They’re incredible really, no line, no nothing they look like professional pictures.

For regular printing I printed a couple pages from the site. This were just done on the text and graphic settings. The print quality is very good, even zoomed in at 10X like the last picture is there isn’t much bleeding at all.

One the features that I really like about the MG6120 is Android support, specifically the ability to print wirelessly from your phone. Just go to the Android Marketplace and get the Canon Easy Photo Print app.

Then you’ll have to find the printer, it found the MG6120 and connected in a matter of seconds.

The app will find all of the photos on your phone and show them to you to select to print.

Then you can select print quality, paper size and number of copies and the print away.

I just printed a quick sample of my cat Molly that was actually taken with a Canon camera a while back.

There’s another feature on this printer that unfortunately I can’t test, it requires you to have a Canon camera and I don’t have one. I know I just said the above picture was taken with a Canon camera, but the Canon cameras I get for review have to be returned after the review unfortunately. The feature though is the ability to print frames from movies you’ve taken with either a Powershot or an EOS camera. You can print them out in full HD quality. It’s an interesting feature that I think would come in handy, it’s a shame I can’t test it out for you though..

The printer is brand new, just on the market so it’s going for it’s full price of $199 and I think that’s about the right price for it. The ink cartridges cost $14 each from the Canon site, but you can get Combo and value packs that will lower the price some. You can get one each of the colors and black with a 100 sheet photo paper for $56, which isn’t bad. The PP-201 alone is $40, so basically you’re getting the paper for free.

Conclusion:

Canon has got a winner here in the Pixma MG6120 , it’s just got a ton of features that anyone can appreciate. It’s truly a great printer for the home or home office that produces excellent results.

Setup is simple and quick, just enter you network info, install some software and you’re ready to go.

Photo printing is excellent, it’s fast and the prints look amazing. Text printing is very good, even on normal settings it’s clear and crisp and easily readable and acceptable for business uses.

I especially like the Android support, you can quickly and easily print directly from your phone.

This would be the perfect all-in-one if it had fax capabilities built-in, but as is it’s not bad at all.

The glossy black looks very nice, but it’s just a serious dust and fingerprint magnet.

Pros:
+Nice looking
+Easy to setup and use
+Many printing options directly from the printer
+Fast and quiet printing
+Excellent photos
+Decent print quality
+Very responsive touch panel
+Print directly from phone

Cons:
-No Fax
-Glossy black picks up dust and fingerprints
-Touch panel can be overly responsive

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

To learn more about our review policy please visit this page HERE.

Review of Canon PIXMA MG6120 Wireless All-In-One Printer is a post from: Testfreaks | The Blog

Today for review I’ve got another printer for you, it’s an All-in-one from Lexmark called the Interact S605. The S605 is not a bad printer, the print quality is very good for everything, photos come out beautiful, and the regular printing is very good as well. This printer is a networked printer over wireless, but it can also connect to the internet and you can view newsfeeds and access other things from the internet right on the display. The display is a nice and large 4.3” touch screen display, it’s color and it’s even animated as well for some things. As a printer it’s not bad, but I ran across some issues with it that didn’t make me too happy, I even had to call tech support at one point, so read on to learn more…

We’ll start off with the video unboxing for you:

Then we’ve got still pictures for you. It comes with the usual stuff like user manual, ink cartridges, drive/software disc and power cord and it even comes with a USB cable!

The Lexmark S605 is a fairly big printer honestly, it’s not tall but it’s short and fat so you’ll need a lot of desktop space for it, especially when you open the paper output tray.

The S605 does not have an automatic document feeder. I don’t use one often, but I do use it, and not having one means you’ve got to do all of your copies one by one on the flatbed.

Beneath the flatbed scanner is the cartridge area, the S605 uses a separate printhead system which I’m not sure I like. You install the printehead, then install the ink into it.

The front has a nice large color and animated touch screen display, but I found it very hard to close, it took me about ten minutes literally to get it closed.

On the front bottom right is the USB port and card reader so you can print directly from memory card or USB and you can save to them as well.

On the back you’ll find the USB and power connections and a door to help remove any paper jams.

Specifications:

Lexmark Interact S605

Part #:60S0000

Intelligence at Your Fingertips
An all-in-one powerhouse with a new friendly face—the big, customizable myTouch web-connected display.

Features:

Touch the Future with myTouch
Web-connected myTouch is a 4.3” LCD touch screen that steps you through your print job with vivid icons you can customize online. Or print directly from the web too.

WiFi N for Intense Productivity
WiFi N gives you the freedom of wireless technology with 3x the coverage and faster transfer speeds than traditional wireless networks(2). With WPS™, enjoy a simple wireless setup process that involves only two steps.

Great Results, Less Waiting
At speeds up to 33 pages per minute black, and 30 pages per minute for color jobs(3), you’ll free up precious time. And 4 x 6 photos print as quick as 24 seconds(4).

Go Green, Automatically
Trust Lexmark to lessen your environmental impact with automatic two-sided printing and energy-saving EcoMode at the touch of a button.

Better Ink, Supreme Results
Our patented Vizix ink cartridges are engineered for intense ink-droplet precision—vivid, razor sharp images and highlighter-resistant mono text, page after page after page.

Specs:

Display: 4.3 inch (109 mm) Color WQVGA touch screen display with screen saver

Print Technology: Thermal Inkjet
Color Technology: 4 Color Inkjet – Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black

Print Resolution, Black: Up to 2400 x 1200 dpi
Print Resolution, Color: Up to 4800 x 1200 dpi

Maximum Print Speed (Draft, Black): Up to: 33 ppm
Maximum Print Speed (Draft, Color): Up to: 30 ppm

Duty Cycle, Maximum: 5000 pages per month
Print Noise Level, Operating: 50 dBA

Laser Quality Print Speed (Black): Up to: 10.4 ppm in accordance with ISO/IEC 24734
Laser Quality Print Speed (CMY): Up to: 6.6 ppm in accordance with ISO/IEC 24734

Reduce / Enlarge Range: 25 – 400 %

Scanner Type: Flatbed scanner
Optical Scan Resolution: 1200 x 2400 dpi
Print (ASF) Paper Input Capacity, Maximum: 100 pages 20 lb or 75 gsm bond

Standard Ports:
-USB 2.0 Specification Hi-Speed Certified (Type B)
-PictBridge Certified Port
-USB pass-through via PictBridge Port
-802.11b/g/n Wireless

Size (in. – H x W x D): 7.0 x 20.24 x 14.09 in. /  178 x 514 x 358 mm
Weight (lb.): 16.5 lb. /  7.5 kg

Product Warranty: 3 year warranty. 1 year limited warranty and 2 year extended limited warranty upon registration within 90 days.

Price: $129.99 (at Amazon at time of review)

So where do I start here? I ran into some problem with this printer and they annoyed me to no end, but more on that shortly..

Let’s start with installation, it’s easy, just follow the prompts, there’s even on-screen instructions on how to unpack it and it automatically can upgrade the firmware for you as well. Installation took about 10 minutes total. I installed the S605 with the wireless network connection.

The Home screen or interface on your computer is plain, but it works.

Before we get into anything, let’s just jump right to the problems first.

I installed the printer and used it as my main printer, after about 5 days it wouldn’t work anymore, I got a Printhead error

Followed the instructions, it seemed to work but then when I tried to print I got another error:

Now I’m using real Lexmark branded cartridges, I’ve got two sets actually. They were kind enough to send me a set in addition to the one that was included with the printer. So I thought maybe something was wrong, I installed the new cartridges and got the same error. Then it was back to the printhead error.

Again I followed the instructions and did what it said, about five times before I gave up and actually called tech support. Tech support was actually rather fast, only on hold for about 5 minutes before someone answered, and they told me to do the same things I already did. The only thing different was that they told me to unplug the printer for at least 30 seconds to let it reset. Did all that and it seemed to work again for two days, then I got the printhead error again… So again I followed the instructions and it’s been working fine for the last week with no issues. So it’s been working now, at least it seems to be, but for how long will it work?
Let me also mention that tech support really didn’t resolve anything, they told me to do the same things I already did time and time again. I even asked why the error showed up, what caused it etc, but I go not answers at all..

An interesting note is that one of the things the instructions mention is that you should remove any electrical devices from near the printer that may cause interference, wouldn’t that include your computer and accessories?  What are you supposed to do, put the printer in a room by itself? From what I gathered you’ve got to seat the printhead just right or you’ll run into problems, even if you think you did it right following the instructions you still may have did it wrong. Why do we even have to use a separate printhead anyway, other printer just have it built right in…

Moving on… the interface is a touch screen and it’s bright and colorful and even animated for some things. The main screen has three main options Copy, Scan and Smart Solutions. Under the icons you’ve got for more options for Eco settings, double sided printing, settings and printhead/ink related settings. The interface is nice looking and being a touch screen is a nice, but it’s not very reactive, what I mean is that it can take several ‘touches’ for it to register that you ‘pushed’ the button.

You might think the Copy option is just that, copying stuff, but it actually does have many more options in it like resizing, quality, color or black and white, content type and even a preview with other option as well. Copying is just like a copier, it’s a flatbed so you put the document on the glass and copy it, relatively simple really.

Scanning is easy, if you want to scan from the printer you’ve got three options for the destination, Computer, Memory device like a USB drive or even to email.

Scanning from the computer is easy, and it does offer the crop option in the preview which is a great feature that I truly like. There are basic and advanced options for the scanning as well which you can change if you desire.

Here’s two sample scans:

The scans are not bad on the default settings, but you can adjust things to make them even better. Scanning is pretty fast, the scanner is not exactly quiet but it’s not exactly loud either, it’s bearable.

The S605 is an internet connected device, the option on the main menu for Smart Solutions actually includes the ability to read newsfeeds on the printer among other things. You actually go to the Smart Solutions website and pick and choose what you want on your printer. You also have the option to open the newsfeed on your computer from the printer if you want to read more or you can even email it.

It’s a nice idea, but how many people would actually use the printer to access the internet? It’s more of a novelty thing I guess.

Here’s the web page:

You can add you Google calendar, Picassa, PhotoBucket, MobileMe, Stamps.com, and many other things and you can add shortcuts for the printer as well. Again it’s interesting, but you actually have to visit the website to use it, why not have a program on your computer to do the same thing? I can understand about the shortcuts etc, but I don’t see myself or many people actually reading the news on a printer screen…

In the setup menu you’ll find many options including email and address book settings.

The Ink settings menu is where you can check ink levels, cleaning and print test pages etc

The Eco Mode buttons allows you to change the power settings and you can use double sided printing as well to save paper.

One note about the power saving mode, it take quite a while for the printer to wake from power save mode. You push the button and it’s about a minute before the printer wakes up to use. Printing though when it’s in power save mode is quicker, it only takes about 15 seconds for the printer to wake up and start printing.

Here’s some samples of the printing, I used good quality paper, Hammermill laser print stock actually. These are varying levels of magnification.

The last picture is using a 10X macro lens and you can really get a good look at it. These were printing with the setting on Automatic as opposed to Quick Print, Normal or Best. You can also choose to print only using Black Ink or only using Color Ink. An interesting options is you can actually watermark your prints with Text if you need to.

The print quality is decent, looking at it normally it looks good. The lettering a very black, and the colors are bright and well, colorful. The S605 is fast actually, prints come out in a few seconds after you hit the print button, copies are fast as well.

I did print photos using good Glossy Photo Paper and the results were very good, near studio quality truly. I did of course set the preferences to Best, and the they printed out fairly fast and again the results are very good.

So overall the print quality is very good for everything really.

And I didn’t get any paper jams at all, which is a good thing.

The noise level on the printer is a bit high, it can be a loud printer even the specs list it as 50db for the noise level in operation.

Conclusion:

The Lexmark S605 is a nice printer basically, the quality of the prints is excellent, the pictures are beautiful and the regular printing is good as well.

The extraneous stuff like the ability to connect to the internet and read feeds etc is a nice addition, it’s a novelty idea, but personally I think it’s not needed. I would never be reading the news on my printer, I want a printer that prints and works when it should.

As far as working when it should, as you read I ran across of few problems that seem to be fixed, but I thought they were before as well. I want a printer that works, and honestly this is the first printer I’ve reviewed that I had to call tech support about and I don’t think that’s a good thing at all to be a first for…

Pros:
+Beautiful prints and photos
+Fast printing
+Easy setup

Cons:
-Problems with the printer working
-Touch screen not very sensitive
-Rather loud

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

This product was given to TestFreaks for review by the company for review purposes only, and is not considered by us as payment for the review, we do not, and never will, accept payment from companies to review their products. To learn more about our review policy please visit this page HERE.

Review of Lexmark Interact S605 All in One Inkjet Printer is a post from: Testfreaks | The Blog

Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you out there, to the girls anyway…  Today for review I’ve got another all-in-one style printer. I’ve taken a look at printers from HP, Epson and Brother but it’s time to add a Canon to the mix, specifically the Pixma MX340 Office All-In-One Printer. The MX340 is all about business really, it’s a no frills kind of printer that gets the job done and does it well. You won’t find cute features like printing stationary and editing pictures on the MX340, you will find though that it’s fast at printing both black and white and color prints and it does photos very well also. The Pixma MX340 can be connected to your computer via USB or wirelessly connected to your network, it also allows you to print directly from your iPhone or iPod touch which is a neat little feature in itself. If you’re looking for a capable printer for your business needs then be sure to read the rest of the review…

We’ll start with the unboxing:

Then the still pictures of the printer and the accessories that comes with it.

The Canon Pixma MX340 is a big printer, one of the biggest I’ve reviewed actually, it’s shorter than my WorkForce 610 but a wider so you’ll need a fairly large space to put it.

On the front panel you’ll find the controls of course for faxing, scanning and copying.

The top is where you’ll find the auto document feeder for scanning and faxing.

On the back is the paper tray, it’s folds out and is adjustable for paper size.

Beneath the document feeder is the flat bed scanner.

Beneath the scanner you’ll find the ink cartridge carrier.

There’s a door on the front of the Pixma MX340 that opens where you’re printed documents come out.

On the back of the printer you’ll find your connections for phone and USB along with the power connection.

Specifications:

PIXMA MX340
Office All-In-One Printer

Wireless All-In-One Home Office Printer with Auto Document Feeder
The PIXMA MX340 Wireless Home Office All-In-One delivers the versatility you need to experience increased productivity in your home or small office. Its built-in Wireless connectivity allows you to print or scan wirelessly from anywhere in the house. The built-in, fully integrated 30-sheet Auto Document Feeder delivers fast copying or scanning of your originals so you can do other things while your printer is at work. Plus, various security features like password protected PDF’s let you feel safe about creating and distributing your most confidential files.

Super G3 High-speed Fax2 ensures efficient communication and thanks to Dual Color Gamut Processing Technology, your copies will maintain the integrity of the original. This versatile Wireless Office All-In-One also prints photo lab quality pictures. Speaking of photos, take full advantage of Canon’s fantastic Wi-Fi printing technology and print your photos wirelessly from compatible iPhone 3G, 3GS and iPod touch devices. Enjoy additional computer-less printing capabilities via PictBridge4 and optional Bluetooth while you set your quantities on a Full Dot Matrix LCD. Easy-WebPrint EX allows you to print what you want off the web, when you want. So surf the web, create your layouts, combine text and pictures and print out pages however you like.

Whether you’re running your business on a PC or Mac, the PIXMA MX340 meets all of your printing needs and can fit virtually anywhere!

Specifications:
Printers Attributes:
Printing Method: Inkjet

Print Speed (up to):
Color Photo: 4″ x 6″ borderless photo: approximately 43 seconds
Black: ESAT; 8.4 ipm
Color: ESAT; 4.8 ipm

Number of Nozzles
Nozzles: Black: 320
Color: 1,152
Total: 1,472

Print Resolution (up to):
Black: Up to 600 x 600 dpi7
Color: Up to 4800 x 1200 dpi7

Paper Sizes: 4″x 6″, 4″x 8″, 5″x 7″, 8″x 10″, Letter, Legal, U.S. #10 envelopes

Automatic Sheet Feeder: 100 pages
ADF: 30 Sheets

Printer Features:
Auto Document Feeder, Auto Document Fix, Auto Photo Fix II, Auto Sheet Feeder, Borderless Printing12 Document Printing, Photo Printing, Template Print

Copier
Copy Speed (up to): Color ESAT: 3.4 ipm10
Reductions Enlargement: 25% – 400%
Copy Features:4-in-1 / 2-in-1 Copy, AE (Auto Exposure / Intensity) copy, Borderless, Fit-to-Page, Gutter Shadow Correction Copy, Image Repeat, Intensity, Multiple Copy: 1-99 pages , Preset Copy Ratios, Sort (ADF), Zoom

Scanner
Scanner Element: Contact Image Sensor (CIS)
Max. Resolutions:
Optical: 1200 x 2400 dpi
ADF 600 x 600 dpi (Optical)
Interpolated: 19,200 x 19,200 dpi
48-bit internal / 24-bit external

Scanner Features: Auto Scan Mode8, Push Scan, Scan To Memory, Network Scan

Max. Document Size:
Flatbed: 8.5″ x 11.7″
ADF: 8.5″ x 14″

FAX
Modem Speed: 33.6 Kbps (Super G3 color FAX)
Transmission Speed (approx.): Black: Approx. 3 sec. / page
Color: Approx. 1 min. / page
Memory Capacity: Approx. 50 pages
Speed Dialing: 20 Locations

General Specifications:
Other Features: Dual Color Gamut Processing Technology, Fully-Integrated Auto Document Feeder,Full Dot Matrix LCD, PictBridge, Quick Start
OS Compatibility: Windows 7®, Windows Vista®, Windows XP/2000 and Mac OS® X v10.4 – v10.6.x15
Standard Interface: Wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11b/g)1 (Compatible with IEEE802.11n)14 USB 2.0 Hi-Speed, PictBridge (Cable not included), Bluetooth® v2.0 (Optional)

Software Included: Setup Software and User’s Guide CD-ROM,MX340 Printer Driver, Easy-PhotoPrint EX, MP Navigator EX, Easy-WebPrint EX (Windows Only),Solution Menu

Dimension (W x D x H): 18.1″ (W) x 16.4″ (D) x 7.8″ (H)
Weight: 19 lbs.
Warranty: One year limited warranty with InstantExchange program. 1-Year toll-free technical phone support

Price: $99.99 (At Amazon at time of review) (It’s not available yet, but it can be pre-ordered)

The majority of the other all-in-one style printers I’ve looked at have had fancy displays on them like the ability to preview pictures and even ones with touch screens. The Canon Pimxa MX340 though has a very basic screen, very small actually, but it’s a business printer really so all the fancy stuff isn’t exactly needed. Still though there are printers out there in the same price range that have nice, full color, large displays on them.

Installation is easy, just pop in the disc and follow the prompts. I installed it wirelessly, for that you use the UBS cable and then unplug it after the setup is complete.

It does have a progress bar that at the beginning said 18 minutes to complete, but i timed it and it was about 7 minutes total from start to finish.

As I said I used the Wi-Fi connection and when connected the logo on the front of the printer lights up.

Once you’re installed you can access the control and diagnostics panel

From here you can access the printer settings as well:

On the Maintenance tab you’ll find all kinds of options:

If you go to the troubleshooting section from the main menu you can diagnose problems and check for updates.

One thing I didn’t like about the installation was the icons that appeared on my desktop, a lot of them. I guess they’re nice and all but I don’t care for the clutter on my desktop.

I printed a few pictures with the MX340, full sized 8 1/2 x 11 sheets and they look really good actually, I’m really surprised by the good quality of the prints. They’re very close to what you would find professionally, no lines in them, and the ink was dry immediately after the print was finished. The printing was very fast also, I had the printer set is high quality or photo mode on glossy photo paper and the picture came out faster than other printers I’ve tested.

Black printing is very fast as well, and it looks very good, very nice quality. Just regular reading distance it looks nice and sharp and clear. There is a tiny bit of fuzz to it, but it’s only there if you’re actually looking for it as I was. If you’re just reading you won’t notice it. The quality was just set to Standard, you can also select Fast or High quality as well, Standard is the middle choice. The paper I used was 20# stock, 92 brightness, it’s actually called Recycled Multipurpose Paper so it wasn’t anything specialized , just basic stuff really for everyday use. Speaking of paper, the MX340 can hold up to 100 sheets in the feeder which is very nice.

Here’s the print through my 4x macro lens:

and here’s the print through my 10X Macro lens:

Going to the 10X lens of course really gets in close to the print so you can really see everything, with my eyes I can’t see that and I’ve got very good eyesight especially for fine details, so I don’t think anyone else will either… There are spots were you can see a bit of bleed with the naked eye, but that’s only if you’re looking for them as I was for this review. Even looking at the 4X picture of the print, that’s really more than the eye can see as well, unless you’re looking for it.

For scanning you can use the software built in to scan and save on your computer, you’ve got the choice of single on the flatbed or using the auto document feeder for multiple pages.

Scanning was fast at the default settings of 300DPI and the result looked pretty good.

I grabbed a Wii game cover to scan because it’s nice and colorful, it’s scaled down to 1024×768 for the review but the original scan was 2549×3299 resolution.

One thing I didn’t see with the Pixma MX340 is the crop option like other scanners have, unless I missed it, but I looked for it.

You can also go in and change the settings of the scan though the ‘Specify’ option.

Faxing is just faxing, not much to say about that expect that it works fine.

One of the things with any printer I like to look at is the cost of the ink for it, and for the Pixma MX340 it’s actually not that expensive. The HP printer I reviewed not long ago had cartridges that cost about $35 each, while the regular ones for the MX340 cost $16 for black and $21 for color. You can also get the large capacity cartridges as well for $22 for black and $27 for color. I got those prices directly from the Canon website, so you most likely can find them cheaper other places.

If I compared this to the Epson WorkForce 610 then you wouldn’t find all of the features on the Canon that the 610 has like specialty printing options. The Canon Pixma MX340 is a no frills business printer, it’s built for speed and usability. That’s a good thing and a bad thing I guess, it all depends if you want or use all of the other features.

Conclusion:

If you’re looking for a printer that’s all about business then you’ll want to certainly take a closer look at the Pixma MX340.  It’s a very capable printer that works fast and produces a quality print for both documents and photos.

The MX340 doesn’t have all of the features of other types of Multi-Function Printers, but it doesn’t need them really. The cute stuff like stationary etc is a nice feature but who really uses it all that often? I want a printer that prints fast and produces good quality results and the MX340 does that well.

For about $100 you’ll get you get a printer that is reliable and works well.

I ran into no issues with paper jams in my time with it, but that was only about three weeks, so it’s a bit too early to tell on that part.

Pros:
+Well made and designed
+High paper capacity
+Inexpensive really
+Ink is actually inexpensive
+Quiet scanning

Cons:
-Large in size
-Not much in terms of features for printing
-Small and limited LCD display

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

This product was given to TestFreaks for review by the company for review purposes only, and is not considered by us as payment for the review, we do not, and never will, accept payment from companies to review their products. To learn more about our review policy please visit this page HERE.

Review of Canon PIXMA MX340 Office All-In-One Printer is a post from: Testfreaks | The Blog

A little over a year ago I reviewed the Epson WorkForce 600 All-in-One Printer, and yes I still use it, at least until the new WorkForce 610 arrived for review a few weeks ago. I used the WorkForce 600 almost everyday actually and have yet to have any problems with it, no paper jams, no nothing with it, it has worked flawlessly for me. If you read my review of the 600 then you’ll know I found it to be an excellent printer, the 610 in no different in that respect, and really it hasn’t changed all that much. The main difference is that the graphical interface has be redesigned for the better. So continue on to learn more about the Epson WorkForce 610..

We’ll start off with a video unboxing, followed by the still pictures:

Here’s the packaging and the contents:

The WorkForce 610 looks exactly like the WorkForce 600, aesthetically I see no differences.

The Automatic document feeder is on the top, you just flip open the door and insert your paper.

The top opens to reveal the scanner, but then it opens again, under the scanner is where you’ll put the ink cartridges.

The input and output paper trays are both collapsible, this is great if you’re space limited, just slide it out if you want to print and when you’re finished just slide it back in. The paper goes in the tray on the back of the WorkForce 610 and then comes out the front.

On the back you’ll find you connections for USB, power, phone lines and Ethernet.

The front is where the main interface is. The whole front access panel can tilt out and up providing the optimal viewing angle for ease of use.

Off to the left side of the panel is the card reader and USB port.

The front panel features an LCD display with several buttons. To the far left of the LCD display is the power button and a quick access button, directly left is the Help and Display/Crop button. Directly right is direction navigation buttons, menu, back and +/- buttons. This panel is the main interface panel for accessing all of the functions of the WorkForce 610.

To the right of the interface panel is the number keypad and dialing buttons for fax functionality, to the far right is two more buttons for Stop/Clear and Start.

The interface is basically identical to the WorkForce 600 with the exception of one button. The main difference, you’ll see later, is that Epson redesigned the actual interface on the LCD.

Here’s a picture from my review of the WorkForce 600 of the front panel, the View/Auto Correct button has been replaced with the Help button on the 610, other than that they’re the same.

Specifications:

Epson WorkForce 610 All-in-One Printer

Features & Benefits
* Increase your productivity – up to 2x faster than leading competitive ink jets, when printing laser quality text1
* Speed through critical documents – maximum print speeds of 38 ppm black/color; laser quality speeds of 15 ppm black, 9.3 ppm color1
* Protect important documents – instant-dry ink for smudge, fade and water resistant prints; highlighter-friendly too
* Dependable – engineered for reliable paper feeding
* PC fax – save paper by faxing documents directly from your computer1
* Easily share – Wi-Fi for wireless connectivity, and Ethernet for wired networking
* Print three times as much – get about 3x more prints than with our standard 69 ink cartridges, when using the included 97 Extra High-capacity ink cartridge
* Small footprint – takes up less space on your desk
* Save energy – uses up to 70% less power than a laser printer1
* Save paper – save up to 50% of your paper supply with manual, two-sided printing1
* Get more done – 30-page Auto Document Feeder to quickly copy, scan or fax stacks of originals
* High-speed faxing in black and color – as fast as 3 sec per page; speed dial storage up to 60 numbers; fax memory up to 180 pages
* PC-free, borderless photos in a snap – 2.5″ LCD and memory card slots for easy transfer of files
* Individual ink cartridges – replace only the color you need
* Product protection you can count on – 2-year limited warranty; phone support, without charge, for the life of the product; plus, access to exclusive templates, tutorials and offers with product registration

Specifications:

Printing Technology: 4-color CMYK drop-on-demand MicroPiezo ink jet technology
Ink Palette: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black
Ink Cartridge Configuration: 4 individual ink cartridges
Ink Type: DURABrite Ultra pigment ink (smudge, fade, water resistant, and highlighter friendly)
Fade Resistance / Print Longevity: Up to 118 years

Maximum Print Resolution: 5760 x 1440 optimized dpi

Maximum Print Speed:
Black: 38 ppm
Color: 38 ppm2

Laser Quality Print Speed:
Black: 15 ppm
Color: 9.3 ppm2

Scanner Type: Color flatbed
Optical Resolution: 2400 dpi
Hardware Resolution: 2400 x 2400 dpi
Maximum Resolution: 9600 x 9600 dpi interpolated
Scanner Bit Depth: 48-bit color / 24-bit output

Copy Quality: Color: Black/White, Draft: Normal

Copy Quantity: 1 – 99 (PC-free)

Maximum Copy Size: 8.5″ x 11″ (PC-free)

Copy Features: Fit to page, automatic reduction and enlargement (25 – 400%), adjustable copy density

PC-free Printing:
Print all photos, photo index sheet, color photo restoration, scan to PDF, scan to memory card, Auto Photo Correction, print your own school papers, college-ruled, wide-ruled and graph papers, personalized stationery with and without lines

Auto Document Feeder: 30 Sheets

Supported Digital Camera Technologies: Epson PRINT Image Matching®, Exif Print, DPOF, DCF v. 1.0/2.0

Direct Camera Connection: Front PictBridge™ port (print from digital cameras and mobile phones, PC-free)

Color Preview Monitor: 2.5″, tilt LCD display

Built-in Memory Card Slots Compatibility
CompactFlash, Microdrive, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Duo 3, MagicGate Memory Stick, MagicGate Memory Stick Duo 3, Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick Pro Duo 3, Secure Digital (SD), SDHC, mini SD 3, mini SDHC 3, micro SD 3, micro SDHC3, MultiMediaCard , xD-Picture Card, xD-Picture Card Type-M, xD-Picture Card Type-H

PC- Free Paper Support: Plain (8.5″ x 11″), Photo (4″ x 6″, 5″ x 7″, 8” x 10”, 8.5″ x 11″, 16:9 wide)

Fax Capabilities: Black-and-white and color
Fax Specifications: PC fax
Fax Speed: Modem: 33.6 Kbps – as fast as 3 sec per page
Fax Memory (pages): Up to 180 pages

Maximum Paper Size: 8.5″ x 44″

Paper Sizes:
3.5″ x 5″, 4″ x 6″, 5″ x 7″, 8″ x 10″, 8.5″ x 11″, 8.5″ x 14″, A4, B5, A5, A6, half letter, executive, user definable (3.5″ – 44″ in length)

Borderless Photo Sizes:
3.5″ x 5″, 4″ x 6″, 5″ x 7″, 8″ x 10″, 8.5″ x 11″, A4, 16:9 wide

Paper Types:
Supports plain paper, Epson Bright White Paper, Photo Paper Glossy, Premium Photo Paper Glossy, Ultra Premium Photo Paper Glossy, Premium Photo Paper Semi-gloss, Presentation Paper Matte, Premium Presentation Paper Matte, Premium Presentation Paper Matte Double-sided, and Matte Scrapbook Photo Paper (letter)

Envelope Types:
No. 10, DL, C6; plain paper, bond paper, air mail

Input Paper Capacity:
100 sheets plain paper, 10 envelopes

Weight and Dimensions (W x D x H):
Printing: 18.1″ x 22.1″ x 12″
Storage: 18.1″ x 13.6″ x 9.3″
Weight: 18.3 lb

Connectivity:
Hi-Speed USB 2.0
Wireless Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) — Compatible with 802.11n
Wired Ethernet (10/100 Mbps)

Since I was using the WorkForce 600 I uninstalled all of that software first to make sure I was starting fresh. To install the WorkForce 610 you just pop in the disc and follow the instructions, the installation will vary a little by which type of connection you’re using. Once you install the drivers then you can install the extra programs like Presto Page manager and Arcsoft Print Creations. The extra program do add value, but are not needed for the 610 to function.

Once you’ve got everything installed you’ll notice a new icon has appeared on your taskbar, it will let you access the printer and it’s properties along with monitor the status of it.

I’ve got a video of the interface and still pictures of it as well.

The first option is setup, here you’ll find everything to setup the printer and all of the settings.

The next option is print ruled papers, you can print not only ruled but custom stationary as well without the PC.

The next menu choice would be Backup Data, this one is rather self-explanatory, it helps you backup your data.

Next would be copy, this works just like a copy machine. You can select amount of copies, color or black and white and color density along with paper type. The copy function is very useful, next to the actual printer I use this one most often. The automatic document feeder can be used with copy to make copying multiple pages easy.

The next menu option is Print Photos. Here you can directly print from various sources like a USB drive or memory card. You’ll view the pictures right on the display and print them how you want in various sizes. You can do basic editing functions as well like cropping right through the interface. There are also many option to change when it comes to fixing or correcting the pictures.

The next option would be Scan, this one is self-explanatory as well, it’s a scanner which you can use to scan documents or photos. The nice thing about this is that it can also be used without the computer, you can save the scanned image right to a USB drive or memory card.

The last option is Fax, this is for your faxing needs. It’s simple, easy to use and it works fine.

I really like the new interface much better, everything is right there for you with no scrolling. Here’s one picture of the old interface, you can easily see the difference.

Using the WorkForce 610 is simple, it’s one of the easiest printers to use really. The graphical interface makes life much easier.

The print quality is excellent, black is nice and crisp, the results look like those from a laser printer. Printing photos with the WorkForce 610 is easy and the results are excellent, professional quality prints. You will find a difference though depending what type of paper you use, in other words don’t print photos on plain paper, only use photo paper. I know people that use regular paper for photos and complain about the quality, I don’t understand it really. I really like the photo choice options, you’ve got many choice when in comes to sizes and types of photos to print out.

Epson sent me different paper samples as well, like heavy stock matte and photo paper, everything looked excellent when printed on the 610.

There are a few things I really love about this printer, the speed is the first one, it’s fast, very fast. I also find the auto document feeder very useful when it comes to copying multiple pages. I like the photo print options as well, it’s nice to be able to just stick my memory card in the printer and print right from there while making any adjustments if need be.

The specialty things like stationary and ruled papers options are a nice option really. With these specialty options you don’t have to open up a creation program and play around with it, you can do everything right from the printer.

As far as faxing, the WorkForce 610 works fine, just like the 600, no differences there at all. I mentioned in the WF600 review that I don’t like the lack of a handset and that still holds true for this one.

Scanning and copying are both fairly fast and work fine, no issues there at all.

I’ve got the WorkForce 610 hooked up to my network via an Ethernet cable only because I’ve got a switch and have extra spaces on it, and it sits close to the switch. I did use it wirelessly as well, and had no issues there. Since it’s hooked to my network everyone in my home can access it. I use my main computer mostly, but I do have other computers in my home, along with netbooks, having it on my network allows everyone and every device to access the printer.

If you look at my WorkForce 600 review you’ll find many comments, and the majority mention paper jams and ink issues. As far as paper jams, I’ve never experienced on yet in the year I’ve used the 600, and not one on the 610 since I’ve been using it. The complaints about the ink are that it doesn’t seem to last and it won’t print if on cartridge it out. They’re small cartridges so yes they’re limited on ink, but what printer doesn’t come with small cartridges? The issue with the not printing, well I’ve never experienced that since I always have extra ink cartridges. It’s a common sense problem really, if you use it a lot you’ll use a lot of ink and you’ll run out faster, so why wouldn’t you have spare cartridges?
You can’t beat the price for the WorkForce 610, Epson lists the MSRP at $200, but it can be had for about $140 most places, I think it’s well worth the cost.

Conclusion:

The Epson WorkForce 610 is an excellent All-in-one printer that’s well worth the cost. If you’ve looking for a printer that can satisfy your home and business needs and then some, this is the printer you’ll want to take a closer look at.

The WorkForce 610 is a feature packed powerhouse that most anyone would be happy with, and with it’s low price tag it truly is an excellent choice if you’re in the market for an All-in-one printer that truly does it all.<

Yes it can be loud when printing, but to me that’s no a big deal. It is big, and it’s heavy, weighing in at almost 20 lbs, but it’s not meant to be portable.

The WorkForce 610 is a great printer overall, I truly like it a lot and can easily recommened it. I still like the WorkForce 600, but the 610 is better overall especially with the new graphical interface.

Pros:
+Fast printing
+Tons of features and options
+Excellent print quality
+Works perfectly
+Scan and print photos, stationary, specialty items without the PC
+Print directly from USB, memory card of even camera
+Easy to use an install

Cons:
-Large and heavy
-Can be loud

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

This product was given to TestFreaks for review by the company for review purposes only, and is not considered by us as payment for the review, we do not, and never will, accept payment from companies to review their products. To learn more about our review policy please visit this page HERE.

Epson WorkForce 610 All-in-One Printer Review is a post from: Testfreaks | The Blog

 

Printers are something that many of us take for granted, most people just settle for whatever is on sale and they really don’t look before buying them, they just figure as long as it prints they’ll be happy. That’s regular printers though, since digital cameras have become so popular it’s now become a feature for most all printers that they can print photos, but don’t believe it, I’ve had several printers that claimed that and they were garbage truthfully. This includes expensive one and inexpensive ones, I’ve always been leery of printers that claim to print lab quality photos, that is until recently when I reviewed the Epson WorkForce 600, even though it’s typically an office printer, it does photos beautifully. Now today I’ve got another Epson product for review, this one is specifically designed with the artist in mind, and it shows aesthetically and with the quality of what can be produced with it.

Today I’ve got the Epson Artisan 800 All-in-One Printer for review, and yes it’s a multi-functional printer, but it’s primary one for the artist in all of us, it’s centered more around creativity than office work. Don’t get me wrong though it can handle office tasks as well with ease, but it does it with style and grace. The built-in 7.8" touch panel is wonderful to work with, and there’s even a 3.5" LCD display as well, the Artisan 800 is what a printer should be.

First up I’ve got an unboxing and tour video for you, be warned though, it’s long….

The Artisan is packaged very well as is expected from Epson.

Here’s a few views of the Artisan 800:

on the top of course is the feeder mechanism for faxing and multiple copying

Looking closer at the front panel we find two buttons on the left side of the display one is the power button, the other is the CD tray access, on the bottom right side we find the card reader and USB port. The display can tilt upwards at several angles and even be straight out at 90 degrees if need be for easier access, below the display is where your prints come out and where the paper tray is located. The paper tray is the dual kind, so you can have regular paper and 4×6 photo paper in there.

on the back of the Artisan is where we find the connections for USB, power, phone and ethernet:

The paper feeder on top lifts up to reveal the flatbed scanner, then that lifts up to reveal the ink cartridge housing.

Epson was also kind enough to send me over the Automatic Duplexer as well for the Artisan 800, it allows for double sided printing, which is a very nice feature to have.

The Duplexer just gets attached to the back of the Artisan 800 and works very well, it’s very nice to be able to print on both sides of the paper if you want to, you don’t have to flips the paper over manually anymore:

Here’s a picture of both the WorkForce 600 and the Artisan 800, they’re close to the same width, but the WorkForce is a bit taller

Specifications:

Epson Artisan 800 All-in-One Printer

Overview
* 5 in 1 with Wi-Fi: Print / Copy / Scan / Fax / Ultra HD Photo
* Up to 38 ppm, photos in as fast as 10 sec1
* Built-in fax and Automatic Document Feeder
* Wi-Fi and Ethernet networking
* 7.8-inch touch panel, 3.5-inch LCD
* Professional quality CD/DVD printing
* Two-sided printing saves paper
* Create coloring books and personal note paper
* Two-year limited warranty with registration1
* Ultra Hi-Definition photos last 4x longer than photo lab prints
* Two paper trays always ready to print photos and documents

Unleash your creativity with the new Artisan 800. This sophisticated, yet simple all-in-one masterfully combines the world of style and technology. This premier product will empower you to make your personal and business projects rise above the rest.

The master among ink jet all-in-ones, the Artisan 800 offers power and performance that’s matched only by its sleek and chic appearance. Not only does it fax stacks of documents and produce stunning, Hi-Definition prints at ultra fast speeds, this innovative all-in-one allows you to add a personal touch to your creative projects. And, with wireless networking, you can print from anywhere in your home or office. Bring your imagination to life with a full cast of innovative features  print professional quality CDs, create personalized note paper and get photos that look their very best, automatically. With two paper trays, an intuitive touch panel and built-in Auto Document Feeder, you no longer need eight hands and eighty hours to do all you want to do. The Artisan 800 is like a magic wand for the multitasker. And, it prints black and color text up to 38 pages per minute and photos in as fast as 10 seconds. This powerful performer will copy, scan and fax in the blink of an eye, leaving you time to finish that office presentation, create party invitations and more. For those who want it all, the Artisan 800 fits your lifestyle and your decor.

Price: $299.99

Features & Benefits:
* Ultra fast print speeds  up to 38 ppm (black/color); photos in as fast as 10 sec
* Smart, 7.8" touch panel  large display lights up the buttons you need; includes a 3.5" LCD to preview and print images
* Fax, even in color  send and receive faxes right at home
* Remarkable productivity  Auto Document Feeder to quickly copy, scan or fax stacks of originals
* Wi-Fi support  built-in wired and wireless networking; print from any room
* Ultra Hi-Definition prints  Claria 6-color ink for image with richness, depth and clarity  it’s the ultimate in photo quality
* Save paper built-in two-sided printing
* Bring old, faded photos back to life  easily restore the color to faded photos
* Professional looking CDs/DVDs  print right onto ink jet printable CDs/DVDs
* One-of-a-kind projects  easily create personal note paper, invitations, greeting cards and coloring books using your own photos
* Perfect photos made easy  Auto Photo Correction with on-screen preview and red-eye removal
* Quality color or black and white copies  copy documents, receipts, recipes and more
* Epson PreferredSM program  two-year limited warranty and toll-free telephone support, free with registration, for product  protection you can count on, plus more exclusive benefits
* Long-lasting prints  fade-resistant photos that last up to 4x longer than photo lab prints
* Multitasking made easy  paper cassette with two paper trays for plain and photo paper; always ready for any task
* Results ready to share  better than photo lab quality photos are smudge, scratch, water and fade resistant
* Useful software included  OCR to convert scanned documents into editable text and creativity software to create and print cards, calendars, photo books and more
* Individual ink cartridges  replace only the color that you need
* Creativity at your fingertips  built-in memory card slots and PictBridge to print photos PC-free

Specifications:

Maximum Resolution
* 5760 x 1440 dpi
Black Text
* Black text up to 38 ppm

Color Text
* Color text up to 38 ppm

4" x 6" Photo
* 4" x 6" photo in as fast as 10 seconds

Copy Speed
* Black up to 38 cpm
   Color up to 38 cpm

Scanner Type
* Color flatbed (CIS line sensor)

Optical Resolution
* 4800 dpi

Maximum Resolution
* 9600 x 9600 dpi interpolated

Special Features
* 7.8" touch panel
* 3.5" LCD
* 30-page Auto Document Feeder to copy, scan, and fax
* Built-in 2-sided printing, make automatic with optional duplexer
* Auto Photo Correction of digital photos with on-screen preview
* Two input paper trays, main tray adjustable up to 8.5" x 14", Photo tray 4" x 6" and 5" x 7"
* View a photo slide show on the built-in 3.5" color LCD

Compatible Memory Cards
* SD
* xD-Picture Card
* Memory Stick
* Compact Flash
* MultiMedia Card

Direct CD/DVD Printing
* Ink jet printable CD/DVDs

Fax Speed
* Modem: 33.6 Kbps

Fax Memory (pages)
* Up to 180 pages

Input Paper Capacity
* Main Paper Tray
120 sheets plain paper, 10 envelopes
* Photo Tray
20 sheets Premium Photo Paper Glossy

Weight and Dimensions (W x D x H)
Weight: 23.8 lb
Printing: 18.4" x 23.0" x 7.8"
Storage: 18.4" x 15.2" x 7.8"

Connectivity
* Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, compatible with 802.11 n, Ethernet 10/100, Hi-Speed USB 2.0, PictBridge, Bluetooth (optional)

Operating Systems
* Windows Vista, XP Professional x64, XP, 2000 Mac OS X 10.3.9, 10.4.11 and 10.5.x (PowerPC or Intel processor)

Software Included
* Epson printer driver, Epson Print CD, Web to Page, Epson Scan, ArcSoft Print Creations, Epson scanner drivers, ABBYY FineReader

To get it setup is a fairly easy process, it’s just like setting up the Epson WorkForce 600 that I reviewed a few months ago, just follow the prompts and you’re good to go really. USB, wired or wireless are easy to setup, I had no problems with it at all, and of course to get full functionality from the Artisan 800 I would suggest installing the additional software as well.

yes it seems like a lot of steps from the above screenshots but it really isn’t honestly. I had no problem hooking it to my network wirelessly, worked fine the first time.

Having children we take many pictures, especially my wife, and I’m trying to get her to move over to a digital camera, but she’s still stuck on her 35mm film camera for whatever reason. My wife and her mom took the kids to the aviary recently and I asked my wife to help me out and take my spare digital camera and use it to take pictures, I thought nice colorful birds would make for great prints. So I ended with a lot of pictures from the aviary and the children’s museum here in Pittsburgh where they also went on another day. Taking pictures of pictures doesn’t really do them justice, but here’s a bunch I printed out:

The pictures are beautiful really, they look exactly like something you would get out of the lab, perfect quality. The ink dries instantly so no smudges, and you can’t really scratch them either, you could if you really tried of course, but in normal handling you won’t damage them. I love to print pictures on this printer really, and the ink seems to last for quite some time, I’m finally getting a low ink reminder after those pictures and many others.

One of the cool features, at least I think it is, is the fact that you can create coloring pages from your pictures, my youngest son thinks this is just great and asks me to do it often now. It does work great, but the only complaint I could have is that you can’t create the coloring page from a digital picture, you must print out the picture then create the page by scanning it back in, it seems like a waste of time and paper really.

As for copying and faxing, well I do make quite a few copies, but I don’t usually fax too much, but I like to have a fax machine in my house, or all-in-one just in case I need it. If you read my review the other day you’d know my Mother recently passed away, last Monday the 16th, but over the last few days I’ve faxed as much as would normally in a few months, so it got a nice workout, and I have no complaints there, it works as it should, it’s nice and fast. Copying as well, I’ve had to make quite a few copies of documents due to all of this, so it also got a nice workout there as well, and again no complaints, copies are done fast, and look excellent. If you put it in color mode the copies look almost exactly like the original, very nice indeed.

The features of this printer are truly amazing, it is just feature packed. I thought the WorkForce 600 was packed with features but the Artisan 800 has got even more. The comparison of the two is hard to do really as the Artisan is really a high end photo printer with office functions built in, while the WorkForce 600 is really an office centric device that can print quality photos if need be. One major difference between the WorkForce 600 and the Artisan 800 is the ability to print CDs and DVDs, and when you do print them they look amazing, the quality is stunning really. The other glaring difference between the WorkForce and the Artisan is of course the creativity features included with the Artisan, as the name suggests it allows you to be very creative, and you can do it without a computer right on the touch panel.

I thought about doing a bunch of pictures of the touch panel but I figured it was much easier to just do a video of it in action, it’s sort of a tour of the options and how things work:

I’m in love with the whole touch screen thing going on here really, I thought the interface on the WorkForce 600 was nice, this is 100 times better really, it’s so nice to have such a large work area, and using the touch screen for everything eliminates all of the other buttons you would normally find on an all-in-one. I reviewed the Brother MFC-790CW all-in-one not long ago, it also featured a touch screen, but the one on the Artisan just blows it away in both looks, overall usefulness and ease of use. Speaking of the Brother printer, if I had to compare to the Artisan of the WorkForce I would have to say there is no comparison, both Epson products are far superior in most every way.

I mentioned earlier one small complaint I had about not being able to create coloring pages from a digital photo, and it’s not a big deal really, and shouldn’t bother most people. There is one other complaint though I could have, the Artisan at times will take quite a while to get a document printed, and it’s not the actual printing process, it’s the priming of the cartridges that takes the time, sometimes up to a full minute, even if I just used it a few minutes before. Maybe this was because the cartridges are getting low on ink, as I didn’t notice it so much when they were full. It still needs to be noted though as it can be very annoying at times.

As far as the printer itself, it’s plastic yes, but it seems very well made, durable and rugged like it’s WorkForce counterpart. They do resemble each other quite a bit, with a small size difference. The lack of buttons on the Artisan 800 makes it a much more attractive piece especially for the home, the WorkForce 600 has lots of buttons and it looks like it belong in an office really, though that’s not a bad thing really. The color of both is black, which should match any decor, thought shiny black does collect dust and fingerprints easily. Weight wise, it’s actually not as heavy as it looks to be, this I was surprised by, it looks much heavier than it really is.

Conclusion:
To me the Epson Artisan 800 is what a photo printer should be, all other printers can only hope to be as good and useful as the Artisan 800 is. The picture quality is utterly amazing, it really has to be seen to be believed, I can only say that they are the best prints I have ever seen come from a printer, and I’ve owned many "photo printers’ over the years, expensive and inexpensive, and none even come close to the quality of what the Artisan 800 can produce.

Besides photos though the Artisan 800 is an extremely useful and excellent tool for all other office type tasks, it performs flawlessly whatever job is thrown at it, and the quality of the work it puts out is amazing.

I’ve got me a new favorite printer, all other printers out there should just give up now and go back home. The other manufacturers out there need to take note of the Artisan 800 and follow suit as this is nearly the perfect printer on the market today. Epson knows how to make a printer and what we want and need in a product such as this.

If you’re looking for a photo-centric printer with office tasking abilities then I can easily recommend you getting this one, you won’t be disappointed, it will do everything you want it to and much more.

Pros:
Excellent quality pictures
Easy to setup and use
Wireless!
Much more than just a photo printer
Touch screen interface with LCD display
Fast printing both pictures and regular printing
Tons of features

Cons:
Cartridge priming can take long at times

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

Epson Artisan 800 All-in-One Printer is a post from: Testfreaks | The Blog

All-in-one printer have become very popular, especially since more and more and more people are working from home. These home offices need something that can do everything for them as space is limited to have several devices around, and with most home offices the computer is also their personal computer, so it’s nice to have a machine that does everything for business and personal use.

A little while ago I took a look at an excellent all-in-one printer from Epson, the Workforce 600, today for review I’ve got another, this one is from Brother, it’s the MFC-790CW. It’s almost as feature packed as the Epson, but the Brother has a phone built in, LCD touchscreen and voice messaging center as well, something the Epson did not have.

The Brother MFC-790CW is an excellent choice for the home office or small business that needs something that can do everything.

As usual please check out the unboxing video first and then continue on:

Specifications:

Brother MFC-790CW Color Inkjet All-in-One Printer
Model: MFC-790CW
Description: Color Inkjet All-in-One with 4.2” TouchScreen Color LCD Display
Estimated Street Price: $179.99

Overview:
The MFC-790cw all-in-one includes an easy-to use, intuitive and interactive 4.2" TouchScreen. It helps improve your productivity with fast print speeds and 15-sheet maximum capacity auto document feeder. Connecting this machine to multiple users is easy via the wireless (802.11b/g) or wired (Ethernet) network connection. It comes with a built-in digital answering machine, full-duplex speaker phone and handset.

Main Features:
* 4.2” TouchScreen Color LCD Display. Easily navigate through the menu by selecting items on screen. Plus, preview faxes, preview/enhance/edit photos and view help menus.
* Built-in Wireless (802.11b/g)and Wired (Ethernet) Interfaces. Allows you to share the all-in-one to print, scan, PC Fax and access your digital camera media cards slots or USB flash memory drive.
* Digital Answering Machine.Holds up to 29 minutes of messages, full duplex speakerphone and corded handset.
* Fast Color Printing on Demand. With speeds up to 33ppm black and 27ppm color.
* High Quality Printing.With droplet sizes as small as 1.5 picoliters and resolutions as high as 6000 x 1200dpi.
* Unattended Fax, Copy or Scan. Up to 15-sheet auto document feeder.
* Send and Recieve Faxes. Hi-Speed Super G3 33.6K bps fax modem allows black and white or color faxing with or without a PC.
* Direct Photo Printing on Demand. Print photos directly from your digital camera’s media card slots, PictBridge-enabled camera, or USB Flash Memory Drive.
* Flatbed Copying and Scanning. Easily copy and scan books, thick or odd shaped documents.
* 4-Cartridge System. Only replace the cartridge that need to be replaced.
* Energy Star Certified.

You can view the full specs and features by visiting the Brother website HERE

Setting up the Brother MFC-790CW was actually very easy, with the Epson Workforce 600 that I reviewed not long ago you have to hook up the ethernet cable, configure everything then unhook it to use the wireless connection, with the Brother you can just input your wireless settings into the printer itself and you’re basically done expect for installing the software. This is a nice feature especially if you plan on having the printer setup some distance from your computer, with the Epson if you want to do that you’ve got to have a long cable or move the printer later tot he desired end location after the setup is complete.

Pop the CD into your drive and install the drivers and optional software if you wish, included is FaceFilter Studio, BookScan, Whiteboard suite and PaperPort 11SE.

I already own a Brother MFC and I found the basic interface to be the same, with the exception that now you can customize it to your personal liking. You can use the standard interface or the flash based version, which is animated and looks more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

As you know the built in LCD screen is a touchscreen and I figured a video would be the easiest way to show you how it works and show you all of the options, so check out the video and continue on for the rest of the review:

Ok, well to recap the video, the quality or resolution of the touchscreen really isn’t that great, the pictures viewed are very grainy, and the screen seems washed out, not very bright and vivid at all like the one on the Epson Workforce 600. As I tried to point out in the video it already seems like it’s ‘burned in’ you can see residual images on the screen that don’t go away when you change screens, and I haven’t had it for that long, I can’t imagine what it’ll look like after six months or a year even.

It does work well though, I like the idea of less buttons and for most people it’ll make using it much easier. That part is very nice, it’s very responsive and works great.

Overall though I’m not impressed at all with the touchscreen, it’s the center or focal point of the device, the main user interface, and I think more work or design should have went into it to make it better looking and better quality.

I printed a lot of stuff with the Brother MFC-79CW to get a good feel for it including black and white, color documents and pictures. The first thing I have to mention is that the included starter ink cartridges will not last at all, you’ll be out buying more ink shortly after purchase. Luckily though I did check the price on the ink and it’s inexpensive, coming in around $10 for each cartridge at Office Depot. I got 12 8×10 pictures before I ran out of yellow ink, and the setting was of course on photo or high quality using the included Brother brand glossy paper. I of course used it for many other things as well, so I may have gotten a couple more full 8x10s out of the included cartridges but not many more.  The quality of the pictures is very nice, and they look great, I’d say near studio quality, and much better than other dedicated photo printers I’ve seen.

as for settings there are the standard settings that you’d expect to find for the printer, you can make all of your adjustments etc though here:

Here’s a picture of the Epson Workforce 600  and the Brother MFC-790CW printers to give you an idea of size:

Obviously the Epson is a bit larger, but they weigh about the same, and both are large and heavy really.

Image Gallery:

Conclusion:
The Brother MFC-790CW is a good choice for a small business or home office on a budget, for under $200 you can get a machine that will handle most any office activities you need it to do including voicemail, faxing and copying.

Of course it does have it’s problems, the included ink will not last long, especially in a business setting, you’ll be buying it shortly after the initial purchase.

The LCD touchscreen is one of the main features and it’s not that good honestly, the overall quality is just not what I expected, when something is the focal point as this is, you really expect it to be one of the best parts of the device and it’s not at all.

Pros:
Well made
Full of features
Easy setup and use
Near laser quality
Ink is inexpensive
Built in phone and messaging center
Ink dries very fast, no smudges
Excellent quality pictures

Cons:
Includes trial ink cartridges will have to buy more soon after purchase
LCD screen resolution quality is not good
Long print time for full 8×10 photos
Large and heavy

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

Brother MFC-790CW Color Inkjet All-in-One Printer is a post from: Testfreaks | The Blog