GREAT PRINTING AND SCANNING AND EXCELLENT VALUE FOR MONEY!!! (Epson Stylus Photo RX425)

Member Name: dlb74

Product:	Epson Stylus Photo RX425
Date:	16/10/06 (323 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A great 3-in-1 printer which performs extremely well...

Disadvantages: Not the most quiet machine on the market... cost of official cartridges...

Last year, I decided that given my hobbies of graphic design, photo manipulation and drawing cartoons that it was time to invest in a new printer that would be able to carry out the tasks and deliver the quality they would require.

My previous printer was way back through the mists of time when I owned an Amiga and purchased a really naff dot matrix printer. I think this Jurassic Printer came with a free T-Rex and was REALLY crap and noisy!!!


However – fast forward to last year and I was stood in Dixons (usually my first mistake given that I’ve had problems with them a few years ago – but that’s a whole other story for another time) on Princes Street, Edinburgh. I had the obligatory sales people latch onto me like Velociraptors the moment I walked into the store and they were quickly aware that I was on the look out for a new printer.

I was then advised about the possibilities of the three in one printer. Now I know that some models offer printer, scanner, photocopier and fax capabilities but the machine that was suggested to me was the Epson Photo RX425.

I suppose for some it might be regarded as a fairly bulky machine but as it is a three in one, this is to be expected. This machine offers printer, scanner and photocopier capabilities but not fax – so unless you need to have a fax facility, it should more than cover you for your needs.

Below, I will list a more detailed account of the capabilities of the machine.


Printer:

The printer uses a four cartridge system. This comprises of black, cyan, magenta and yellow cartridges to produce the colour range.

As per every manufacturer, Epson recommend that you only use their own brand of printer cartridge. Currently, an official Epson 4 pack of ink cartridges costs £29.99 but there are as with most machines, third party compatible cartridges available for this machine.

There are lots of places where you can buy compatible ink cartridges for the RX425 both offline and online. One of the best I have found online is:

www.svp.co.uk

At this moment in time, a compatible set of black, cyan, magenta and yellow cartridges costs a mere £10.49 from SVP. I have used these before and have had no problems with them whatsoever. I guess it comes down to a personal preference on whether you want the official accessories or are happy with third party ones. For me, the cost answers that question. If I tried third party cartridges and got bad results, I would see the sense in paying almost three times the amount but as the results have been very good indeed, I say buy the compatibles.

Here are some of the specifications of the RX425:

- Prints up to 5760 x 1440 dpi print resolution
- Up to 15 pages per minute in black
- Up to 15 pages per minute in colour
- Standalone photocopy function (up to 99 copies from original document)
- On board digital camera card readers
- Up to 1200 x 2400 dpi scan resolution
- Up to 48 bit depth
- USB interface
- Windows and Mac compatible

Having used this machine for quite some time now, I have been more than happy with the results I get from it thus far. It reproduces images to a good standard on regular paper and card but gives extremely good results on glossy photo paper. Given that I have printed out both photographic images that include restored photos and cartoons that have been initially scanned from the machine and have been coloured using photoshop, most images turn out very sharp and full of brilliant colour that looks practically as good on paper as it did on the screen.

When it comes to both the scan and print results, I just can’t fault the RX425. It is relatively easy to use and changing the cartridges is a piece of cake – and mess free.

Obviously, the lifespan of the cartridges is dependant on the amount of images, quality and colours that are printed. That said, I often print a fair bit of graphics-heavy stuff and can get a good few months out of the cartridges.

The scanner gives very good results with sharp and clear reproductions of anything scanned from smaller photos to full A4 size documents – whether they be images, text or a mixture of both.

When I purchased the machine, it cost me something in the region of £100 and is still one of the best £100 I have ever spent as I am getting excellent value for money from the machine.

Prior to typing this op, I saw that the PC World web site has the RX425 listed in a clearance sale for a mere £69.97 with free delivery. Personally, I would say that anyone who purchases this three in one for that sum of money and to get it delivered free of charge is already onto a win-win situation before it even arrives with them – and should continue to please them when they unpack it and start using it. I know I’m very happy with its performance.

Happy printing/scanning/copying!

Derek.

Summary: Great results coupled with great value for money... What's not to like?!?