Sadly I'm unimpressed (Epson Stylus Color 440)

Member Name: LouisaNott

Product:	Epson Stylus Color 440
Date:	13/07/01 (72 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap to buy and run, easy to install, adequate print quality

Disadvantages: Sadly, mine broke very quickly

I'm unimpressed with this printer, purely because the one I had died within 18 months(and not much printing)...

The printer itself is quite nice looking, and I was really relieved when I realised that it holds both colour and black cartridges, so there's no nasty cartridge-swapping to be done, which is nice. Print quality isn't that bad, with A4 it's certainly acceptable, if a little slow (as per usual) with colour. I found that envelopes and the like tended to like getting stuck and hence chewed up in the process of being printed.

Cartridges are fairly cheap to get hold of, and easy to install. I tended to use WHSmiths version of Epson's cartridges, only because they were on 3for2 at the time, and they were absolutely fine. Because the cartridges don't last as long on the Epson, they are a lot cheaper (like about 12 quid compared to the 28 quid I'm in for on my new Lexmark...).

Regarding the pc, the printer was really easy to set up, with the CD it practically does it for you. Sometims I found that after I'd asked it to print, it just "forgot" what it was meant to be doing, which wasn't so bad, but after a year of having it, it just stopped printing and the computer denied any existence of a printer. My pc manufacturers helpline confirmed that it had indeed died, and I got a new one.

It's a great shame that this printer died on me, it really was absolutely fine for my "normal" home use. It's probably not good enough for a serious user, but for University, it's great. Sadly, I have to give it a low rating because it died so quickly!

....and yeah, I agree with the comment that Lexmark cartridges are more expensive because of the fact that the print head is within Lexmark cartridges, rather than the printer itself, which isn't the case in Epson printers. As such, this is why my printer had no life left when it died, and explains why Lexmark cartridges a
re much much more expensive. But...they are more easily refillable as there's no worry about mucking up the print cartridge in the printer, as if you do....you just shrug your shoulders, throw it away, and but a new cartridge...

Summary: