Style is right... (Epson Stylus Photo 890)

Member Name: one47

Product:	Epson Stylus Photo 890
Date:	22/01/02 (588 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quiet, Fast, Excellent results

Disadvantages: Drinks ink

Invest in a worthwhile printer?... Never! Until now, and even that didn't break the bank. I've finally upgraded my PC, and while my wife wasn't looking, I included a spanky new printer on the order :-)


--- Features ---

Okay, start with the basics. This is a colour printer, photo-quality, and handles A4 paper at a speed of about 10 pages per minute.

For the more technically mined:
* Dimensions = 47cm x 29cm x 18cm
* Ink cartridge - One black, one Colour, total 6 ink resevoirs.
* Paper feeder - A4/Letter sized.
* Roll feeder - Can feed paper from a roll.
* Resolution - 2880 x 720 dpi
* Connections - Parallel and USB
* Compatible - PC and Mac


Briefly mentioned above is the roll feeder. This was not mentioned in the specification, so could be considered a "free extra" - It holds a roll of 100mm wide photo paper (A small sample roll is supplied) which is fed through the printer to print 150mmx100mm (Approx. 6"x4") photos - The printer will add "cut" lines to the roll so that the paper can be cut without ejecting the whole roll.


--- Operation ---

The printer has 3 buttons on the front.

1) Power (with power light) - As expected this turns the printer on and off.
2) Clean/Error (with error light) - Clears error conditions. Requests printhead cleaning.
3) Paper control - Loads/unload roll-fed paper.

Changing ink cartridges is a doddle - Lift the front flap, press the "Change cartridge" button, and you are presented with the cartridges held in by a simple spring clip lid. The printer handles the cleaning cycle automatically when a new cartridge is added.

The printer is silet as a mouse - My old Canon was becoming a bit squeaky, so this has been a real treat.


--- Software ---

The software is great - Follow the supplied getting started instructions for a really
easy way to get going. One feature of the Epson drivers is that when the printer is printing, a window pops up in the corner of your screen, showing time-left, printer status, and remaining ink in each cartridge - This serves as a handy reminder of the need to buy more ink.

Also with this printer comes a sampler CD with high-res images to test your printer on, and a copy of Adobe Photo Deluxe v3. I haven't played with them yet though.


--- Overall ---

This printer cost me about £150 from dabs.com - A real bargain. The results are superb, and my wife and I are going through ink as if we're eating it! My father-in-law also has one of these printers, and is also very happy with it.

I'll certainly buy Epson again.


© 2002 Steve Davies

Summary: