11 out of 11 people found this review helpful.
Why pay more and get less?
Date of Review: Mar 24, 2005
The Bottom Line: I can't think of any reason not to recommend this printer unless you simply needed to print larger than8.5x11 OR 8.3 x 23.4 (panoramic) or needed to use archival inks.
I finally had to cave in and buy a new printer last spring since the one that I had at the time I had purchased back in 1998 (yes 1998) and was a bit out of date. I shopped around and was interested in going with a laser printer if possible since in the past I had bad experiences with my parents ink jet printer and planned to continue to steer clear of the whole mess. My memories of inkjet printers always involved smearing wet ink, poor color quality, expensive ink replacement, clogged printer heads, slow printing, and much much more.
I tried to read up online as much as I could before heading out to the stores to do a little in person shopping. I found that laser printers were a bit out of my price range. Plus, when I thought about it, the printers at the office always needed constant maintenance to repair and upkeep the machines; I just didn't even want to get mixed into all of that.
What I was looking for in a printer:
When it came down to it, I wanted a printer from a company that I could trust, and paramount on my list of wants and needs being a fine artist/graphic designer, was intensely vivid color and supreme printing quality. Other wants would be speedy printing, scale of prints that it can do, and accessibility and cost of inks.
The Hunt Begins:
I investigated Canon, HP, and Epson printers and narrowed it down to a handful, none of which included the R200 based souly on the incredibly low retail price (I figured a higher price must equal higher quality). I hit the stores with my research in hand and quickly poopooed the HP's because of the cartridges had all the colors in one – this means if you run out of yellow, even if you have plenty of all the other colors left, you must throw out the whole cartridge and replace them all. I thought for sure by now all the printer companies would wise up to that mess… apparently they feel it's still a quick way to make a buck.
Canon and Epson go Head to Head:
I went back and forth between the Canon and Epson printers. I was pleased with the reviews I found online for Canon tech support and knew that they didn't charge for calls when you might need a hand troubleshooting. Epson's setup however, involved an automated support phone system (I'm not fond of talking to computers on the phone) OR a non-800# to talk to a human. That didn't leave me with a positive impression of the company, but when I compared them head to head in printing tests I really loved the way the Epson handled the inks.
The Epson Stylus Photo R200 actually uses two cyans (regular and light), two magentas (regular and light), a single yellow, and a black cartridge. Each cartridge is separate so if you run out of one you don't have to throw away your entire investment in inks. The cost for a single cartridge at the store is between $12-$15 each which is a bit pricey, but the inks are high quality and will last up to 50 years. If you prefer to be a bit more thrifty about it all you can shop online and find inks for this printer that cost significantly less and will give any printer a run for its money.
The extra inks, the printing quality, the CD printing capabilities, and the ability to print to the edge of a sheet really pushed me over the fence to the side of the Epson printers.
Finally it was between the Epson R200 and the Epson R300 which could print to the edge of an 8.5x11 sheet (great for a designer who needs to do full bleeds on finals and comps). Both printers come with the ability to print on printable CD's using a little tray that you insert prior to printing. In the end the Epson R200 won me over because of its low price tag and amazing print quality. Holding the samples up from the R300 next to the R200 showed me no difference in quality and for the lower price tag ($79 compared to $150) I was more than happy to give it a try and made peace with the fact that the R200 does not print to the edge like its older brother the R300 (it still printed REALLY close to the edge to make it worthwhile).
So how did I feel about it once I got it home?
I half believed that I'd be replacing this printer within a few months. How can anything that inexpensive hold up under heavy use?
I have been printing non-stop since last spring when I purchased the printer. The Epson R200 has blown me away with its incredible print quality and expansive line of professional papers from matted all the way up to premium quality glossy photo paper. You can buy 8.5x11 sheets or opt for 4"x6" size sheets which work out perfectly for me. The printer also works really well with other brand papers, but I will say that it seems to perform the best when you stay within the Epson family. You can improve the performance of your Epson by selecting the exact kind of paper you're using at the time of printing (glossy, matte, photo quality, etc.) and it will adjust the brightness and amount of ink accordingly.
I no longer go to other vendors (like Kinko's, or local presses) to print business cards, postcards, comp cards, and samples of my work. This printer truly has shown me the light when it comes to inkjet printers and you could say I've been happily converted. The quality, speed, and versatility of the Epson R200 has more than paid for its tiny little price tag again and again.
In the time I've had it and used it so thoroughly if I've ever had an issue with print quality (little lines showing up across the image) it's as easy as selecting "clean printing nozzles" in the maintenance tab of the print dialog box. It quickly cleans itself and is back up and ready to go within seconds. She's such a self-sufficient little printer.
Oh! And one of the things I always forget to mention but LOVE about this printer is that you can completely close it up when it's not in use. You can fold down the paper feeding brace in the back to cover the opening in the top and the paper tray in the front folds up to cover the front opening. This is an excellent way to help keep things like dust and cat hair from invading your printer and possibly messing up your prints. What a smart idea!
The Specs
(borrowed from the Epson site)
TECHNICAL SPECS:
USB connection only
Full bleed possible on 4" x 6", 5" x 7", 8" x 10", panoramic 8.3" x 23.4" 8.3" x 44"
Compatible with Windows USB - Windows 98 SE, 2000, Me and XP
Macintosh USB - Macintosh System 8.6 - 9.2, OS X 10.1-10.2x
Up to 5760 x 1440 optimized dpi
INKS:
Black Ink Yield
630 pages text (ISO/IEC 10561 letter pattern), 450 pages graphic (5% coverage)
Color Ink Yield
430 pages (5% coverage per color)
SPEED:
Black Text
Up to 15 ppm
Color Text
Up to 15 ppm
4" x 6" Photo
37 seconds
8" x 10" Photo
77 seconds
INCLUDED WITH PRINTER:
Epson Print CD software, Epson Software™ Film Factory™ 3.0
PC and Macintosh compatible, P.I.M.- plug-in
One cyan ink cartridge (T048220)
One light cyan ink cartridge (T048520)
One magenta ink cartridge (T048320)
One light magenta ink cartridge (T048620)
One yellow ink cartridge (T048420)
One black ink cartridge (T048120)
CD print tray and software
Printer documentation
The final word
I would recommend this printer to anyone really. She has several different print settings that you can select for speed and quality (Draft, text, text and image, photo, best photo) which makes her ideal for printing everything from those driving directions you need RIGHT NOW to high quality, realistic photos and prints to hand out to potential collectors and everything in between.
If you're looking for the following, then the printer is perfect for you:
1) Inexpensive $99 retail price (if you find her on sale like I did you can save even more)
2) Incredible quality and vividness of colors
3) Ability to print onto printable CD's
4) Prints to the edge on a variety of sized papers
5) Versatility (pick your print quality and speed)
6) Works so well with so many paper products
7) Low maintenance
8) Separate Ink Cartridges
If you have a concern over the cost of inks, fret not, there are plenty of online vendors who carry a variety of inks for this printer. I buy mine for nearly $5 a cartridge rather than the $12-$15 each that the retail shops would prefer I pay. Also, you will only need to replace those inks that you use most often.
Cons:
I wish that Epson made everything I ever needed to buy – they don't so I have to settle for this fantastic printer. :)
