Epson Stylus C88 plus; good choice for general printing

I got this Epson Stylus C88 plus (epinions.com doesn't accept the plus sign!) printer at my work office as a replacement for aging HP printer that started to malfunction badly. I was initially uneasy with this brand as I used to own Epson printer 10 years ago that broke within 1 to 2 years of light printing. Since that, I used HP printers with great success.

Here are selected specs from the manufacturer:
* Smudge resistant documents and photos on both plain and glossy photo paper using DURABrite Ultra pigment ink
* Prints at up to 5760 x 1440 optimized dpi
* Produces ultra fine ink droplets (as small as 3 picoliters)
* Prints black text at up to 23 ppm and color at up to 14 ppm (my comment: draft quality only)
* Includes convenient individual ink cartridges so you can replace only the color you need (my comment: great option)
* Offers BorderFree photo printing in frame-ready sizes (4x6, 5x7, 8x10, 8.5x11)
* Includes easy-to-use photo editing software to create calendars, photo books and more (my comment: I didn't install this as I use photoshop)
* Compatible with both Windows and Macintosh systems via its USB and Parallel ports (my comment: great but comes without cables)

Well, the printer exceeded my (low) expectations for general printing in office environment. The draft printing is very fast (couple of seconds) and even startling with the rapid and noisy spitting of the paper. The draft quality is so-so but expected for draft and even good enough for most printing. The normal setting is much slower but gives quality results with vibrant colors. The only pitfal is that the print lines are sometimes slightly tilted. Not good if you print very formal letters. I use the normal setting sparingly as it eats ink. I don"t use photo quality in my office so can't comment about it. I"m sure there are better printers for photo printing.

Speaking about ink, the printer has separate cartridges for black, red, yellow and blue, 4 total. This is a good solution as you replace the ones you need. Easy to refill if you choose (but could pottentially clog the heads). The OEM cartridges are pricy but aftermarket ones are very cheap on ebay and various web sites.

The printer software will give you a status of each cartridge with each printing job. World of advice, ignore the low ink warning; you can still print a number of pages AFTER the warning. As a matter of fact there is a settlement for many Epson printers owners registered between 1999 and 2006 about the misleading ink management. You still can get an ecoupon from Epson for $45 if you purchased selected printers between 1999 and may 2006: http://www.epsonsettlement.com/
BTW, Epson Stylus C88 plus is not included in the settlement, C88 is.

Finally, this is a good time to buy it as you can get a $15 rebate from Epson:
http://www.epson.com/cmc_upload/pdf/Estore-C88P-EP614-C22528R1_3.pdf
But hurry up as it expires soon (12/31/06).