Epson Stylus® Photo R300 InkJet Printer

Epson Stylus Photo R300 Ink-Jet Printer

I just read the only other review of this printer and was disappointed by it. The writer recommends avoiding this printer. While my experience hasn't driven me so far as to recommend it, I'm much happier than the other author seems to be with the job the printer does.

Of course, I bought mine not quite a year ago, while the price was considerably higher than what it goes for now. (As I recall, I paid in the vicinity of $ 200 +, and I bought it on impulse rather than first shopping around). But, I'm happy with the results. Considering the relatively high price, I can well understand how it would be rated so low if it wasn't working up to expectations. Even if it was refurbished, it should still have worked. (It might also be considered a glimpse at the perspective, [dare I say apparent contempt?], with which Epson might hold of its' customers). Despite that, here's a description of my experience with it:

I bought this brand new, off-the-shelf from Price Club/Costco, for the express purpose of printing directly on white-faced DVDs. I had tried the route of using paper labels and one of the "stomper-like" devices manufactured by another company. I found that to be totally unsatisfactory and vowed to save my $$ for a printer that would do the job at the quality I was looking for.

I'd describe the machine itself as a very dark gray color, with a silver top. (See the photo; it may look black, but I wouldn't describe it that way. From my part-time job in a home-improvement chain, I've mixed a lot of paint colors in the past year, and I've learned to notice the difference between black and gray). The outside casing is mostly plastic, but so far it's worked flawlessly for me.

I connected it to one of the USB2 ports of my HP Pavilion 750 with a P4 chip running at 1.8 GHz. If memory serves me correctly, (no pun intended), the connecting cord to do that came in the box. (I gained the USB 2 ports as part of an Adaptec card I installed in my HP a couple of months before I bought this printer). However, unlike the other reviewer's experience, I'm running Windows XP Home SP2, not MacIntosh. (Because this printer has only USB connectivity, it should work on both Windows and Macs, which is why I chose to include both OS's in the selections available when posting this review).

The printer came with a CD for installation, which leads you through a typical installation process. After the installation, which processed uneventfully, I found 5 new applications had been installed:
Epson CardMonitor
Epson PhotoStarter
Epson Print CD
Epson Printer Software
Epson SPR300 Reference Guide

(Since this is a hardware review, I'll not go into detail about the applications that came on the CD).

Besides, the only software I've used that came with the printer is the "Epson Print CD". That software is used for printing on both CD and DVD, and where I design what I want printed on the face of my disc media, as well as inserts for jewel cases. I can create text boxes, import photos, size, and even circularize the text. And, all can be done in a grouping or as a project, meaning that once I'm done designing my disc face, I can move right to designing the jewel case insert. There is no set order that must be followed; on one project, I designed the disc face before the insert, and on another I reversed those steps. Each such project can be saved and recalled later on. However, consider the software mostly as a tool to arrange and size the items you want to print. Don't expect to do fancy photo-editing with it, like vignettes of people's faces from larger photos. (For that, I used Adobe Photoshop before I designed the face of the disc).

Note that I have only used paper in this twice, for printing jewel case inserts. While that worked easily enough, it wasn't part of my purpose for buying this printer.

After installation, all 5 apps listed above appeared when I looked in Start/Control Panel/Add or Remove Programs. While I haven't used them all yet, I suspect at some point I'll experiment with printing photos on quality paper.

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES
The size of the machine is certainly manageable. By my measurements, the machine needs about 18" of depth plus 1 to 2 inches for the USB2 plug, and that's when the CD-DVD printer tray is inserted. That tray gets inserted at the front and protrudes from the machine there more than any other place. The footprint - the area of a desk or shelf on which the printer actually rests - is actually smaller, closer to 19 1/8" wide x 9" deep.

It's about 11 1/8" high at it's highest point. The right side of the machine has a small, (1 1/4" X 2 1/8") LCD display where messages are displayed, (again, see the photo), and causes the right side to be slightly taller (8 3/4" high) than the left side. The left side is lower, at about 7 3/8 ".

At it's tallest point, it is about 11 1/8" high, and that is with the sliding, extendable feeder tray (located at the rear of the machine) lifted/slid all the way up. This provides better support for any paper in the feeder. Take note that the slot for the paper feeder is located at the rear of the machine.

The top of the machine is covered by a see-through smoke-gray-colored plastic through which you can view the printer while it's working, and which also serves as a dust cover. This cover also hides a fold-down slot at the front of the machine, into which the CD-DVD tray must be inserted when printing on that media.

On the front face of the machine, on the right side, is a smaller smoke-colored plastic door, which opens on the left and swings towards the right. This protects 2 slots into which memory cards can be inserted. (I haven't used that feature, so I can't attest to it's effectiveness).

At the rear you'll also find the power cord, (approximately 6' long), a USB jack, and a female jack for a Preview Monitor. (Yet another option I haven't used. I don't own a digital still-photo camera, so I'm not qualified to comment on that, other than to state that it seems it could be useful when using the printer to first view, then print photos directly from a digital camera). According to the owner's manual, this printer can be used to do just that without being hooked up to a computer. (Another feature I haven't tried).

The recepticle for that preview monitor is some sort of female-gender jack that I'm not familiar with. It is circular, has 9 holes for pins, with a flattened edge on the right side and 2 notches on the left - one at approx. 8 o'clock and one at approx. 10 o'clock. I don't even know aht type of plug would go in there.

Inside, the mechanism at least appears somewhat similar to most other inkjets: a print head, connected to a flat ribbon-like wire that moves left and right as printing is underway. Nothing noticeably fancy there.

By and large, I've found that most ink-jet printers seem to be quieter than laser printers. At present, I have 2 ink-jets, and 2 monochrome laser printers (an Epson ActionLaser 1000 and a Lexmark Optra E+). In my opinion, both of the ink-jets are quieter than either of the laser printers, though the lesser noise lasts longer due to the slower print speed. (My spouse has a Canon color laser, used exclusively for work, and compared to any of my four printers, that thing could wake the dead if they were sitting close enough to it). So, I wouldn't describe the R300 as producing anything even approaching excessive noise levels. I'd describe them as no worse than any other ink-jet.

INK CARTRIDGE CONCERNS
The ink cartridge, however, is something I wasn't used to. It contains 6 colors: black, cyan, light cyan, magenta, light magenta, and yellow.

As you might imagine, ink cartridges for this are expensive, especially since you need 6 colors. And, the ink cartridges are not refillable. In fact, after talking with an associate who owns 2 of these printers, I've learned that the cartridges contain some sort of small electronic chip that has a "counter" of some sort embedded or programmed into them. That counter is supposed to tell the printer when the cartridge is out of ink. However, after talking with my associate, I've learned that the counter "stretches the truth" a bit, in that it sends that message way before it's necessary to do so.

The "out of ink" message appears long before the cartridge is empty. However, once the machine has received that message, an extraordinary step must be taken to squeeze out any unused ink. I've learned of some device that can somehow re-set that counter, or at least undo the effects of however it's been programmed, allowing you to extend the life of the cartridge and use much more of the ink you've paid for. (That device, I'm told, is available somewhere over the internet, and costs about $ 15.00. While I haven't purchased one yet, my associate has, and has been pleased with the increased ability to squeeze more ink out of the cartridges that have been purchased. I'm sure there's also some satisfaction that there isn't extra $$ unnecessarily going towards Epson's balance sheet).

I have only printed a few DVDs with this so far, and while they've required lots of ink, I am still working from my first set of cartridges that came with the printer. I'm not certain, but it's my understanding that you can purchase a single-color cartridge if necessary. I've seen advertisements that lead me to believe that all 6 colors can be bought individually. I strongly advise you check out that possibility before you buy this. (I should have, and now I'm sorry I didn't).

UNSPOKEN OBSERVATION AND ASIDE
Epson has taken some heat on this ink cartridge situation, with purchasers feeling like they're being cheated out of the ink they've paid for. Despite that, I think Epson knows they've "got us by the short hairs" and, to my knowledge, has done nothing to help lower the cost of ink for their customers. (And most people don't expect them to offer any more help in that area). In fact, I recall reading somewhere that they claim the quality of their ink is a major consideration in not making the cartridges refillable. Apparently, the kits one might buy to refill the cartridges must contain contaminated, polluted, or otherwise inferior ink, so they have designed the cartridges to prevent refilling.

I'll admit that I knew about the 6-color cartridge before I bought this. In fact, having 6 colors was one of the reasons for buying it. I create 1-of-a kind DVDs, and I try to get them looking as good as possible within my budget. While this printer does a fine job of that, it's also proven to reinforce the lesson to "be careful what I wish for").

WHAT I DON'T LIKE:
1) The buttons on the top-right side are not labeled clearly enough, and there are 11 of them. Sure, the Power button is easy to find, and so far that's the only one I've needed. When I print a DVD, the computer and/or the "Print CD" program handles most of what needs to be done without user intervention. However, if I were to try to use the other functions, like printing from memory, or using odd-sized paper, I'm sure I'd have to refer to the owner's manual or Reference Guide to learn how to make the correct settings. I've only used paper in this printer twice, so I don't feel I can comment with any authority on how well or poorly it works for those purposes. However, I do print some photos on the face of DVDs, and I am very impressed with the quality of the final products. On high-quality photo paper, I'd expect this machine to do a superb job for the price.

2) printing on disc media can use a lot of ink. I've learned to be careful in the design phase, as too many photos, or too large a font size can quickly use relatively large volumes of ink. Be careful here.

3) printing on disc media also requires extra time for all that ink to dry. I wouldn't take a disc directly from the printer and put it right into a DVD player for fear of the ink getting smeared, or the laser in the player getting clogged.

4) while the ability to print directly on disc media was exactly why I bought this, the tray I must use to do that is a separate piece of plastic, used only when printing on disk media, and which fits into a fold-down tray found under the cover and located at the front of the printer. Being a separate piece of plastic, I have occasionally mis-placed that tray. That tray is also plastic, and being a separate piece, has the potential for being dropped or otherwise cracked, broken, or mis-shapen. I wish it were easier to keep track of, or made a part of the machine itself. (Does this potential for loss or damage serve as further testimony about Epson's "concern" for their customers)?

WHAT I DO LIKE:
1) The overall quality of the finished disc. I've only used white-faced disc media in this, and the photos have been clear and crisp, with excellent text quality. Outside of silk-screening, I think this machine does a very good job. In fact, I'd put one finished disk from this machine up against one printed in one of the fancier, (and much more expensive), units like a Rimage printer. Personally, I'm willing to balance this with the machine's penchant for using large amounts of ink. If using lots of ink is the price of a quality product, then I don't mind that...I just wish it could somehow be made less expensive.

2) I learned one thing that can be important to extending the life of my ink cartridges: when not using the printer, turn off the power. Somewhere in the owner's manual, I remember reading that shutting off the power somehow closes the ink cartridges, preventing the ink from drying out or evaporating before its' time.

I have one other ink-jet printer, a much earlier HP machine, but a dirt-cheap model that is no longer made and gives inconsistent color renderings. I don't recall seeing that warning about the older model. (That might just be a feature that has evolved as ink-jets improved over the years, but if it's Epson's best response to stretching my ink-supply, I'm not terribly impressed with their effort. In fact, I wish they'd make the cartridges refillable and simply market their own ink. I need high-quality products, and I wouldn't run the risk of using "inferior" ink that might fade over time thus ruining my reputation. That strikes me as also being a little more green or eco-friendly, but I suspect few companies would free such an enslaved clientele for the sake of the client and the planet. Profits are much more important to them).

SUMMARY
All things and options considered, this printer was not exactly what I wanted, but it was the best I could find at a price I was willing to pay, and it does a great job for what I use it for.
While my preference would have been for a dedicated disc-media printer, the ability to use paper is something I suppose I'll make use of over time.

Despite the success I've had with this printer, I'm hesitant to recommend it due to the price of the replacement ink cartridges, and the features (options?) that, at least for me, turned out to be useless bells and whistles.

So. despite my above-average rating of the printer, do your research and think very hard before buying one. I've been happy with the finished products, and I suspect you might be, too.