Epson Stylus C60

CNET editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 7.0 (3.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Kristina Blachere
• Reviewed on: 05/01/2002

The Epson Stylus C60's trade-offs are tolerable ones. The inkjet prints text quickly but not perfectly, and it produces breathtaking photos--but very slowly. Add to this tricky balance some very novice-friendly documentation and inexpensive inks, however, and the C60 becomes a solid choice for home users or students, as well as for digital shutterbugs on a budget.The Epson Stylus C60's trade-offs are tolerable ones. The inkjet prints text quickly but not perfectly, and it produces breathtaking photos--but very slowly. Add to this tricky balance some very novice-friendly documentation and inexpensive inks, however, and the C60 becomes a solid choice for home users or students, as well as for digital shutterbugs on a budget.

Kind and gentle to newbies
New users will appreciate the $79 Epson Stylus C60's user-friendly approach. The printer comes with a big, colorful Start Here card that walks you through connecting the printer, installing the ink and the paper, and setting up the drivers. A Printer Basics booklet gives you more detailed advice on troubleshooting and even packing the printer for transport. The included CD-ROM has a more detailed Reference Guide, Epson Print Show movies (animated movies that demonstrate basic printing and usage), and drivers (for parallel connection: Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000, and XP; for USB: Windows 98, Me, 2000, and XP, plus Mac OS 8.5.1 to 9.1; OS X drivers are available online). You also get Epson Film Factory Lite, a program that lets you collect, edit, and store all kinds of digital images. The only thing not included is a USB or parallel cable, so you may need to buy one.

The Stylus C60's compact design should fit comfortably on most desktops. The input tray, which holds 100 sheets of plain paper, is vertically attached to the top back of the printer, adding about one foot in height. The output tray extends from the front base and adds about six inches in depth. Still, the printer supports various paper types including envelopes, photo paper, cards, transparencies, and stickers.

The Stylus C60 drivers are sophisticated but still approachable, even for new users. In addition to basic functions such as Paper Type and Orientation, a plethora of preset and customizable image- and color-management settings, such as Photo Enhance, let you adjust the printer's palette for people, nature images, and more.

Consistently good output
But these perks would be nothing without fast, good-quality output, and the C60 meets you at least halfway. In CNET Labs' tests, the Stylus C60 printed text at 5.9 pages per minute--faster than many more-expensive inkjets. Letters looked good on both plain paper and Epson's Photo Quality Inkjet paper. We noticed some jaggedness and fine horizontal striping, but overall, the type was dense and well saturated. Photo printing was quite a bit slower, at 6.2 minutes per 8x10 photo, but the results were worth the wait; skin tones on our test photo looked smooth and natural, and colors were rich and accurately rendered. Graphics on plain paper had good color matching and smooth shading. On Epson's inkjet paper, colors were accurate--if a little bright--and photo elements looked smooth. Continue reading

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Recent user reviews

• Average user rating: 2.0 stars out of 18 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars Write review

• Showing 3 of 18 user reviews

• 4.5 stars

  "We've had our C60 4 years and it hasn't missed a beat."

  by Granderella on November 9, 2007

• 0.5 stars

  "utterly worthless"

  by jbefumo on January 31, 2006

• 2.5 stars

  "It has a tendency to clog the ink heads"

  on January 30, 2005

• See all 18 user reviews Write review