Epson Stylus Photo R340 (printer, color, ink-jet)
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"detailed review on the Epson R340" on by photosrus71
Pros: nice size lcd... Pigmented Ink!!!!....cd/dvd direct printing...great photos
Cons: slower then hoped for but thats about it
Summary: first off I Sale photos... im a full time photographer...part time computer repair guy... i work for a manhamdale photos and they use digital cameras and inkjet printers they use a very high end epson r2400... in my spare time i like to take pictures and sale them ive owned many epsons in the past.... but i found on older epson printers the heads were problematic and need head cleanings way to often.....so when i was looking for a new photo printer around $200 i was considering the HP 8250...The canon ip6600d ...and the epson r340.... i was leaning twords the 8250 but my cousin bought it before i did.... after several printed photos on his printer ... i found that the only reason to buy an hp is because they are economical with the ink and paper pack at $35 ... but they are not waterproof what so ever i could seriously lick my finger and take the ink right off the paper... the printer boasts 14 second speeds on 4x6 prints but the only way his photos look half decent in on advanced paper in best mode settings which take 10 times longer then that... and they stil are not waterproof or fade proff... and hp is currently tied with lexmark at the DPI of 4800x1200 which is lowest on the market.... since i had issues with old epsons i decided to buy the canon ip6600d.. now it had some cool features like double sided printing and the sketch of the photo... but they still use dye ink .... the problem with canon and hp is that they use dye ink... now if you dont sale photos might not be a problem... but dye is not fade proof!!!!!! no matter if canon says it is they rate up to 105 years what a joke... i took a photo from on glossy 4x6 canon paper form the ip6600d and a photo from hp 8250 on its advanced paper they both claim long life but the true test is to put a photo in direct sunlight a see if it fades... if it fade this means the photo probably wont last even 10 years... and if you deleted those digital photos that means memories gone... after a few weeks the canon photo faded!!... and the hp not only faded but turned blue lol....... Epson uses pigmented ink which unlike dye in is a small caplet that is protects itself from fading ... is waterproof ... and is just plain brighter... if you go to wilhem universities website they did a study on pigmented ink vs dye ink... study showed that pigmented ink could not fade!!!... is waterproof... very fast drying... and is more vibrant then any type of dye ink.... i was a little depressed to find out that canon's new print head the one that boast 9800x2800 DPI had nozzles to small it to ever use pigmented ink... the only a canon can use pigmented without using epsons Piezo technology is by printing at 4800x1200 dpi which canon wont do because the DPI of thier new printer is the thier edge.... i also studied and found even though Epson is at 5760x1440 DPI they still can produce a better photo with pigmented ink because pigmented ink droplets are much rounder and smoother then dye ink droplets.... Then the ip6600d's head clogged and i had to call canon and find out that i should take my print head and run it under water lol... well this made me want to try a new epson... i sold the Ip6600d on ebay and bought the epson r340.... the R340 comparing the r340's photos to the canon's i have i found the epson to be tied in detail and excell in very saturated photos and really excell on b&w... the b&w matte photos done on the ip6600d couldnt even compare to the EPSON's ... and the direct cd/dvd printing is very cool and i use it all the time... i found on the ip6600d that you could covert it to do cd's but you have to buy a $120 mechanical tray and reset the complicated software... if you care the life of your photos or if you sale your photos you have to purchase epson because they are the only prints that will last!!!!....the only thing i found with the epson is that its slower then the canon the canon printed a 4x6 photo in best mode at around 50 seconds.. the r340 takes about a minute and half... but its worth it.. and so far knock on wood not a single head cleaning has been needed!!!!!!
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"good printer for the money" on by hammer05
Pros: LCD Display could be bigger
Cons: adjustment to DVD lay out could be better
Summary: Just purchased this printer for $178.00 for the specific use for CD's and DVD's. havn't tested this printer on photo paper yet.
So far i have printed on dvd's from ritek and have been impressed at it's ability to print on these disks with good quality.
The memory card interface works well enough with SD cards, though it takes a few minutes for the printer to access a 1 gig SD card.
The lcd discplay could be a little larger, the current size makes it difficult to properly see the image.
Overall this printer seems to be a good buy -
"its plain good" on by aaron8484
Pros: Decent Lcd size... Prints on cd... Pigmented ink
Cons: pretty slow
Summary: I have the IP6600 from Canon for 8 months i bought one for me and my grandma... i had nothing but problems with it... from grabbing to many sheets of paper all the time to have the final having the print clog beyond repair... now on just one printer i would say fluke but it happend to me and my grandma... lol i called canon they told me to run the print head under water which didnt work and a stupid idea... canon did replace both printers after 4 weeks of hassle.. i sold both on ebay and went back to best buy to see what i could get... HP (hp8250)has oil/dye based ink called "vivera" the and problems with hp is they are tied with lexmark for the lowest photo quality on the market... also thier ink takes up to 10 minutes to dry depending on what paper use... you have to use hp paper .. and only certain types...the photo quality is justbad... the problem with lexmark is they just totally suck period i dont think anyone has ever argued that point....canon had some nice features with the double side printing and very high phot Res... but they do use dye ink which sometime had my colors off from the picture...and the guy from canon told me that the new canon ink lasted up to 75 years but some photos we printed already have faded!!!!!!and the printer just broke... So i was down to Epson ... now i know in the past epson has been known for head clogging so i was a little scared .... but 8 months later me and my grandma both havent had a head clogg and are extremely impressed by the printer.. the r340 has less phot res then the canon so i thought the photos would be less detailed... but that hasent been the case...the detail between the r340 and the ip6600 are tied... and the Pigmented "Durabrite" ink that epson uses is proven rated for over 100 years with out fading... and seems brighter and more vibrant then the canons dye ink.... also the epson's photos were alot closer to the actual picture colors then the canon.... and the photos are dry as soon as they are printed and you can not smudge or remove ink by slashing water on the photo ( hp's ink will come right off Hp paper if you get the photo wet even months after its been dry!! Canon is far better then hp with that but canon's ink will still smudge if wet).... moral of the story im far more impressed with this printer then any other one on the market ... i use to direct printing on cd/dvd all the time its sweet alot cooler then labeling... and the printer isthe most dependable printer out of the new breed of printers ive owned... the ONLY DRAW BACK IS the printer takes 82 seconds to print a 4x6 in best photo mode... the canon was somewhere around 50... but ill me more patient for a better result!!!!!! also dont worry about paper cost like one guy said... with the 100 pack of epson premium plus paper ($15.99) and the cost on ink in best photo mode... my prints still only cost me around 30 cents a piece WOW
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"What a total piece of ****!" on by raboyoung
Pros: Nothing to like about this crappy, incredibly expensive-to-operate rip-off machine!
Cons: It really rips you off in ink. $75 for the tiny color cartridges, half of which gets wasted. CD printing tray misloads and is rejected 9 out of 10 times. Once you get the "paper or CD feed error" message, throw the thing out; it'll never work again.
Summary: Like my Epson 880, this R340 (only 3-years old) has decided to cease functioning through a "general printer error." The screen further advises to see your operation manual, which in turn tells you to take it to your dealer/service rep. In other words, the thing is dead, and will cost more to fix than to replace. Epson has become a pack of frustration, on which I'll never WASTE my money again. The crappy CD holding tray is rejected 9 out of 10 attempts, no matter how carefully and perfectly inserted, making disc printing a completely frustrating, hair-pulling experience. Now apart from the fact that the R340 doesn't work properly most of the time, let me mention how badly Epson is ripping us off with their TINY, expensive cartridges.
These cartridges come in more packaging material than an average refridgerator, and are over-complicated technological marvels! Why? An ink cartridge is, or should be, a dead SIMPLE device! Adding 2 extra cartridges (light magenta & light cyan) doesn't help either, and I wonder why these are necessary. If the printer wants a lighter color, why not just spray lighter amounts of ink? The color set in my local Staples store costs a whopping $75 plus 13% sales tax for a total of 84.75. That for only about 7 ml. of each ink! And a good protion of that is wasted in charging and cleaning the heads! And the printer will cease functioning when they're only about 60% empty! If you remove the cartridge and shake it, you realize there's lots of ink left, but the built-in chips declare it empty. If, say, you decide you can do without color, and maybe you just have a letter you want printed in only black, you're out of luck! Specifying "black only" in the printer dialog doesn't help one bit; the printer will not funtion once ANY ONE of the cartridges is declared empty. I used JetTec's very clever chip resetter to reset these cartridges, WITHOUR REFILLING THEM, put them back, and the printer gave me almost as much printing as it did the first time! So what's going on here? The answer is simple: Epson is blatantly ripping us off! Now I should declare that I have a LOT of experience with Epson printers, having bought their very FIRST color inkjet machine, the Stylus 720, back in the 80's. The price tag was a whopping $800 back then, but the HUGE cartridges that it came with lasted almost an entire YEAR! No chips, either, and if one cartridge ran dry, your print simply showed that lack, but the machine still worked! And that machine was reliable and trouble-free, and in fact, still is! (I still have it) Ever since that model, Epson has seen the light as to how to get our money: sell the printers dirt cheap, and rip us off on the ink. Some models are literally cheaper to replace than to refill, resulting in huge piles of electro-garbage. Thanks, Epson!
This is dirty pool, and unconscionable corporate behaviour, in my opinion. I am advocating a broad boycott of all Epson products until they give us back some value for our money, make the machines reliable, and stop filling our landfills with nearly-new printers that are, in practical terms, reduced to garbage.
DO NOT BUY EPSON! People... we have to get this evil trend turned around. Vote with your dollars, which is the only language these corporate vultures will listen to. Inkjet ink is DIRT CHEAP... you'll never convince me of otherwise. As proof, Jet-Tec's entire set of refill colors (excellent ink, by the way, and highly recommended) costs only about $25, and yields at least 3+ refills. And further proof: the old Stylus 720 cartridges, which are HUGE, are still about 1/4 the price of the modern tiny ones. What part of that makes any sense?
Epson: You should be ashamed. You are guilty of EXTORTION, bad faith, and environmental crimes.
From now on, I'll buy Kodak, which HAS seen the light, and makes refills a painless, inexpensive process, not the wallet-breaking ordeal that Epson puts us through. -
"Outstanding Printer" on by bigfuutt
Pros: print quality, CD labeling, Direct USB
Cons: Ink costs, no USB cable
Summary: EPSON Stylus Photo R340:
If you are trigger happy with your digital camera like I am, you end up with thousands of pictures from every occasion, outing and vacation. The Canon S80 < http://www.epinions.com/content_232843480708 ) is a great camera, with its 8 MP rating you get some great pictures with amazing detail. The 8.5 x 11 prints are just as amazing as the smaller ones. I used the Dell 942 AIO printer (http://www.epinions.com/content_223336238724 ) for the prints. Since the print quality has deteriorated over the 2 years that I have been using it, it was time to get a new photo printer to print great pictures. Another factor for getting an EPSON printer was the cost of dell ink cartridges was very high. Here is the review on Epson Stylus R340….
Package Contents:
Inspite of being only a printer (not a multi-function) the Epson Stylus R340 box is pretty heavy. I comes with loads of stuff and a lot of ink cartridges…
1. Epson Stylus Photo R340 printer
2. 1 x Cyan Ink cartridge (T048220)
3. 1 x Light Cyan Ink cartridge (T048520)
4. 1 x Magenta Ink cartridge (T048320)
5. 1 x Light Magenta Ink cartridge (T048620)
6. 1 x Yellow Ink cartridge (T048420)
7. 1 x Black Ink cartridge (T048120)
8. CD Print tray and Software
9. Printer Documentation – User manual & quick start guide
10. Driver & Software CD ( Mac & Windows)
With all these components included no doubt it is heavy. The User manual is extremely comprehensive with 80 pages (all English) and covers all aspects of the printer in detail. The included quick start guide explains the connections and ink cartridge install in a very simplified and diagrammatic manner. Strangely, the USB cable is not included in the package.
Physical Attributes:
The Printer looks great with its 2 tone black and silver finish. The LCD is placed in the middle of the front panel and is fixed, offering no options of changing the angle of the LCD panel. But the placement of the LCD at a 30 degree angle is perfect and visible from most viewing angles. Though the LCD screen is small at 2.4 inches, it is massive good, offering crystal clear image display and is great for printing from PictBridge enabled cameras and the direct USB printing feature without the computer. Inspite of being a non Multi-function printer, there are a lot of buttons on the front fascia. The buttons are very useful to edit the images from the printer without the PC. This is really a semi-professional printer offering loads of features like image cropping, zooming, selecting print area, contrast and gamma correction etc. The paper tray is definitely small with a capacity of only 120 pages. It would be nice to have 2 trays, one each for photo paper and plain paper. With only one available tray every time you print you need to make sure you have the right paper in the tray – photo paper or the plain paper.
The right end corner of the printer is the memory card reader covered with a black door. The door gives the printer a streamlined and clean finish. The supported cards are – CF, Microdrive, Memory Stick, SD, MMC, Smart Media and xD. It supports all the major types of cards available in the market. There is also a small LED to show the status of the card read/write. Below the card reader there is a USB port. This USB port serves 2 purposes – PictBridge and Direct USB printing. A pictBridge camera can be connected to the port and the pictures on the camera can be viewed and printed without a computer. The other purpose is the Direct USB printing, it’s a cool feature, allows connecting a USB storage device (ext. HDD, USB flash/thumb drive, Zip drives and CDROM drives) and print directly from it. Once the USB storage device is connected, it automatically searches for image files and also gives the option of browsing the folders through the LCD display.
At the front-bottom is the tray to hold printed paper. There is also a neat contraption to hold a small tray to load CD/DVD media for printing labels. While the CD/DVD label printing is a bit touchy at times it still produces excellent printing on the media. On the rear of the printer there are 2 ports, power and USB. The USB port, for connecting the printer to the computer. The power converter adapter (AC to DC converter) is external and have been better to have it built into the printer, considering the printer is quite big and could accommodate it.
Setup and Connections:
Setup is very simple and straightforward. Installing the Ink Cartridges and connecting the power cable and the USB cable on the rear constitutes setting up the printer. The software and driver install is simple but takes a fairly long time to install all the components. The install requires a reboot. Once installed it is recommended to align the print head, but when the printer software is opened for the first time it does not prompt to align them, instead you need to go through the printer’s menu to do it. Though its no biggie but my older Dell 942 AIO software prompted me to align them every time I installed a new cartridge. With ink costs being on the expensive side it is a good idea to align them before starting the prints to avoid surprises. The included software monitors the ink levels in all the cartridges. The included CD printing software leaves a lot to be desired. Compared to the Light scribe software it seems very poorly designed and offers very few options and flexibility. The printer takes 40 seconds to power up, that’s a long time, considering the Dell 942 booted up in under 8 seconds.
Ink Cartridges:
The printer comes with 6 cartridges – Black, cyan, light cyan, magenta, light magenta and yellow. Each cartridge is thin yet big and hold quite a good quantity of ink. Technically, More the Merrier, so with the included 6 different cartridges it better do a good job. My older Dell 942 had just 2 cartridges and did a great job printing color photos. With 6 cartridges the Epson does even better than the dell. The pictures are more life-like and the colors are more vivid. I was pretty impressed with the quality of the prints and comparing the Epson prints with the Dell prints shows a lot of difference in quality and number of colors. The ink is rated to last for 200 years, meaning it will not fade or disintegrate for 200 years. The Ink is on the expensive side, priced at $17 for black and $13 each for color cartridges. But on the upside there are a lot of companies offering these Ink cartridges at ridiculous prices, though they are non-epson they too do a great job. I found a set of 48 cartridges (8 of each) made by Ritech for just $39 on Abcink.com. That’s a great price considering the original Epson cartridges would cost $656. There is no doubt that the prints were not as rich with non-epson cartridges, but the savings is pretty substantial. I use the non-epson ink cartridges to print CD labels on Inkjet printable CD media & plain paper documents and replace them with original cartridges to print photos. Works out pretty inexpensive when printing non-photo stuff. The printer is not an ink sipper either, it does consumes substantial amount of ink while printing. But being a 6 cartridge system, you can replace specifically the ink cartridge that is empty… better than having to replace the complete photo cartridge just because one of the colored ink in the photo cartridge is depleted like in the Dell.
Photo Paper:
Epson recommends Epson photo paper but it does a great job on any reputable brand paper. Can be used with Photo paper, Premium Photo paper and Ultra-Premium photo paper in both Gloss and matte finish. The Matte finish gives the picture a more non-shiny look clear at all angles while the glossy finish gives the picture a more shiny and vivid color look. While the Matte finish resists finger prints and is generally more forgiving of scratches, the photo lacks the bright and vivid look, while the glossy finish tends to catch finger prints and shows scratches very easily it produces the most vivid and bright pictures. Depending on these factors the choice of photo paper can be made.
Quality of prints:
The most important aspect of the printer. The R340 uses 6 ink cartridges to print a photo and some might argue 6 cartridges is an over kill, but wait till you see Epson’s new line of printers labeled High Definition Photo printers, they have 8 cartridges, including the 6 from the R340 plus 2 more one with the Hi-def ink and the other is an layer to enhance the color and to make the prints last longer. But for now, the 6 cartridges are adequate and compared to the my older Dell’s 2 cartridge system it seems plenty. As for the prints the quality is outstanding. The colors are more vivid and the bright. The reproduction of the colors is very accurate. The transformation from one color to another is very sharp and distinct – there is no bleeding of color. All those 6 cartridges do a good a good job after all. The photo quality is outstanding for a semi-professional printer. Compared to the HP 8250 the prints are slower but definitely seemed better. There is a big difference in the speed of printing between the HP & the Epson – For a 8.5x11 inch prints the HP takes 36 seconds while the Epson takes 45 seconds. But the picture quality of the Epson is better. The Epson makes up the slower printing time by producing very good photo prints. While the photo prints are outstanding the black & white document prints are not so spectacular, actually they are below average. Under very close inspection (magnifying glass) the text did not seem as crisp. There was slight bleeding at the borders of the text. Having said that, this is not visible to the naked eye, but this bleeding effect translates into a softer text effect to the naked eye. The text is not crisp but instead seems a bit softer at the edges of the text. This is printer does a great job as a photo printer and a better than poor job with text. But then, this is a Photo Printer and it is supposed to print great photos and hence does its job better than others… have to commend that.
Some points to consider:
1. CD Label printing is a bit tricky but only the first time. After that every other print in the same batch seems perfect without any issues. The issue being, the printer is not able to align the tray very well to print on the CD. This does not mess up the CD label, instead you are prompted to reinsert the tray. If the first time does not align the tray, the second time always works, never had to try it more than twice.
2. This is not the best printer for printing text. If you need to print text you are better off getting another inexpensive printer to do the job. Also the cost of ink is so high, does not make sense using the R380 ink for printing test documents
3. Printer Ink cartridges are expensive an might make sense to use non-epson ink for printing less important photos, labels and documents and the original Epson ink for the best quality photo prints.
4. USB cable is not included, so make sure to buy a USB cable along with the printer. Epson sells them for $32… save your money, even local stores sell them cheaper than that.
5. Before getting this printer, look for the newer replacement model called the Epson Stylus Photo R380, though substantially higher priced, it offers the 8-cartridge ink system with H-Def ink.
Pros:
1. Prints outstanding Photo prints
2. Cost of the printer is not very expensive
3. 6 cartridge ink system means you replace the exact color that is depleted.
4. Card reader is very useful
5. USB direct printing is perfect for quick prints without the PC
6. LCD though small it is brilliant – contrast ratio is very good
7. Modern looking two-tone finish.
8. CD Label printing is a cool feature to have.
Cons:
1. Replacement Ink cartridges are expensive
2. No high capacity ink cartridge option, only standard capacity
3. CD label printing is a wee bit tricky.
4. Boot up time is pretty slow.
5. Newer model Epson Stylus Photo R380 is already out but at a substantially higher price
6. Single paper tray
Recommended:
Yes
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