Epson Stylus R320

CNET editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Design : 7.0
  Features : 8.0
  Performance : 7.0
  Service and support : 8.0
  Overall score: 7.3 (3.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Greg Steen
• Edited by:
  Rebecca Viksnins
• Reviewed on: 12/09/2004

The 5,760x1,440dpi, six-ink Epson Stylus R320 is a sturdy home photo printer capable of producing high-quality output. Like its predecessor, the Stylus R300, the Stylus R320 comes loaded with direct-printing options: media card slots that accommodate 14 standard media card types, a PictBridge port for printing from compatible cameras, and support for direct-to-CD/DVD printing. Unlike the R300, though, the R320 has a small, built-in color LCD print-preview screen and a monochrome display that lets you perform light edits. This makes computer-free printing somewhat more practical, though we don't understand why Epson didn't go all out with a 2.5-inch color LCD. While the Stylus R320 is obviously targeted at the home photo enthusiast, it handles standard text and business graphic documents with ease, too. It's a good choice for an all-around printer, though, as with most Epson printers we've tested, we wish it were speedier.The 13.2-pound Epson Stylus R320 measures 19.6 inches wide, 10.4 inches deep, and 8.6 inches high. But when you pull out the paper trays for printing, the depth and height increase to 18.7 and 11.4 inches, respectively, so you'll need to budget your work space accordingly. The vertical paper tray in the back of the printer will hold as many as 120 sheets of paper. Navigation of the control panel for computer-free printing from a media card or a camera is relatively straightforward. On the top of the printer, just to the right of the output tray, you'll find a 1.5-inch LCD for previewing your photos. We like the addition, but we wish it were bigger--and more useful. Epson tacked on a monochrome LCD that allows you to adjust sharpness, brightness, contrast, and saturation, as well as to add a black-and-white or sepia filter or to crop your images. And if your camera supports it, you can extract PIM or EXIF tagging information and automatically adjust your images based upon that embedded data in your photo files. Unfortunately, the color LCD doesn't display your adjustments. What a downer.

The front panel's media card panel and USB 2.0 port for connecting a thumb drive or an external CD/RW drive are both easily accessible. You will need to purchase a separate A/B USB cable for connecting the printer to your computer via the USB port.

The Epson Stylus R320 easily handles border-free printing at resolutions as high as 5,760x1,440dpi for 4x6, 5x7, 8x10, and full letter-size pages with a slight trim border. If you are sick of labeling your burned CDs or DVDs with a Sharpie, you can create custom software discs, music compilation gifts, or your own break-out album using the Stylus R320's direct-to-CD print option. While printable CD/DVD media generally cost a bit more than nonprintable media, you can find them for the price of nonprintable discs if you shop around. And you will never have to worry about trashing discs by misaligning printable CD labels. The tray even has an attachment for mini CDs. The color preview screen is only large enough for making broad adjustments to your photos before sending them to be printed. Unfortunately, the included software doesn't let you make fine image adjustments. Quality settings are limited to Standard, High, and Higher, so you'll need a more robust program for granular tweaking. The control panel does have a Basic/Advanced/Custom button set for tweaking: choose Basic when you need to quickly print out a 4x6-inch photo on Epson's Premium Gloss Photo paper, Advanced when you need to change quality settings or paper type, and Custom for printing based on parameters you set.

You can transfer your photos from your media card to your external USB archive drive (DVD, CD, or thumb drive) via the Direct Save button on the control panel. You can find a list of supported external USB storage devices on the Epson Web site. (This page refers to the R300; however, they both utilize the same print engine.) The Stylus R320 accepts all but the most obscure media cards there. And if those connectivity options aren't enough, you can even buy a $69 Bluetooth adapter for printing wirelessly from your Bluetooth-enabled phone or camera.

Assuming you take a minute to follow the brief but detailed Start Here quick-installation guide, the printer and driver installation is straightforward. Ink cartridges have a color coding to ensure that you put the cartridges in the correct slot, but it would be nice if they also had the cartridge code number, as newer HP models do. When printing from the computer, the printer management software is also relatively easy to use. We especially like that the Stylus R320 notifies you when a cartridge is reaching low ink levels (there's a warning LED on the printer's front panel). The ink yield of each cartridge is rated at 450 pages at 5 percent coverage per primary--about 18 cents per page--so you won't be rushing out to get a new cartridge every week unless you are running a photo lab from home. Still, the advance warning is nice, especially since you'll have to budget for the $12 cartridges.

Clocking 1.9 pages per minute for text, the Epson Stylus R320 is downright sluggish. Photo-print speed wasn't much better, taking as long as 3.7 minutes to print an 8x10 photo in our CNET Labs' tests. By comparison, the Canon Pixma iP4000 took only 1.8 minutes to get the same job done and the Epson Stylus C84 only 2.4 minutes. On the plus side, the printer runs quietly and efficiently.

You have to be patient when printing "best quality" photos with the R320, but the output is quite good when printing on Epson's Premium Glossy paper. However, we saw visible banding--most likely due to a clogged nozzle--on a few images we printed using heavyweight matte paper. The dynamic range of the printer is limited, causing photos to come out a little flat, but overall, the color consistency from screen to printer is very good. It will take a few tries to balance the brightness and contrast settings of your monitor with the output of the printer, especially if you're using an LCD.

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Epson Stylus R320: $438.80

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Recent user reviews

• Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 13 reviews
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• Showing 3 of 13 user reviews

• 2.0 stars

  "I LOVED this printer until........."

  by nlbumann on January 15, 2008

• 4.0 stars

  "Great Replacement to the Epson 680"

  by sybaritic_life on September 6, 2007

• 1.0 stars

  "Poor quality photos"

  by Commuter on August 31, 2006

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Reviews from around the WebPowered by alaTest

• alaTest.com

  Editors' rating: 79

  Summary: alaTest has collected and analyzed 194 reviews of Epson Stylus Photo R320 from international magazines and websites. Experts rate this product 79/100 and users 73/100. Comparing these reviews to 221628 other Printers reviews gives this product an overall alaScore™ 79/100 = Good.

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• macformat.co.uk

  Editors' rating: 80

  Summary: If you really must print from a card or a camera then this little printer offers high-quality prints coupled with easy use

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• photographypress.co.uk

  Editors' rating: 90

  Summary: Although it may not be the fastest A4 photo printer out there, it's the super photo-print quality that really shines through.

  Read full review

• pcworld.com

  Editors' rating: 79

  Summary: Get our latest content via convenient RSS feeds

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• pocket-lint.com

  Editors' rating: 90

  Summary: Although it may not be the fastest A4 photo printer out there, it's the super photo-print quality that really shines through.

  Read full review

• macworld.com

  Editors' rating: 80

  Summary: The R320 comes with an adapter and software for printing directly onto ink-jet printable CDs or DVDs. The software includes samples and lots of different background images to choose from. You can also import your own pictures and add text to the CD. ...

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