- Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 18 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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6 out of 6 people found this review helpful
3.5 stars
"I had HP?s and a CANON and"
Pros: Price, Photo Quality, and Direct CD/DVD Printing
Cons: Little Slow and Photo software Print Setup (PC) kind of awkward.
Summary: This EPSON is a good buy.
I have had a few HP printers over the years and (1) Canon printer, the i950 - the best printer I every bought (See my review), which decided to stop printing the color Cyan after 4 years. So, I started reviewing printers again. Right off the bat, two high-end printers sparked my interest (Canon Pro9000 & Epson R800), but thinking that they would not last (prove me wrong), I decided to save a little money because I am more of a casual user when it comes to printing photos. So, I focused on two printers in the $100-200 range: Canon IP6700D and the Epson R380. I knew that if I purchased the Canon, it was going to be a slam-dunk installation. The printing software was already installed and the Canon also had a better DPI resolution then the Epson, but I decided to take a chance on this Epson. The Epson was $70 less ($50 off sale), and I like the idea of direct CD/DVD printing.
Right out of the box with instructions in hand, 7 minutes later, it was up and running (Just like my HP Deskjet 693C still is). After being babied by Canon?s Easy Photo Software ? select photo, select paper, print, I found myself dropping my novice user cap and grabbing my advanced user cap. Photo Impressions 5 is very easy to select a photo, but a little more involved in choosing paper, and print quality, which I thought was kind of awkward (Going to take a little getting use to). But, for amateur/expert photo enthusiast this is great. Why, the software has a feel like a SLR camera, where as the Canon software is more like a point-and shoot camera, nothing to it.
In comparison to my Canon, I noticed right away that it was a little bit slower printing a 4 by 6 photo (Hey, what can I say for $99 bucks). However, the quality was remarkable (like taking you pictures to the photo store), and printing text, way better. The coolest thing I every saw was watching this printer print an image on an ink-jet printable CD/DVD (make sure you read your instructions). I have been using labels for years, and it is one less step involved. I did try printing a few CD/DVD labels, and they still look as good as the ones I printed in the past.
Overall, I would say that I am very pleased with my purchase and I think the direct CD/DVD printing is fantastic. If it weren?t for that, I would be writing a Canon ip6700D review. For someone who wants the basics and a great printer, I?d say go for Canon (You can also use other photo software if you don?t care for Canon?s, like Adobe or Corel). For someone who wants to live on the edge a litle, this is your printer (and if you need a scanner, go for the RX580 - $20 more). To be honest, I would have preferred purchasing one of the high-end printers (even EPSON?s higher printers: Epson R1800 or the R2400), but not until I starting taking photo printing more seriously.
Where to buy
Stylus Photo R380 Inkjet Printer:
$299.99
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$299.99 | Yes |
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